Hmmm, hopefully I have the same experience. I eat more, drink more and try to exercise once a week :)

Almost everyone went up a weight class it seemed. That's okay. More presh.

I returned to the mats last Sunday, to what was a 90min open mat.

Sports-wise I've been slacking like a motherfucker during the quarantine, but have managed not to lose much strength (enough lifting stuff) and not get much heavier (only a few kilos). I have been thinking almost ZERO jiujitsu, no specific training at all, no watching instructionals or comp footage etc.

I believe I had one "free pass" in me, because on Sunday I felt surprisingly good. Worse cardio, but not as bad as I had feared. Could still dominate people who I did before the 'rona, pulled some moves that surprised myself. (Almost all others at the gym have been rolling since beginning of June - I stayed away this far not to risk my summer vacation. Some have been training this whole time in few persons' closed groups.) Didn't need to rest any rounds. Had a ton of fun.

Went back on Monday and all was different. Timing completely off, gassing immediately, felt terrible in uncomfortable situations, literally tripped over when attempting a more fancy passing sequence. :D I guess this is going to be my life for a while now. (Still enjoyed it.) Good to be back.

Maybe they all got worse then :)

I can't wait until we are fully open again. Going to be a while though, cardio classes are starting but full on sparring will have to wait.

With humility as a blue belt, I notice when I've taken weeks off (small breaks, injury, etc), I somehow come back noticeably better. I suspect the brain / nervous system continues to process the info differently when you take breaks. My theory is the brain has to form, strengthen, sever, and/or weaken different neural and neuromuscular pathways, and this happens resting, sleeping, taking breaks.
But I could be completely wrong. Maybe it's just placebo effect.

I don't think it's placebo. I always have the same... 2-3 weeks off on a vacay, no grappling (or barely any) or thinking about it... then back to the mats and I'm always at my best. Feels like a "reset" like this only freshens things up, both mentally & physically.

However, 2-3 weeks is different than 3-4 months. :D

I always feel like some things "settle" in my head every time I've had a break off the mats for injuries, world burning etc. No different this time, I've had some super relaxed rolls after coming back. Unfortunately that hasn't been so practical for my need to burn off some of all the 'rona-cookies.

I've been drilling loads of grilled chicken stuff over lockdown, so I'm hoping that pays off, but we'll see once England allows training again (I say England specifically, because Scotland is much closer to opening up, given the number of cases there).

I had my first one on one session Friday with a local BB that I've known for a while. He's a medical professional (not front line), so he has to be extra careful so as to not infect his patients.

It was about two hours of rolling at maybe about 60% intensity with some bursts up 70 or so. Good pacing, and I too was actually surprised how well I did after a 3 month layoff. When I say 3 months off, that's 3 months cold. No solo drills, minimal exposure all around except the occasional youtube vid and shit posting here lol. I think it's that I've internalized a few core concepts that I always try keep in mind when sparring.

But yeah, I had a similar experience. I was SORE Saturday, though! lol

back since 2 days, kicking everyones ass gently with ease.
got heavier due to rona = people suffer even more when im on top
(can do the 100kg position with actual 100kg lol)
got slightly less flexible than usual cause didnt roll in a while but nobody was able to exploit it
i kinda feel slightly tired after class so i guess my cardio went a bit down...

but i have no peers, probably id get more tired if i had blackbelts around

oh and i watched a brazillion instructionals while rona was around,
so its kinda weird my physical ability must have diminished at least a bit
but my mental immersion is probably sharper as ever so it all feels as if i got better

Ive had a similar experience. I did feel a little bit slowish, but my overall fitness was better. Whether this is due to my fitness routine in the lock down or lack there of in my partners I dont know.

Could also be a little bit of your body actually being healed up and fresh.

Been back for a few weeks, can't say I've noticed a marked improvement, but I also don't feel I'm noticably worse than before. But I've also been doing 2 training sessions a day while in homeoffice and rolling with a very select group to be safe. Definitely physically stronger than before lockdown since I started doing a lot of weight training.

We resume rolling this week, I organised some open mat at my house, and we rolled super cool without going frenzy. I pile up 7 kg more as I did circuits and bodyweight training regulary 4-5 times a week. It was so good to roll again after such a long time

Possibly because a break is benefic to reset the mind and be able to roll differently

Been back for a few weeks, can't say I've noticed a marked improvement, but I also don't feel I'm noticably worse than before. But I've also been doing 2 training sessions a day while in homeoffice and rolling with a very select group to be safe. Definitely physically stronger than before lockdown since I started doing a lot of weight training.

I often worry about taking time off (as I know so many others do) from the mats but I feel, with me, that I often come back stronger or healthier or what have you. At 36 and training for 15 years, I have slowly learned that I am no longer the 23 year old I was and that those aches and pains do not vanish after a good night's rest. Although these months off have been some of the longest with both Covid and grad school, I think that whatever I have been able to do in isolation has kept my mind tight and my body calm. I feel this has been the same for so many of us within the community; home workouts, trying to not eat every single cookie in the house at one time, shrimping in the living room and all things in between have hopefully kept us away from that day one feeling.