The following days after your first BJJ class might be an interesting mix of soreness and excitement. Make sure you are getting enough sleep, drinking a lot of fluids, and getting in some stretching when you can. You will also probably be feeling excited about this new romance with BJJ. Do your best to not shout your love from the rooftops. Good luck.

You Will be Excited About BJJ

Now that you have seen the light, you may be tempted to tell everyone about it. Remember that most people don’t know what Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is, nor do they likely care about its effectiveness in the street. All snark aside, you might be tempted to tell everyone about your newfound passion, and just do your best to reign it in. It may take a few years. Eventually, you’ll stop talking about how great it is, and simply be living the BJJ lifestyle.

You Will be Exhausted all the Time

Especially if you rolled hard at your first class, you might find it difficult to focus at work the next day. Make sure you are drinking lots of fluids to rehydrate, but you might also find it worthwhile to have an extra cup of coffee. This will largely depend on how active you were prior to trying BJJ. Some people will be energized the next day, while others will feel sluggish. Sparring is a full-body workout that often involves high-intensity, explosive body movements, so you should expect to feel drained after those intense sparring sessions. If you work in an office, you may want to go on a walk during your lunch break to stretch out and get the blood flowing.

Your Body Will Hurt all Over

Even if you lifted weights or did other physical activities before trying jiu jitsu, there are areas of the body that aren’t usually targeted in other sports (outside of Wrestling and Judo). This might leads to unusual aches and pains. For example, your ribs might be extremely sore to the touch. Some people refer to this as “jits ribs,” and it is common for newer grapplers. It’s also possible you might feel great. Maybe you wrestled in college, and your body has missed being on the mats. Or, perhaps your first class was fairly light, and you didn’t participate in sparring. Either way, the aches and pains will likely catch up to you eventually. Practice good restorative activities and take care of your body. You will be thankful you did in the long run.