My second week at North Vancouver BJJ (NVBJJ) is in the books, so I’ve got some more updates for you about how things have been going for me there and what it’s like to train at NVBJJ. Don’t forget to check out my Mode Athletics blog if you want to know what a typical class at NVBJJ is like. And now onto the highlights of my second week there.
Instruction
I absolutely love the quality of instruction offered by NVBJJ. In the two weeks that I’ve been at NVBJJ, I’ve already learned significantly more about side control and north south positions than I learned in a year at my previous BJJ gym. And in case you’re wondering if we just happened to be spending the past two weeks on side control and north south, that’s not the case. I can tell you that we’ve also spent a considerable amount of time on guard passing, butterfly guard, knee on belly, and probably various other positions and techniques that I’m forgetting. So in a nutshell, the quality of instruction offered by NVBJJ is truly incredible.
Break Falls
The most frustrating aspect of BJJ for me is break falls. I’ve never felt comfortable with break falls, and therefore throws have always been an incredibly difficult aspect of BJJ training for me. One reason that I was so excited about training at NVBJJ is that Marc Marins is a black belt in Judo, and Jeff Meszaros is a brown belt in Judo. I figured if it’s possible for me to get comfortable with break falls and being thrown, it would be under the tutelage of two skilled Judo practitioners. I was correct. In the two weeks that I’ve been at NVBJJ, Marc has mentioned several important tips on proper break fall technique that have completely changed how I feel about being thrown. In the past two weeks, I’ve become much more comfortable with my break falls, and the last few times I’ve been thrown, my landings were so unbelievably soft (due to improved break fall technique) that it brought a big smile to my face.
Shark Tank
At the end of the BJJ class this past Sunday, we did a drill that I had never done before at any of the other BJJ gyms I’ve trained at. Marc called the drill the “shark tank”, and it was basically a guard passing drill that was tiring as hell, but also ridiculously fun, not to mention probably the single most effective drill I’ve ever done to work on my guard passing. And I’m not exaggerating about the drill being ridiculously fun. That class on Sunday was one of the most enjoyable workouts, if not the most enjoyable workout, I’ve ever done in my entire life.
Blue Belts
There are a lot of blue belts at NVBJJ — way more than any other BJJ gym I’ve trained at in Vancouver. That means that at most classes, I’m one of the most inexperienced people there (I’m currently a two stripe white belt). At the last couple of BJJ gyms I’ve trained at, the majority of students have been while belts with two or less stripes. That meant that at most classes, I was rolling with people at my skill level, or below it. At North Vancouver BJJ, there are more blue belts than white belts (complete opposite to the previous BJJ gyms I’ve trained at), which means that at most classes, I’m rolling with people above my own skill level, which is a great thing because it helps me improve faster.
Warm-Up
The warm-up at NVBJJ can be pretty brutal. It would be more accurate to call it the “killer workout” portion of the class. Without a doubt, I’m certain that the 20 to 30 minute warm-up at NVBJJ is more intense than the vast majority of full workouts that most people do. Personally, I fear the start of most NVBJJ classes because I know how hard the warm-ups can be, but every single time I’ve finished the warm-up, I’ve felt fantastic and have been extremely glad I did it. So besides being the best place to learn BJJ in Vancouver, I’ve found NVBJJ to also be the best place to do my resistance training and total-body conditioning workouts.
Weight Loss
Since badly tearing the meniscus in my knee in the spring of 2010, and having to wait until mid 2011 for arthroscopic surgery, I ended up gaining about 20 lbs while I pretty much did zero exercise during that period of time. The past two weeks at NVBJJ has been the first consistent exercise I’ve done since my knee surgery, and in the two weeks that I’ve been training at NVBJJ, I’ve already lost 10 lbs. So if you want to lose some weight while having a blast learning one of the most effective martial arts on earth, I encourage you to join NVBJJ.
Rolling With Marc
In the past two weeks, I’ve gotten the opportunity to roll with Marc twice — once during a guard passing drill, and once during open sparring. At many of the BJJ gyms I’ve trained at in the past, the black belt instructors did not roll with students (ever), so it has been extremely fun and exciting to roll with Marc twice in the first two weeks that I’ve been training at NVBJJ. Jeff also regularly rolls with students at NVBJJ, but he’s living and training in Brazil at the moment (and for the next couple of months), so I won’t have the chance to roll with him until he gets back. But it’s very fun and exciting to get to roll with the black belt instructors at NVBJJ, and that has absolutely been one of the highlights of my first two weeks there.
