tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63044199396469581652024-02-21T23:40:58.497+08:00Hodges' Training BlogA diary of my training to compete in White Collar BoxingPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-17331020137295986882010-04-11T12:25:00.001+08:002010-04-11T23:46:58.475+08:00April 10thDay of the fight.<br />
<br />
<b>Diet</b><br />
<i>Breakfast</i>: Loads of oatmeal with honey<br />
<i>Lunch</i>: Chicken lasagne and chips<br />
<i>Pre-fight</i>: A stress-filled few mouthfuls of noodles, half an oat bar<br />
<i>Post-fight</i>: Lamb, mash, veg. Beer, Jaegermeister, champagne (thanks Matt Edwards!), Margarita (thanks Matt Harrison!)<br />
<br />
Good times. Beer tastes superb after 4 months.<br />
<br />
<b>Exercise</b><br />
<i>Warmup</i>: Nervous skipping, nervous shadowing, nervous pad work<br />
<i>Fight</i>: 3 x2 minutes.<br />
<br />
Okay, the day itself:<br />
<br />
1. Woke up pretty early, no way I was going to get back to sleep.<br />
2. We went shopping to get me something to wear after the fight and take my mind off everything. Worked quite well.<br />
3. Got stressed around lunch, all short tempered and irritable. Didn't feel like eating, but was forced (rightly) to eat something.<br />
4. Played a bunch of computer games and ate a bit more, getting more and more wound up.<br />
5. Got 'good luck' phone calls from Shirley and Mike, Andy, Aileen and Olivia. Was great to hear from them.<br />
6. Kirsty drove me down to the venue, and I saw the set-up for the first time. That helped with the nerves. Saw all the other guys in the dressing room, pacing and chatting, and that helped a bit more. <br />
7. Went through a rehearsal of coming down to the ring for the parade and what to do when our fight is called. Amazing set up, silhouette screens, drums, fireworks, smoke machines, lasers. Unbelievable.<br />
8. Sat in the dressing room listening to my ipod, reading my book and notes, and trying to stay hydrated and relaxed.<br />
9. Did the boxer parade, we all waited back stage until they told us to go to the ring. Made our way in slowly, massive cheering and yelling from the crowd. It was amazing to see the huge ballroom full, and everyone so excited to see us fight.<br />
10. Just before the first fight went out, I went and did some skipping, then got warmed up with some shadowing and pad work while I waited to be called.<br />
11. Went out to behind the screens at the top of the catwalk, and waited for my cue. Music started and I went down to the ring.<br />
12. Alexis gave me a final few tips and put my headguard and mouthguard, the referee gave us our final instructions and the bell rang for the first round.<br />
<br />
Note: I still haven't seen the tape of the fight, so my version is just the best I remember and might not be totally accurate. Once I've seen the video I might revise it all. <br />
<br />
ROUND 1: As we thought, Snelly started fast, and I had to cover up and back off as he came steaming in. I managed to catch most of his shots on my gloves, but he landed a few good punches on me. I caught him with a couple of rights as he came in, and landed a few good jabs from the outside, but overall I think the round was pretty even. The main difference was him being very aggressive and me trying to be more conservative with my punches. No doubt he used up a lot more energy than I did, which Alexis and I had thought might happen. We'd hoped that he'd tire before me, and I'd score better in the second and third. Despite this, I was a little worried by the end of the round that he was just going to keep going.<br />
<br />
In the corner Alexis told me that I needed to throw more punches, especially rights, but that I was doing pretty well, guarding myself and landing well. The main message was that I needed to carry on doing what I was doing; trying to catch him on the way in with my right, and jab from the outside the rest of the time.<br />
<br />
ROUND 2: Snelly came out quick again, but slowed down quickly. I was feeling good and starting to find the range with my jab. I carried on doing what I was doing before, counterpunching him on the way in or covering up so he just hit my gloves. I landed more often from the outside as well, jabbing through his guard. I landed a 1-2 about half way though the round that made him drop his guard and forced a standing eight count. I got quite a bit of confidence from that and came forward more. I landed some good shots towards the end of the round.<br />
<br />
In the corner Alexis asked me if I was feeling fit. I felt fine, I hadn't gone nuts with wild punches so I still had a lot of energy. I didn't sit down between 2 and 3, just stayed on my feet pacing and bouncing. The talk was to just carry on doing what I was doing, but more punches, more combinations while he was tiring.<br />
