Caio Terra has opened up about the long-term physical toll of competing at the highest level of BJJ.
After decades of elite training and competition, Terra is still dealing with the consequences today:
My shoulders are really bad, both of them. And today I can’t do things like brushing my teeth or fixing my hair for long because my shoulders are already hurting.
And that’s something that messes with my life.
Looking back, Terra believes some of the long-term damage might have been avoidable:
What I didn’t realize is that maybe as a professional athlete, I should do rehab on my joints because now they’re so weak because I never did it.
Interestingly, he acknowledged that those same limitations may have contributed to his technical growth:
I think that I did get better because I was weaker and it forced me to learn Jiu-Jitsu.
But at the same time, I think that my body suffers now because of that.
Beyond competition, Terra hinted that much of the damage likely came from years of intense training as well:
I wish that I trained a little bit less, maybe 70% of what I trained because I think that would still be a good amount of hours on the mat for me to continue to evolve.
Watch the video below to hear Terra’s full explanation:
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