When it comes to hard physical labor, construction trades make the top of the list for careers that can take a serious toll on the human body. Balancing a construction trade with training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu takes a level of commitment, discipline, and dedication rivaled by few other hobby and career combinations.
Nevertheless, there are many benefits of working construction trade to support training BJJ. These include better pay than most entry-level jobs, relatively straightforward paths to career advancement, higher numbers of job opportunities, and the ability to do satisfying, fulfilling work that provides real value to society.
Construction trades demand a level of grit, determination, and toughness not often seen in your typical office job. Similar to pursuing any martial art, training BJJ and working construction is not for the faint-of-heart or those who seek an easy path through life.
The following is a list of 6 tips to help you balance your work in the trades with your time and development on the mats.
While these tips are geared towards those who work in a physical construction trade, they will benefit anyone seeking to balance a professional career with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training or other competitive martial arts.
#1 – Prioritize Your Nutrition on the Job Site
It’s no secret that men who work construction often neglect healthy habits such as eating healthy, and avoiding smoking or excessive alcohol consumption. It’s quite common to see construction workers on their lunch break having a cigarette, eating fast food, drinking sodas, and heading to the bar after work. In fact, there is often an underlying subculture of neglecting health and fitness among men who work hard labor jobs .
While you certainly can’t blame a man for wanting some stress relief and brief escape via smoking or junk food in between running duct-work or hanging sheet-rock, it’s crucial that you avoid these types of behaviors if you plan to train BJJ and work construction.
A lot of guys can get away with these habits for a long time because after work they go relax, have a beer or two, and check-out before the next day’s hard labor.
Unlike an office job, they may get enough physical activity through the course of their work day that these unhealthy patterns don’t catch up to them as rapidly as they would for someone with a more sedentary lifestyle.
However those of us who plan to train after a hard day of working construction will immediately feel the downsides of a fast-food lunch or afternoon cigarette. A hard rolling session puts so much demand on the body that we will acutely notice the effect of every unhealthy choice we make leading up to training.
You will have to go against the grain, be willing to have your coworkers scoff at your grilled-chicken sandwich on whole grain bread washed down with plain water rather than eating a burger, fries, and coke from the nearby fast-food joint.
On the same note, don’t skip lunch just because the rest of you co-workers decides not to take a lunch break. You need to fuel your body for the upcoming practice. Just remember, you have BJJ after work.
#2 – Make Time for Mobility and Strength Training
It’s a well-known cliche that both construction workers and long-time BJJ players have bad backs, jacked-up knees, and tweaked shoulders. While injuries are all but inevitable for men who pursue hard physical activities, the fact of the matter is that proper mobility and strength training, including foam-rolling, stretching, yoga, and weights, can vastly reduce the risk and incidence of injuries associated with physical labor and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training.
Tight muscles and a weak core coupled with poor lifting technique when handling heavy loads places excessive demands on tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues that are both prone to injury and slower to recover.
I’m not recommending full-on powerlifting or bodybuilding routines, however regular stretching, soft-tissue release, and moderate strength-training with proper form will reduce your injury rate, limit nagging aches and pains, and increase your longevity on and off the mats when compared to neglecting these activities altogether.
#3 – Pick Your Training Partners Wisely
Most of us who’ve put a few years on the mat will likely have had an encounter with at least one guy who consistently goes too hard, cranks excessively on questionable submissions, and seems to lose some control when placed in a bad spot.
While there are absolutely benefits to rolling really hard, as a man with a job that requires you to be on your feet or knees most of the day, you simply cannot afford to take the excessive risk of rolling with guys who don’t respect the fact that you literally can’t afford to get injured.
BJJ appeals to all types of people, and there is a good chance that you aren’t in it to train easy and dodge tough rolls. That’s fine. Just remember, tap early, tap often, and don’t be afraid to select training partners you trust not to put their own ego over your safety on the mats.
Over time, you will find the guys who you can safely roll hard with, knowing they aren’t going to crank your neck or slam you when they get frustrated that you are stifling their technique.
#4 – Place a High Value on Your Time After Work
One thing I noticed during my time in the trades was that many construction guys don’t seem to value their time once they are off the clock. Assuming you get off in the late afternoon or early evening after a full work-day, you have a very limited amount of time to train, eat, and get to bed at a reasonable hour.
A lot of guys wrap-up the job and spend an additional 30 minutes or longer chit-chatting or heading out to the bar after work. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to turn down after-work drinks or strategically exit from the post-work chatter after packing up my tools for the day.
It may seem odd or even rude to your coworkers, supervisors, or boss to not socialize after work, however this is a sacrifice you need to consistently make if you want to rack up more time on the mats and less time on the job or at the bar.
#5 – Set Reasonable Expectations for Yourself
One of the most bitter pills that many of use have to swallow in our BJJ journey is the fact that most of us are not going to be world-champions and will not be able to train as often as someone whose entire life is dedicated to BJJ.
The young guys who don’t have a full time job or kids, perhaps coach classes, clean the gym on the side, and spend most of their day training are consistently going to beat us in competition and in class.
Nevertheless, if you are consistently making three or four classes a week, competing once or twice a year locally, and setting aside time for recovery, you will eventually be a formidable presence in any dojo.
Over the long-haul, consistency in training will result in impressive skill. BJJ is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t beat yourself up because you can’t make eight practices a week and compete every month.
In the long run, having a successful construction career alongside a healthy and balanced relationship with BJJ will give you more freedom than the guys who put everything into BJJ and find themselves scraping by just to make ends meet.
#6 – Embrace the Grind
There is a trend in the modern era of seemingly worshipping those whose lives appear easy. Many popular influencers, successful entrepreneurs, and retired tech-workers have built an entire branded subculture devoted the notion of escaping the work-life grind.
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t focus on retirement, develop passive income streams, or strive not work yourself to death until your last breath. That being said, the pursuit of BJJ really does require a nose-to-the-grindstone approach that never ends.
Unlike having money from a passive income stream, big retirement nest-egg, or scaled-automated business, your skills in BJJ begin to dissipate the moment you stop grinding.
Time-off from the mats isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, injuries, vacations, family, and life in general will inevitably require you to reduce your time spent training BJJ.
Nevertheless, after a few weeks to a month off the mats, you will begin losing your edge and eventually get caught up by people who maintain consistent training.
That is, in fact, the beauty of physical pursuits and achievements: you can never escape the need for hard work.
Your BJJ skills will never grow on their own over time unless you keep putting in the effort and time to train. You can’t invest X amount of skill in BJJ and have it passively double with a good market return. The harder you are willing to grind, the better you will be over time.
The old quote from Bruce Lee transcends time:
“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”
In Conclusion: Training BJJ and Working Construction
While there is no denying the difficulty of balancing BJJ training and a construction job, following these 6 tips will allow to progress and excel in BJJ while working demanding physical jobs such as a construction trade.
The skills and time on the mat may in fact improve your longevity in the trades and in life due to the fulfilling nature of BJJ training and the need to prioritize your health and wellness to ensure you can consistently train.
Cheers to the hard grind, and I’ll see you on the mats.
Contributed by Jordan.
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