<br />
ROUND 3: Snelly didn't start so fast this time round, but he did try a few combinations early on, and as usual I covered up and took them on the gloves. He seemed really tired by this point, and I landed some really solid rights, including one about a minute in that rocked him right back on his heels, I saw his eyes cross, and the ref gave him another standing eight. I was throwing a lot of punches by this point, not all of them with decent control... Didn't matter to me though, by this point I was feeling really confident and started to really go after him, I chased him around the ring landing some good punches. Finished strong.<br />
<br />
After a bit of chat, with the ref holding me and Snelly by the hands, the announcer said "Unanimous..." then "...from Macclesfield..." and I just went nuts. Everyone on my tables started yelling and screaming. Amazing. <br />
<br />
We both got presented with medals, and I got a cup trophy. Kirsty came running up to the ring for a hug and kiss, then I went down to my tables for more hugs, handshakes and congratulations. It was so cool to see everyone there, and they were all so happy for me, saying how well I did and how impressed they were. I was just buzzing and bouncing around.<br />
<br />
Went back to the dressing room and saw the rest of the guys, they were still worrying about their own fights, but they'd been watching on the dressing room screens and generally thought I'd boxed well. I'd been relying on their feedback all the way through training so it was good to hear what they thought of my real fight.<br />
<br />
Showered and headed back to the table to see everyone. I watched the rest of the fights, which were all SUPERB, seriously, I'd go to the event again, even if I didn't know any of the competitors. Drank too much and had a thoroughly awesome night. <br />
<br />
I think at this point I should thank everyone who came to support me. They were simply amazing, made loads of noise and made me feel brilliant. They'd got all the tables near them cheering for me as well. The Deutschebank guys who were there supporting Paul Gamble were shouting loud for me apparantly. I met a lot of them afterwards, thoroughly lovely people.<br />
<br />
I certainly need to say something about the trainers. Alexis and Andy were amazing all the way through, incredibly patient with all of us, teaching us everything and putting in a lot of their own time for free to get us ready for our fights. Can't thank them enough. From a personal point of view, without the extra training and encouragement from Alexis, I'm certain I wouldn't have won. Ian, Nick, Michelle and everyone else at Vanda deserve a huge thankyou as well, the scale of this event is immense, and they all did a huge amount of work to make it come off without a hitch. <br />
<br />
The only other thing to say is about Snelly. On the night I beat him, but he's a talented boxer and an amazing competitor who gave it 100% every second of the training and the fight. It could easily have been different. <br />
<br />
I'll make one or two more blog posts in the next few days with lots of links to photos, and if I can write them without sounding too cheesy, some final thoughts on the whole experience.<br />
<br />
0 days to go...<br />
<br />
Been waiting a while to write that.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-38167568484384639302010-04-11T09:45:00.001+08:002010-04-11T09:45:52.794+08:00April 9thThis is late, very late! However, I'll try to write this as if it was Saturday morning and we can all pretend.<br />
<br />
<b>Diet</b><br />
<i>Breakfast</i>: Oatmeal<br />
<i>Mid-morning</i>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<i>Lunch</i>: Chilli, rice, steamed veg<br />
<i>Mid-afternoon</i>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<i>Dinner</i>: Pasta with a ton of chilli and tomato<br />
<br />
Really nervous all day, had to force myself to eat sometimes because I felt sick.<br />
<br />
<b>Exercise</b><br />
None<br />
<br />
As I said, really nervous. I kept obsessing about my plan for the fight and getting a bit stressed.<br />
<br />
1 day to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-30285992376457727512010-04-09T13:27:00.000+08:002010-04-09T13:27:18.361+08:00April 8thAnother rest day leading up to the fight, so not a lot to report, apart from being extremely nervous.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Chilli, rice, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: German bread with chutney, sausages with sauerkraut<br />
<br />
