[June Training Journal] Operation: Don't Get Dizzy
Generally, I like when my training has focus. I want to be working on specific things. I want to have direction and I want to move towards a specific goal.
But sometimes, I get it… Junk volume is better than no volume at all.
In lifting, junk volume is described as sets/reps that don’t contribute much to your goals. In jiu-jitsu, for me, it’s undirected training. It’s coming in for the sake of getting some extra reps with no focus or direction. So it’s been with me this month… sort of.
If you remember my last training journal, I had an issue with vertigo (dizziness (and no, it’s not like being “light headed)). I had to take a few days off of training in order to get my bearings again. I came back light and did my best to stay “upright” and not undergo any fast movements.
Since then, for the month of June, my whole focus has been “Ok, don’t get dizzy”. I have yet to see a specialist about it so for now, I’m just playing it day by day and week by week. It’ll likely be something I’ve got to live with for the rest of my life but I guess it could be worse.
With that said, my only goal has been to not have a recurrence. The month of June has me prioritizing the following
Stick to dominant positions so I do not have to worry about inverting or scrambling
Focus on control
Reduce training intensity
Work positional advantages so I can control the pace of each session
Stick to my strengths
I’d love to work on my weak points more but this puts too much risk on getting caught in scrambles/bad positions and could bring back another episode
Coincidentally, when I was put in bad positions, I noticed my defense was on point and incredibly smooth compared to before.
So, with that said, long story short, a bunch of “junk” on the surface but even more deeply, I’m able to focus on polishing what I’m good at: applying pressure, controlling the pace and playing more intelligently (read: Tactically and strategically).
So far, one month in an I haven’t had another recurrence. Yesterday I had one of my most intense training sessions to date and got smashed quite a bit by some peers. I also pushed the pace with some of my students who were competing. I moved more than I have in recent weeks and all was well.
With that in mind, the last thing on my agenda is to bring on another episode of vertigo so I’m going to keep this up. This coming month, however, I’m going to add a little more focus to my training.
So, with that said, for those familiar with the training journal format, here are the Four Questions
Number 1: How’s training?
Number 2: What’s working well?
Number 3: What’s working not-so-well?
Number 4: What’s the ONE THING that will move the needle most and let’s start there
As always, I’ll do some copy/paste of last month’s journal so you can see how the plan worked (or didn’t) and how I adapt.
Let’s dive in!
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