In the six week leading up to the Revolution event in February, I managed to train 12 times.
I didn't have a great showing in my blue belt debut. I ended up competing one weight division above where I should have. I tapped to a choke late in my first match and spent all of my second match fighting off a similar attack from the back.
A realistic minimum, in my opinion, is three times a week. Four, if you are really serious about The Riches. But three, at least.
That means 18 classes in the six weeks leading up to competition. Fifteen in the final 30 days.
So far, in the six weeks leading up to the Revolution event in July, I've notched 5 classes. Admittedly, I didn't start back on the mat until a week in to that six-week period. But even if you spot me two classes in Week One (June 1 - 7), I'm still at a sub-12 times a week pace.
My goal is to get on the mat three times next week and three times the week of the tournament. If I can do that, then at least I'll beat my pre-February event pace of 12 classes by one - which will show some improvement.
This week is going to be nasty because it is a holiday-shortened week and work will weigh all the heavier for it. But I've got to start getting my three times a week in.
Admittedly, my shoulder is still a problem, and aches pretty good after training. But between the cryogel and the Ibuprofen, I think I can keep things under control. The big trick is to get more rest - the current 5-6 hours a night is just not enough if I want to improve my physical and mental capacity. Having to get up at 4:30 a.m., the best I think I can do is hit the sack by 9:30 the night before. Right now, I'm grateful to get to sleep by 10:30 - 11 p.m. I've got to work on that.
The smartest thing would be to target Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights for training since they are all gi, and see what other times I can add in (i.e., Independence Day weekend open mats on Friday and Sunday).
We'll see. I slacked off in the week leading up to the GB Seattle Intramurals and probably was not as primed physically as I should have been. I don't need to kill myself with conditioning over the next two weeks. Staying loose and feeling light and sharp are more important right now than trying to get stronger or, worse, pounding out miles on the treadmill. Berardis, Man Makers and 3Ts should be the basis of my off-mat conditioning.
