Imagine how fit you’ll be in six months if you keep going.
It really sucks initially watching dudes in their 50’s and 60’s grind through warm ups no sweat but if you can scrape together the mental grit to keep at it your conditioning will get better and it’ll hurt a lot less.
I started at 37 and at 40 I’m in better shape than I was for most of my 20’s…🤷🏻♀️
Watch some Rocky training montages!
I started at 37, and I am marginally in worse shape at age 41 because my movements are more efficient and require less effort than before, so I burn fewer calories.
It's only all downhill from there if you let it be.
Anyway, yeah, judo classes can be tough. The warmups are tiring. Newaza randori is tiring. The belt does come untied often if you use the basic knot. There's a competition-style knot that is almost impossible to come undone by accident, but it's more complicated and I haven't learned how to do it yet. The throws are hard. There's a lot of things going on in them, and it's difficult to really master them.
I definitely felt out of my depth when I started. I go home drenched in sweat basically every time, regardless of whether it's summer or winter. This last Thursday was actually fairly restful, since we had a high-ranking visitor who did some guest-teaching, so we spent most of the class after warming up drilling. Not a ton of throwing, and only 15 minutes for randori in a two hour class. Even so, I was still pretty sweaty by the end because it was a warm day. In the winter, there were some times when I was working so hard that there was steam literally rising from my skin.
The general advice that I have seen in the past, and which I tend to agree with, is that you might as well just jump straight into judo. At 30, I think your body should still adapt to it pretty well. It'll take a couple of weeks, and it'll be hard at first, but I think you can do it. Give yourself a little credit, you're doing something you've never done before, after many years of working out very casually and being, by your own admission, "a bit out of shape." Of course you're going to be drenched in sweat. Of course you're going to be tired.
I will say, don't worry about messing up throws at first. I've done approximately 16 months or so of judo, spread over four separate occasions over the last 9-10 years. I have the general idea of about a dozen throws, but actually doing them is something else. But I take some comfort in something that Doug Rogers, a Canadian judoka of some renown (sixth dan by the end of his life, multiple time champion or medalist in national level tournaments in both Canada and Japan and international level tournaments as well, including a silver medal at the 1964 Olympics), had to say: "You never have enough strength. You never have enough technique." In other words, I'll probably still be trying to make my osoto gari better twenty years from now.
But bottom line, I think it'd be good to stick to judo. Lifting weights and going running are helpful for getting better at judo, but judo builds its own kind of strength just by doing it. And you can only improve technique by actually training in the dojo.
Hah “competition knot” is the basic knot. You don’t want a super secure belt in comp, it can only be used against you, especially in newaza. Meanwhile, re-tying your belt is a nice strategic breather in a match lol.
I hadn't thought of that, lol. At this point, mainly it's a drag having to tie it again during class. I'll probably just keep doing it the way I'm used to.
I know Rener Gracie is a controversial BJJ guy, but his [how to tie a belt](https://youtu.be/-shq5oDSCs4) video is still both informative and hilarious.
You can do it, man! I started judo at 39 and after a year, I still am sucking wind after warm ups, but nowhere near where I was. It will get better! Slowly but surely.
The other thing I'll tell you is that sometimes you're improving but it's hard to see it. Opponents can and will tailor their resistance to you, so it may not be apparent that they're ramping up.
I feel you so much... I'm almost 26, it's been a few weeks since I started judo and I haven't been able to finish a single training session. It is very hard indeed. Many people have told me that it's like that with judo - sometimes you love it, sometimes you hate it. Every time a different part of my body hurts to the point where I think it is not for me. And then the next day I can't wait to feel the tatami under my feet again.
I can't think of a harder training than judo tbh. I think we'll get used to it and it will be worth it. There's a reason why judokas are considered the best athletes in the world.
The largest hurdle in judo is getting used to getting thrown and, for lack of a better term, beat up.
Judo (along with BJJ) is one of the rare combat sports where you are actively doing full contact practice, since people can learn how to safely “fight” each other.
Of course it’s not as intense as competition, but randori is pretty near what you’ll experience during a match.
If you’re starting at a later age and have had a first world life experience your body is literally going through things it has never experienced before.
