Monday, April 30, 2012

First Amateur Boxing Match: Training Week 2

          Hey folks, as promised I am keeping you all up to date on my training.  Weekly updates are the easiest to follow and record and in that fashion they will proceed.  Here you will find my training log as well as my training notes for the past week (at the bottom).  Feel free to comment any suggestions or questions.

Sunday:
Mitt work - 1 hour

Monday:
Various Drills - light/moderate intensity (bag work and shadowboxing)
Total Time - 1 hour

Tuesday AM:
Bag Work (2 min rounds; 30 sec warning; 30 sec rest)
Round 1 - Jump Rope
Round 2 - Run-boxing
Round 3 - Shadowboxing
Round 4 & 5 - Stretching
Round 6 & 7 - Put Gear On
Round 8 - Heavy Bag (warm up all punches)
Round 9 - Jab hand only (30 sec burn out)
Round 10 - Power hand only (30 sec burn out)
Round 11 & 12 - All Punches (30 sec burn out)
Round 13 - Rest / Water Break
Round 14 - Slip Bag (no punches)
Round 15 - Slip Bag (slips & straight punches)
Round 16 - Slip Bag (all punches)
Round 17 - Shadowboxing (focus on movement)
Round 18 - Shadowboxing
Round 19 & 20 - Stretching
*Pace for working rounds is about 1:1 punch per second prior to "burn out"
Total Workout Time:  1 hour

Tuesday PM:
Boxing Class - 2 hours

Wednesday - Strength and Conditioning:
Warm Up - 1000m row @ easy pace (4:39 min, 58 cal, 134w)
Then
30 sec Burpees
30 sec Piston Press
30 sec DB Swing (right hand only)
30 sec DB Swing (left hand only)
3 rounds @ 30 sec rest (sets @ 2 x 10/15/20 lbs DBs)
Then
100 push ups - 200m sprint - walk 200m
100 squats - 200m sprint - walk 200m
100 push ups - 200m sprint - walk 200m
Cool Down - 15 min yoga
Total Time - 40min

Thursday
10 min warm up with various drills
4 x 2 min heavy bag @ 30 sec rest
15 min working on Slip Rope
5 min light Shadowboxing
15 - 20 min Yoga
Time - 1 hour

Friday
Rest

Saturday
Sparring (12 Rounds)
*See Notes Section 3
Time:  1 1/2 hours

Notes:
Weekly Training Hours:  8
Camp Training Hours:  11
Camp Sparring Rounds:  18
Weight (4/30/12) - 165.5 lbs
Percent Body Fat (skin fold calipers and Jackson-Polluck calculation) - 6.11%

  1. Conditioning - I believe the most appropriate conditioning for any athletic event is to do that thing over and over again.  It is the MOST applicable and practical means of conditioning your body to whatever it is you are going to be testing it with.  That being said, if I wanted to condition myself for jiu jitsu the best method would be to do more jiu jitsu in rounds similar to a tournament fashion.  So for boxing I want to do more and more 2 minute rounds of actual boxing.  One "strength and conditioning" session per week for four weeks is not a significant program.  Rather, this is a method of implementing "road work" and crosstraining in the form of weight training.
  2. Supplements - My previous diet listing only had the names of the supplements, but I wanted to give a few more details in regards to them.  Efficient training is not only about training hard, but it is also about training smart.  For years I dissed supplements and wrote them off as over price marketing gimmicks that I did not need.  Older and wiser now I realize that to perform at optimum levels and get the most out of your training and make sure your training smarts match your training "hardness" you must supplement!  Budget is always a concern but I have put a great deal of research into supplements, as one acquires over the years, before using them.  I do not endorse or receive any type of reward or compensation for the following products, but if you'd like to know what I use and why, I will tell you.  I use MetRX Natural Whey (Whey Protein) as a source of lean and convenient protein.  I also use Natural Mins manufactured by Xtreme Coutoure Athletic Pharmaceuticals as a multivitamin / electrolyte supplement specifically engineered for fighters.  The other supplement that I use is a combination of Glucosamine, Chrondroitin, Vitamin D3, and MSM which are all used to prevent joint damage.  This is very important for fighters!  The particular product I currently use is a generic version manufactured by Equate.
  3. Sparring - It was a hard day sparring.  I took a lot of hard shots and learned that I still have a long way to go over the next three weeks before I feel ready for my bout.  On the whole I felt like I did reasonably well, however, my stance tends to square up on power punches and when I move to the inside.  I also learned (the hard way) that punches thrown at thin air only make you tired and invite your opponent to counter and time you.  Punches thrown do not score points.  Punches landed DO!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

