How do I recover after training?
RECOVERY
If you want to get better at jiu jitsu, you need to be able to train consistently. If you want to do that, you need to be able to recover from your workouts. Recovery isn’t a passive thing; it’s about the choices you make and the actions you take (or don’t take) that will lead to long-term health and a lifetime on the mats.
I’ve been doing BJJ for over 13 years as of this writing, and while I got a late start (I did my first class at 35) and don’t have the competition mileage of someone of a similar age who’s been doing it for much longer, I’m still susceptible to the normal wear and tear that comes with being in my late 40s. (I can’t bring myself to say, “Damn near 50.”) If I didn’t take the time and make good choices regarding my recovery, I wouldn’t be able to roll four times a week with guys half my age, while also lifting 2-3 times a week, while also competing several times a year.
Before we go any further, let’s define “recovery”:
Recovery = being able to bounce back from hard physical training to a point where you can perform at a similar level again within a reasonable amount of time.
“Reasonable amount of time” is purposely vague. It depends on the person.
A 22-year-old who competes all the time might train hard in the morning, train hard again at night, and do that 3–4 times a week.
A 40-year-old who’s newer to jiu jitsu and in “okay” shape might need 1–2 days after a hard session before they can go that hard again.
Both can be reasonable.
But if you consistently need 3, 4, 5+ days for soreness and fatigue to calm down enough to train hard again, that’s usually not reasonable. It often means:
you’re going way too hard for your current fitness level, and/or
your general fitness needs to improve before you try to maintain that intensity.
Below are five must-haves for recovery, followed by “other stuff” that gets a lot of hype online but tends to matter less (or has caveats). (Jump to the “Other Stuff” list.)
Must-Haves
Consistent good sleep
Consistent good nutrition
Rest days
Deloads
Brutal honesty
Consistent good sleep
This tops just about every list I make as a key to success. It really is the Konami Code, the hack that opens up so many doors in every aspect of life, not just in jiu jitsu. Sleep is as close to a magic pill as currently exists for fixin’ what ails ya’.
Why? Two reasons, one obvious, one kinda sneaky.
Physical repair. Sleep is when the body goes into maintenance mode. This is when muscle is built, injuries are repaired, enzymes and hormones are reset and regulated, all of that. A lack of sleep is a recipe for injury, if for no other reason than your muscles and connective tissue aren’t properly healing after the beating they take on the mats and in the gym. It’s like running a machine on high with no downtime for preventive maintenance. Sure, that machine might run great for a while, but the seals and gaskets and parts are getting worn down. Eventually, the machine can go from “fine” to “‘splode” in an instant.
Skill learning / memory consolidation. Sleep also helps consolidate memory—especially motor learning, i.e., turning practice into improved performance. That new sweep you drilled? That timing detail you felt in rolling? Sleep is where your brain strengthens those “wiring changes” so the skill becomes more automatic. And if your jiu jitsu is sharper, you move more efficiently—less panic, less muscling, fewer ugly positions—less wear and tear.
How much? The average adult needs 7-9 hours of uninterrupted, quality sleep every night.
How do I get it?
No caffeine or other stimulants within 6 hours of when you go to sleep. (You may be able to get to sleep just fine after a cup of coffee, but caffeine and other stimulants disrupt sleep patterns, meaning you’ll get lower-quality sleep.)
No alcohol 6-8 hours before bed. Again, you may be able to get to sleep no problem, but alcohol seriously fucks with your sleep; not to mention that it can also seriously impede your gains at the gym if consumed chronically.
No high-fat consumption before bed. Fat slows stomach motility (how fast your stomach empties), which means you’ll be digesting that bowl of Tillamook Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream while trying to sleep, which means that you’re body isn’t completely shut down.
No screens within 1 hour of going to sleep. The blue light from televisions, monitors, phones, and other electronic screens is of a similar wavelength to the sun, and that messes with our circadian rhythms.
Get rid of distractions that can wake you up in the middle of the night. Put your phone on sleep mode, or turn it off. Shut the blinds. Make wherever it is you sleep a calm, quiet, stress-free environment.
Journal/look at tomorrow’s plan. Find ways to put today’s stresses to bed (so to speak) and know what it is you’re doing tomorrow. This helps reduce stress and allows for more restful sleep.
Be consistent with your bedtime and when you wake up. If you are hitting the sack at a different time every night, that messes with your body’s natural rhythms.