Stick with what works! I’m trying to keep my diet pretty constant leading up to the big night. My brother and his wife arrived today, and we went out for dinner to Brotzeit for dinner.<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
None<br />
<br />
I’m feeling pretty stressed and nervous, which is only going to get worse the closer we get to the fight. Hopefully I can keep it under control and remember what I’ve been taught in training. As long as I do the basics right I should be fine.<br />
<br />
Got final instructions from Andy about what to expect on the night. Turns out we’ve got dressing rooms and so on backstage, so I think I’ll take my iPod and skipping rope to keep me relaxed and warmed up. Also thinking I’ll make myself a crib sheet to remind me what to do: 1) Keep right hand up when you jab 2) Move in, hit and move out. And so on, that’ll give me something to focus on.<br />
<br />
It’s so awesome that Neal and Kate have come all the way here to watch me fight, still can’t quite believe they’re here! <br />
<br />
2 days to go…<br />
<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-5117100812689436042010-04-08T14:34:00.001+08:002010-04-08T14:35:13.458+08:00April 7thI decided to go with my original rest plan and not go to Vanda for a final session. I want to be totally rested and recovered for the fight on Saturday.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal and sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Chilli, rice, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Bibimbap (Korean dish with veg, rice and stirfried beef. I made this at home, turned out pretty good)<br />
<br />
Still sticking to the diet. I think it's important not to change anything this close to the fight. I also had a few crackers as snacks during the day.<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
1km swim, alternating breaststroke and crawl.<br />
<br />
Just a light workout, didn't want to go too nuts, especially not on my arms or my ankles.<br />
<br />
To be honest I'm getting slightly paranoid about injuries at this point, really worried about getting hurt and not being able to fight, letting everyone down and making everything I've been through a waste of time. <br />
<br />
I really hope I can just make it to fight night in one healthy peice.<br />
<br />
3 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-26303903576068980072010-04-07T08:27:00.000+08:002010-04-07T08:27:31.870+08:00April 6thReally tired today so I didn’t end up working out.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal with sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Chilli, rice, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Stirfry beef with egg fried rice (Kirsty made this from a Jamie Oliver recipe, really tasty)<br />
<br />
Normal, healthy stuff<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
None<br />
<br />
I got home from work exhausted, couldn’t face going to the gym. <br />
<br />
I’ll probably be at Vanda tomorrow night though for the final session before the fight. So near the end of the road now!<br />
<br />
4 days to go...<br />
<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-60784144510271420712010-04-06T15:29:00.000+08:002010-04-06T15:29:25.115+08:00April 5thSavage workout today, due to a mixup at the gym.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal with sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Chilli, rice, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Post-workout</em>: Energy drink<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Caesar salad, beef ribs, mashed potato<br />
<br />
Back to normal weekday diet, except I went to Brewerkz after the gym and gorged myself on beef. Nice though.<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
<em>Warmup</em>: Skipping, 3 x3 minutes, 1 minute rest between sets<br />
<em>Speedbag</em>: 3 x3 minutes quick punches, 1 minute rest between sets<br />
<em>Heavy bag</em>: 3 x3 minute general work, 1 minute between sets<br />
<em>Incline situps</em>: 2 x50<br />
<em>Heavy bag</em>: 6 x 30 seconds quick drills, jabs, then crosses, then punchouts<br />
<em>Circuit 1</em>: 10 pressups, 10 crunches, 10 Russian twists, 10 squat thrusts, 10 burpees, 10 ring jumps, repeat 3 times.<br />
<em>Circuit 2</em>: 10 pressups, 10 crunches, 10 Russian twists, 10 squat thrusts, 10 burpees, 10 ring jumps<br />
<em>Shadowing</em>: 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute rest between sets<br />
<em>Pad work</em>: 1 x2 minutes with a partner, full pace<br />
Stretches<br />
<br />
I was told I needed to finish off some filming I’d missed when I away in Thailand, so I went to the gym an hour early to get it out of the way. I warmed up, and the crew still hadn’t arrived, so I carried on. An hour later and they’re still not ready to shoot me. So basically I did an hour before the normal class, then did the whole class as well. <br />
