Why I think training twice a week, every week – is the perfect training routine..‏‏

Training twice a week, every week – is the perfect training frequency in your first year or two of learning BJJ, in my opinion.

Since starting BJJ Lifestyle Team in September, 2013 – I have advised a number of people who have asked me what I think they should do to get better in the shortest possible time frame – and my advice has been – ”train twice a week, every week.”

A flag that means a great deal to me. I have been visiting Brazil since 2007 and will be visiting for a tenth time, this year.

A flag that means a great deal to me. I have been visiting Brazil since 2007 and will be visiting for a tenth time, this year.

Being the teacher at Lifestyle Team – I am on the mat every training session. I know who trains consistently and who doesn’t – and no surprise, the ones that are consistent are among the most technical on the mat. What has also become very evident is that there is no ‘magic formula’ other than – be consistent and train hard. There will always be talented people – but for the majority – success lies in consistency and the people who make the fastest gains and seem to be ahead of others in terms of success in sparring – are simply the ones that train every Monday and every Thursday.
Two of Lifestyle Team's best blue belts - both have trained consistently for over three years.

Two of Lifestyle Team’s best blue belts – both have trained consistently for over three years.

Before I continue – I want you to ask yourself the question – ”why did I start training in the first place and what was my dream.”

Certainly, for most of us the answer would not have been: ”to be average” – if you re-study the question above – notice the last word in the question.
My personal ”dream” was to be ‘good’ – really good. For lots of us the answer to the question would’ve been to one day be a black belt (and black belts are really good). 
There are two reasons I think that training twice a week, every week is perfect for those with a full-time job, or who study full-time or have a family to be with.
Training twice a week every week is manageable – so you can be consistent – the frequency is realistic and achievable.
 

Training twice a week is enough to acquire skills and keep them – training once a week is not really enough.

Still consistently practicing what I was taught in 2006.

Still consistently practicing what I was taught in 2006.

I trained consistently with a number of dedicated people at the Roger Gracie Academy in 2006. Among the small group of regulars were two guys, each with a different approach to training. The first guy was in his early 20’s, trained every session and whenever I was at the academy, he was there. The other, was 34, married and had a family. He could only train twice a week – he just couldn’t do a third training session every week, due to family commitments.

Train consistently and become not just a highly skilled grappler but also an athlete..

Train consistently and become not just a highly skilled grappler but also an athlete..

Well the guy that trained six times a week lasted about seven months and then much to everyone’s amazement, gave up. He burnt out.
Focusing on the basics consistently pays dividends.

Focusing on the basics consistently, pays dividends.

The guy who trained twice a week never missed a session – and by the time he got to purple belt, he was a killer. He was giving everyone a nightmare – including the brown belts. His secret – consistency.

Simple to work it all out – the family man was doing nearly 100 training sessions a year. There were others that trained once a week, some that would train three times a week and other weeks, do four training sessions – but they would also sometimes miss a week or even two weeks. They had a month off from time to time – if they didn’t feel like training.
The ‘killer’ maintained his twice a week every week without fail routine – and slowly but surely he moved past a lot of people at the academy.
Take my advice – if you want to get really good – my twice a week, every week – without fail approach, will serve you very well. Enjoy the journey.