First Amateur Boxing Match: Training Week 4

The last "hard" week.  Let's turn it up to 11!

Sunday
Bag Work & Timing - Things Worked On
A)  Relaxing and pacing
B)  Mixing in Power Punches
C)  Flurries to get inside
D)  Flurries from the inside
E)  Offense / Defense Drills
Training Time - 1 1/2 Hours

Monday
Little Bit of Everything:
Warm Up - Jump Rope and Shadowboxing
Heavy Bag - Jab Only, Everything Light, Light and Fast w/ a some Power Punches, Work On the Inside,
                    Work on Moving In / Staying In / Moving Out (2 min rounds @ 30 sec rest)
Slip Rope - ~15 min, focus on fluid movement & coordinating punches with steps
Pole Drill (sorry, no exotic dancers) - Stand in front of 6-8 inch wide vertical beam or pole in fighting stance
                with the pole blocking your vision, work on slipping ONLY the minimum effective distance (ie:  till
                you can see beyond the pole), then work combo-slip sequence, then combo-slip-combo
                sequence (about 15-20 min on this drill)
Cool Down - LONG stretch period
Training Time - 1 Hour

Tuesday
Boxing Class & about 6 Rounds of Sparring
Training Time - 2 hours

Wednesday
Rest, Ice Elbow, Study (I have a final exam coming up this week)

Thursday
General Skills:
Warm Up - Jump Rope and Shadowboxing
Heavy Bag - light round, jab only, power hand only, speed focus, work inside, speed focus w/ a few power
                    shots, focus on closing the distance (2 min rounds @ 30 sec rest)
Shadowboxing - 4 x 2 min rounds @ 30 sec rest, focus on moving after each combination.  If you're not
                          punching your feet AND head are moving!
Pole Drill - 2 rounds (description above)
Mitt Work - 3 x 2 min rounds @ 30 sec rest.  *Big thanks to Greg for taking time out of his BJJ 
                    training to hold mitts for me for a few rounds!
Cool Down - Stretch
Training Time - 1 hour

Friday
Short Training Session (Final Exam Day)
Warm Up:
100 jumping jacks
50 lunges
5 x 20 push ups (fingertip, wide grip, narrow grip, reverse, regular)
50 squats
Shadowboxing:  6 x 2 min rounds @ 30 sec rest
Round 1 - agility ladder
Round 2 - no punches, focus on hip rotation
Round 3 - warm up all punches
Round 4 - minimal punches, focus on defensive movements
Rounds 5 - focus on  moving head and feet after every combination
Round 6 - Stretch
Training Time - 30 min

Saturday & Sunday
Rest

Weekly Notes
Weekly Training Hours - 6
Camp Training Hours - 25.5
Camp Sparring Rounds - 25

1. Diet - Last Week I talked extensively about cheating on diets and what I believe to be acceptable and what is not.  I'm having a bit of a problem sticking to only one cheat meal per week.  The potential resolution that I've found most appealing is to eat less junk and more good food.  I mentioned a "lesser of two evils" concept last week; in this instance would mean eating a good meal when you feel the urge for junk.  Another possible solution is to divide your single cheat "day" into two isolated cheat "meals" throughout the week.  I'm using a combination of the two at the moment.
2. Sparring - After the first week of sparring I got a good gauge of some things I needed to work on and where I was rusty.  It was an average day.  The second week I got hammered and it put a lot of things into question and perspective.  The third week I felt like I was coming along, did well in the session, my coaches could see me improving, but I still didn't quite "feel ready" but could see that I would "peak" at just the right time; an important aspect of a training camp.  After Tuesday's session I felt really sharp.  There are still (always) skills that can be further sharpened, but I definitely felt more relaxed and like I was turning a corner in my skill level.  The change was also remarked upon by my coaches.
3. Injury - This week I'm battling a bit of stiffness in my right hip, and some stiffness in my left elbow.  I'm not sure what cause the hip fatigue, but I'm working on a resolution.  The elbow tightness is due to continual tennis and golfer's elbow (a common tendon problem for fighters) and a previous injury.  I'm combating this with less intense and more technical work.  Also, plenty of icing session to reduce inflammation as well as a small dose of over the counter pain killers after training sessions.  This is not for the pain, but for the anti-inflammatory properties of Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and Ibuprofen (Advil).  I am alternating days between products after training sessions; Tylenol today, Advil tomorrow for example.
4. Injury (Update 5/11/12) - I still do not know what was causing fatigue in my right hip, but it seems to be resolving itself.  Could be nothing more than an awkward sleeping position.  As for my left elbow, I believe the problem was due to hyper-extension.   In recent weeks I have been focusing on the speed and range of my punches rather than power.  As a result, sometimes my arm extends fully before reaching the heavy bag.  I could also be in part due to shadowboxing too hard and "banging" or snapping punches too much at full extension.  When I hit mitts with solid blows yesterday it actually made my elbow feel better.  Following, today I continued to be light and technical on my punches to avoid over-extension on "snapping speed" and throwing power shots into thin air.  I'm still taking two tablets of Advil and Tylenol on alternating days following training sessions and icing my elbow twice per day.
5. Additional Rest Days - Saturday was my 24th birthday as well as the marriage of my friends James and Sasha.  I took this opportunity to sit back and relax for the time being.  I was reminded by a close friend of mine not to train myself into injury and how taking a day or two to do absolutely nothing and reflect on things can be beneficial to the training process.  I obliged such a reminder and did just that, having initially planned to return to training on Sunday (5/13/12).  As far as "turning it up to 11" those plans were derailed relatively quickly due to various minor injuries (which are healing up nicely by the way).  In the coming week it will be important to realize that the physical part of training is over, the physical work is done and the time put in.  What will follow is the brushing up of skills, formulating a game plan and strategy for the competition, and mentally preparing myself for the fight.  This also includes mental preparation for the event.  My choice of means for this is meditation.  My next post of the final week will not be until after the fight, so stay tuned for the journal of my final week's preparation and analysis of the event.  Kudos!