<br />
Knackering.<br />
<br />
Still, I managed to do it without dying, which I couldn’t have 12 weeks ago. <br />
<br />
5 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-79788250301922380022010-04-05T14:04:00.001+08:002010-04-06T15:27:10.518+08:00April 4thOnly did a short workout today, more like what I’ll be doing after the fight to keep my fitness up.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, nuts and honey<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Bagel with a little cream cheese<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Soup with a chickpea and salad wrap<br />
<em>Post-workout</em>: Strawberry milk<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Cottage pie with baked beans (Kirsty made this, was utterly delicious)<br />
<em>Snack</em>: Chocolate cornetto<br />
<br />
I was going along pretty well until the cornetto…<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
<em>Warmup</em>: Skipping, 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute break between sets<br />
<em>Core</em>: Medicine ball 300<br />
<em>Cardio</em>: Interval rowing, 10 x2 minutes, 1 minute break between sets. Average 2.06 per 500m<br />
Stretches<br />
<br />
The rowing was HARD, especially after the core work. The whole session only took about 45 minutes though, which is ideal for a quick workout in the evening, and it was very intense.<br />
<br />
I didn’t do more because it’s less than a week before the fight, I’m about as fit as I’m going to get at this point, and I just need to stay loose.<br />
<br />
6 days to go…<br />
<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-76172556351015108882010-04-04T10:22:00.000+08:002010-04-04T10:22:31.635+08:00April 3rdSaturday training at Vanda. Wasn't many of us there, but a good session anyway.<br />
<br />
<b>Diet</b><br />
<i>Breakfast</i>: Oat bar<br />
<i>Post-workout</i>: Strawberry milk<br />
<i>Lunch</i>: Large pizza<br />
<i>Dinner</i>: Roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, steak, fried onions and tomatoes<br />
<br />
My streak of terrible weekend diets continues...<br />
<br />
<b>Exercise</b><br />
<i>Warmup</i>: 3 x2 minutes shadowing, 4 minutes skipping<br />
<i>Set 1</i>: 15 pressups, 15 crunches, 15 russian twists, 15 squat thrusts, 15 burpees, repeat immediately. Rest 1 minute, then do the whole lot again.<br />
<i>Heavy bag</i>: 5 x2 minutes various punching drills, 1 minute break between sets<br />
<br />
Found this pretty hard. Not sure, but maybe since we started sparring and focused less on fitness my cardio isn't as good as it was. Still loads better than where I started, obviously.<br />
<br />
7 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-47486318464935669542010-04-02T23:39:00.000+08:002010-04-02T23:39:34.525+08:00April 2ndNice relaxing lie-in, and worked out in the afternoon.<br />
<br />
<b>Diet</b><br />
<i>Breakfast</i>: Oatmeal, nuts and honey<br />
<i>Lunch</i>: Skinny pizza (crusty flatbread base, with meatballs and rocket)<br />
<i>Pre-workout</i>: Pretzel<br />
<i>Post-workout</i>: Chocolate milk<br />
<i>Dinner</i>: Chinese, various beef, chicken, fish and rice<br />
<br />
Sort of crappy really, again, ate at the wrong times.<br />
<br />
<b>Exercise</b><br />
<i>Skipping</i>: 3 x2 minutes<br />
<i>Core</i>: Medicine ball 300<br />
<i>Planks</i>: 4 x2 minutes<br />
<i>Weighted punches</i>: 1 kg each hand, 3 x2 minutes<br />
50 pressups, 50 burpees<br />
<br />
Not bad, although I'm dialing it down slightly. Felt good and sharp.<br />
<br />
Only got a few more days of exercise before I start my pre-fight break.<br />
<br />
8 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-52168016613067005832010-04-02T23:22:00.000+08:002010-04-02T23:22:54.292+08:00April 1stBack on the case today, and didn't feel too bad.<br />
<br />
<b>Diet</b><br />
<i>Breakfast</i>: Oatmeal, nuts and sugar<br />
<i>Mid-morning</i>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<i>Lunch</i>: Chilli, rice, steamed veg<br />
<i>Mid-afternoon</i>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<i>Dinner</i>: Beef stew with crusty bread<br />
<br />
Good diet, getting close to the fight, but still keeping it up.<br />
<br />
<b>Exercise</b><br />
<i>Skipping</i>: 3 x2 minutes<br />
<i>Core</i>: Medicine ball 300<br />
<i>Planks</i>: 4 x2 minutes<br />
<i>Heavy Bag 1</i>: 3 x2 minutes general punching<br />
<i>Heavy Bag 2</i>: 3 x2 minutes punchout<br /><i>Skipping</i>: 3 x2 minutes<br />
<br />
Decent workout, went at it pretty hard and didn't feel too bad. The bit of time off I took to recover seems to have helped a lot.<br />
<br />
