3/30/26
To begin, my reasons for doing BJJ. I want to learn to defend myself if necessary. I want to lose weight. I want to have discipline and a schedule that I can follow. I want to make friends. I want to have better cardio. I want to know that I can do something difficult. It gives me a place to drive my truck , so I can practice driving.
When I started BJJ it was around 2019. COVID-19 hadn’t appeared yet. I was going to a cross-fit like gym, Bull Ridge to work out and had lost a good 20-30 lbs. I went into Gracie717 and met the good people there, and started training for self defense. When COVID 19 hit , I had to make a difficult decision to stop going to gyms. The people I knew in the gym had COVID at some point and I just couldn’t risk giving it to my family who I lived with. Both of my parents were in their late 60s and my brother is wheelchair bound, and I am his personal assistant and caretaker. They are high risk individuals for contracting and dying from COVID.
Awhile later, when COVID was not as prevalent, I returned to Gracie717 to try to revamp my interest in the sport. I went to a few classes and had a roll with one of the members. I remember I was gi choked out like 5 times before the end of the 5 minutes. I had an ego issue, and that was not a fun experience. I ended up not coming back until this year, 2026. I have a different mindset now. I am trying to learn and be disciplined. I have been walking and lifting weights for a few years, but nothing seems to work for the weight(289 lbs.). It requires me to eat better and do more cardio. We are getting a treadmill for the basement so I do not need to walk in circles anymore down there.
The point is that I am trying to be dedicated and make things a habit/discipline. I have been reading other blogs about BJJ and they really help my mindset for going into the martial art this time. I like the people in the gym and I have fun when I attend classes. Right now, I am doing mainly beginner classes. A couple of the classes I have had some higher belts working with me, and I pretty much gas out before the middle of the class. It has been 2 weeks of doing over 150 minutes of cardio a week. I researched that I need about 8 weeks of 150+ minutes of cardio a week to see significant results with cardio (I know this is probably sort of bunk science, but I need to start somewhere). I do at least 1 class of BJJ and if I can do 2 then I can just do a few days of walking. When I do trail riding, then I need at least 1 day of BJJ. I currently have terrible cardio, so I am trying to do 2 days of BJJ and get it up to 3 days a week when I have the ability to. I am 289 lbs. I weighed 298 at the end of yesterday, which was probably food and water weight.
Today will be my 5th day of BJJ. I am excited to go train.
I am relearning to drive my truck with my mom every day. I don’t know what I would do without her. The plan is to get to the point that I can drive myself to my appointments and the gym. I think when I get to the point I can go over to Gracie717 by myself and back home, then it will be set in stone my training routine. Except for injury days (I can still go in but I probably need to take it easy if I am more majorly injured) .
I have had 2 injuries so far that were minor and have healed up pretty much. One was a bruised muscle on my side from landing on a heel, and the other was doing more push-ups than a 290 lb. out of shape/overweight person can handle, leading to muscle soreness on a high level on my sides/shoulders/upper back. I keep stretching, drinking water, eating protein and resting to recover from the injuries.
I am learning how to not be so rushed and getting injured. I learned to breath through my nose by Andrew, a brown belt, who I trained with and learned from on last Tuesday.
In conclusion, I am making good progress after years of letting my fear hold me back. This year I had a jump start with triking that led to being more active. The weather in March always seems to jump start my activity level and mood. I have quit some bad habits and started/ replaced them with new more sustainable habits.
Dad and Zach on Recumbents 