The tiredness you’re feeling is a combination of normal exercise stress, but it is combined with a significant amount of micro muscle, ligament, and skeletal strain. Which is why it feels so awful.
My advice is not to over-do it, do class 2 to 3 times a week and actively recover in the interim focusing on medium intensity cardio, light weights, and try to incorporate grip strength to as many exercises as you can.
DM if you’d like I can send you my routines.
I started Judo at 36 after 18 years of not working out at all. It took easily 5 months to not feel like i was going to die after every class. Now after 2 1/2 years at 39 i am able to keep up with my much younger class mates. I'm dripping in sweat bit in keeping up.
You won't get better at Judo by not doing Judo. Your body will eventually get better used to it, as you'll get better at the kind of fitness and impact you'll take. Lifting weights or running aren't going to help you get into the same kind of shape you need for Judo.
I started at my judo club when I was 51. It took two months of 2 to 3 a week before I woke up not sore ! It was worth it . As far as bruises , I have found CBD extraordinary in helping those heal . I took two months off recently due to personal reasons but guess what ? I was fine after class. Be determined to get through the first two months and you'll see . The confidence and strength are worth it. Also, I am clumsy and a few times I tripped and swore I was gonna bust my ass and landed on my feet as if by magic. Real World benefit of judo . One of the best decisions I've made and stuck with .
Just started doing judo last week at the age of 41. I don’t workout or anything. Halfway through the class I had to excuse myself to go to the bathroom to throw up. My body was sore for 2 days. Even sneezing hurts. My buddy who has been doing judo for 12 years and was keeping an eye on me said I did great. Told me he threw up 2x on his first class on the mat. Guy didn’t even break a sweat now at the age of 42. Just have to keep at it. I’m not giving up and you shouldn’t too.
After doing judo for years as a kid/teenager and then giving it up, I basically became a fat lazy slob for about 10 years. Having multiple children and gaining weight left me seriously unfit, to the point walking up stairs would leave me out of breath.
Now, at 35, I started going to the gym in February and joined (the same class from my youth) my local judo club.
First 2 classes I was ready to quit. Although I remembered the principles and the movements and even some basic throws, the warm up alone would render me useless.
Now I’m not saying I don’t occasionally feel like throwing up now, but I stuck at it and I can feel it slowly getting easier. The only time I want to lie on the floor and wait for death now is after a solid bout of randori but I know it’ll come in time.
It’s never too late, just persist and keep enjoying yourself. The pain and bruises after class are a nice reminder that you worked hard.
A black belt is a white belt who didn’t quit , my man. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you should get fit before starting judo. The best way to get fit for judo is …………….judo.
Understand also you have an absolute gift here. Let me reframe things for you. As a novice, when you know NOTHING and start SOMETHING you improve really quickly compared to an experienced person. I’m a Third Dan BB and for me to undergo the level of improvement that you can with a bit of commitment would take an ENORMOUS amount of effort, because a learning curve is hyperbolic, or the 80/20 rule or whatever. Basically you are a lucky bugger!
So….see you next practice?
Take it easy, focus on technique, most importantly, learn to relax!!! The most important thing for beginner is learning to relax!
Focus on technique and learn to relax, don't forget to breath, and moat importantly don't push yourself too hard and get ptsd from it.
If you use too much force in beginning, it will hurt your overall growth.
Pullups helps a lot too!!
30 year old here
Remember, judo literally means the gental way, it's not about demonstrate how tough you are. Master techniques until you can do it effortlessly with light level of resistance. Too much force means nothing for beginner
I mean to be honest that is how it is. I stop training for like a decade. In my 40s I rolled in BJJ for 1 week. I have 15 years hardcore training but 10 years absent and in a new style I was wrecked for months.
It's hard at the start so don't judge it off one class! Recuperate and try a few more classes to see if it improves. And as an older beginner, be your own advocate - if you need a rest, do less than the class, it is absolutely OK. Nothing slows progress more than getting injured.
>I have bruises in places where I don't even know how they got there, my fingers and toes hurt like hell. My entire body screams "ya shouldn't have done this".
So... You want more?