9 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-71779487817065828632010-04-01T11:34:00.000+08:002010-04-01T11:34:37.855+08:00March 31stAfter a day of intense internal debate I decided on another rest day.<br />
<br />
The reasoning behind this was mainly that if I’m too knackered to give anywhere near 100% at training, I’d have a crap sparring session, do my technique no favours, and my confidence no good at all.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, nuts and sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Chilli, rice, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Chicken, sausage, roasted peppers and homemade beans<br />
<br />
Good diet. Dinner was tasty.<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
None<br />
<br />
Today I felt better than Tuesday, but still weak and generally run down. I reckon Thursday I’ll be ready to start again, even if it’s just a swim or short run to stay sharp.<br />
<br />
10 days to go…<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-8771288483683337932010-03-31T08:38:00.000+08:002010-03-31T08:38:24.446+08:00March 30thRest day, mainly because it’s finally time for the WEIGH IN!!!<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, nuts and sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Chilli with rice and steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Pizza and a little pasta<br />
<br />
Went out for dinner after the weigh in, and relaxed slightly on the diet rules. After all, in pro-boxing they try to pack on the pounds after the weigh in, right? right?<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
None, but probably lost a few pounds through nerves<br />
<br />
Well, it’s not every day you take your shirt off on a stage in the middle of a crowded bar. Well, it used to be, but I haven’t been a student for a while. <br />
<br />
The weigh in was a right laugh, exceptionally well attended with the whole bar packed with cheering people having a good time. They announced each fight in turn, we went up to the stage, shirts off and got on the scales. After that there was a short interview and then your opponent was announced. More cheering, he gets weighed and interviewed and then you pose for some pictures.<br />
<br />
In my interview the guy said I was the most improved guy in the training group! That was amazing to hear, especially because I know how hard everyone’s worked, and I can see how much better they’ve all got. I was a bit taken back, so I fluffed my answer when I should really have thanked Alexis and Andy. Bit annoyed about that.<br />
<br />
Anyway, important parts:<br />
<br />
<strong>I’m fight no. 2 of 8</strong><br />
<strong>I’m fighting Chris “The Pikey” Snell</strong><br />
<br />
Having an early fight is good for several reasons: 1. I’ll be able to watch the other fights from the audience with Kirsty and my mates; 2. Less time hanging around backstage getting stressed; 3. My workmates won’t have had time to get completely hammered and might even remember my fight.<br />
<br />
As for Chris, I’ve sparred with him many times, and he’s a very good fighter so it should be an interesting and even match. I need to start figuring out some sort of game plan!<br />
<br />
Kirsty’s got a load of pictures which I’ll add to here when I get a chance.<br />
<br />
11 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-13973611073183934182010-03-31T08:31:00.002+08:002010-03-31T08:31:49.923+08:00March 29thNot a great day, still extremely tired and couldn’t train properly.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, nuts and sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Chilli with rice and steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Post-workout</em>: Chocolate milk<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Chicken with rice and veg<br />
<br />
Good diet. Chicken in the evening was delicious<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
<em>Warmup</em>: Shadowing, 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute rest between sets<br />
<em>Pads</em>: 4 x2 minutes, 1 minute between sets<br />
<em>Speedbag</em>: 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute between sets<br />
<em>Wall pad</em>: 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute between sets<br />
100 incline situps<br />
<br />
This was a PT session rather than the usual Monday at Vanda, and I tried to push myself to get the most out of it, but I’m just exhausted at the moment. I need a break. The hard part is figuring out how to take time off with less than two weeks till the fight.<br />
<br />
