How to Prepare Your Body for BJJ AFTER 40: Part 1

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LOTS of people begin training Jiu-jitsu after the age of 40, and certainly those that have trained through their 20's and 30's plan to continue training at this age.

We definitely can't train as heedlessly as we could at 18. So what ACTUALLY helps us stay resilient and active enough to train a combat sport? We took it upon ourselves to cover the most important details to keep in mind if you're training in your 40's.

Covered in Part 1:

Injuries - what causes them, how to manage them, and how to create a plan to return to sparring

Equipment - what do I actually need to train my body OUTSIDE of Jiu-jitsu?

Covered in Part 2 (coming soon):

Is lifting heavy dangerous - and how should I lift to get the results I want?

Will lifting make me less flexible - and how to I get mobile enough to train BJJ comfortably?

Recovery - what the heck actually allows me to recover? CBD? Massage guns? Acupuncture?

If you prefer to read your information, we've already covered a lot of this in our blog. Check it out here:

[chuckduncan]

The hardest thing to "train" is the ego. I'm a 74 yo white belt with a 40 yo ego. Bad combination. You hit the nail on the head with jumping back into training when there is no pain with an injury. The new injury will be worse than the old one. Thanks for the info.

[nicholasaustin]

I started at 39. I have been going twice a week for 12 weeks now. I wasn’t taking care of myself at all prior to showing up. After the first class I was sore for a few days, but I could still change my brake pads and use a non powered lawn mower.

I have been very uncomfortable as a result of rolling, but my overall soreness is actually lower when compared to how I was feeling from being sedentary.

So far I have had hip pain which I foam rolled away. I have had tennis elbow pain which I theragun’d to hell, Costochondritis which I bought a back pod for(a softball would have worked), knee pain so I made a backwards treadmill.

None of the pains have been injuries to a bone even though they all made me think they were. I utilized some widely available physical therapy tools and I never had to tell my kids I couldn’t play with them. I would have quit from any of these pains if not for physical therapists YT channels.

[ntrtain]

I'm 43. Purple belt. I'm looking forward to these videos...

[dillonkernaghan]

I am also a fan of the Cosmere! I'm 30 and looking to get into B!jj! Love that I found this content

[zyncarla]

Just hit 40 and still lifting heavy 1650+ total not that I ever max out anymore. I was around a 1850 total in my early 30s reduced weights on deads and squats and started just doing high rep work but I can’t helps and go in and bench in the 4s for rep lol just feels good. But I just started my bjj journey with my with l son now that he’s old enough to do it. I’m definitely feeling the lack of stretching I did over the years lol but between the strength and years of wrestling background I’m having fun just need to stretch more and I added in some kettlebell circuits and took some of the powerlifting out and it seems to be helping for sure. My T levels are still in their 800s as a life time natty I don’t need trt yet but I can definitely see when people do if they haven’t taken care of themselves leading up to their 40s

[oldercloudify]

I popped a rib last doing Zercher squats. I’m 48. I love heavy lifting, though.

[danilecashin]

Swimming and yoga. Im 51 and a black belt. Thats what has kept me young