Tapering Your Training To Peak For A Jiu Jitsu Tournament
The end of the calendar year brings about a great deal of tournaments at the local and international level, especially in the No-Gi world of jiu jitsu. It also ushers in the dawn of the gi season, and with that, a lot of planning and preparation for the big tournaments in the year ahead.
When you find yourself ready to peak for a tournament in jiu jitsu, it can be hard to understand what it means to really “peak” and show up at your best. Have you ever trained really hard and diligently for a tournament, only to feel awful on the day you’re there? Did you feel like you did everything right in the gym only to feel like you had zero coordination on the day it counted?
You may have encountered errors in peaking and tapering your training.
Many people talk about peaking, but often times, people just stop training without a plan or actual taper.
I covered this topic in depth on my Substack, and encourage you to read the article there on how to really maximize your peak, how it may differ from weight room tapers and peaks, and where there’s some overlap.
Read the article free here: Tapers and Deloads: Before competition, and general management of your training
About the Author: MARK DISALVO, CSCS
Mark is the founder and owner of DiSalvo Performance Training. He brings over a decade of experience training clients and athletes of all backgrounds and is the strength and conditioning coach to grapplers of all levels and disciplines: from youth to professional and Olympic-level. He is currently a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu himself, with 10 years of experience in the sport. You can read more about him here.
A graduate of Northeastern University, he’s an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Sports Performance Expert with a specialty in combat sports. He’s also a Steve Maxwell Certified Kettlebell Instructor (Levels 1 & 2).