13 days to go…Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-66524515899081837192010-03-29T11:21:00.000+08:002010-03-29T11:21:52.011+08:00March 28thVery bad day, just felt exhausted the whole time<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Curry puff<br />
<em>Snack</em>: Chilli with rice<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Bread with apple chutney, sausage with sauerkraut and potato salad<br />
<em>Post-workout</em>: Chocolate milk<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: BBQ kofte and steak with salad and baked potato<br />
<br />
Ate reasonably well, just at the wrong times I think. <br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
<em>Cycling</em>: 16 minutes of intervals<br />
<em>Weights</em>: Freeweight press, 15 kg each hand, 3 x10. Lateral raises, 2.5kg each hand, 3 x10.<br />
<em>Running</em>: Did 2k at 11kph, then started feeling dizzy and had to stop<br />
<br />
Ands that's it! I tried to do some situps at the end but just felt terrible and left the gym.<br />
<br />
Overall, not a great day. My tiredness and dizzy feeling I can only guess are from a combination of eating at the wrong times and not getting a lot of sleep the night before. Must make sure I’m well rested on the big night; going into the ring feeling like I did today would be a disaster.<br />
<br />
On the plus side, my parents arrived today for a 2 week visit! It’s going to be great to have them here, should be able to take some time off and relax with some golf, which will probably do me a lot of good in the run up to the fight. In the meantime though I just need to keep training. <br />
<br />
14 days to go…Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-74589482733039428632010-03-28T20:50:00.000+08:002010-03-28T20:50:37.450+08:00March 27thPT session with Alexis rather than training, got some sparring in which was good.<br />
<br />
<b>Diet</b><br />
<i>Breakfast</i>: Oatmeal, nuts and honey<br />
<i>Post-workout</i>: Chocolate milk<br />
<i>Lunch</i>: Minestrone breadbowl<br />
<i>Dinner</i>: Chilli and rice<br />
<br />
Not bad for a weekend really<br />
<br />
<b>Exercise</b><br />
<i>Warmup</i>: Shadowing, 3-4 x2 minutes<br />
<i>Attack/Defend Drill</i>: 4 x2 minutes, worked with a guy called Mike, nice guy, good boxer<br />
<i>Hook drill</i>: 4 x2 minutes, again, working with Mike practicing left and right hooks to the head, and ducking to avoid hooks<br />
<i>Sparring</i>: 4 x2 minutes with Mike, light sparring.<br />
<br />
Good session. Mike controlled his punches really well, so I didn't get hurt, but he landed a lot of good shots. His style was very agressive, and he was excellent coming forward. Great practice for me, and I got some good tips from Alexis on what to do to counter that.<br />
<br />
The tactic I should use is to put up a tight guard and move away quickly. I'd then look for an opening, and throw a really quick right when my opponent is drawing his hands back from a punch. Ideally, I should catch all his shots on my gloves, and the counterpunch, if it lands, will be very powerful against the guy's forward momentum. That's the theory anyway, and in the sparring session I managed to pull it off a few times, but sometimes I was put off balance by Mike's quick attack, and my counterpunch was either inaccurate or had no power.<br />
<br />
The other lesson of the day was my own attack. As well as practicing the hook, I also need to work on moving forward with my jabs. If I do it right I can take a small forward step when I punch, which gives me more power in the attack, and also puts my weight on my left toes, allowing me to either carry on the attack or spring backwards quickly.<br />
<br />
Anyway, next sparring session should be Monday, and I can work on these things more.<br />
<br />
15 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-23728372091953988392010-03-27T17:47:00.000+08:002010-03-27T17:47:33.581+08:00March 26thLess tired today, but still nowhere near 100%. <br />
<br />
<b>Diet</b><br />
<i>Breakfast</i>: Oatmeal, nuts and sugar<br />
<i>Mid-morning</i>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<i>Lunch</i>: Chappattis, channa massala<br />
<i>Mid-afternoon</i>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<i>Post-workout</i>: Chocolate milk<br />
<i>Dinner</i>: Tom Yum soup, steamed rice, thai shredded beef, frozen yoghurt<br />
<br />
Bit of a slip today, should have done better. <br />
<br />
<b>Exercise</b><br />
<i>Warmup</i>: Skipping, 3 x2 minutes, 30 seconds break between sets<br />
<i>Set 1</i>: Medicine ball 300<br />
<i>Set 2</i>: Weighted punches, 1 kg each hand, 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute between sets<br />
<i>Set 3</i>: Planks, 4 x2 minutes, 1 minute break between sets<br />
Stretches<br />
<br />
Short, but really intense workout. I moved between sets really quickly.<br />
