Jiu-Jitsu is not for the WEAK!

Today was an Amazing Saturday at Unit 2 and Team Roberto Traven BJJ!  It started off with an amazing Women's BJJ class at 10am.  It was a full class of 11 incredibly tough and willing to learn ladies.  All these ladies come to class with an open mind and more importantly open ears.  They all listen very well.  No matter what is asked of them they will try their damnedest to do so.  This also includes the warm-up.  Now if you go to any legit bjj school... You know what scratch that.  If you bring your ass to Traven's BJJ school you will understand that this term "warm-up" is just a term used loosely.  The "warm-up" is actually, in most cases, a very difficult workout.  So f-ing what!  There are reasons for this "warm-up".  Jiu-Jitsu has a lot of technique involved and you can focus more on learning and applying this technique if you are already a little fatigued, also Jiu-Jitsu involves a lot of anaerobic and aerobic conditioning.  So performing this workout will only help you in your competitions and your progress.  Also, this is a great opportunity for a lot of you who have busy lives to take advantage of a great situation.  You can come to BJJ and get an excellent BJJ session as well as a chance to get an overall total body workout that you may not have time to do other wise.  Another advantage to these workouts/warm-ups is to work off a lot of the terrible shit you eat on a daily basis, or the beer you feel you have to drink, or get the most out of your one workout session per week (see first blog entry).

(Now back to the "perfect Saturday".  I also had a personal training session with a client today who is willing to come in and kill herself to get better; she doesn't complain and bitch about what she is told to do.  Some of you could learn from all the ladies I had the privilege of working with today.)

While I was training my client I could see a training partner of mine, Richard, who was covering the 1130 class for Traven, as he is in Jacksonville at Jacksonville BJJ for a seminar.  He is already known for making the warm-ups quite exhausting but still very beneficial, so people should have known what they were getting into and jumped on the opportunity for a great class.  I believe the class started with about 5-6 people so Richard made 5-6 stations at an allotted amount of time per station and an allotted number of times for the circuit to be completed.  Well, after this was made people still continued to show up for class late.  Maybe for a reason or maybe just to try and avoid these warm-ups.  (You know who you are and what your reason was; if it was the latter take a look in the mirror and reevaluate your mental and physical toughness.) So every time someone showed up late Richard added a station and the warm-up continued.  I believe by the time it was all said and done another 5 or so guys had showed up making the entire workout take upwards of like 40 minutes or so.  Most were screaming and grunting their way through the stations, others were quietly focusing and pushing themselves inside to complete it, but 1 individual decided that he wasn't mentally and physically tough enough for this workout and no longer wanted to participate in things like this so he walked out and went to the front office, filed his complaints to the owner/operator and canceled his membership.  Now I don't think an acronym does my feelings and reactions justice so LAUGHING MY F-ING ASS OFF!  Wow! Seriously are you that weak of an individual that you cancel a gym membership where you joined to learn from one of the best ever competitors and instructors bc one of his more experienced students made a warm-up "too hard".  Well if that is the case then I say good ridden bc there is no room for you on this team and truthfully there is no room for you in any gym.  Stay your ass at home and do P90x so no one sees you quit and cry bc something is too hard.

People listen! You can not be the best at anything if you don't work hard.  "Anything worth having is worth working for."  No sport is one sided. Whether technique or strength and conditioning is your specialty it involves a balance of both for you to succeed.  If you don't believe me then come to our gym and tell me bc we have all types that are working to balance out what they are weaker at to become a complete student that will help me prove my point.  If you are just a strong person then come on in and get your ass kicked by a much smaller guy who is extremely technical and if you are purely technical then come on in and get slammed on your head and thrown around by a very strong, avg sized student who will send you running to your nearest squat rack, or the damn doctor!

Training is for Training!

When it is time to train and your instructor/trainer gives you technique to work on or puts you to roll/spar full speed how many of you spend the first few minutes talking to your partner before rolling? Or how many of you start listing out the reasons as to why you can't go hard this roll? Or how many talk throughout the whole roll just bullshitting or better yet you are probably trying to "help" your partner with their technique. LMAO! Why in the hell are you doing this? Shut your damn mouth and do what your instructor put you to do!

I know why most of you do it. It goes back to my very first post. You really aren't at the gym to get better or to work hard. You are just there to be able to tell your friends that you train in something cool. Well If this is the case stay your ass out of any class I am participating in. And have more respect for your partner. They most likely aren't a lazy ass like you and they came to get better. If you can't keep your mouth shut then do us all a favor and fake an injury and sit on the side or go home until you can figure out how.

And to all of you who have comments and criticisms while training for your partner... GO PLAY IN TRAFFIC! Here we go back to my second post. Leave that to the INSTRUCTOR. There is a reason you pay someone for instruction, because you don't know what the hell you are doing. I mean Damn! You are probably telling them how to fix something they just kicked your ass with and you are trying to delay another ass whooping. Again if this is the case fake an injury and sit on the side and watch real people who want to learn train or just drive back home to your computer and watch it on YOUTUBE.

Branching Out!

