The OP pretty much says it all, in an extremely roundabout way: this year I’m finishing up a decently extensive graduate program which, among other things, has left me with about thirty pounds more than I used to have. :smack:
(these are the American mcdonalds/heart disease pounds, not the useful British ones. If there’s one thing graduate school has taught me, it’s that the extensive education is a great way to console yourself about being broke.)
Anyway. I have a little free time this year since I’m spending most of it on writing, so I’m trying to whip myself back into shape. As far as necessary background goes I’m in my mid 20s and, while not noticeably overweight, I can easily see myself getting there. I joined the university’s ju jutsu club, which meets for two hours every morning of the week. My question to you all is, considering the occasionally anaerobic qualities of ju jutsu (pausing to change partners, regularly alternating between the acrobatically intense falling role and significantly less taxing throwing role) would I be well advised to also take up something unambiguously aerobic, like regular biking or swimming sessions?
There’s no reason not to bike if you can fit it into your schedule. I used to do JJ and it is a great workout but if you add an aerobic exercise like biking it will increase your endurance and you’ll be better at grappling for it.
Thanks! That’s what I was thinking… well, that and while I understand that lasting weight loss takes time, I’m understandably interested in losing it sooner rather than later (gotta look fit for those job interviews!). My highschool used to hammer us with loads of data about how exercise works during gym, since the admins were uncomfortable with the “lack of stimulation provided by so-called physical education courses” (that’s an actual quote, as literal as I can remember, from our PE teacher :eek: ). The one big thing I remember from that course is that aerobic exercise is most efficient if you get your heart rate up and keep it elevated within a certain window, so I figured biking or something in its ilk would, by definition, be better for endurance because it lacked the ups and downs of JJ. ^^
IIRC the rule of thumb for burning fat is to get your heartrate into your target zone (which varies depending on your age and physical condition) and keep it there for at least 20 minutes (that’s about how long it takes for your body to switch over to using fat for energy). Biking or running or swimming are all great for that.
The exact aerobic benefit of your JJ class will probably depend a lot on how the class is taught - it sounds like you do a lot of throwing and falling, how about groundwork (randori in judo, not sure if there’s a different name in JJ)? I remember that in my (admittedly limited) judo and JJ training I worked up a helluva lot more sweat grappling than doing anything else. In judo it was 4-5 minute rounds, BJJ it was 10 minute rounds (and we’d go for 30 minutes solid, only a few seconds break between rounds to switch partners). Either way I’m sure you’ll develop not only strength but muscle endurance as well.
I took jujutsu for about 3 months. I wish it had been longer but I had to move. It wasn’t long enough to burn a lot of fat, but my endurance increased dramatically. When I started that semester and was moving stuff to my dorm on the second floor, I had to rest for a few minutes between most of the loads. Moving out at the end, I didn’t have to rest once despite having more stuff and I jogged back up the stairs each trip. Man how I wish there were jujutsu classes around here.