[zefff]

I put this here because I didnt really see anywhere else it could go but anyway, I have been training twice a day and am worried about it draining me. I need to keep on top of it.

The 2 big worries are over training, by not allowing the body to fully recover after each workout and inflammation in my joints, especially the elbows.

Right now I feel okay energy wise but I think I am right on the limit as my sleeping is slightly disturbed. A lot of that is my subconcious going over sparring situations in my dreams but I have started twitching a lot too. I definitely feel that I am not getting a full night of sound sleep though.

Also my joints are on the limit too as I hurt after each session but recover to the same state each day - just enough to do the session. I know rest is the cure but I need to keep my fitness up for the Europeans (BJJ) coming up soon and cant run as I have an ankle injury.

What can I do or injest to help me recover quicker after each session? I am now considering supplements BTW so if you think formulas are a good idea I am listening (no test though ). Ive never taken anything besides vitamins before though so am a total n00b. BTW here is a site I use to gauge the nutrition/inflammation levels in my foods: Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Snacks, granola bars, hard, plain

I must admit I am more interested in supplements now though.

cheers!

[The BadBoy]

All signs of Overtraining. Take a week off. Your fitness will improve. Trust me. If your training twice a day I would take two full days off in the week. Preferably in succession. For example, Sat & Sun, DO NOTHING!!!! sit your ass infront of the telly and watch it. Sleep late etc etc.

Read these as an introduction.

Overtraining in Mixed Martial Art and No Holds Barred Conditioning

Peak performance for mma, nhb and bjj competition

If you can't stand not doing anything then pop in an instructional DVD and learn something/Put your gameplan on Paper/Visualise but stay away from physical activity for a few days.

[zefff]

Thanks for the links. My fitness and endurance feels pretty good but if Im honest my strength and power feels down a fair bit. I think I'll train again tonight then rest Thursday & Friday. At the moment I have been resting on Sundays only. I dont know if having a cold might have had an effect too. Anyway let me read this info.

cheers!

edit: Wow I forgot just how good Grapplearts was! Okay now I am definitely resting tonight but I will still go and watch the class with maybe some technique, then I will rest tomorrow and train quite hard with a 1/3 reduction in rounds on Friday. Saturday I will train really hard but with a 50% reduction so maybe only 4 7 minute rounds. Rest Sunday then only do 3 rounds of 100% sparring on Monday and continue that for next week then wind it down for the last week before competition.

Thanks a lot for the info Badboy as I could feel I was on the edge of over training. I suppose rest is just as good as if not better than looking for a supplement to aid recovery. Still wouldnt mind hearing about any though if someone has any ideas.

peace

[zefff]

Just to get back on topic for those who might not have the time to read the articles, going by the info on the links it would seem that to allow a natural athlete like myself to train twice a day I would need to basically decrease volume of training as the day of competition approaches. So 5 x 7 minute rounds instead of 7 x 7 for me, although I am dropping to 3 x 7 because I actually have already over trained.

Sorry to go on all on my own but this is a great topic to me!

[The BadBoy]

Great topic to me too seeing how we've had a few guys overtrain in the past and they have lotss soley for that reason in my opinion. Sorry I can't help out on the supplementation side of things. have never tried any other than some whey protien and I thought that was a con too.

[Wilhelm von Wänkenstein]

On the supplementation side, you might want to try some coenzyme Q10 (Q-10?), zefff. It's been proven to increase the activity of your mitochondria, which will replenish your energy stores faster. I can't remember which off-the-shelf brands are good, so I'll check with my boss, who is a pharmacologist and clued me in about the stuff in the first place.

Personally, the only thing I currently supplement with aside from maximum-strength multivitamins is a growth hormone secretagogue from MHP labs. It needs a disciplined diet as your stomach needs to be empty when taking it at night, but so far, it's been helping my recovery and adaptation heaps.

With regard to your joint symptoms, I've found that taking time out to do circles of each major joint throughout the day helps heaps. Boxing has been stiffening up my knees and hips a lot, since I'm not yet used to the footwork, and so I've been living on joint circles several times a day. Moving the joints around helps to relieve residual compression caused by your training and gets fluid flowing through them, which is important for nutrition and recovery since your joints don't actually have a blood supply (if they do, it's pathological) and depend entirely on diffusion from surrounding blood vessels into the joint fluid for their nutrition. It should also help to break up calcium accretions caused by minor repetitive trauma in your training and at least have you good to go for another day at a time