Dog Days

NOTE TO SELF: Print later for senior boxers…

19.02.2015 am Conditioning - Target Fitness

I didn’t get out of bed until 5.30am, so I had no breakfast.
This was fine, I had carb loaded the night before and had no appetite.
I used separate Zinc and Magnesium supplements before bed.
They didn’t work right away because I lay awake for long periods through the night. Had a good rest though.
On the gym floor for 6.00am

Gerry’s warmup routine.

I used 2 x 20kg kettebells for 8 no. rotations of;

10 Snatches
10 Snatches
5 Presses
5 Squats
20 Swings

We cooled down with;
2 x 5/5’s quarter TGU’s
2 x 10/10’s windmills
*with the 20kg kettlebells.

I didn’t feel myself throughout this session.
My fitness was fine. My strength was fine. But my body felt achey, uncomfortable pumping out the reps.
Time to get foods, rest… everything on point.

RPE: 8

[quote]donnydarkoirl wrote:
My Catalogue of Injuries;
Muscle strain from my left ankle upward to my mid-shin on the external face of my calf.
Both shoulders feel “loose” in their sockets, as if the supporting muscles have been extended or stretched.
Strain in the elbows from extension.
Inflamed middle knuckle on my left hand. Suggested fracture to the knuckle.
evidence of nerve damage in my upper back - has not reoccurred.

None of these issues are serious. they are just the usual niggles from training hard and I can select exercises to repair most of them.
[/quote]

Muscle Strain on my shin;
Has manifested itself in my ankle.
I attribute this to the running before my last fight.
Rest will alleviate this and will integrate some more remedial exercises.

Shoulders.
These have been a problem. Refraining from heavy bag work and working with kettlebells seems to have eased this greatly. The only boxing I have worked on is shadowboxing and technique drilling, so this seems to have helped greatly.
Going to do some Military press literally and will use band pull aparts between sets.

Elbows.
As with the shoulders, staying away from the bags has eased this.
The lack of bicep work has resulted in this and once I reintroduce I am confident this will not be an issue.

Knuckle.
This did flare last Thursday during drilling.
In working with a younger partner he slapped the mitts.
This actually shocked him more than me as, as he caught the hook before I slowed it down for him and it landed with a nasty snap.
However, I had that dull throb around my knuckle afterwards.
Heading back into intensive training today I will integrate more padding in my handwrap.

Nerve Damage;
I had felt nervous that I had irritated the cervical spinal issue, but this has not reoccurred.

It is a distinct possibility that one of the conditioning exercises is irritating a torn or scarred piece of muscle in my neck or upper shoulder - but is not an issue at all.

overall I am well rested and rehabilitated.
I have grand designs to enter into a new more diligent phase of training.

All weekend I reviewed my technical training. I have a lot of information at my disposal and It is time to integrate that now.

As a sidenote, my conditioning coach gerry set a new national record for the <75kg masters Deadlift. Delighted for him!

24.02.2015 am Target Fitness - Conditioning

Up at 5.00am. I slept really well and woke ready to train.
I had some breakfast which is unusual for me before conditioning, but I stomached it ok.

On the floor for 6.00am.
I thought it was going to be circuit training, but all that was on the floor when we arrived were kettlebells.
40 minute session with a single 24kg KB.
I never wrote down the sets or reps, but we descended through;
Swings,
Snatches,
Presses,
Squats,
Pressups,
Mountain Climbers,
Russian Twists,
Leg Raises

It was a great little sweat session, I really enjoyed it.

RPE: 8

Thanks for the mobilty stuff at the top of this page. I am rehabing a ankle issue right now and the therapist has me doing some of that. But I should be doing all that stuff ( I am such a slacker ). Training is looking good, are you having sleep issues long term or short term.

[quote]Dude623 wrote:
Thanks for the mobilty stuff at the top of this page. I am rehabing a ankle issue right now and the therapist has me doing some of that. But I should be doing all that stuff ( I am such a slacker ). Training is looking good, are you having sleep issues long term or short term. [/quote]
You and I both Dude!
It’s hard to find the motivation to do all the stretching and mobility work that we should.

The sleep issues are long term. I have sleep apnea since 2011.

Sleep apnea/snoring, all the newest research points at the need to manage it long term and not to discount the importance of treating it. Just saying, I am sure you see/hear it all the time. For me according to my wife mine disappeared about the time I started boxing/running again vs power lifting. Wish I could be more helpful, but its way out of my lane. Perhaps Robert will chime in.

[quote]Dude623 wrote:
Sleep apnea/snoring, all the newest research points at the need to manage it long term and not to discount the importance of treating it. Just saying, I am sure you see/hear it all the time. For me according to my wife mine disappeared about the time I started boxing/running again vs power lifting. Wish I could be more helpful, but its way out of my lane. Perhaps Robert will chime in.[/quote]
You’re definitely right man.

For me I’ve found that training is hugely beneficial.
Whether is is the endorphins released during training or simply the fatigue afterwards, it definitely helps.

I’ve also had help by adopting a few simple strategies;

  • eliminating caffeine (I don’t drink Coffee, but like all Irish, I like tea.)
  • ZMA before bedtime.
  • Epsom baths post training, ease my muscles and relax my mind.
  • Early morning training. Early to bed, early to rise also works in reverse.
  • Meditation. I have to admit I havent in quite a while, but this helped me through the worst of it.