You ever see that individual that has one form of working out/exercising and just refuses to try anything else bc they are "positive" that their way is the best way?  Well if you haven't then that person is most likely you.  What the hell?  Are these people serious?  Are you serious?  The worst part about this situation is that when offered advice from qualified experts they don't heed the advice, instead they continue on their methodical way day by day never seeing the results some jackass they know from high school said they would get from this amazing workout.  Even worse is when these people actually go out of their way to ask one of us for our advice on how to change up their routine and we give it only to repeatedly see them doing the same thing they were just bitching about.  Look I don't care if you waste anyone else's time just don't come to me asking my opinion just to hear it but still do what some crappy publication told you to do in order to "Get Six Pack Abs by Summer".  Because if I know you as one of these people that continue to do the same thing over and over and over and over again regardless what a paid professional has told you I am just going to look at you like you are stupid and go on my way helping those who want to get better.  I mean seriously you idiots!  This is no different than going to the doctor and you asking him why it hurts when you bend your knee, he then examines you and tells you that you have torn your meniscus and that you need to wear this brace and stay off of it for 4-6 weeks, but instead you discard the brace and continue doing what was hurting your knee.  Well why the hell did you go to the doctor?  If you aren't going to listen to certified professionals then save some money and go to a piece of crap gym like LA Fitness and continue your curls and calf raises like that chubby friend of yours told you to do.  Hell you can probably even find some rail thin or borderline fat trainer who got their certification from an online source to help you with your calf raise form.

But if you want correct advice and are looking for ways to constantly change up your routine to get the results you want and to keep exercising fun then find a gym worth while, find a trainer that is certified and worth while.  Do some damn research and look into what you are paying for.  Don't be naive.  You work hard for money (at least I think you do), so work hard to make sure you are spending it wisely.

Beginners "coaching" Beginners

In my life long participation in organized sports, whether as a participant or as a coach, I have experienced and learned a lot from all types of people.  But never in my life have I experienced what I experience on a day to day basis in the gym where I work and train, Unit 2 Fitness.  Now I use Unit 2 not as a gym I put exclusively in this category but only merely as an example.  I have friends who teach and train at gyms all over the country and this is nation wide problem that exists. Unit 2 is just where I see it daily bc I am there daily.

What is this problem?  Well read the damn title! "Beginners coaching beginners"  So much on a consistent basis do I see brand new "students" coaching and directing other beginners.  Seriously?!  You just f-ing started!  What the hell did you learn so quickly that enables you to direct another individual in the sport you just started?  What qualifies you as a beginner?  Well let's see...  Maybe it is you are the one paying for the instruction!  Maybe it is the fact that you are not the damn instructor but the one receiving the instruction!  Hell, I know a huge clue...  How about you are taking a class that is titled as a f-ing beginners class!  And if you are reading this and feeling pretty damn cocky bc you are allowed to take the advanced classes well wipe the damn smile off your face and realize that this is still a class and you are not the teacher; you are still a damn student!

All of you have seen this and probably experienced this in some form or fashion.  Maybe you are the one that has taken a few classes a week for a year and suddenly you are an expert, or maybe you are the one who is receiving the instruction from someone who most likely started after or around the same time as you.  If the latter is the case then the next time you are receiving this bullshit instruction tell them to shut the hell up and refer your question/problem to the actual instructor.  And if you know you are one of these people who like to coach when you are still the one needing the coaching then shut the hell up and let the people learn from who they are paying their hard earned money to learn from.  But if you aren't sure then come find me at the gym and I will tell you if you need to shut the hell up or not.

If you are reading this and don't believe this is a problem then your next day at Unit 2 find any of the other "paid INSTRUCTORS" and ask them.  Ask them their opinion and if they see it in the gym and if they see it in you.  They will tell you.  But be careful you may not like what you hear.

Stop Wasting Your Time And Money!

Attention: If you are sensitive or too weak to hear the truth don't read this.  Or better yet do read it but have some tissues available, because it is about time you hear the truth and face reality.

Would you go to an expensive fancy restaurant and be satisfied with mediocre food and service? Would you pay to have repairs done on your vehicle or home and appreciate a shitty job?  I am assuming that if you are an intelligent human being your answer is no.  So, then why do some of you (or most of you) pay for a gym membership only to come in and participate (workout) half-ass?  If you are at a legitamate gym then you most likely pay a decent amount a month for membership dues.  This money adds up over a 12 month membership; it is probably more than you pay for your maintenance on your vehicle.  This is an acceptable investment though as you can always get another car but only have one body.  Now with this in mind back to the original question... "Why half-ass the workouts?" Just showing up isn't enough. You would probably like to think so but it isn't.  It may make you feel better about yourself but why? Because you got off your couch and drove to the gym instead of McDonalds?  Come on! If that is what it takes to make you feel better about yourself then pay me the money you would give the gym and I will meet you outside the gym doors everyday and lie to you with some bullshit compliment and you can save your time.  After all you don't really want to workout anyway or you would bust your ass while there.  You just want to be able to tell yourself and your friends that you went to the gym that day.  You still can do that as you drove to the gym to get your "feel good, bullshit compliment". 

If this is touching a nerve right now then I am probably describing you.  If so then you have a choice... Either quit crying and complaining about the instructor/trainer making the classes or warmups too hard and shut the hell up and work harder for real results and a real reason to brag to yourself and your fat ass friends. OR... Contact me and lets workout a payment option for you to pay me to lie to you and tell you that you are looking much better and the "hard work" (LMFAO!) is paying off.  Either way I don't really care.  I'm just tired of having to persuade you to do what you are paying me to tell you to do or watch other instructors trying to do the same.  Now understand I know there is a difference between motivating someone and having to beg and plead for someone to do something.  If you really think about it you know it too.  If you don't the next time you take a class look around after the instructor says something those moving and pushing themselves are being motivated and those standing around feeling as if it is too hard and resting while the instructor is repeating theirself (probably you) are the ones having to get begged to do the exercise.  JUST F-ING DO IT! DAMN!