If you’re interested in training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in North Vancouver, check out the North Vancouver BJJ website for more information.
My first week at North Vancouver BJJ (NVBJJ) is in the books, and I figured I’d share some of the highlights with you. Check out my Mode Athletics blog if you want to know what a typical class at NVBJJ is like, and now onto the highlights of my first week there.
Instruction
I’ve been extremely impressed and happy with the quality of instruction offered by NVBJJ. Currently Marc Marins has been running the majority of classes while Jeff Meszaros is living and training in Brazil for a few months. I’ve been thrilled and satisfied with the instruction I’ve been receiving from Marc. He’s a skilled teacher and is great at demonstrating and articulating things in a way that beginners such as myself can understand. He’s also a great guy and is lots of fun to be around and train with.
Community
One of my favourite things about NVBJJ is the great group of people that train there. A common trend during my first week there has been that a vast majority of the existing members of the academy have recognized that I was new, and made a point to come over and introduce themselves and welcome me to NVBJJ. Very cool, and not something that I ever experienced at the majority of other BJJ gyms that I’ve trained at.
Intenisty
The warm-up (yes, warm-up) we did today was one of the most difficult workouts I’ve done in well over a year. In general, the workouts at NVBJJ are very high intensity and extremely tiring (just what I signed up for). Yes, it’s a super-friendly place to train, and the atmosphere is very easy going, but when it’s time to train, the workouts are seriously intense.
Variety
Some gyms that I’ve trained at in the past have done the exact same warm-up every single class. After about a week, it gets boring as hell, and after a few months it gets frustratingly mundane. In my first week at NVBJJ, something I’ve noticed is that the warm-ups are always different. Sometimes they’re just slightly different, and sometimes they’ve been radically different, but either way, the variety really helps keep the workouts interesting.
Safety
I had a pretty bad run of injuries at my previous BJJ gym, so I’ve been very cautious during my first week at NVBJJ. There is an inherent risk when training any martial art, but so far I’ve been very pleased and satisfied with the safety of the classes and the way that Marc emphasizes important details that will keep everyone as safe as possible. For example, at NVBJJ, I’ve already learned safer ways to perform rolls and breakfalls (besides being a black belt in BJJ, Marc is also a black belt in Judo).
Retention
Something I’ve noticed at NVBJJ is that they seem to have a far higher retention rate for members than other BJJ gyms I’ve trained at or visited. At most BJJ gyms I’ve checked out in the past, it seems like the majority of members are new or brand new, and it’s always a revolving door of new people quitting, and brand new people showing up. The membership base at NVBJJ doesn’t have that revolving door feel that I’ve noticed at most BJJ gyms, and I think that’s a great testament to the high quality of instruction and great community at NVBJJ.
Tournaments
I didn’t take up BJJ to participate in tournaments (I’ve never competed at a BJJ tournament and probably never will), but I really enjoy going to BJJ tournaments to support the rest of the members of the BJJ academy that I train at. NVBJJ has a great competition team that competes at most BJJ tournaments in the Lower Mainland, as well as lots of tournaments outside of the Lower Mainland (there’s a group from NVBJJ going to the IBJJF Championship in Los Angeles later this month). So whether you want to compete in BJJ tournaments, or you simply enjoy being involved with the environment and supporting the team, NVBJJ is a great place to train.
Cost
The cost of a membership at NVBJJ is very much inline with what you’d pay to train at most other BJJ gyms in the Lower Mainland (although NVBJJ offers more classes than most gyms), but I was very pleasantly surprised about two pricing aspects of my North Van BJJ membership. First, there was no “initiation fee” at NVBJJ. Those fees have always struck me as completely bogus and I’ve been force to pay them at the last two Vancouver BJJ gyms I trained at (both places charged a $50 “initiation fee”). So no stupid initiation fees at NVBJJ. Also, although a gi (kimono) normally costs $130 at North Van BJJ, new members can buy a gi for $65. Very cool. At my last BJJ gym, the gi cost me nearly $200, so I was delighted to be able to get an awesome NVBJJ gi for $65 (it’s a higher quality gi than the $200 one from my previous academy).
Fun
I’ve had an absolute blast training at NVBJJ for the past week, and ultimately that’s what will keep me coming back. Most of the workouts have been tough as hell, but they’re also fun as hell, and that’s a ridiculously hard combination to find. Usually the harder a workout, the more miserable it becomes, but at NVBJJ, I’ve found that I get exactly what I signed up for: high intensity workouts that I enjoy and look forward to, while also learning the most effective martial art on the planet from the two best instructors in the Lower Mainland.