First Amateur Boxing Match

          There has been an exciting change to my athletic career.  As many of you know, the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Season usually runs through late winter to mid / late summer.  I was planning on continuing full steam ahead with my jiu jitsu training.  However, my boxing coach approached me and offered me a match on the 19th of May.  I received this news on this past Tuesday (4/17) and quickly formulated a training plan to prepare for the event.  I will be fighting at a catch-weight of 160lbs and I currently weight about 167.  Below you will find my weekly training schedule and diet for the weeks leading up to this fight.  I think that this is a great break and switch of gears for my career as an athlete.  I had some tough losses in my last couple BJJ tournaments.  Sometimes it serves athletes well to take some time away from the sport and come back fresh.  In the same sense I have done just that with my striking sports.  My last MMA fight was in February of 2011 and now, in May of 2012 I am putting the leather back on and getting ready for my first amateur boxing match in Moline, IL.
          This past Saturday (4/21) I had my first hard sparring day in quite a long time.  By long time I mean that I had maybe gotten two or three hard sparring rounds in a couple months ago, and my last hard striking sparring training would have been in preparation for my MMA fight.  I have been training boxing about once per week since then just as a form or crosstraining for to supplement my jiu jitsu.  I did not feel too terribly rusty much to my surprise.  I feel that my conditioning and skills are in good standing to begin a training camp.  There will need to be a change of pace in my conditioning routine as white belt jiu jitsu matches consist of a single 5 minute round whereas amateur boxing matches consist of three 2 minute rounds.  What I would like to do from here out is smooth out some of the rough edges and polish off some of that ring rust to finely hone the kind of well flossed timing that you gain from many a sparring session.  Rest assured that I will keep you all updated with any changes and progress along the way.

Training Plan:
Week 1 (4/18 - 4/21)
Wed - Strength and Conditioning
Thurs - Bag Work
Fri - Rest
Sat - Sparring

Week 2 (4/22 - 4/28)
Sun - Mitt Work
Mon - Boxing Class
Tues AM - Bag Work
Tues PM - Boxing Class
Wed - Strength and Conditioning
Thurs - Shadowboxing (light)
Fri - Rest
Sat - Sparring

Week 3 (4/29 - 5/5)
Sun - Mitt Work
Mon - Boxing Class
Tues AM - Bag Work
Tues PM - Boxing Class
Wed - Strength and Conditioning
Thurs - Shadowboxing (light)
Fri - Rest
Sat - Sparring

Week 4 (5/6 - 5/12)
Sun - Mitt Work
Mon - Boxing Class
Tues AM - Bag Work
Tues PM - Boxing Class
Wed - Strength and Conditioning
Thurs - Shadowboxing (hard)
Fri - Shadowboxing (hard)
Sat - Rest (I have a wedding to attend and it is my 24th Birthday)

Week 5 (5/13 - 5/19)
Sun - Mitt Work
Mon - Boxing Class
Tues AM - Bag Work
Tues PM - Boxing Class & Sparring
Wed - Rest
Thurs - Shadowboxing (very light)
Fri - Rest
Sat - FIGHT NIGHT!


May 2012 Training Camp Diet
Daily Intake: 2000 cal
Meal Apx Time Protein(g) Fat(g) Carbs(g) Calories Descrip
1 8:00 AM 23 2 5 130 Coffee, Whey, 2 Fruits
2 10:30 AM 29 14 41 406 Coffee, Whey, Nut Butter
Post Wrkt 1:30 PM 43 14 59 534 6oz Meat, 60g Starchy Carbs, MultiV, Joint Supp
4 4:00 PM 45 12 10 328 6oz Fish, 2 Vegetables, 2tsp Oil
5 7:00 PM 33 12 10 280 6oz Meat, 2 Vegetables
6 10:00 PM 9 20 8 248 40g Nuts
182 74 133 1926 ~ 3 x 20 calories for condiments
728 cal 666 cal 532 cal
37.80% 35% 27.60%
Notes: Supplements:
1) First Meal w/in 30 min of Waking MetRX Natural Whey
2) Meal #3 is Post Workout or First of Day XCAP Natural Mins
3) Cinnamon w/ Coffee (insulin sensitivity) Equate Glucosamine/Chronditin/MSM
4) Multivitamin & Joint Guard Post-W
5) Cold Shower Post Workout (recovery)
6) Hot showers on non-workout days
7) One hot bath per week (Relax)
8) One Cheat Meal per Week - Sat
9) Fruit Jiuce with Cheat Meal, Spicy Meal Prior
10) Cheat Meal Replaces Last 2 Meals of Day


Sample Bag Work Routine:
*2 min rounds; 30 sec warning; 30 sec rest
Round 1 Jump Rope
Round 2 Shadowboxing - Focus on Movement
Round 3 Shadow Boxing
Round 4 Stretching
Round 5 Stretching
Round 6 Gear Up
Round 7 Gear Up
Round 8 Heavy Bag - All Punches (light)
Round 9 Heavy Bag - Jab Hand Only
*30 sec Power Punches
Round 10 Heavy Bag - Power Hand Only
*30 sec Burn Out
Round 11 Heavy Bag - 1s and 2s Only
*30 sec Burn Out
Round 12 Heavy Bag - All Punches
*30 sec Burn Out
Round 13 Heavy Bag - All Punches
*30 sec Power Punches
Round 14 Slip Bag - Single and Double Slips
Round 15 Slip Bag - 1s and 2s and Slips
Round 16 Slip Bag - Slip and All Punches
Round 17 Shadowboxing - Defense Only
Round 18 Shadowboxing - Everything
Round 19 Stretching
Round 20 Stretching