To address this I first need to talk a little more about exercise physiology so bare with me through the sciency parts.
VO2 max, Energy pathways and Metabolism
After a long break away from training returning to class for the first time can kick your ass big time.
Physiologically speaking long periods of being less active mean the metabolism slows down and muscles become less efficient, including the muscles of the heart. This can reduce the stroke volume of the heart (volume of blood pumped with each beat of the heart)
As the hearts efficiency at providing oxygen to the working muscles is reduced so is the bodies ability to utilise fat as a fuel (As this requires a high volume of oxygen to oxidise completely).
When training at such an intense level the body has to start using carbohydrates as a fuel using up blood sugar and then all the stored muscle glycogen too.
For most people heart rate is a good way to guess what energy system is being favoured as studies have shown that heart rates of over 65-85% of estimated HRmax usually elicit a respiratory exchange ratio that suggests that energy is being derived purely by the oxidation of carbohydrate. This is where the concept behing "fat burning zones" and "cardio" heart rate intensity zones have come from.
Knowing your VO2 max can help you if you are going to do additional sessions in the gym in an effort to increase fitness and can provide some interesting information regarding your metabolic function. Increasing metabolism can help to maintain or lose weight which seems to be an eternal battle for some of us.
Diet
It is important to remember that a good nutritional plan is even more important when you start training after a period of inactivity. As failing to get a good intake of carbohydrate post training can mean recovery is slow.
Often people will not eat a good meal after training (this can be due to appetite suppression that can occur up to 1h post exercise and training finishing late at night) and if you are trying to lose weight this can be ok as long as you are getting a good intake of carbohydrate through out the day, and don't have another training session in the next 24h.
Certain foods can actually slightly increase your metabolism and include spicy foods like chilli, and green teas. 60% of the calories you burn each day are a result of your basal metabolic rate which is the calories required to maintain normal body function. On top of that you will require differing amount of calories to provide the energy for daily tasks and exercise. You can use rmr or bmr calculators online to get an estimate of this value. It is important that you are sensitive to your body's needs as the equations used by these calculators assume that metabolism is the same for everyone of a certain age.
Exercise
If you have been out of training and want to improve your fitness quickly the best thing to do is 15-30 minutes high intensity interval training daily and some light or body weight exercises and stretches to help reduce risk of injury. HIIT has been shown to improve VO2 max in as little as 2 weeks and also maybe more effective at fat burning particularly around the abdomen. To make it more bjj specific mix cardio and weights together and do 5-7 minute intervals with a 1-5 minute rest in between to mimic sparing.
Here are a couple videos for some exercise ideas both videos are a bit random but the exercises seemed well balanced and specific to bjj
Final Words
So if your coming back to training after time off here are some recommendations.
1) Make sure you eat well increased carbohydrate/calorie intake after training might be necessary at first to replenish depleted muscle glycogen stores until fitness picks up and the body becomes more efficient. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water
2) Do regular stretching and solo drills
3) Do some interval training using a mix of cardio and weights
4) Don't push your self too hard in sparing get back into things slowly avoid sparing with overly competitive people or anyone who's likely to take advantage of your less than peak physical condition (sounds bad but it happens)
5) Tape fingers (this might just be me playing too much guard but protect any areas you know are prone to injury)
6) Drill all the basics particularly escapes to get your mind focused again
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