All the competitive ex competitive athletes out there i thought i would start a thread where we could discuss training, swop tips and give each other ideas for pre fight conditioning etc.I myself would like to start fighting in tournaments/compititions in about 8 months but i have no knowledge of my own to do with fighting i will be concentrating on boxing and kickboxing and am calling upon the vast knowledge of the t-mag fighters to help condition me into the ultimate fighting machine over the next 8 months or so.Before anyone starts shouting about searching and reading the new issue i’ve done all that and read all the previous post pertaining to this!
Spar, spar and spar again…lol! Actually all this combat conditioning is great, and I use some of it, however as a competitive martial artist, I find that my best conditioning takes place by sparring lightweights and flyweights. I am 240 lbs, so I am a heavyweight. Lightweights and flyweights are FAST and usually have LOTS of stamina. Yes you have to pull your punches and kicks when sparring them, however, after sparring a lightweight for a few weeks, I get in the ring with a heavyweight and they seem like they are moving thru molassas. I don’t know what you weigh, however going against lighter and faster fighters in the sparring ring does wonders for my stamina…and speed. The only thing that is hard is that you get used to pulling your punches against them (trust me…I don’t want to use a full power strike against a 130 pound 19 year old…I would destroy him) and you have to be conscious that you don’t do that once you get against your own weight class again. Aside from that caution…find yourself one of those fast little guys…and let him beat you around for a while…cause it is gonna take a bit until your reaction speed can keep up with those fast little suckers!! LOL!
First of all, continue to weight train. I generally prefer to keep my free weight work in the 3-5 rep range to preserve my strength even when I’m dieting to make weight.
I kickbox currently I do plyometrics in the form of heavy bag, focus mit and thai pad work. The bag work also conditions my nervous system and recovery ability. I tried the high reps for endurance protocol but I became burnt out and I lost strength. When dieting I like to save as much energy as possible for my training so each technique is delivered with power and precision. A cardio base is important so I ride a stationary bike and/or run two miles to class then train. The thing I’ve found about fighting and something that’s backed up by several boxing/kickboxing training experts including Charles Staley is kickboxing and boxing are not aerobic sports. They are anaerobic and require that you be able to produce max power output for three minutes then fully recover in one minute. So I think the most important thing you can do is build a good base with strength training and cardio then train your recovery ability with sports specific drills.
What is a factor is I like a high protein diet but I need the carbs to fuel my training. I compromise by eating protein/carb meals earlier in the day and a light protein/carb combination about an hour before training. Oh yeah stay within about 10 pounds of your fighting weight year round because having to crash diet or take Lasix saps your strength and leaves you vulnerable to brain injury.
By the way, I hope you are going to a school or something. If you just woke up today and decided that your gonna start competing in 8 months…well bro…your in for a world of hurt and disappointment…not to bust ya down, but if you are not training under a good instructor…and relying on us to teach you how to fight over a message board…then I do not suggest stepping into ANY ring bro…cause you will be LUNCH! There is a huge difference between being in “combat condition” and actual fighting. I don’t care if you can do 10,000 hindu squats and 20,000 hindu pushups…if you have no experience with sparring or fighting your gonna get hurt. So give us some more info in terms of what style, and how often you train, and what your training consists of (not weight training…fighting training) and we can probably help out a bit more!
What sort of event do you plan to compete in?
i dont know what kind of competitions you’re going to be doing, but if you’re gonna do NHB you’re going to want to learn some grappling. just boxing isn’t going to cut it. Mike tyson would get beat in a minute in NHB because he has no ground skills and the fights usually end up on the ground. where do you live ? there might be some gyms in your area.
For NHB Id say youd be best served focusing on boxing and grappling with maybe some leg kicks or better still, finding a good shoot fighting, trap fighting, vale tudo teacher. Dont go for some obsure trendy style unless you only plan to compete within the style. If you want to do this in a short period of time you will need to prioritise and train smart ie basic techniques and focus on sparring and then mix bagwork, running, and weights for speed and power and possibly brute strength and size depending on your current conditioning and what you plan to compete in.
As a jujutsu stylist for about five yrs, all I can say is if you’re starting off without much skill and want to get good fast then box. Do boxing, it’s difficult to shoot someone’s legs out when they’re constantly raining punches to your face, don’t worry too much about high kicks cos they’re something that will take years to develop to any standard. But you can get quick hands in just a few months of good training. Also, to get good at hitting people, you have to HIT PEOPLE! Seems obvious but so many think that they can fight and yet they only hit pads. To develop ring savvy and timing, get into the ring and stay there until you’re the only one still standing, this may take a while!
Practise hard, get your knees as high as you can before you kick and stretch! Don’t get caught up in any ‘secret’ techniques, it’s not that complicated, it’s just fighting. So just fight.
Thanks guys i’m sorry i havn’t replied sooner but i have been training real hard,figuring out my diet and looking for kickboxing and boxing tuition.I have always been interested in the fighting arts and i am a natural athlete.I was always a fat unfit f**k as achild but as soon as i hit puberty I have been exellent at any sport i have played esspecially ones which are mainly anerobic and involve a brute strength factor.My stats are as follows height 6 feet weight 168lbs bf% 14(have been on the fat fast for two and a half weeks two more to go) wanting to cut down to 165lbs at 8% bodyfat this is my fighting weight goal.As far as training is concerned i have been training purely for strength and explosive speed. My weights routine is as folows : Mon- Bench 44 clean and jerk 35 Tues- Deadlift 44 shrugs 35 Thur- Bench 44 Military press 35 Fri-Squat 44 Barbel row 35
Everyday various pushups/pullups maximum pullups worked on a ladder system and cycle 2.5 miles morning and 2.5 miles night .
