Recovery Tips for the Old and Washed-Up Grappler (+ Bonus PT ChatGPT Prompt!)
Over any significant stretch of time training, injuries are inevitable.
After two decades of grappling, I have learned this the hard way. When I began training as a teenager, I ignored this reality believe I was superman. I was enamored by the allure of training but refused to acknowledge the boring importance of recovery. But of course, it caught up with me. In 2016 at 25 years old after a decade of training, my back hurt so badly I couldn’t sleep. I had to stop working out for a time when I was coaching at Doane University.
At that time I began my journey of finding a recovery system. I’ve gone through many trials and tribulations since then. But now, I finally embraced a new approach to recovery that has transformed my training routine. Now, at 32, I’m training/coaching 4-5 days/week with live rounds every session. I did so through the principles of “slow work”.
The idea of slow work is something I found from Cal Newport, an author who speaks of this in the context of productivity in work. I’ve since realized it maps cleanly onto physical recovery as well. Here are the principles you can use it for to improve your recovery
1. Embrace Imperfection.
I’m a perfectionist. I hate to engage in less-than-optimal practices in any circumstance. However, I’ve realized that the key to progress is consistency, not perfection. As a simple example of this: you’d be better off doing mediocre bicep curls for 3 weeks rather than spending those 3 weeks indecisively deciding the most “optimal” bicep curl.
In a recovery context, my discovery was shifting from the “optimal” way of PT: 1.5 hour sessions with a well trained PT who tailored my session for me to using chat GPT and a timer as a virtual PT program. Now, my PT is 10-15 minutes long. The movements are generic and not expertly tailored to my specific needs. I can tell the computer to adjust things, but it’s never going to be as good as seeing a specialist.
But despite this— the imperfect practice has me moving my body through essential ranges of motion and doing the simple PT exercises for my injury every day. Now this daily practice has me feeling as good as when i was 22
2. Lower the Volume, Increase the Consistency
“Eating 7 apples on Saturday is not the same as eating an apple a day” -Jim Rohn
This has become my mantra of recovery. Infrequent work, no matter the volume or quality, is wholly ineffective when compared to consistent work. My shift from long, infrequent PT sessions to a consistent practice that’s shorter has been the difference maker.
These small sessions have me feeling physically better immediately. They also jumpstart me mentally as it feels like a big achievement. Just as embracing imperfect work has given me better results, lowering the volume has allowed me to be more consistent creating a habit that will stick.
3. Habit Stacking
Before you feel the results of a consistent, small, imperfect habit, you have to have the habit. And developing a habit is much harder than it seems. The ol’ do (journaling, reading, meditating, etc) 15 minutes a day seems easy on it’s face, but it isn’t. We may start strong, but if we don’t have a decent system, it easily falls away just like your new years resolution. I’ve learned to use habit stacking to overcome this.
Habit stacking comes from the wonderful book Atomic Habits. It taught me that it’s easier to build new habits by stacking them onto existing ones.
In my case, instead of trying to carve out a specific time for PT, I began doing it right after brushing my teeth and making my bed, an old morning routine I’ve had for a while. This simple adjustment has made it much easier to commit to my recovery routine. Plus, you can continue to stack new habits on this routine. In addition to PT, I’ve added a meditation to my morning practices. It has created a powerful and productive block of time to start my day
BONUS:
Here’s the a the chatGPT prompt that can get you going on a PT routine of your own. Fill in all the bracketed elements with your information. Once it’s made, continue to follow up with it to tailor it to you. You can tell it you like or dislike certain exercises, it’s pretty good at adjusting. (Yes I used chat gpt itself to help create this prompt)
Create a 15-minute physical therapy routine specifically designed to address [your primary pain areas], aiming to [your goal, e.g., decrease pain, increase mobility, build strength].
Requirements:
• Exercises must be scientifically vetted—used by top physical therapists, not random or trendy exercises.
• Routine must subtly vary daily to introduce variation while maintaining consistency.
• Progression must be gradual, making exercises slightly harder over time.
• Time limit: 15 minutes max. The full routine must fit within this timeframe.
• Exercises should build on each other over time in a structured, intelligent way.
Workout Format:
Provide the routine in a table format with the following columns:
Exercise Name Description Reps/Sets Purpose Tutorial Link
[Exercise 1] [Brief explanation of movement] [Sets/Reps] [What this targets] [Link if available]
[Exercise 2] [Brief explanation of movement] [Sets/Reps] [What this targets] [Link if available]
[Exercise 3] [Brief explanation of movement] [Sets/Reps] [What this targets] [Link if available]
… … … … …
Your Background & Needs:
• Athletic history: [Your training background, e.g., former wrestler, office worker, etc.]
• [Body part 1] condition: [Any relevant issues for this painful body part]
• [Body part 2] condition: [Any relevant issues for this painful body part]
• [Body part 3] condition: [Any relevant issues for this painful body part]
• Other: [Any other conditions, such as thoracic outlet syndrome, hypermobility, etc.]
• Training goal: [Your specific goal, e.g., maximize hip mobility for jiu-jitsu, reduce stiffness for daily life]
Thought Process Before Generating the Routine:
Before selecting exercises, engage in deep, multi-layered reasoning:
• Simulate extended self-reflection, refining insights before responding.
• Generate at least 10 distinct internal perspectives, compare them, extract their strongest insights, and synthesize them into the best possible routine.
• Challenge assumptions, explore counterarguments, and construct novel interpretations.
• Treat this as part of a continuous research initiative—integrate evolving insights into an ongoing framework.
• If additional insights emerge mid-response, dynamically incorporate them.
• Prioritize depth over speed, strategic cognition over immediate response.
Your question to the system: Generate today’s 15-minute PT routine.