Why it matters
At a professional level and a high intensity, recovery isn't a game of learning how to feel good. It's a game of learning to push harder, then recovering enough to prevent injuries.
Train this hard and you'll be sore, cranky and tired almost every session. That's the job. So recovery is regimented (planned, every day, not when you feel like it) and protected (nobody gets to take it off you, including you). The standards are the same at both levels: sleep, stretching, real rest days, switching your brain off, and telling your coach early. Show Me and Pro differ in how much professional support you have when something flares up. On Show Me, you, your coach and your plan handle a small niggle together. On Pro, a physio is on your team, working with your strength coach and dietitian.
The standard
Non-negotiable, both levels
- Sleep comes first. Eight hours is the floor (see Sleep).
- Stretch after every session, full body, 10 to 20 minutes.
- One full rest day a week that is actually rest.
- Recovery without devices. Scrolling isn't recovery.
- Tell your coach early. Any niggle, before the session, not after.
- Small niggle? Modify, don't stop. Most small niggles don't need you to stop training. We change the training around them.
- We monitor your load together. Everything counts, not just Jiu-Jitsu.
- If you see a physio, follow their advice, no matter what.
- Sore is normal. Injured is different. Push through soreness. Stop for the warning signs in step 8.
"I don't feel good today, recovery day?" Usually, no. Feeling flat is part of a hard block, and recovery isn't a day off you take when you feel like it. It's what you do every day so you can push again tomorrow.
How to do it
Put sleep and stretching first
Good sleep and stretching are the top two, at either level. Show me those two and I'm more than happy. Foam rolling helps too. Everything else is extra.
Stretch every day, full body
Stretching keeps everything loose and limber, and it gives you a signal: you might not notice your hamstring is tight until you stretch it. Stretch your full body. Being more flexible is never a bad thing. It counts as strength and conditioning too, even though it's traditionally a recovery item.
In my camps I stretched at the end of every gym session (three times a week minimum), and for 10 to 20 minutes after every morning Jiu-Jitsu session, five days a week.
The stretch list. The common ones for Jiu-Jitsu. Hold each for 30 to 60 seconds, each side, breathing slowly. A stretch, never pain. No bouncing.
| Stretch | Area | Why for Jiu-Jitsu |
|---|---|---|
| Seated or standing hamstring | Hamstrings | Guard work, inversions, a big one |
| Knees to chest, child's pose | Low back | Hours of rounded posture |
| Half-kneeling hip flexor | Hip flexors | Guard retention, sitting, leg work |
| Pigeon pose | Glutes, hips | Open guard, leg entanglements |
| Butterfly | Groin, adductors | Guard, stretching for triangles |
| Standing quad | Quads | Knees, passing, takedowns |
| Wall calf stretch | Calves, ankles | Footlocks and standing work |
| Deep squat hold | Hips, ankles, back | Base and mobility |
| Cobra | Abs, front of hips | Undoes all that curling up |
| Gentle neck stretches | Neck | Head pressure, stacking, collar chokes |
| Doorway chest stretch | Chest, front of shoulders | Frames and posture |
| Cross-body shoulder | Back of shoulders | Kimuras, gripping, framing |
| Side reach in child's pose | Lats | Pulling and grips |
| Wrist and forearm stretches | Forearms, fingers | Gi grips. Your fingers will thank you |
Make your rest day real, and count everything
When we plan your load, everything counts, not just Jiu-Jitsu. School sport, footy, swimming, a big night of gaming, a long day on your feet: your body and brain feel all of it. So when you tell me "I had a rest day", tell me what you actually did. A rugby game and three hours of Clash Royale isn't a rest day.
That's how we monitor your load: you tell me honestly what your week looked like, your tracker shows it, and we adjust the plan together before small aches turn into injuries.
Recover without devices
Three hours of TikTok almost doesn't count as recovery. Your body's on the couch, but your brain is getting hammered, and it matters most around performance days. Real recovery: a walk, a beach swim, reading, time with family and friends, sitting quietly, a nap, stretching. Turning your brain off is a skill, and like any skill you get better with practice.
Small niggle? Tell your coach, then modify, don't stop
You don't need to stop for most small niggles. Most of the time we can train around them. What changes between the levels is how much support you get while it settles.
Show Me You Mean It
You, your coach and your plan
- Tell your coach before the session. Be clear: where it is, what aggravates it, how long it's been there.
- We adjust your Jiu-Jitsu so it doesn't aggravate it. A sore shoulder might mean drilling instead of rounds, or staying out of the positions that load it.
- Adjust your strength work too. If an AI built your plan, tell it "I've injured my shoulder" and it will swap the exercises that aggravate it.
- Keep monitoring your load and keep telling your coach how it feels.
- Give a small niggle about two weeks to freshen up.
Pro
A physio straight away
- See your physio immediately, at the first niggle.
- Do exactly what they say, consistently, to get it cleared up and properly addressed.
- Your physio and strength coach update your program together.
- Still tell your coach before the session, so the Jiu-Jitsu side changes too.
