Questions to Ask Athletes After Practice (That Get Real Answers)
Questions to ask athletes after practice that get honest, useful answers instead of shrugs, plus how to make the habit fit into a busy session.
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Author
Josh Lu
Josh Lu is a co-founder of Sherpa and a jiu jitsu practitioner. He writes about journaling, mindfulness, and intentional living, mostly where they meet training and health. He is interested in reflection as a way to improve faster, and as a way to enjoy the work more while it is happening rather than only in hindsight.
Posts by Josh Lu
How to Build a Training Routine That Sticks
Most training routines collapse the first hard week. Here's how to build for your worst week (not your best), anchor sessions to existing habits, and last.
How to Improve Focus During Training
Focus is less about willpower than about giving your brain a specific target. Here's how to set one before training, use resets, and build the habit.
Why Most Athletes Quit Journaling (And What to Do Instead)
The problem is usually the system rather than motivation. Why most journaling habits die in week two, and how to build one that survives hard training weeks.
What Happens When Athletes Start Journaling
The first week feels pointless. By week three, patterns emerge. Here's the typical arc of starting a training journal, told through one BJJ athlete's story.
Training Journal: App vs Notebook
Both work. The right choice depends on how you train, what you want to track, and whether you value tactile writing or pattern detection across weeks.
Does Visualization Actually Work for Athletes?
Process visualization, mentally rehearsing the movement rather than the outcome, produces measurable gains. What the research says, and how to use it.
Is Soreness a Sign of a Good Workout?
Soreness signals novelty rather than quality, and you can train hard and effectively without it. What to track instead to know if you are making progress.
Do You Need to Train Every Day to Improve?
[Improvement happens during recovery](/blog/how-athletes-track-recovery), not during training. Why sustainable training frequency beats maximum frequency, and how to find your personal cadence.
What Is Intentional Training? Meaning and How to Start
What is intentional training? Set one focus before each session, train with it in mind, then take a minute after to capture what you learned.
How Long Should a Training Journal Entry Be?
Short. 60-90 seconds, a few lines. Here's what makes a complete entry, why brevity is the whole point, and what the minimum viable journal looks like.
What Does RPE Stand For? Meaning and the 1-10 Scale
RPE stands for rate of perceived exertion. The full 1 to 10 scale, how to turn it into a training load number, and what it captures that a monitor cannot.
What Is a Training Journal?
A training journal captures what you did and what you learned: duration, effort, and short reflections that turn each session into a building block.
How to Balance Multiple Martial Arts in Training
Splitting time evenly across disciplines feels slow. Here's how rotating priorities in 3-4 week blocks accelerates progress in every art you train.
The Best MMA Apps in 2026 (Picked by What You Need Them For)
The best MMA apps in 2026 for logging training, conditioning, round timing, mobility, learning technique, and watching fights, with prices and tradeoffs.
How Long Is a Fight Camp? How to Structure an MMA Camp
How long is a fight camp? Most run 6 to 10 weeks. A three-phase structure for building volume, sharpening your game plan, and tapering to fight night.
How to Keep an MMA Training Journal
MMA training spans striking, grappling, wrestling, and sparring. Here's a 2-minute post-session log that handles the variety and surfaces patterns over time.
How to Track Progress in Jiu Jitsu
BJJ progress is invisible day to day and feels nonlinear. Here's what to actually track: session ratings, recurring positions, and focus areas.
The Best BJJ Apps in 2026 (Picked by What You Need Them For)
The best BJJ apps in 2026 for logging rolls, learning technique, mobility, and competing, with current prices and who each app is actually built for.
How to Review Your Rolls After Training
A 5-minute post-rolling review that turns mat experience into actual skill: pick your most interesting round, name what worked, set a clear intention.
What to Do Between BJJ Competitions
Most improvement happens between competitions, not during them. Here's how to debrief your last match, pick 2-3 focus areas, and review progress weekly.
How to Get Better at Jiu Jitsu Faster
Mat hours have a ceiling. Here's how a 30-second pre-class focus and 60-second post-class debrief extract more progress from training you're already doing.
How to Keep a BJJ Training Journal
A simple post-class routine for BJJ athletes: what to log, when to write it, and how a 90-second habit changes your training after a few weeks.
Training Log vs Training Journal (Meaning and Differences)
Training log vs training journal: a log records what you did, a journal captures what you learned. What each is for, and how to combine them.
How Often Should Athletes Journal?
After every session is the gold standard, but only if entries are short. Here's how to find the right journaling frequency for your training.
What Should Athletes Write in a Journal?
You don't need to write a lot. You just need to write the right things. Here's what every athlete journal entry should include.
How Do Athletes Track Recovery?