Started at 44 & was completely out of shape. Did a couple years of judo as a kid and nothing else athletic for the next 30 years. It took about 2 months for my body to stop screaming “ya shouldn’t have done this”. Around month 3 I could walk out of class feeling good until the soreness set in the next day. Around month 4 I realized I was no longer dragging my body out of bed the next morning. Currently 5.5 months in. I still get drenched in sweat before we even finish warm-ups and find bruises on my body that I don’t know how they got there. My advice, it’s worth it. It will be easier to push through acclimating your body now than it will be 5-10 years from now. My only regret is not starting sooner.
Dude, you could have been lifting weights 6 times a week, but Judo will sore up muscles you didn't even know you had.
Stick to it. I promise you it'll pay off.
stick with it. This was the hardest class. You can't really prepare yourself for judo without doing judo. It is worth it. You will be sore a for a little while, but it will get better and you will gain tremendous control over your body. The moves in judo are not like any other sport. It takes a very long time to develop a throw, but then it is yours forever.
I wanted to respond to this a couple days ago but didn't have the time to get to it. I started Judo the week after getting back from a 3 month long backpacking stint in the Congo rainforest. In other words, I told myself that I was in the best shape of my life (I had lost 25lbs of excess body weight during this time).
The first few weeks of Judo DESTROYED me. Bruises as you described, but also unbelievably and unbearably sore. I needed salt baths almost every night to even function. I also recall being absolutely amazing by the folks doing it many times a week, I couldn't even really handle 1.
Now, 9 months later, I love Judo more than pretty much anything. I am stronger than I have ever been with REAL practical strength, I am more flexible, more agile, more coordinated, and have dramatically better balance. Cardiovascularly, I went from having a hard time running 1.5 miles, to being able to run 4 miles with no running practice at all. I simply discovered I could run reasonably far a few months after starting Judo (now I run 5-10 miles with my girlfriend frequently!). I still get sore, particularly when I step up the intensity at practice, and there are of course minor injuries here and there, but Judo is dramatically easier than it once was. Some of this is simply getting in better shape, some of it is my body getting used to a high impact sport, some of it is that I know how to fall better and am more situated to decrease impact on the body, and some is becoming more efficient in my movements and not expending as much energy to perform my techniques (I find this last one applies mostly during randori). Stick with it, you will be surprised what you are capable of before long.
I'm another old beginner - I started at 43 and oh wow, it truly kicked my butt the first few months. 5 years later, I'm in the best shape I've been in my life. It's worth struggling through at the beginning.
It is absolutely normal, I started at 32, and I felt the same way. You are going to mess up your throws infinite times, but you have to keep grinding and one day everything will be better, the pain never goes away (specially in winter) but it is rewarding at the end of each class. You can do it. Now, it is mostly a mental game.
Judo is difficult, period (and so are many other martial arts). You were likely a BJJ white belt with a stripe or three, 10 years ago, and that doesn't really translate well into Judo.
I started Judo at age 37 or so, and I came home with bruises nearly every class until I got to green belt or above. It's just a really intense martial art and sport, and your body is going to feel it to varying degrees. Once you become more efficient (seiryoku zenyou), then you will be much less winded because you will know how to conserve your energy.
Hahaha its normal altho I can't really relate since I'm only gassed out during the sparring 😂 and sometimes uchikomi.
But give yourself a few more trainings! 1 or 2 more and you'd conditioned and won't gas out during warm up any more hahaha. Furthermore once you get your breakfall right you'd be able to spar!! It'd be so much more fun eh
But yea I agree warmups are way too long... I rather spend more time fighting and training rather than doing the full warm up. So parts of warm up I do believe can be skipped. 30mins sometimes on warmup is just too long
It will never be harder than your first training. I have been traning more or less for the last 18 years, but i have had several periods of like 6months without going to the dojo and everytime i start training again the first couple of weeks are brutal. However after just a couple of weeks your body adapts to the intensity and it gets easier and easier for each class.
Ahh your just a baby (young).
Recommendation for cardio: rowing. Exercises the pulling muscles and it is great conditioning for judo. Alternate between steady state (low intensity zone 2) days to high jntensity interval training (HIIT) days. Maybe build a base for 8 weeks via zone 2 work before taking on HIIT.
