Sorry, I haven't enjoyed the burger above and I'm not going to talk about it... yet
This past weekend I competed in my third Jiu-Jitsu tournament (IBJFF) and lost 4-2 in the first round to someone I feel I should have beat.
Yep, I lost. No way around it, no other way to say it. Some pansy will say something like "you didn't loose, you learned". Well if you ask real winners like Michael Jordan or Tom Brady they won't say some dumb shit like that they'll say "We got beat and it's on me".
So what did I do or didn't I do that caused me to lose?
Right now I'm going with one of these two theories:
1. I need to get better at my mental game (I get too pumped up before a match) and/or
2. I messed up with my food/water/supplement intake before the match
Option 1 is definitely possible however I was noticeably less amped up and consciously aware of it enough to stop and tie my belt when the ref stood us back up. So while I still need to focus on this aspect of my game for now I'm going to focus on option 2.
Option 2: This was my first tournament at lightweight (168lbs in the gi). I hit my target weight 7 days out and even tested out my food and water intake on Monday and Tuesday of that week to make sure my weight was on point. All good.
Then I had to take a business trip. The day I flew out (Wed) my diet was still on point and I even worked out twice in the hotel gym. Weighed in two pounds underweight.
On to Thursday... Thursday I had a speaking engagement from 12-4p so I woke up early, had a Lara Bar (I don't know how to put those little dots above the A) and went to the gym. 3lbs under. I went back to my room, had another Lara Bar and did some work. Then I got ready for my speech.
Speech went well, great crowd interaction and the client was very happy with the results. But all I had to eat between 10a and 5p was water so I figured I could splurge a little bit for dinner. I went to a Japanese restaurant had some Garlic Ramen and some Sashimi, hell I even had a beer!
Early Friday morning (6a) I caught a flight and headed home. I worked from home the rest of the day and got back on point with my diet.
Saturday Morning, Fight Day! Had a Lara Bar and some V8 for breakfast. Then had some brown rice, quinoa, mushrooms and chicken around 10a, but only half of what I normally eat.
My fight was at 4:15 but I had some teammates fighting before me so I got to the venue around noon. A few minutes after I arrived I weighed myself on the test scale, 6lbs under. I then hung out and watched my teammates and my professor fight while I sipped water.
I know that sometimes pre-workout makes me jittery (I'll discuss pre-workout before BJJ some other time) so about two hours before my fight I started drinking it along with some BCAA's. 1hr pre-fight I headed toward the restroom to start getting ready. On my way to the warm up area I stopped by the test scale again, 7lbs underweight.
So I started warming up and continued sipping water. Once I was done I headed to the bullpen to get weighed in. I forgot to take my flip flops off but it didn't matter, still 7lbs under.
Now, it's time for my match. My breathing felt calm, I felt calm. We do the standard hand slap/fist bump and it's on. Felt good on my feet and after a failed loop choke attempt I took him down with a single leg. That's when my mind went from a little pumped to full on redlining.
It was so hard to focus and my mind was running 100mph+, I couldn't think straight. Long story short, I got on top twice, didn't get the Ezekiel choke deep enough and got swept twice so I lost 4-2.
Other than my forearms being a little tense, my body felt good. Wasn't tired but I still couldn't focus. On my long drive home I started to think about what I could of done better.
As I was thinking I was still jittery and unfocused. What I realized is that I was eating 6+ times a day and still making weight (and the pre-workout wasn't bothering me) but for some reason I only ate twice on fight day and it messed me up.
Light bulb moment: Nutrition is important! Who knew? (head down in shame)
SO, what's the lesson? Even if you train BJJ 5-6 times a week and do HIIT workouts leading up to your tournament if you don't eat right it won't matter on Fight Day.
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