Consistent good nutrition
This is another one that seems to top every list I make. If your nutrition sucks, your recovery will suck. Give your body the materials it needs to make all of those repairs and regulate your internal chemistry.
Eat the right amount of calories. Sleep and recovery are both harder when in a caloric deficit, so get enough to eat. If you’re attempting to lose weight, this will be unavoidable, so take special care with everything else to avoid injury and to get as good a night of sleep as possible. Also, don’t go into a huge deficit. It’s possible to go into a reasonable deficit (one that aims for 0.5 to 1lb of weight loss a week) and get “used” to that, allowing you to get a decent night’s sleep. It’s when that deficit is beyond that where our hunger cues can get more pronounced and can carry over into the night, keeping us awake.
Hit your macros. Focus on protein. Aim for ~1g of protein per pound of ideal bodyweight. Fill in the rest with carbs and healthy fats. I have a free nutritional macros calculator you can use to help with this.
Get fruits and veggies into your diet. Fruits and veggies are awesome for micronutrients, phytochemicals, and fiber, which leads to greater satiety (a feeling of fullness).
The best diet is one that a) fulfills your nutritional needs (calories first, then macronutrients, then micronutrients) and b) you can stick to. Eating doesn’t need to be overly complicated or complex. For most of us, we aren’t elite professional athletes, so the details like meal timing and food quality have a very small impact (if any at all) on our overall wellbeing and ability to recover. I did a whole video on the Gracie Diet and get into the fallacies of meal complexity.
Rest Days
“No days off” is toxic bullshit.
In addition to consistently good sleep, you need to give yourself at least one full day off, regardless of your age, fitness level, whatever. You need at least one day every week where you aren’t on the mats rolling or drilling, where you aren’t in the gym, where you aren’t exerting yourself physically beyond going for a nice walk. Need to tear down and build a shed? That’s not a rest day activity. Taking your wife to the zoo? That’s a great rest day activity.
Your body and mind both need this time to relax, destress, and continue to heal. Sleep does the lion’s share of the work, but if we don’t ever give ourselves at least one day off, it will eventually catch up with us.
One way to tell if you’re overtraining (which can happen with no days off, going hard every day): your mood will tank. Your mood can be a leading indicator, tanking before you start showing physical symptoms of overtraining. Your muscles might feel fine, you might be getting decent sleep, but you’ll feel like shit, or off, or moody, or depressed. While there are plenty of external factors that can cause this, it might be that your training habits are at the core and/or exacerbating the issue.
Take a day off. If you’re older, you may need to take more days off. That’s fine. It’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of being smart. Remember, this is an ultra-marathon, not a sprint.
Deloads
Every few weeks (anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks), take a deload week.
What is a deload week? A deload week is not a week off, but a week where you dramatically lower your lifting and rolling volume to a point where you are still active, but are able to let your overall fatigue drop.
Why is this important? A deload can reduce both physical and psychological fatigue, and help keep training sustainable.
How do I do a deload? In the gym, cut all of your weight and sets by 50%. For example, if you do a 4x3 deadlift at 320 pounds, in a deload week that becomes a 2x3 of 160 pounds. You’re going to feel ridiculous doing it, but it will help. For BJJ training, it means drill, but no rolling, or only flow rolling with people in your weight class or lighter at 30-40% intensity. (I personally find it easier to just not roll, as the temptation to go just a little harder is always there.)
How often should I do a deload? This is where you need to listen to your body and look at your overall performance. If you see two weeks in the gym without being able to progress two or more lifts (check out the article on lifting for BJJ, or check out the free Strength Training for BJJ Guide), or you hit a plateau on the mats (two weeks of just feeling “off”, your timing isn’t there, nothing seems to be working quite right), it’s time for a deload. Depending on your age, fitness, genetics, training intensity, and a whole slew of other things, this can be anywhere from every 4 weeks to 12 weeks of solid training. It doesn’t always have to be the same. Pay attention to your performance and how you feel, and make the call that way.
Brutal Honesty
This is a hard one to master, or even implement. You must be honest with yourself.
Despite what you may think, you’re not 20 any more. You don’t bounce back from injury as fast. You can’t get by on 5 hours of sleep most nights. You need to recognize your own limits, whether they be because of age, genetics, level of fitness, whatever. That can be a tough conversation to have as we get older.