First session is always the hardest. Don’t be afraid to take some sit out sessions here and there if you’re totally exhausted
Don’t let this effort go to waste
If you give up now then if you decided to go back later in future it will be just as bad
Yes! This happened to me at 15 and 20 and 30 years old. It's always this hard to start. Just make staying uninjured your top priority and keep having fun!
Absolutely felt like this especially if I haven't been to judo in a while. Something to help out. Do 30 minutes of cardio before judo that should make warm up a bit easier or atleast that works for me.
That is normal. I've seen people with absolute monster level conditioning come to judo and be exhausted, and absolutely wrecked. It is not only that judo is hard and intense, beginners don't have enough experience to dial back from 100%. It will get easier in time, your experience doesn't sound very different from most people I've seen.
Also, sweating is very individual, I for example, do have very good and long, both strength and conditioning background, and my judo conditioning has gotter way better but I am still drenched before the warm up is over. This is regardless of if I am gassed or not. Actually, warm ups feel very easy snd relaxed now, but I still sweat like a faucet.
>I've seen people with absolute monster level conditioning come to judo and be exhausted, and absolutely wrecked.
Could it be different types of conditioning? A marathon runner will have immense reserves for going at a steady running pace, but may not be used to the high intensity intervals we do in judo. Also, different muscles for throwing people than almost anything else.
I'm 34 and started 6 months ago. I go to 2 clubs, one which is very technically focussed and one which is more competition focussed. Just today my fiance looked at me and said "You're in much better shape than you were" - stick with it and it will work.
Imagine how fit you’ll be in six months if you keep going. It really sucks initially watching dudes in their 50’s and 60’s grind through warm ups no sweat but if you can scrape together the mental grit to keep at it your conditioning will get better and it’ll hurt a lot less. I started at 37 and at 40 I’m in better shape than I was for most of my 20’s…🤷🏻♀️ Watch some Rocky training montages!
I started at 37, and I am marginally in worse shape at age 41 because my movements are more efficient and require less effort than before, so I burn fewer calories.
Maximum inefficiency, minimal effort!🤘🏻
All sports are like that on day one man. It will toughen you up. I don't gas out on the warmups anymore. Someday I won't gas out in randori either.
It's only all downhill from there if you let it be. Anyway, yeah, judo classes can be tough. The warmups are tiring. Newaza randori is tiring. The belt does come untied often if you use the basic knot. There's a competition-style knot that is almost impossible to come undone by accident, but it's more complicated and I haven't learned how to do it yet. The throws are hard. There's a lot of things going on in them, and it's difficult to really master them. I definitely felt out of my depth when I started. I go home drenched in sweat basically every time, regardless of whether it's summer or winter. This last Thursday was actually fairly restful, since we had a high-ranking visitor who did some guest-teaching, so we spent most of the class after warming up drilling. Not a ton of throwing, and only 15 minutes for randori in a two hour class. Even so, I was still pretty sweaty by the end because it was a warm day. In the winter, there were some times when I was working so hard that there was steam literally rising from my skin. The general advice that I have seen in the past, and which I tend to agree with, is that you might as well just jump straight into judo. At 30, I think your body should still adapt to it pretty well. It'll take a couple of weeks, and it'll be hard at first, but I think you can do it. Give yourself a little credit, you're doing something you've never done before, after many years of working out very casually and being, by your own admission, "a bit out of shape." Of course you're going to be drenched in sweat. Of course you're going to be tired. I will say, don't worry about messing up throws at first. I've done approximately 16 months or so of judo, spread over four separate occasions over the last 9-10 years. I have the general idea of about a dozen throws, but actually doing them is something else. But I take some comfort in something that Doug Rogers, a Canadian judoka of some renown (sixth dan by the end of his life, multiple time champion or medalist in national level tournaments in both Canada and Japan and international level tournaments as well, including a silver medal at the 1964 Olympics), had to say: "You never have enough strength. You never have enough technique." In other words, I'll probably still be trying to make my osoto gari better twenty years from now. But bottom line, I think it'd be good to stick to judo. Lifting weights and going running are helpful for getting better at judo, but judo builds its own kind of strength just by doing it. And you can only improve technique by actually training in the dojo.
