Let’s face it, it sucks when you can’t train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. However, training when sick or unwell is even worse. There’s a couple of reasons for this. The first is that it can worsen your illness and the second is that you can infect your teammates which is pretty selfish.
As a result, it’s not advised. Sadly, we all know someone that still trains regardless of being sick or not. Quite frankly this is disrespectful towards your training partners. Still, it always seems to go on. Here’s why it’s not good to train whilst sick.
Table of Contents
How training BJJ when sick can worsen your illness
At the best of times, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu mats can be pretty dirty. Whilst they should be cleaned regularly, it’s not exactly a clean environment at the best of times. This means you could invite more bacteria into your body or catch something to only further your problems. If you have a weak immune system then this can be even more likely.
One more common issue with training whilst you’re ill is wasting your body’s energy. Typically when you have a cold or flu, your body will feel tired anyway. This is because a lot of your body’s energy is focused on recovery.
So, by training whilst ill, you’ll use lots of energy which can easily worsen your condition. Instead of any energy going to cure your illness, it’s instead of being spent on trying to train. Obviously, BJJ is a very physically exhausting activity so there’s no way to get around this.
How training BJJ when sick can hurt your team mates
Whilst training BJJ can harm yourself and prolong your illness, it can also spread it. For instance, if you have a skin issue such as ring worm then this can spread to others and become very problematic. If a virus enters a gym, it can spread very quickly due to the close proximity of training BJJ. Remember, people will literally sweat on your body so it’s not like it can be avoided.
You could potentially stop training for hundreds of people which is morally questionable if you train whilst you’re knowingly ill. For obvious reasons, this isn’t the right thing to do.
You probably won’t learn much anyway
If you plan on training BJJ whilst ill, the chances are you won’t get much out of it. Whilst it’s selfish to turn up anyway, it’s still not very productive either. For example, there’s a good chance you’ll be too tired to really focus on what’s being taught.
Further, when it comes to sparring you’ll probably suffer in that area. If your brain is tired or distracted then you may not even be able to perform functional moves, let alone new and innovative technique. In other words, missing a week or so to recovery isn’t like you’re going to miss much, and if you do train, the likelihood is you won’t actually get much out of it.
How to improve your BJJ whilst ill
If you’re truly addicted to BJJ – then there is another way. That way is to sit at home, rest, and watch BJJ videos. It’s no secret that you can learn and gain knowledge without training in person. Obviously, this isn’t as good as training in person but is the next good thing.
Thankfully, there’s a number of free BJJ instructional videos these days and good content is easily available. Therefore, you can still learn and digest new ideas without lifting a finger. Just remember, sometimes it pays to slow moves down, rewind and take notes to get the best out of BJJ videos.
Conclusion
Firstly, training BJJ whilst sick can spread illness and diseases which is good for no one. However, even on a selfish level it’s not ideal. If you don’t care about others then you should still avoid training whilst ill. As mentioned, the reason for this is that you can more your own condition worse.
Second, to this, it’s tough to learn and progress whilst ill anyway as your mind and body will probably be too tired and weak to really pay attention. Therefore, it makes sense to avoid training for a while. As the saying goes, the mat will always be there when you return.