If you’re interested in training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in North Vancouver, check out the North Vancouver BJJ website for more information.
Excellent article by Shape Magazine on the benefits of circuit training:
Unless fitness is your job, nobody has hours a day to spend in the gym. Circuit training is the perfect workout for the time-crunched fitness fiend.
My big fitness epiphany occurred during a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu workout that I was participating in a couple years ago at Universal MMA. I wrote about it then on my Mode Athletics blog:
Despite the lunch hour BJJ workout being incredibly intense, at one point during the workout I recall saying to Dave (owner of Universal MMA) that “I didn’t know it was possible to have this much fun while working out.” I wasn’t kidding around. It was a serious comment. I had a blast during one of the most intense workouts I’ve ever done.
My big fitness epiphany was that it’s not necessary to force yourself to do boring gym workouts if you don’t enjoy doing boring gym workouts. Find something else that you enjoy instead.
Prior to my discovery of doing BJJ for fun and fitness, I thought it was absolutely necessary to slave away at the gym doing traditional workouts, regardless of whether you enjoyed that type of exercise. BJJ completely changed my perspective on this.
The BJJ workouts I participated in at Universal were by far the most intense workouts of my life, but they were also by far the most fun. That, my friends, is a winning combination that I guarantee will get you in the best shape of your life.
Trying to stick to a workout routine you don’t enjoy is doomed to fail. The secret is creating a workout routine you do enjoy, even if that means thinking outside of the box and taking up some new sports and/or activities for fitness instead of focussing solely on traditional gym workouts.
It’s so ridiculously satisfying to have an intense workout while participating in a sport or activity that you enjoy. If you’re bored with whatever mundane gym workouts you’re currently doing, I highly recommend you look into taking up a sport or activity for fun and fitness.
I created this website for one very simple reason: to answer the question of how to burn fat without exercise. Most people hate exercising therefore they almost never (or just never) exercise. For most people, there is no conceivable way they will ever enjoy exercising, and therefore have no hope in hell of ever exercise even remotely regularly, if at all. I get that.
Normally if someone tells you that you can effectively burn fat without exercising, that’s a red flag that that person is full of shit (fitness infomercials, I’m looking in your direction). I’m not here to tell you that you can burn fat by sitting on your ass watching Seinfeld re-runs. No, my message is that if you find a fitness-relatd activity you enjoy, it won’t feel like exercise. It will feel like recreation and fun.
Two of my own personal examples are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and ice hockey. I’ve done both of those activities in the past to burn fat and get in shape. Both activities are extremely fun, and don’t feel like exercise. They’re just fun things to do that cause me to have a blast while also burning calories. But they certainly don’t feel anything like exercise.
The exercise part of BJJ or hockey is something completely secondary to the part about how much fun it is to do either activity. I choose to take up BJJ and hockey because I was looking for fun things to do that I would enjoy. The fact that each of those activities is also an absolutely phenomenal way to burn calories and get in shape is just a very wonderful bonus.
I want you to discover your own activity like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or ice hockey, or whatever. An activity that gets you really excited, that you look forward to, and that you would do even if it wasn’t great for your health and fitness. By discovering fun ways to be active, you’ll find that exercise doesn’t feel like exercise, and it will be easy to be consistently active and stay in shape. No more dragging yourself do the gym.
The biggest fitness discovery I ever made was realizing that it’s not necessary to force yourself to adhere to a strict schedule of traditional exercise routines in order to be fit and healthy. If you don’t enjoy working out at the gym doing traditional exercise, that’s perfectly fine. Instead of forcing yourself to go to the gym, why not just find a sport or activity you enjoy and do that instead of boring gym workouts.
If you start to enjoy and look forward to your workouts, you’ll be consistently be more active and get more out of the time you spend exercising. If you’re like most people, you’re never going to enjoy traditional gym exercise, so rather than forcing yourself into a workout routine you’re guaranteed to hate, the trick is to find a sport or activity you enjoy, and just do that instead.
Stay tuned to this website and the accompanying YouTube channel where I intend to show you countless different sports and activities that can be done for fitness instead of traditional boring gym workouts.
View Fitness is all about helping people discover fun and enjoyable sports and activities that can be done for fitness instead of traditional gym workouts. If you’re sick of slaving away at the gym doing boring workouts, then View Fitness will help you discover betters ways of staying active, fit, and healthy.