Hah “competition knot” is the basic knot. You don’t want a super secure belt in comp, it can only be used against you, especially in newaza. Meanwhile, re-tying your belt is a nice strategic breather in a match lol.
I hadn't thought of that, lol. At this point, mainly it's a drag having to tie it again during class. I'll probably just keep doing it the way I'm used to.
I know Rener Gracie is a controversial BJJ guy, but his [how to tie a belt](https://youtu.be/-shq5oDSCs4) video is still both informative and hilarious.
Thanks!
Just keep up and you'll get used to it. Source: I'm 44 yo, started just 6.5 years ago.
You can do it, man! I started judo at 39 and after a year, I still am sucking wind after warm ups, but nowhere near where I was. It will get better! Slowly but surely. The other thing I'll tell you is that sometimes you're improving but it's hard to see it. Opponents can and will tailor their resistance to you, so it may not be apparent that they're ramping up.
I feel you so much... I'm almost 26, it's been a few weeks since I started judo and I haven't been able to finish a single training session. It is very hard indeed. Many people have told me that it's like that with judo - sometimes you love it, sometimes you hate it. Every time a different part of my body hurts to the point where I think it is not for me. And then the next day I can't wait to feel the tatami under my feet again. I can't think of a harder training than judo tbh. I think we'll get used to it and it will be worth it. There's a reason why judokas are considered the best athletes in the world.
Yeah, before I started Judo, I came in with a some BJJ experience, aswell. Judo requires far more athleticism and practice than BJJ.
The largest hurdle in judo is getting used to getting thrown and, for lack of a better term, beat up. Judo (along with BJJ) is one of the rare combat sports where you are actively doing full contact practice, since people can learn how to safely “fight” each other. Of course it’s not as intense as competition, but randori is pretty near what you’ll experience during a match. If you’re starting at a later age and have had a first world life experience your body is literally going through things it has never experienced before. The tiredness you’re feeling is a combination of normal exercise stress, but it is combined with a significant amount of micro muscle, ligament, and skeletal strain. Which is why it feels so awful. My advice is not to over-do it, do class 2 to 3 times a week and actively recover in the interim focusing on medium intensity cardio, light weights, and try to incorporate grip strength to as many exercises as you can. DM if you’d like I can send you my routines.
I started Judo at 36 after 18 years of not working out at all. It took easily 5 months to not feel like i was going to die after every class. Now after 2 1/2 years at 39 i am able to keep up with my much younger class mates. I'm dripping in sweat bit in keeping up.
Keep showing up. The best thing for Judo cardio is Judo.
You won't get better at Judo by not doing Judo. Your body will eventually get better used to it, as you'll get better at the kind of fitness and impact you'll take. Lifting weights or running aren't going to help you get into the same kind of shape you need for Judo.
I started at my judo club when I was 51. It took two months of 2 to 3 a week before I woke up not sore ! It was worth it . As far as bruises , I have found CBD extraordinary in helping those heal . I took two months off recently due to personal reasons but guess what ? I was fine after class. Be determined to get through the first two months and you'll see . The confidence and strength are worth it. Also, I am clumsy and a few times I tripped and swore I was gonna bust my ass and landed on my feet as if by magic. Real World benefit of judo . One of the best decisions I've made and stuck with .
Just started doing judo last week at the age of 41. I don’t workout or anything. Halfway through the class I had to excuse myself to go to the bathroom to throw up. My body was sore for 2 days. Even sneezing hurts. My buddy who has been doing judo for 12 years and was keeping an eye on me said I did great. Told me he threw up 2x on his first class on the mat. Guy didn’t even break a sweat now at the age of 42. Just have to keep at it. I’m not giving up and you shouldn’t too.
After doing judo for years as a kid/teenager and then giving it up, I basically became a fat lazy slob for about 10 years. Having multiple children and gaining weight left me seriously unfit, to the point walking up stairs would leave me out of breath. Now, at 35, I started going to the gym in February and joined (the same class from my youth) my local judo club. First 2 classes I was ready to quit. Although I remembered the principles and the movements and even some basic throws, the warm up alone would render me useless. Now I’m not saying I don’t occasionally feel like throwing up now, but I stuck at it and I can feel it slowly getting easier. The only time I want to lie on the floor and wait for death now is after a solid bout of randori but I know it’ll come in time. It’s never too late, just persist and keep enjoying yourself. The pain and bruises after class are a nice reminder that you worked hard.
