The Locker Room Situation

The more I read around the internet about where people train, the more spoiled I feel when it comes to our facilities. I just read Jiu-Jiu’s locker room shower situation- they have one unisex communal changing area and one shower. Actually, I have heard of similar situations in the area around our academy.

Again, I feel a little spoiled when saying this, but we have separate men and women’s locker rooms: each locker room has two bathroom stalls, two shower stalls and two sinks. Separate hot water sources too, I’m pretty sure: there have definitely been a few occasions when the boys had to deal with cold showers while the girls were totally unaware of any issue.

It wasn’t quite always this way: we were temporarily displaced when the building was being remodeled, but men and women always had separate changing areas made with stacked lockers.

I’m sorry to hear this is a situation in some gyms. I understand sometimes owners/instructors make sacrifices when it comes to real estate: a space with the perfect square footage and the right location can make someone overlook the bathroom facilities, but I have to admit, if I was just starting jiu jitsu and someone told me that I had to change in a communal area, I probably would have quit, or brushed up on my locker room ninja changing skills from highschool gym class. Most likely the latter, contorting myself like I was in a straight jacket, with my arms inside a t-shirt when attempting to change from a regular bra to a sports bra.

For ladies who put up with all of this and still train, you absolutely have my respect. For guys who have women in their academy in this situation, I agree with Jiu Jiu- please understand that it can be a stressful situation for a girl, especially for one that is starting out in the sport. I’m not saying you should let this theoretical white belt girl walk all over you and take an hour shower, but understand that’s an uncomfortable situation for most women, and sometimes it takes women a little longer to get themselves sorted before leaving the locker room. I don’t even know what I would do about a single shower. I would most likely either go home and shower or only use the gym shower in extreme emergencies.

On a side note, congratulations on Meghan getting her blue belt! Hooray!

On a geek-tastic side note, I haven’t watched the season premiere of the new Game of Thrones, but I did take advantage of their site Join the Realm and made a Coat of Arms for the blog.

 

…Oh yeah.

Slideyfoot’s Marathon, Gas masks and MMA Training

Quick little blurb I just want to put out: Slideyfoot is fundraising for a Grappling marathon for Rape Crisis (England& Wales) and you should definitely donate something. Anything.

Secondly, not that I’m planning on training with a gas mask anytime soon, but I’m watching a video about MMA Training and the effectiveness of using a gas mask. Check it out:

 

The Scary World of Workout Supplements

So, when I first read about the IBJJF testing for steroids and immediately went to the Anti-Doping Agency’s website to see if caffeine was a prohibited substance (whatever, it was a legitimate concern), there was a video on site with an athlete who warned against illegal substances in supplements. And at first I scoffed a bit. I thought it was a rare event, if possible at all.

After reading this article on the death of soldiers who used the supplement Jack3d though, I’m not so sure. I knew the FDA rules were more lax when it came to supplements, but jesus, this is ridiculous. I know everyone is all about the brand new product to train harder, faster, stronger and all but there needs to be some testing done, and maybe a few more rules when it comes to the regulation of the ingredients that are put into these supplements.

And to put it crudely, it’s hard to sell a product to someone who’s dead.

 

I Work Out….

I saw this on my facebook feed (courtesy of Fitocracy) and thought it was pretty funny: check it out!

Post Holiday Grind

Well, it’s over folks, the thanks-giving, the eating, the time with family you don’t see that often, the second helpings of that delicious pie someone made/bought and more.

But it’s all over folks. It’s back to the sweating, the training, with the hope of sweating out some of gravy you poured over the turkey, stuffing, and maybe burn off some of that weird jiggly red stuff everyone likes to pretend is “cranberry sauce”.

Personally, I’m looking forward to trying out some different things that I have been playing around with. What are you looking forward to?

Or are you dreading burning off all those calories you packed in over the holiday?

Heart to Heart With Coach

I’m not sure what the situation is at other schools, but I feel our academy and team is lucky enough to have a coach who is willing to take the time out to talk with team members, and wants to know what is going on with everyone: to understand “where everyone’s head is at”. We all have different goals when it comes to jiu jitsu, different levels of involvement, and even different situations going on personally, so it’s a pretty smart move in my opinion. I recently had a chat with him because of some pressure and stress that were completely self-inflicted, and I came away from the conversation feeling a lot better. It’s also always great to be able to talk to your teammates, don’t get me wrong, but just as you have more experience then say a lower belt, your instructor more often than not will have the most experience in the training, competing and everything that entails.

