Hello, y'all!
After watching my young son train BJJ for the last year, I'm hyping myself up to hit the mats, once again.
Long story short, I started in TKD at 13, trained on-and-off in boxing, pankration, BJJ between 18-32, and have been a couch potato for the past 10 years.
Hoping you guys can provide some guidance, advice, etc. in case I end up going back to BJJ...any advice regarding supplements, mindset, etc. will be greatly appreciated.
Just chiming in as I've been thinking about this topic a lot recently.
I think training intensity and success in your older ages depends on a few things.
1)
Have you been athletic all your life?
If you're the person whose never been athletic or whose never really trained to any capacity outside of maybe taking a few walks around the block, than training is going to be A LOT more difficult in your older ages. This is for many reasons, not just purely physiological but mental ones as well.
Training from a young age allows you to REALLY explore your body. To understand how it responds, how it bends, what you can or can't get away with. This can be achieved with literally any sport in a younger age. So long as you have been active from a young age, you SHOULD be just fine to train with great intensity assuming you are intelligently moderating yourself (this isn't age specific either)
TL/DR: If you were never Athletic you will struggle but not necessarily fail. If you were athletic you will have an easier time but not necessarily succeed.
2) If you were athletic, were you consistent?
Consistency is what matters most as there is a point of diminishing returns. Although your body is still able to tap into previously engrained patterns and to proliferate dormant muscle cells built in the past, you won't have the benefit of that same mind muscle connection. Your athletic awareness will be so far gone that you won't have accumulated good habits or cemented that mind muscle connection. Your bone density will also probably be better and you will recover quicker if you have always been athletic. A person who was moderately athletic for longer periods of time will probably be more successful than someone who was way more athletic for a brief period of time.
TL/DR: For training longevity: Being consistently athletic > Being seriously athletic once upon a time
3) Expectations
This isn't specific to older people but it is more pertinent. Do you want to compete? Do you just want to train? Wanna train hard or light? Take a look at all the variables and see what you are most suited to do.
If you're super athletic, are willing to train hard and put the hours in, you probably have a shot of training with greater intensity and competing to some degree. If you're not athletic, never have been, aren't as willing to put in the hours than yea, you probably aren't going to go much further than really light training.
TL/DR: Be realistic about your expectations and plan according to your situation.
4) Dedication
I'd have to say that literally nothing matters if you aren't dedicated enough. You have a lot of catching up to do no matter what martial art. Take me as an example, I want to go back to Judo at 34 and I want to be as good as I possibly can at my age. Judo is probably the least age friendly MA out there. I have only done one solid year of training and gotten my yellow belt in that time. There are 12 year olds who have years more experience than I do. If I'm going to maximize my chances, I have to really go all in (assuming that's what you want). I have to really want to put those hours on the mat to make up for all the lost time.
Also, it doesn't matter how talented or athletic you are if you don't put the time in.
TL/DR: the saying "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" is good for this part.
Conclusion:
Your training age is key. If you're smart, make good choices, adapt your game/training a bit, there is no reason to believe you can't be successful. Just be reasonable about your expectations.
