This morning was spent doing some boxing and then the usual Saturday no-gi class. I haven't done any sort of stand up in a couple of years (even the heavy bag in the garage is starting to gather dust). Coming back into it, it both sucks and presents a huge range of things to look forward to. It's a great reminder that my cardio needs some serious work. But this week feels better than last week - last week better than the week prior to that. I can feel progress already.
The great thing is, I've been here before. Each weeks gets a little better. Things that wreck you initially and leave you thinking the classic cliche "I'm too old for this shit" will become commonplace activities (only to be replaced by new heartbreakers).
Another factor that can't be overlooked is the feeling of being completely drained at the end of that hour and transitioning right into BJJ. Making the commitment to myself to stay.
"Worst case, I sit out a drill."
"Worst case, I lose my breakfast."
"Either way, I'm staying and I'm giving it whatever's left at this point..."
I don't know, it may seem like a small thing to you, but making that commitment has already made me see aspects of my BJJ training differently. At that point I'm not just showing up. I'm deciding to stay no matter what.
So the point of all of this is - it's good to find something different that takes you out of your routine and mixing things up a little. For some of us, it gets easy to plateau, stagnate, find paths of least resistance, or just plain cheat yourself as time passes (lies in the guise of "efficiency").
I'm just saying this from a point of discovery. I'm someone that recently realized that he was missing opportunities to get the most out of his training. Maybe this sort of addition to your routine will help as well.
Thanks for reading!