I know this may not be the case in some academies out there, but I am definitely glad that we are the kind of school which has that kind of rapport.

So I’m feeling better, have a little homework to do, but I definitely feel less stressed, so mission accomplished, hooray!

Sometimes the Cup is Just Full

Yet again I promised I would make it to a Muay Thai class, and yet again I failed in sticking around. I feel like a bribe may be in order, to convince myself to stick around for the extra hour and a half, like say an acai smoothie (mmmm….delicious!)  which may totally undo all the good that is done during the actual class, but hey, it’s a bribe, it’s supposed to be delicious and decadent.

Or I could just admit that at the moment, the metaphorical cup is full. In addition to work, my schedule involves a lot of training….and working out…and more training, and maybe even more training in a different martial art isn’t exactly what I need right now. For some reason I am ridiculously prone to over-training/under-recovering, and where I am at the moment just may be exactly where I need to be.

We all do it to ourselves: we somehow come to the belief that we are not strong enough, fast enough, and we need to work harder to get there. And to be perfectly honest, more often than not we are right. We rarely push ourselves when we really need to. Bot occasionally we really do push ourselves to a point where it is just not physically possible to add anymore to the pile- to fill the cup any further. And we have to be okay with that for the moment: our bodies adapt, situations change, and we can add more on, but there does need to be a period of adjustment, and that’s ok.

…But now I really want an acai smoothie. D’oh!

 

Keep It Simple

Someone mentioned an interesting article about people becoming tangled in the intricacies of dieting, and spend so much time studying different theories and approaches that they never really get started in the first place. There was one particular quote that I found particularly apt to jiu jitsu:

“Do not subordinate fundamental principles to minor details.”

We all love the flashy stuff, don’t get me wrong, but at the end of the day it is the fundamental principles of jiu jitsu that should be the main focus.

I think it is also what overwhelms white belts in the beginning, the higher belts sometimes, and hell, everyone now and again: all the details. Some things look intimidating or downright impossible, and I think part of the problem is there are a many things you are asked to take into consideration.

The trick is really just taking it one step at a time, sticking to the basics, and not getting too caught up the details in the beginning.

Now get to it!

 

 

Your Motivational Quote for the Day

Seize the day, with a vengeance.

Wait, People….Lie? Non-BJJ Related Post

So I think we can safely say that I visit the social fitness site Fitocracy a lot. It’s fun, people are helpful, supportive, nerdy (like me!) and the site is actually pretty helpful in coming up with new routines when you find yourself running on empty in the creative department. The site just premiered its very own iPhone app, which has led to a number of new users to join the site. As is expected.

What makes me turn my head to the side a like a dog who doesn’t quite understand what is being said to him, is the willingness of some people to track absolutely absurd, obviously fake workouts for the sole purpose of leveling up.

Pardon?

Call it a case of being naive, but I don’t see the point of putting in all that time putting in the data of a fictitious workout and not actually doing anything.

Congratulations, you’re a liar, and you didn’t put in any real effort for your reward.

Sure, it’s disappointing to work your face off and to see it didn’t really amount for too much in terms of points, but that’s not the ultimate point of working out. We are all different: shapes, sizes and abilities. What may be hard for me could be easy for you, and vice-versa, which doesn’t make the points fair sometimes, but whatever, that’s life and more of a motivation to progress. Part of the fun of working out and training is the sense of accomplishment after the session, especially something that was previously thought of as impossible. What a feeling of triumph!  You did it, and tomorrow you’ll have another chance to “do the impossible”.

The site is more of a supplementary tool, with a supportive, positive online community to back you, which speaking from personal experience is one of the biggest assets to your success when starting any sort of fitness program: people who will not only give you advice, but will also cheer you on when you progress toward your goal. And the website is free! You get all these tools for your success, for nothing! All anyone asks in return is a positive attitude, some effort and sweat, and most importantly some honesty when it comes to your physical activity.

It’s a silly thing to rant about, but it’s 10 times more silly to take the time to write down you did 1,000,000 crunches with a 50 pound weight on your chest, then cycled for 24 hours straight at 100 miles an hour over The Rocky Mountains. All in one workout.

Not to downplay anyone’s level of physical fitness, but to that I have to use a phrase the kids on the internet are saying these days:

“Pics, or it didn’t happen.”