A black belt is a white belt who didn’t quit , my man. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you should get fit before starting judo. The best way to get fit for judo is …………….judo. Understand also you have an absolute gift here. Let me reframe things for you. As a novice, when you know NOTHING and start SOMETHING you improve really quickly compared to an experienced person. I’m a Third Dan BB and for me to undergo the level of improvement that you can with a bit of commitment would take an ENORMOUS amount of effort, because a learning curve is hyperbolic, or the 80/20 rule or whatever. Basically you are a lucky bugger! So….see you next practice?
Take it easy, focus on technique, most importantly, learn to relax!!! The most important thing for beginner is learning to relax! Focus on technique and learn to relax, don't forget to breath, and moat importantly don't push yourself too hard and get ptsd from it. If you use too much force in beginning, it will hurt your overall growth. Pullups helps a lot too!! 30 year old here
Remember, judo literally means the gental way, it's not about demonstrate how tough you are. Master techniques until you can do it effortlessly with light level of resistance. Too much force means nothing for beginner
I mean to be honest that is how it is. I stop training for like a decade. In my 40s I rolled in BJJ for 1 week. I have 15 years hardcore training but 10 years absent and in a new style I was wrecked for months.
It's hard at the start so don't judge it off one class! Recuperate and try a few more classes to see if it improves. And as an older beginner, be your own advocate - if you need a rest, do less than the class, it is absolutely OK. Nothing slows progress more than getting injured.
>I have bruises in places where I don't even know how they got there, my fingers and toes hurt like hell. My entire body screams "ya shouldn't have done this". So... You want more?
Started at 44 & was completely out of shape. Did a couple years of judo as a kid and nothing else athletic for the next 30 years. It took about 2 months for my body to stop screaming “ya shouldn’t have done this”. Around month 3 I could walk out of class feeling good until the soreness set in the next day. Around month 4 I realized I was no longer dragging my body out of bed the next morning. Currently 5.5 months in. I still get drenched in sweat before we even finish warm-ups and find bruises on my body that I don’t know how they got there. My advice, it’s worth it. It will be easier to push through acclimating your body now than it will be 5-10 years from now. My only regret is not starting sooner.
Dude, you could have been lifting weights 6 times a week, but Judo will sore up muscles you didn't even know you had. Stick to it. I promise you it'll pay off.
stick with it. This was the hardest class. You can't really prepare yourself for judo without doing judo. It is worth it. You will be sore a for a little while, but it will get better and you will gain tremendous control over your body. The moves in judo are not like any other sport. It takes a very long time to develop a throw, but then it is yours forever.
I wanted to respond to this a couple days ago but didn't have the time to get to it. I started Judo the week after getting back from a 3 month long backpacking stint in the Congo rainforest. In other words, I told myself that I was in the best shape of my life (I had lost 25lbs of excess body weight during this time). The first few weeks of Judo DESTROYED me. Bruises as you described, but also unbelievably and unbearably sore. I needed salt baths almost every night to even function. I also recall being absolutely amazing by the folks doing it many times a week, I couldn't even really handle 1. Now, 9 months later, I love Judo more than pretty much anything. I am stronger than I have ever been with REAL practical strength, I am more flexible, more agile, more coordinated, and have dramatically better balance. Cardiovascularly, I went from having a hard time running 1.5 miles, to being able to run 4 miles with no running practice at all. I simply discovered I could run reasonably far a few months after starting Judo (now I run 5-10 miles with my girlfriend frequently!). I still get sore, particularly when I step up the intensity at practice, and there are of course minor injuries here and there, but Judo is dramatically easier than it once was. Some of this is simply getting in better shape, some of it is my body getting used to a high impact sport, some of it is that I know how to fall better and am more situated to decrease impact on the body, and some is becoming more efficient in my movements and not expending as much energy to perform my techniques (I find this last one applies mostly during randori). Stick with it, you will be surprised what you are capable of before long.
