I miss barbell training. I haven’t been doing it for a month (perhaps more) now despite a green flag from the doctor’s office. Just being conservative. Add to this, I haven’t been rolling for the past two weeks either due to an ear injury. My left one got swollen and had to be drained out. Thrice so far. It’ll take another 3-5 days to completely heal.
I’m dying to get back to the gym to train with weights and roll with my fellow jiujutsukas!
While I will start rolling again next week, I don’t plan to get to weights anytime soon. Instead I want to focus on bodyweight training along with mobility and flexibility. I just want to be conserving with my recovery plan and focusing purely on single-limb bodyweight training will allow me to develop flexibility, mobility, and strength. It’s just as tough as barbell training, if not better.
As you can imagine, I have been doing a lot of research about the different systems, mechanics, and methodologies that allow one to be more flexible and mobile. And here’s what I have concluded: Flexible Steel and Original Strength. If you have been following this blog for some time you’ll recall these are the systems that I have already tried. And no, it wasn’t that it didn’t work for me, it’s just that I’ve always been on a look out for different system that’s better and efficient than what I already know.
Let me tell you — both the systems work and have worked for thousands of active people around the world. I ain’t no special snowflake for these to not work. I have to make them work. And that’s the distinction because I’ve never made the honest effort to try them out as a system. Never. Over the past two weeks, however, I have made a conscious effort to do them every day and though I still might fail at mobility/flexibility assessments, I am feeling so much better. That’s important to me.
I think if I keep practicing them everyday (as they’re intended to be) for the next little, I will achieve the level of flexibility and mobility I have in mind. I need to give the systems a fair chance to work and the key (as with most great things in life) is consistency and daily practice. So, here’s my daily routine going forwards:
- Original Strength (OS) Resets (first thing in the morning after getting up). Takes about 4-7 minutes.
- Flexible Steel (FS) mobility complex (warm-up routine) (10-15 minutes)
- FS Stretches + OS Resets for cool down (10 minutes)
- OS Rests for BJJ post rolling (10-15 minutes)
That’s it! We’re talking about a sub-45 minute investment every day you’re training. That may seem a lot but you’re breaking these up in super-short intervals. You won’t even notice. Also, it’s just about 20 minutes for the days you’re not training. As I mentioned above, the key is to do them daily because they’re good for you.
Which brings me to the main point I wanted to convey — I think it’s quite normal for us to be looking for better alternatives. After all, we deserve it! At times, however, it’s worth your time to deeply consider what you already have or know. It just might be what you have been looking for all along.
P.S. That sounds like a love story, ain’t it?