Taking part in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training camp is a tough and arduous experience, one which is designed to improve your competence but can easily result in injury. Martial art injuries are not uncommon, often due to overly aggressive sparing or a lack of warming up. Fortunately, most camps will have an on-site physiotherapy clinic with a qualified physiotherapist to assist with prevention and recovery. To help you to prolong your training and minimise the risk of having to visit the physio, this guide will provide practical advise to assist with warming up and cooling down.

Warm Up

Warming up is one of the best ways to prevent injuries as torn muscles and strained ligaments are often due to cold muscles that don't have a lot of elasticity. To warm up you need to work on the principle of moving the muscles and increasing their range of movement gradually. There is no set time for this, but two to five minutes, using dynamic stretches and gentle jogging works well. After this you should begin with basic jiu jitsu drills such as arm bars, shrimping and various rolls in order to loosen up the back and encourage blood flow. The longer the workout the harder you can train, but should you feel any sort of pain you need to follow it up with treatment straight away.

Heat or Ice

Generally when you injure yourself you treat it one of two ways, either by applying a heat source such as a heat pack or by using a cold pack or bag of ice. If you strain a muscle a heat pack works best, it encourages blood flow to the muscle which provides nutrients and the potential for a quicker repair, whilst making the muscle more flexible and less painful. If however you have injured a joint or ligament you'll want a cold pack. This will help to reduce swelling and maintain flexibility around the cartilage. 

Post Workout

After any camp workout your instructor should run a comprehensive cool down routine. However you can always supplement this by following a simple yoga app or by spending some time in a sauna. The steam and heat will help to clean your skin whilst making sure your muscles relax nice and slowly. Just be aware that after a workout you'll be very dehydrated, so drink plenty of fluids before entering the sauna and during your time in there. Supplement this with an electrolyte drink as well to replace lost minerals and salts.