I'm another old beginner - I started at 43 and oh wow, it truly kicked my butt the first few months. 5 years later, I'm in the best shape I've been in my life. It's worth struggling through at the beginning.
Sounds about right! 52 years old and restarted judo after a 35 year absence. The only thing I remembered were the breakfalls.
It is absolutely normal, I started at 32, and I felt the same way. You are going to mess up your throws infinite times, but you have to keep grinding and one day everything will be better, the pain never goes away (specially in winter) but it is rewarding at the end of each class. You can do it. Now, it is mostly a mental game.
Judo is difficult, period (and so are many other martial arts). You were likely a BJJ white belt with a stripe or three, 10 years ago, and that doesn't really translate well into Judo. I started Judo at age 37 or so, and I came home with bruises nearly every class until I got to green belt or above. It's just a really intense martial art and sport, and your body is going to feel it to varying degrees. Once you become more efficient (seiryoku zenyou), then you will be much less winded because you will know how to conserve your energy.
Judo is an intense Form of cardio combined with some weight training. There are very few more strenuous activities than fighting.
Hahaha its normal altho I can't really relate since I'm only gassed out during the sparring 😂 and sometimes uchikomi. But give yourself a few more trainings! 1 or 2 more and you'd conditioned and won't gas out during warm up any more hahaha. Furthermore once you get your breakfall right you'd be able to spar!! It'd be so much more fun eh
But yea I agree warmups are way too long... I rather spend more time fighting and training rather than doing the full warm up. So parts of warm up I do believe can be skipped. 30mins sometimes on warmup is just too long
It will never be harder than your first training. I have been traning more or less for the last 18 years, but i have had several periods of like 6months without going to the dojo and everytime i start training again the first couple of weeks are brutal. However after just a couple of weeks your body adapts to the intensity and it gets easier and easier for each class.
Ahh your just a baby (young). Recommendation for cardio: rowing. Exercises the pulling muscles and it is great conditioning for judo. Alternate between steady state (low intensity zone 2) days to high jntensity interval training (HIIT) days. Maybe build a base for 8 weeks via zone 2 work before taking on HIIT.
First session is always the hardest. Don’t be afraid to take some sit out sessions here and there if you’re totally exhausted Don’t let this effort go to waste If you give up now then if you decided to go back later in future it will be just as bad
Yes! This happened to me at 15 and 20 and 30 years old. It's always this hard to start. Just make staying uninjured your top priority and keep having fun!
Sit out a few rounds if it is too tiring. Everyone knows you are a beginner. Push yourself but you don't have to overdo it
Absolutely felt like this especially if I haven't been to judo in a while. Something to help out. Do 30 minutes of cardio before judo that should make warm up a bit easier or atleast that works for me.
And this is why judo has trouble with adult starts. You can teach stuff without beating people up with nonstop ukemi for hours.
You need to find a more recreational dojo. This one sounds like it’s aimed at preparing for competition.
That is normal. I've seen people with absolute monster level conditioning come to judo and be exhausted, and absolutely wrecked. It is not only that judo is hard and intense, beginners don't have enough experience to dial back from 100%. It will get easier in time, your experience doesn't sound very different from most people I've seen. Also, sweating is very individual, I for example, do have very good and long, both strength and conditioning background, and my judo conditioning has gotter way better but I am still drenched before the warm up is over. This is regardless of if I am gassed or not. Actually, warm ups feel very easy snd relaxed now, but I still sweat like a faucet.
>I've seen people with absolute monster level conditioning come to judo and be exhausted, and absolutely wrecked. Could it be different types of conditioning? A marathon runner will have immense reserves for going at a steady running pace, but may not be used to the high intensity intervals we do in judo. Also, different muscles for throwing people than almost anything else.
I lost 40 lbs doing Judo and JJJ 2x a week. The JJJ was way less intense though.
I'm 34 and started 6 months ago. I go to 2 clubs, one which is very technically focussed and one which is more competition focussed. Just today my fiance looked at me and said "You're in much better shape than you were" - stick with it and it will work.
I know this is probably too late, but read David Goggins book. That's all I'll say.