Too often martial artists fall into the trap of being unable to do their regular routine and as a result do nothing at all. Getting back in shape after these layoffs is always a long and difficult process.

Say your work requires you to travel for a month at a time: don’t give in to inactivity – do something, do anything!

* Go train at another school (click here to check the worldwide grappling school directoryat grapplearts.com)

* If your hotel has a fitness room then do cardio one day and lift some weights the next (I guarantee you’re not missing much on TV)

* Read my article on training when training partners are hard to find

If your club is shut down for a long holiday break:

* Do some cardio-kickboxing or start jogging

* Hook up with other grappling addicts and have some informal training sessions

If you are injured find a way to work around it:

* If you can’t lift weights then work on your cardio.

* If you can’t work on your cardio then lift weights.

* Train your mind – watch classes, read books, search the internet.

Doing something is better than doing nothing. Staying busy keeps you in training loop and makes sure that you don’t become another ‘Couch-Fu’ expert. By doing something even peripherally related to your martial art you may learn something new. Who knows, maybe you’ll find that the change of pace even helps your training!