26.02.2015 am Target Fitness - Conditioning

Last night was a nightmare. I can’t recall sleeping at all. As far as I know I lay awake the entire night and just willed myself to rest.
I think the sleep apnea is down to the lack of demanding boxing training.
I’m taking Zinc and Magnesium separately, but it doesn’t seem to be helping too much.

I was up early for training today. No particular hunger or anything.
We were on the gym floor for 6.00am.
I’m trying to piece together the session in my head, but it was 40 minutes consisting of;
Swings,
Squats,
Alternating Presses,
Snatches
and a complex finisher.

I was a good session. The snatches seem to be really helping my shoulders and even though the heaviest we pressed this morning were 20kg bells, I felt much more stable.

I’m happy with my fitness reserves.

Even more satisfying, I’ve laid out a new training structure for myself.
I’m excited by this, as it could be the step to the next level for me.

Interesting week already.

My manager phoned me last night offering me a fight in Hungary against a guy 22-0.
I checked him out and really looked into his record. I thought the risk was worth the reward and I was in.

I had a job interview.
Work right know is grinding me down - I took the interview and I was hungry going in.
I made an impression and I was offered the job.
I told them to think about it and get back to me when they were ready to confirm my salary.

Unfortunately the fight then fell through. The date given to Mark was incorrect and left us a week to cut weight, get time off work, get flights sorted…

But I think the moral of the week is clear;
He who dares wins

DD- I think the decision to pass on the fight was a good one. Just not enough time to bring it all together. I hear about guys taking fights on short notice all the time, just not against opponents that are 22-0. At least they where asking for you, that’s reassuring.

[quote]Dude623 wrote:
DD- I think the decision to pass on the fight was a good one. Just not enough time to bring it all together. I hear about guys taking fights on short notice all the time, just not against opponents that are 22-0. At least they where asking for you, that’s reassuring.[/quote]
I took a fight at last minute before.
I dropped a decision.
On my day, with any prep, I would have stopped him.

It bothers me every day man!

I always feel if your fighting more than three rounds and drop a decision the coach takes some of the heat unless the fighter is just not listening.

[quote]Dude623 wrote:
I always feel if your fighting more than three rounds and drop a decision the coach takes some of the heat unless the fighter is just not listening. [/quote]
Thats not untrue…
I think the loss was mostly down to myself and my own arrogance.
I took the fight on short notice and stripped 18 lbs in 10 days.
I then went in and employed a strategy that I would at peak condition…

What disgusts me is that I didnt do half bad!

That is a incredible weight drop for a fight. I can not drop weight like that, I would have a tough time with half that, I like to get to weight about a week ahead of the fight then just chill, and cut like no more than 4-5 in the 24 hours before nice and easy. Then carb load and keep carbing and hydrating between fights.

[quote]Dude623 wrote:
That is a incredible weight drop for a fight. I can not drop weight like that, I would have a tough time with half that, I like to get to weight about a week ahead of the fight then just chill, and cut like no more than 4-5 in the 24 hours before nice and easy. Then carb load and keep carbing and hydrating between fights. [/quote]
Yeah…
It’s too much.

Since then I’ve established 10lbs as the maximum that I will allow myself to cut.

I think your approach sounds ideal.
I have a nice long prep before my nbext fight; so I’m hoping to work on a long deliberative body recomp.

You got competition soon?

My son and training partners want me to take a couple of fights in Saginaw this spring. Really I don’t have the time to prepare, work gets in the way of fun.

[quote]Dude623 wrote:
My son and training partners want me to take a couple of fights in Saginaw this spring. Really I don’t have the time to prepare, work gets in the way of fun. [/quote]
I hear you dude - but kudos for keeping up the training with family/work/life commitments.

10.03.2015 am Target Fitness - Conditioning

I was up this morning at 5.00am and really excited about training.
Today was the start of my serious pre-season training. I took an hour last night prepping food and I had them all laid out for this morning.
I got to bed early, so getting out of bed was easy.
I’ve been reading a lot by Dr. John Berardi and had prepared one of his “supershakes” for pre-training.
I got this in to me and noted the flavour combination with my protein was far from ideal.
Regardless, I got the good stuff in and went training.

Circuits - 4 No.
13 stations 40 seconds on, 15 second transitions.

Everything was cool for the first two circuits.
On the third Gerry came over and asked me was I ok. I replied that I was, but then I wasn’t so sure.
I struggled through the 4th and was glad to finish.

I grabbed some water and felt my stomach churn.
I legged it to the toilets and the aforementioned shake made a comeback.
I hate vomiting… what a waste of a good training and good protein.


Very tepid return to boxing.

Tuesday’s and Thursday’s are generally my low intensity (but longer duration) sessions.
The intensity was low here and the focus was on technique, posture and troubleshooting some issues.

I was really please with my attack warmup - as much educational as it was physical, the kids really grasped it. I was happy with that.

The Warmup and Cooldown were mine - I followed instruction on everything else.
Sparring - I was caught a couple of times; nothing significant, but it showed a little rust. My footwork felt ok, but will really have to video it next time.
I’m taking the “be like water” thing far too literally.
I have no set stance or orienation and am switching between orthodox and southpaw at will. This can be useful, but something I may live to regret in future.
I have one issue I may need to work on a lot - but can’t comment until I watch some tape.

My girlfriend sparred tonight. She had been training well until she got in to spar. She had a lightening first round, but landed a very hard shot accidentally. The girl she sparred is a close friend and she got a fright. She got over it really well, but my other half was upset and really hard on herself for throwing the shot.

Overall, this was a significant session. A lot was learned.

RPE: 6