Simple Battery Circuit
(pic from www.qrg.northwestern.edu)
Let me guess, you’re online looking for tips on how to increase your cardio for bjj? Or maybe you came across this post stumbling through bjj sites today. Whatever the reason, cool.
How about this question, anyone reading this gas out during warm-ups? Usually, only newer people have issues with the bjj warm-ups. They can be tough but your body and mind get conditioned to them. For some, their bjj cardio, their gas, is nearly gone after 1-2 rounds of rolling. Me? I’m usually good for 3-4 before I feel like throwing up. And I admit, that is kind of sad when you watch people go 8, 9, 10 rounds.
In this post, I’d like to compare your cardiovascular endurance for bjj to a battery. What a battery is, how it can compare to our bodies, its memory, poop like that.
You ready Freddie?
How a Battery Works – Briefly
We ain’t going to get into the nitty-gritty detail of the chemical reactions that happen (maybe we will) but not into different sorts of batteries okay. A plain old flippin’ battery okay?
In a battery, you have basically 3 parts – an anode, a cathode, and an electrolytic solution. Batteries create electricity internally due to a chemical reaction that takes place when something completes the circuit, like when you put it in a flashlight.
Very simply, I think, simple enough for bjj terms, the anode oxidizes (basically rusts) and gives up an electron in the process. The cathode? He fudging absorbs it! And when he absorbs it is when you get your precious electricity for your Galaxy S iPhone G3-87-U.
This is why batteries, sadly, die. You killer. They can’t keep reacting like that. Eventually the anode and cathode, kind of like little plates or discs inside the battery, get um, covered over with corrosion like moss or barnacles and can’t react anymore releasing electrons. Easy right? Here’s a link to howstuffworks where it goes into more detail.
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True or False – Batteries Have Memories
Who knows. It is kind of odd but battery life is actually like a heated topic in my building engineering job. For whatever reason, building engineers feel the need to argue about it.
Me? I think they do have a memory.
And what I mean by battery memory is that if the battery you use on your device gets used in the exact same manner every day, the chemical reaction cycle that goes on inside will only “know” how to do it to a certain point. It will almost like wear down a path i think in between the anode and cathode because that is all it ever does or GETS to do.
It never gets to stretch its legs if you know what I’m sayin’.
Finally – He’s Going to Tie it in with BJJ Cardio!
It should be pretty easy to make the connection right? How your cardio and the way you train it and drain it, determines YOUR “battery?”
If you keep only going for 1-2 rounds, or 3-4 in my case, more like the 0 case currently, your range will never expand. You will only be able to use the little short path you have built for yourself.
Charge up your meter.
( pic from staceyreid.com)
This is why it is so important to push yourself while training. Every extra little bit you do lengthens that path, it broadens your capacity between your cathode and anode.
Every single time you do 1 more push-up when you are exhausted – increase in capacity.
Every time you buck and shrimp to escape mount in that last roll with 10 seconds to go even though you feel ill, +1 capacity.
Every time you go to the morning and night class and do both warm-ups and roll the whole time for both – Boom capacity.
Since I like this analogy so much, I am going to type about it for the next couple of paragraphs and then wrap this joker up.
Here are ways that I treat all my batteries, and kind of the way I train and especially the way I do supplemental cardio training outside the gym.
Who Has Their Phone Plugged In Whenever They Can?
Argh. You’re killing me. Some people, especially at airports, rush from charging station to station. Like little IV poles of crack for their phones for their fingers. I get it if the battery truly is dead. It’s a huge waste of energy in addition to being unnecessary.
Let it drain baby!
This would be equivalent to someone not working out so probably not many jiu-jitseiros or mma people reading this. But think of some obese fellow sitting on his couch always eating, eating, eating, and barely ever expending any energy.
Again, as bjj or mma killers you have to expand your capacity by pushing it. Only you know when you are truly pushing it.
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BJJ Pro Tip #815 (there are not 814 others)
For mental motivation while grinding out that last mile, or the last 50 push-ups, or just trying not to get tapped – think of all that exhaustion and work you are doing right then at that moment as BANK.
It doesn’t matter at that moment if you win or lose, you are training. And training to exhaustion. You be banking these things like credits son, credits for future use, use at your own discretion. So yeah, just think that when you are tired.
Letting your battery drain down to 50% is decent, it’s cool, he’s getting some work in. Every once in a while though you have to take it all the way down though.
Knock the rust off, let the battery, or your bjj cardio, know that it IS going to have to venture down to that limit at some point.
If the time comes during a match or competition where it has consumed all of the energy you are used to using, you are going to be in a world of hurt. Your body won’t know what to do and as a result you will waste even more energy and your technique will suffer.
Don’t Forget to Recharge
Self explanatory correct? Vital to get proper rest like good sleep and proper nutrition. Lots of fruits and veggies for repairs. If you are really pushing it, and can afford it, some supplementation wouldn’t hurt like whey protein.
If you are really pushing yourself and say doing push-ups to exhaustion AFTER training, or some kettlebell workout, you are going to want to have some extra protein in your body to re-build all of the muscles your broke down.
Sleep is probably the most vital in terms of recharging.
And of course don’t overdo it! Cause when you do what happens? First you flash, telling me about it every few seconds for the next hour and then you finally die. When your battery dies, no more mobile twitterbook.
Well, I believe that’s about it for today. Talked about how your cardiovascular endurance for bjj, or mma,can be compared to the way a battery works.
Do batteries have memories? What do you think? Of course they do so don’t even argue. What else could it be compared to? I thought of a couple while writing but then got way off track lol. Off the top of my head – motorcycles, horses…
BJJ Cardio & You - Make Like a Battery & Drain
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