I got invited to the morning additional training by the coaches at my Jiu-Jitsu gym. The session starts at 7:15 a.m., and although my body is still sore from yesterday’s double Jiu-Jitsu practice and my mind is glued to my bed, I was motivated to come train with the team. We arranged to meet up at the park to practice sprints, which will help with explosive strength and build endurance while maintaining high intensity.

Today was the first time I practiced sprinting. We started with thorough warmups and stretches targeting the hips, hamstrings, heels, and ankles—basically anything from the waist down—which took around 30 to 40 minutes, building up a good sweat. After the warmups, we did three sprints of around 40 meters, then four sprints of around 100 meters, which was way harder than I thought. The 40-meter sprint was fine; I found the key is to keep your posture straight, chin up, and have a wider pace. As for my first try at the 100-meter sprint, my speed broke down halfway, and I switched to a normal running pace. I was told by my coaches that for the first half, I should have a wider pace, and for the second half, I should lean forward and commit to the sprint (like The Flash pose, haha—I need to look further into that when I continue training sprints).

The whole training session was fun and took around an hour. We sat and talked for a bit, enjoying the morning sun before heading home.

I’m looking forward to more of these sessions again—way better and more motivating than training on my own.