Safety note · both levels
Sharp or worsening pain, swelling, a pop, numbness, or a niggle that hasn't settled after a couple of weeks gets seen by a physio or GP, whichever level you're on. Anything on your skin goes to your GP (see Skin & Staph). The full list of warning signs is in step 8.
Pro: see a physio straight away, then do exactly what they say
Clare Walsh at Stadium Sports Physiotherapy in Moore Park is the best physio I've worked with. In my camps, from the first niggle, I saw her every second week, booked in advance, because at that load something was always going to flare up.
- Go at the first niggle. Ask a professional immediately, be cautious and be prepared, rather than trying to blast through it for weeks.
- Book ahead. At high training loads something will flare up. Have the appointments in the diary already.
- Budget for it. Set money aside. Shoulders, knees, fingers: you're going to need it.
- Follow the advice, no matter what. Even when it's "no rounds for two weeks".
- Keep your physio and your strength coach connected. I kept Clare and Ethos talking so they could update my program as things changed.
Rough cost: about $150 to $200 a session, with the longer 45 to 60 minute consult at the top end, so every second week is roughly $300 to $400 a month. That's an estimate, not a quote: fees vary between clinics, so do your own research, ask for their fees and compare. Your private health extras may cover part of each visit (check your fund). Medicare only helps in limited cases: if you have an ongoing condition, your GP can tell you whether a care plan applies, which can give rebates on a handful of allied health visits a year.
Treat recovery extras as extras
Ice baths, saunas and cold plunges are Pro extras: optional, and only if you're paying for them anyway. On Show Me you don't need them. Sleep and stretching do the heavy lifting, and beach swims and learning to turn your brain off and relax do a pretty good job, especially if you're sleeping well.
- Using cold at Pro? Skip it straight after a strength and conditioning session, because it can blunt the muscle adaptations you just worked for. After Jiu-Jitsu is fine.
- Beach swims? Fine at either level.
- Chiro? Optional. Some good physios say a good chiro can help alongside their work. Depends on your budget. Physio comes first.
Know when to stop and get checked
Being sore is normal. Being injured is different. Push hard, but at an intensity you can hold for the whole of your long-term plan, not one that breaks you partway through it.
From the coach
My intensity was too high. I ended up with tendinopathy and overtraining injuries in my shoulders, hip flexors and groin. I held it for three months and got through the tournaments without a major injury, but my body broke after each of those three-to-four-month pushes. About 40% less intensity, held for longer, would have been smarter.
Ricky
Stop and see a physio or GP if
Any of these happen, at either level
- Sharp pain, rather than general soreness.
- Swelling, a pop, or a joint that gives way, locks or clicks painfully.
- Numbness, tingling or weakness.
- Pain that wakes you up at night, or gets worse every session.
- A niggle that hasn't settled after a couple of weeks of modified training.
- Any knock to the head with headache, dizziness, nausea or feeling "off". Stop training that day and get checked.
Injured or sick? You still come to training. Watch the session, learn through watching, ask questions. You just don't train. That's not a day off, that's study.
Show Me and Pro
Show Me You Mean It
Prevent, communicate, modify
Free
- Sleep, done properly (see Sleep).
- 10 to 20 minutes of stretching after sessions, full body.
- One real rest day a week, device-light. A beach swim or a walk instead of a scroll.
- Prevention: warm-up and prehab every session (see Strength & Conditioning), and your load monitored with your coach.
- A small niggle: tell your coach, modify your Jiu-Jitsu and your strength plan, and give it about two weeks.
- No ice baths or saunas needed.
Pro
Booked, budgeted and connected
About $150 to $200 a physio session, every second week
- A physio straight away at the first niggle, and their plan followed consistently.
- Physio every second week, booked in advance for the whole camp.
- Physio and strength coach talking to each other and updating your program.
- Money set aside for treatment, so cost never stops you going.
- Stretching after every gym session and every morning session.
- Extras if you want them: ice baths, saunas, cold plunges. Chiro or massage optional, if your physio rates it.
Same standards, different support. Show Me proves you'll look after your body yourself. Pro adds a professional to get injuries cleared up faster.
Common mistakes
- Taking a recovery day because you feel flat. Sore and tired is normal in a hard block. Recover properly tonight and train tomorrow.
- Stopping completely for a small niggle. Most small niggles mean modify, not stop. Tell your coach and train around it.
- Keeping a niggle to yourself. Tell your coach before the session, so the session can change early.
- Training through sharp pain. That's a warning sign, not soreness. Stop and get checked.
- Waiting out a niggle that isn't settling. If it hasn't settled after a couple of weeks, see a physio or GP.
- Following the physio only when it suits you. "No rounds for two weeks" means no rounds for two weeks.
- Calling screen time recovery. Your brain needs the rest too.
- A "rest day" full of sport and gaming. Everything counts toward your load.
- Only stretching what feels tight. Full body. You often don't feel it until you stretch it.
- Thinking you need ice baths. On Show Me, sleep and stretching do the job. Beach swims are fine.
- An ice bath straight after strength work. Save cold exposure for after Jiu-Jitsu.
Checklist
Do this