Training is only half the equation. Here are simple ways to track recovery so you can make better daily decisions about when to push and when to back off.
What Is Mental Performance Training for Athletes?
Mental performance training is a set of practical skills you can practice, not just positive thinking. Here's what it covers and how to start.
Train Hard vs Train Smart: What's the Difference?
Train hard vs train smart: hard work is effort and volume, smart work is specificity, load management and learning. Why you need both to improve.
What Is a Training Block? Meaning, Length and Examples
A training block is 3-6 weeks of training built around one goal like strength or endurance. Here's how periodization works, and how to plan your own.
How to Recover from Losing Your Confidence in Sport
You can't just decide to be confident. But you can rebuild it with the right approach. Here's how to stack small wins back into belief.
How to Stay Motivated When Training Gets Boring
Boredom usually means your brain has disengaged. The fix isn't to overhaul your program. It's to [add intention back into the sessions you're already doing](/blog/what-is-intentional-training).
How to Stop Overthinking During Competition
Telling yourself to 'just relax' almost never works. Here's what to do instead when your brain won't shut up during competition.
How to Deal with a Training Plateau
Plateaus are normal. Every athlete hits them. But how you respond matters more than the plateau itself. Here's how to break through.
Why Am I Not Improving Even Though I Train Hard?
Effort without direction is just fatigue. Here are the common reasons athletes plateau despite consistent hard work, and what to try instead.
Why Do I Feel Burnt Out from Training?
Training burnout is common and worth taking seriously. Here's what's probably happening and what to do about it.
How to Set Training Goals That Actually Help
Most training goals don't change how you train. Here's how to set process goals that actually tell you what to do on Tuesday.
Post-Game Debrief: Questions and a Team Framework
Run a post-game debrief in 10 minutes. Eight questions to ask your team after a win or a loss, plus a simple framework for what to actually record.
What to Do After a Bad Game or Competition
After a bad game, the urge is to dwell or forget. Neither helps. Here's how to process a bad performance and turn it into your next improvement.
How to Prepare Mentally for Competition
Physical preparation gets planned weeks in advance. Mental preparation usually gets five minutes in the locker room. Here's a simple process for competition day.
How to Train on Days You Don't Feel Like It
The answer is more nuanced than 'just show up.' Here's a quick decision framework for when to push through and when to back off.
How to Cool Down After Training (And Why It's the Best Time to Reflect)
The five-minute window after training is the most valuable time in your session for learning. Here's how to use your cool-down for both recovery and reflection.
How to Warm Up with Intention (Instead of Going Through the Motions)
Your warm-up sets the tone for your whole session. Here's how to add intention without adding time.
How to Journal for Sports Performance (It's Not What You Think)
Performance journaling isn't a diary. It's closer to a pilot's flight log. Here's what it actually looks like and why it works.
How to Use RPE to Track Your Training
RPE is the simplest way to measure training intensity. Here's how the scale works, how to turn it into training load, and what it can tell you about your progress.
How Elite Athletes Review Their Training
Elite athletes don't just train harder. They review what happened with the same seriousness they bring to the training itself. Here's how to borrow their approach.
How to Build a Pre-Game Routine That Actually Helps You Perform
Most pre-game routines are just nervous habits. Here's how to build one that settles your nerves and focuses your attention on what you can control.
How to Stop Making the Same Mistakes in Training
It's not a discipline problem, it's a memory problem. Here's a 60-second post-practice habit that breaks the cycle of repeating the same mistakes.
The Best Training Journal for Athletes in 2026 (Apps and Paper)
The best training journal for athletes in 2026: honest picks across apps and paper journals, with prices, who each one suits, and what to look for.
How to Know When to Push vs Rest in Training
"Listen to your body" isn't enough. Here's a simple readiness check-in that helps you decide whether to push through or dial it back.
How to Track Training Load Without a Coach
If you train without a coach, nobody's watching your volume and intensity across weeks. Here's how to track training load yourself with two numbers per session.
How to Set Intentions Before Practice (So You Stop Training on Autopilot)
[Setting an intention before practice](/blog/what-is-intentional-training) is the difference between 'I showed up' and 'I showed up with a plan.' Here's a 30-second method that changes how you train.
How to Reflect on Training Sessions in 90 Seconds
Most athletes train session after session [without capturing what they're learning](/blog/best-training-journal-for-athletes). Here's a 90-second post-practice debrief that makes reflection a habit.
Goal Setting and Journaling for Sports Performance
Research shows goal setting improves athletic performance by about 13%. What makes goals effective, and how a performance journal keeps you on track.
The Science of Expressive Writing: How Journaling Became a Tool for Health, Performance, and Growth
There's decades of research showing why you feel lighter, clearer, or more focused after a journaling session.