Photo by Daria Kochetkova Photography. IG: Tebezvonu.

Okay, so you’ve decided to start training twice per day – in hopes of getting your Jiu Jitsu to the next level. Fair enough! However, before you add those additional training sessions to your schedule, there are a couple of things that you should first keep in mind.

DO YOU REALLY NEED TO TRAIN TWICE PER DAY?

Yes, you’ve heard that right; are you absolutely certain that going to your BJJ academy more often is what you need? In other words, is there anything else you should take care of first?

Do you consistently come to the „regular“ classes? Are you there for the entirety of training – from warm-up, through drills and rolls, to cooldown; or do you skip certain parts of it (hint: probably the first and last one)? Furthermore, when you’re in class, do you pay attention to the details? Are you training with focus and intent, or do you just go through the motions?
What this means is that you should firstly make sure to squeeze out everything that you can from the stuff you’re already doing. Only after you’ve done that should you consider increasing the frequency of training.

PLAN IT OUT… CAN YOU?

If you’ve definitely decided to add more sessions and train twice per day, then make sure to plan them into your schedule. The question is – can you do it?
Realistically speaking, answer the following: how does your daily schedule look like now? Is it too packed, will you be able to fulfill your other obligations and responsibilities? Or do you think that you’ll burn out after a couple of weeks because your work, family and a lot of other stuff are lagging behind?

If the schedule looks too hectic, then the best choice might be to not go for it. Instead, you could add a few training sessions here and there; but don’t make it two times per day if you can’t stay consistent. Remember: long term consistency beats short term intensity.

TECHNIQUE + ROLLING LIGHT = SUCCESS

With a training load of two times per day, you’ll have to become smart with your rolls. You won’t be able to go full 100% each and every time – you’ll burn out; or, worse yet, you’ll get injured!

That is, training twice per day means that you can’t push yourself to the maximum every time. You need to become tactical so as to give your body a chance to both progress, recover and stay ready at the same time. The easiest way to do this is by planning to roll light and use technique on specific days… And nothing else! Train with a goal to do your best, but restrict yourself to just using technique; leave your strength and explosiveness for some other time.
Doing so, you’ll be well on your road to getting the best possible achievements from the novel twice per day training schedule.

SLEEP AND EAT

Finally, on your path to becoming the best Jiujiteiro possible, it should go without saying that you need to rest properly and intake quality nutrients; now more than ever, since your body is under even bigger stress than before!

How to take care of this? It’s not complicated. Get enough hours of sleep in, even if that means cutting time spent on social media in the evenings and going to bed an hour earlier. You can even take naps – they’ll treat you well whenever you need just a couple more minutes of shut eye.
And, of course, eat healthy; food with plenty of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, healthy fats… They will all be of great help in your body’s recovery.