Bread cutter - 10 plus sessions a week of bjj= no job or kids and understanding wife. ( more than likely single)
6-9 sessions a week= 1 full time job no kids and understanding wife. ( most likely single or work from homewith flexible schedule)
4-5 sessions a week= can have a full time job,kids and wife but you may be neglecting family a little.
2-3 days is probably the sweet spot for men who are married with full time job.
This is just a general guide line, this doesn't apply to you if
Your kids are over 12 years old. You own your own school or teach bjj full time.
This - I work in consulting so my hrs are project dependent and when its busy I can not see the light of day for weeks.
Married with two small kids and realistically, early morning sessions are my best bet as I have limited evening time and I dont want to spend every free hr on the mats away from my family
Work full time, Carpenter and part owner in a building company, no kids but I do have a girlfriend that wants me to do the gardening all the time. I train 5 days a week. Maybe more a month out from comp. Like the other fellas said. You need to want it. My weekends and Friday nights make up a large part of my training schedule. I also work Saturday mornings so as I can have a week off in the beginning, middle and end of the year so I can travel to another gym, train 3 times a day and totally immerse myself.
SolomonGrundy - How many of you guys work a full time job and train consistently (at least 3 times a week)? Cause I'm having a hard time doin it.
do you have family commitments? most people I know don't have too much issue working full time and training. it's usually wives and kids that stop them
Yes, I have a wife and three kids ages 7,5 and 3
you'll just have to take a look at the respective schedules of your work, family and jiu jitsu school, and just see how it fits together. if there's no clear way to fit things then you'll just have to get creative
one of my friends is in a similar situation, but i have more flexibility so i meet him on sundays outside of regular class schedule to train /w him and show him what he might have missed in class. maybe you can set up something /w your teammates
a lot of the guys on my team get their kids involved, so that jiu jitsu becomes a family affair. i made it clear to my gf that i won't compromise my training schedule, and that her best bet is to start training too. and she did, and now it's something we do together
i don't know how lenient your work is with scheduling, but if you're a traveling consultant or have major responsibilities at work that don't give you much wiggle room, then there isn't much to do to be honest.
you should elaborate your situation more and others may be able to offer better advice
Full time work. Married, No kids. 34. BJJ 1x-2x a week, Judo 1x. Pretty far drive from my job (60 miles) and from home 37 miles.
Lots of energy to do BJJ, no energy to drive that much after work and then drive a shorter but still long drive to go home. I wish i could train every day, but i'm not putting myself, my wallet, and my wife through that torture. Some of us don't have the luxury of having their school in the same town.
After 15 years and a black belt in BJJ, i'm burnt out from the drive. It literally pains me to think to drive that much after work. I used to train 3-4x a week 3 hours at a time.
I love my team though and my friends are there, so leaving for a closer team is not an option.
I also have MS, which doesn't really help anything.
Work full-time at a boat manufacturer. Somewhat physical. Also in the reserves, which brings about its own set of responsibilities. Married, a son who is almost 3 and a newborn girl. Starting back to school next month. I make it at least 2 days a week. Wife is alright with me going whenever. But I really enjoy my kids, she's cool too I guess...lol. When I was in college and had no worries I made it 6. Now I appreciate the time I do get on the mat a lot more.
I'm gonna play Devils advocate here. Don't sweat it man... Get in when you can so that you'll actually enjoy it. I work 5-6 days a week, college 2 nights, I have band practice 1 day a week, and my daughter has basketball practice 2 nights a week. So luckily I get to train a couple afternoons and an evening when I can make it.
If you're not gonna do bjj for a living than don't sweat it. You have no responsibility to be there and shouldn't feel like crap for not training if you have a legitimate reason not to go. I used to train 5-6 days a week but hey, look at thay schedule up there..... All of those are responsibilites that absolutely must be taken care of. Except the band practice of course. So I train bjj when I can. It's a hobby so treat it as such and enjoy your time there. Don't worry about all the people training every day when you're not able to. Just have fun!!
44 married twin 3 yr olds...(it's getting easier now) work full time... train 3-4 days/week That 4th day is an open mat on a Sat...I give it up if we have family commitments that can't work around it. Only time I ever missed more than a week for vacation was 8 weeks for meniscus surgery. I never ever think about whether I'm too tired b/c I always want to see my friends and once I'm there I get into the groove.
Here's is what I think is a good recipe for long term success: pick only 2 days/week that will be your regular days. Everything after that is bonus. You can to 6 days/week if you want. However, if your 2 days are Mon and Wed..Then you never skip mon and wed no matter how tired. If you try to do 3-4 days/week but none of them are written in stone, then you will not consistently train over the long term. You will be one of the people who gets really psyched for a while training every day, then you won't be seen for 6 months. Those 2 days, you just go even if you think you only have the energy to just watch. We have one guy who's on crutches, but I tell him just show up to keep it in your schedule. Otherwise you'll never figure out how you had the time to go.
I get to train 2x per week, but I have a very unsupportive wife who absolutely bitches up a storm when I leave. The wife is a stay at home, so I understand she needs a "break" at night. But hey, I just nod and handle the complaining... Then run to class.
Same here so I work full time and have couple kids. Good thing is I can be pretty flexible with my work schedule so I manage to get 3-5 times per week and only one is in the evening so it doesn't take that much time off from family. Usually train in the afternoon.
Rest evenings I try to give my wife to use however she pleases or doing something together. Took me some time to find balance so everyone is happy but luckily my wife is supportive and understands if I don't do sports any kind I might get quite tense.
Maybe sometimes going to training with only couple hours sleep isn't the best idea but for me it helps keeping my balance in life. For some it might be reading or seeing friends but you always need something IMO.
mrgoodarmbar - 44 married twin 3 yr olds...(it's getting easier now) work full time... train 3-4 days/week That 4th day is an open mat on a Sat...I give it up if we have family commitments that can't work around it. Only time I ever missed more than a week for vacation was 8 weeks for meniscus surgery. I never ever think about whether I'm too tired b/c I always want to see my friends and once I'm there I get into the groove.
Here's is what I think is a good recipe for long term success: pick only 2 days/week that will be your regular days. Everything after that is bonus. You can to 6 days/week if you want. However, if your 2 days are Mon and Wed..Then you never skip mon and wed no matter how tired. If you try to do 3-4 days/week but none of them are written in stone, then you will not consistently train over the long term. You will be one of the people who gets really psyched for a while training every day, then you won't be seen for 6 months. Those 2 days, you just go even if you think you only have the energy to just watch. We have one guy who's on crutches, but I tell him just show up to keep it in your schedule. Otherwise you'll never figure out how you had the time to go.
this thread makes me feel better about my situation. Married (estranged) with 4 girls. Full-time job plus I'm on the board of a few organizations.
I consistently go 2 days a week but since I help out with the kids class I'm there for 6 hours a week. My girls are in the kids class, in fact, I joined because of them. This obviously allows me to spend more time with them, be more involved in their lives and also makes me commit to these two days.
I'm trying to find a way to add in another day or two but it's been difficult. Glad to see other people struggle as well!
