Optimize Training Gains - Part 1

As BJJ practitioners, how do we know what stress level will deliver the most benefit from all the work we do and avoid the potential for injury or decreased performance?

Part 1 we must understand how stress or lack of stress effects our body - the topic of this post.

Part 2 we need to learn how to monitor relative levels of stress in our training and recovery programs - next post

What is Physical Stress Theory (PST)?

In researcher speak, "the basic premise of the PST is that changes in the relative level of physical stress cause a predictable adaptive response in all biological tissue."

What does PST mean for the BJJ practitioner?

• Stress includes: warmups, rolling, drilling, movement, conditioning, recovery, rest, layoff for injury, etc.  Resting is a low level of stress and competition is a high level of stress

• PREDICTABLE RESPONSE: Changes in the relative level of stress on our body causes a predictable response - positive or negative - regardless of our desired outcome - SEE CHART ABOVE

1. WE REGRESS: Too little stress leads to atrophy and reduced ability to move and perform at the same level
2. WE MAINTAIN: Each of us has a different baseline requirement of stress to maintain our current level of fitness.  Maintaining a competition level of fitness requires a higher level of stress than non-competitive practice.
3. WE IMPROVE: The right level of increased stress causes our body to adapt to performing at higher levels
4. WE GET INJURED: Too much stress (overload) will lead to injury

How does this help me (and hopefully you) train smarter?

As an athlete you know that to get stronger, faster, and more fit, you must train at levels above your current comfort zone.  Stress the body and mind, the body adapts and recovers, and your ready for the next gain - if it was only that easy to get it right.


Stress is absolutely necessary for us to improve.  Too little stress and we go backwards, too much may result in injury.  Stress that remains in the body can build up over time and cause reduced performance and eventually lead to injury that seems to come out of nowhere.


If you've hung in there this long here comes the punch line...

The (4) Day Training Cycle, Stress Conversion, Strain Prevention

From my previous post, remember the (4) day training cycle

1. Peak day - STRESS LOADING - high intensity, Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) at 8-10 on scale of 1-10
2. Recovery day - STRAIN PREVENTION - no intensity, RPE 1-2
3. Balance Growth day - STRESS REDUCTION - low intensity, RPE 3-4
4. Moderate day - TECHNIQUE MASTERY - moderate intensity - RPE 5-7

We load the body with stress (Peak Day 1), then use movement and joint mobility to cause rapid adaptation to the stress (Recovery Day 2), then use specific compensatory movements (yoga) to balance growth and remove the parking brake from your high-performance output (Balance Growth Day 3), and finally ramp up our output to get ready for another peak performance (Moderate Day 4)


This routine supercharges our ability get all of the positive growth from our workouts (stress) and keep in check the potential negative effects of stress build-up and proneness to injury or chronic pain.

Where to start applying this knowledge in your weekly program?

1. MORNING: Daily joint mobility routine first thing in the morning - follow along videos here - Scott Sonnon - IntuFlow
2. BEFORE CLASS: Joint mobility warm-ups before BJJ class - ask me to guide you through some movements to help your trouble spots
3. AFTER CLASS: When you repeat a BJJ movement or position enough times to feel tension in your body, then make sure to Release the Tension by stretching (yoga) the tense body part in the functional opposite direction - ask me at class to show you and it will make sense
4. The Warrior Yoga routine that some of you tried after Tuesday class was a Release Tension - Stress Reduction routine.

I use this knowledge and program to keep my 55 year old body coming back to the mat on a consistent basis.  Yes there are always setbacks, but applying this program has provided me a much greater awareness of what's going on in my body and how to adjust my training to get the most out of my BJJ practice.  


More to come in future posts...
Part 2 - Optimize Gains with Intuitive Training - how to self-monitor stress and technique to keep your high-performance body and mind healthy and always ready for more growth

More Research on PST if you're not bored already...

The following Physical Stress Theory research article is an excerpt from:

Reference: http://ptjournal.apta.org/content/82/4/383.full