On the other side of that coin, are you taking a day off from jiu jitsu class or the gym because you really need it, or because you’re looking for an excuse to be lazy today?
Look, it’s OK to just decide, “I don’t want to do the things today".” It’s normal. It’s when you start allowing these days to stack up that it’s no longer about mental or physical health; it’s about avoidance behavior. You are making choices that could be detrimental to your overall health, and you need to figure out why.
Other Stuff
This is the “Other Stuff”, the things that either don’t do what the folks on TikTok and Instagram say they do, or do so, but at the margins (meaning that the effect is so small that it really won’t matter.)
Supplements
Not all supplements work. Many are under-dosed, poorly regulated, or sold with hype that outpaces evidence.
Don’t start anything without doing your own research and talking to your doctor if you have medical conditions or take meds.
Creatine. This is an exception to the “too small to matter” caveat from above. Creatine is the most studied supplement of all time, and it does what it claims to do: it helps with muscle recovery, it helps build muscle, and it does so with measurable effect. Will it act like steroids? No. But it will help. It’s also relatively cheap, especially comparted to most other supplements out there. Find one from a reputable source (Optimum Nutrition is a good example) without all of the other “proprietary blend” stuff. Most of it is either filler, doesn’t do anything, or isn’t even present. Fun fact: scientists are looking at possible neurological and cardiovascular benefits of creatine as well, and initial studies, while small and not 100% conclusive, are looking promising.
Multivitamins. Another good bang for your buck. A multivitamin does what it says: it delivers micronutrients. While it’s ultimately better to get these nutrients from food sources, it’s just not always possible because of time, budget, and lifestyle constraints, so taking a daily multivitamin is a good choice.
BCAAs. If you’re already eating enough protein, BCAAs are usually a poor return on investment. Some studies show small changes in soreness/markers, but performance recovery benefits are questionable. You’re typically better off spending that money on protein-rich food.
Just about every other supplement. Save your money. Even if they can provide a fraction of the benefit that they claim (and most can’t), the amount of impact they actually have is negligible. Stick to the basics and stuff that has a track record of results.
Sauna
Saunas are awesome on vibes alone. From that perspective, if you find saunas relaxing, then go for it.
There are some preliminary studies that point to possible benefits in regards to muscle growth when using a sauna after a hard lifting session. If that pans out over time, so much the better, but as of right now, nothing conclusive has been shown. Most of those studies show, at best, correlation between saunas and associated health benefits, but there are too many other factors that could influence those outcomes.
That said, there’s really no downside to using a sauna (aside from the usual health risks you hear about, like people with heart, blood pressure, and other health conditions), so if you like it and it doesn’t break the bank, go for it.
Cold Plunge
Look, if jumping into a nearly-freezing tub of water does it for you, then hey, good on you.
There are a lot of claims made as to the health benefits of cold plunge, but there aren’t any studies that really back up most of those claims, or the effect does happen but in such a small or time-limited way that it’s essentially a non-event. For instance, one claim is that cold plunge boosts metabolism. And it does, but for like 5 minutes, burning something like 12 additional calories; not enough to make a real impact.
Aside from the vibe factor, are there any benefits to cold plunge?
Sure. If you are doing multiple workouts in a day, then taking a freezing dip can help lower inflammation and allow you to perform better at your second session. If you are competing in a multi-day tournament like IBJJF or ADCC, hitting the cold plunge after your first day of competition can help you feel more fresh for day two.
But one time you should not immerse yourself in 40 degree water: right after lifting. Yes, you will lower inflammation and feel much better after lifting hard, but that inflammation is the process by which our bodies grow muscle. You are essentially washing away the hard work you just did. Some studies have shown that a cold plunge shortly after lifting can reduce potential gains by up to 30%. That’s not a small reduction!
So again, if you like it, don’t have health conditions that would prevent you from doing it, and can afford it, go for it.
The rest of the internet
Grounding, magic water, miracle hacks—most of it is crap.
If you’re already doing the big stuff and you want to add extras because they make you feel good and you can afford them, go for it. Just don’t expect them to replace sleep, nutrition, and rest.
Do your research. Look for randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses. Be skeptical of anyone speaking in absolutes—or claiming the entire scientific establishment is wrong and only they have the “truth.”
Conclusion
Don’t major in the minors. Nail the fundamentals, and you’ll be 98% of the way to reliable recovery—and that’s what keeps you training consistently, getting better, and staying on the mats.
Works Cited
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