Considering incorporating weighted sled sprinting.
Have been sparring outside with a couple of friends in boxing there weight,height speed and stength all vary so i find that i am fully taxed by this.Today i have found a boxing gym that is just about 500m away from my door so i will go there to learn all the techniques and work on the pads and bags.will continue to look for kickboxing tuition!!Any input from You guys on your training diets etc would be greatly appreciated especially from whopper.
OK so your gonna box, and hope to get to kickboxing. As far as training, I weight train with various programs, depending on what srtikes my interest in T-mag or the forum that month, so nothing special there. I attend my martial arts classes twice per week (Tues and thurs), and attend our “fight night” on Fridays. To warm up for weight training, I have a heavy bag, and work out for 5-three minute rounds on just my punches and combination punches…this gets me all warmed up for my workout. After my workout I work my kicks, with monday being roundhouse off the front and back legs, wed being side kick off the front and back legs and saturday being spinning kicks and combinations. I do 250 kicks off each leg from the back, and 250 kicks for each leg off the front…for a total of 500 kicks all with as perfect as possible form…no just slapping them up there!. Stretching is done every morning before my shower…seven days a week. I spar on Tuesday and Thursday for 30 minutes, and “fight night” friday is a full 2 hour sparring session (with breaks of course). IF your gonna get into kickboxing…work on roundhouse kicks (as was posted…get the knee nice and high) and side kicks…ESPECIALLY your side kick off the front foot…it is your lower body “jab” and can really set things up for you in the ring if used well. For endurance, I tend to rely on the heavy bag work and sparring…try 5-three minute rounds going full power on a heavy bag and see if you aren’t gasping for air!! LOL! With you being lighter however, your fights are gonna last longer, cause you guys don’t hit as hard…so you might want to consider some jogging or jumproping. For my diet…actually I find I have to eat constantly to just maintain…with my activity level as posted above, I burn some good calories. I just worry about eating “clean” but don’t treally sweat the pizza on the weekend once in a while. If I want to gain, I usually have to back off my martial arts a bit…like I am doing for the next month or so…to try to get a few more pounds on. My goal for this year is to tip the scales at 265-270 at 10%. For me at 10% is a good level. If I drop lower than that I find I lose a lot of stamina, and feel like I lose striking power…perhaps it is all in my head, but I like to stick around 10%
kickboxing being a blanket term can cover many things.
the actual term kickboxing means kicks and punches,kicks being allowed to legs head and body.
with this in mind, if you intend to fight this style be careful of certain habits you can pick up in boxing that will cause you problems in leg kick rules or muaythai.
bobbing and weaving are out of the question, especially in muaythai. straight punches to the body can be dangerous also.
be aware of your stance also. most boxers and full contact fighters(rules that allows kicks to the body and head only) usually stand somewhat sideways. this works great in the boxing full contact arena but will get your lead leg destroyed in leg kick rules.
if you work out on your own, set yourself up a good bag work routine and get a good timer.
break your routine up into 4 sections.
warm-up
technique-work on specific combinations for a set amount of times.
15 sec drills-set timer for 3 mins. with 15 sec intervals. start off with 15 sec.s on/15 secs off. you go full out for 15 then rest 15. this develops explosive power/and recovery. like when a guy is hurt and a boxer will try to take him out and end up punching himself out.
do 3 rounds of hands/3 rnds legs.
end with 6 rnds of continuous punching kicking-3 hands/3 legs.
here you want to work a 1-2-1-2 cadence non stop counting your punches and kicks. you work it light but constant. you count you strikes, if you throw 300 punches the first rnd, you have to throw the same or more the next. if you don’t you have to finish up in your recovery time.
then cool down with some stretches.
Glad you found a gym to work out in. If the moderator will let this slide, I recommend you check out Joe Lewis’ videos, for your kickboxing training, especially the Ring Deadly/Street Lethal series. It’s got some outstanding information for kickboxing and you’ll get some handy information for the street as well. The best part about Joe is he is an excellent teacher and can explain things so even I can understand them.
Don’t forget that you may pick up some bad habits from boxing, like having your lead leg too far ahead and turning your lead foot inward which will make you vulnerable to lead leg kicks.
Also you may want to try the International Kickboxing Federation website, they’ve got a list of schools there and if you ever get lost and find yourself in Chattanooga feel free to check out Blalock’s IMB.
Good luck.
Thanks for the replies and sorry i have not been on here for a few days but i have been real busy with school work and my workouts. To let you know i have changed everything around with the workout department and have not yet been to the actual boxing club yet i leave to go on holiday for 5 days in a couple of days time but will probablly workout everyday of the holiday anyway as it’s part of me now. Anyway as I said the workouts have been changed i am working out 4 days a week with the weights and doing 6 three minute rouds on the heavy bag afterwords. For the weights i do one exercise for each session doing 10 sets of 3 reps in the Deadlift Bechpress Squat Power cleans/snatches doing each movement as explosively as possible and each morning before school i have been doing combat conditioning with a two mile bike ride afterwords i am alredy feeling much lighter on my feet and my punches are alot harder on the bag yet my endurance kinda still sucks but i am still on the fat fast only 10 more pounds to go thank god.If you guys could come up with any other exercises that would give me more power etc please post and any advice on wiegh ins, making weight, diet that you use, suplements etc please post