<br />
Feet still healing, which is good.<br />
<br />
16 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-58736949080770777702010-03-26T09:42:00.001+08:002010-03-26T09:45:36.216+08:00March 25thImpromtu rest-day, one of those times when I know I'm too exhausted to train properly.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, nuts, sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Beef stew, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, rice-cake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Snacks</em>: About 6 cream crackers<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Stirfry beef with egg rice (Kirsty made this, delicious)<br />
<br />
Not sure why, but my normal food didn't fill me up properly so I had some crackers.<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
None, just put my feet up and relaxed.<br />
<br />
With 17 days to go before the fight, a day off probably seems like a strange choice, but when it feels right, it's probably right. As I've said before, there's not a lot of point in a 60% session, you're going to get no benefit and possibly injure yourself with crap technique.<br />
<br />
Hopefully on Friday I'll feel up to getting back on the training case, and I've got a PT session on Saturday instead of the usual Saturday morning training, so that'll be an intense day.<br />
<br />
Feet are healing nicely, nowhere near 100% yet, but better than they were. Nose hurt a little in the morning, but feels fine now. Whatever was wrong with it, sparring on Wednesday doesn't seem to have done any lasting damage. Once the fight is over I'll go see a doctor to put my mind at ease.<br />
<br />
17 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-46971617715426971002010-03-25T09:46:00.000+08:002010-03-25T09:46:28.363+08:00March 24thBad day. Feet hurt lots, no energy at training.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, nuts, sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Butterbean stew, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Post-workout</em>: Energy drink, strawberry milk<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Pasta with tomato sauce and meatballs<br />
<br />
Meh, normal diet<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
<em>Warmup</em>: Shadowing, focus pads, 4 x2 minutes<br />
<em>Heavy bag</em>: 3 x2 minutes general work, jab drill, cross drill, punch out.<br />
<em>Defend/attack drill:</em> 2 x2 minutes<br />
<em>Sparring</em>: 3 x2 minutes<br />
<em>Circuit</em>: 15 pressups, 15 squat thrusts, 15 crunches, 15 burpees, 15 ring jumps, repeat, rest 1 minute = 1 set. Did 2 sets.<br />
<em>Warmdown</em>: 2 minutes shadowing<br />
Stretches<br />
<br />
Hard work. I was tired when I arrived at the gym, and after the warmup and bag work I was knackered and sparring didn’t go very well. I wasn’t moving properly, punches weren’t accurate, and I just didn’t have any real snap. On the plus side, I didn’t get hit too much at all (notable exception of one big right from Simon that I didn’t even see), and got in some good shots of my own. Also, my nose hurt a little bit, but seems to be pretty much fine. <br />
<br />
I practically mummified my feet before training, to try to cushion my existing blisters and prevent any new ones. Mildly successful, but part of my movement problem was the pain from my toes. On the night, I’m sure they won’t be a problem. I’ll be well rested and pumped full of adrenaline. Hopefully my punching will be better for the same reasons.<br />
<br />
In summary, I’m minorly injured, majorly exhausted, and really looking forward to a rest. Current plan is to have my last full training session on Tuesday 6th April, hopefully a final PT session with Alexis to go through a plan for the fight, then have 3 full days off to relax before the big night.<br />
<br />
18 days to go…Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-9781851797931155632010-03-24T14:10:00.000+08:002010-03-24T14:10:13.314+08:00March 23rdPersonal training session number 6 today. Good session, but my feet are still a big problem.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, nuts, sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Beef stew, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple, oat bar<br />
<em>Post-workout</em>: Can of pepsi, chocolate milk<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Meatballs, tomato sauce, pasta<br />
<br />
Normal stuff. Pasta for dinner was good.<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
<em>Shadowing</em>: 6 x2 minutes, 1 minute break between sets<br />
<em>Focus Pads</em>: 6 x2 minutes, 1 minute between sets<br />
<em>Movement Drill</em>: Worked with another guy in the gym, one of us attacked and the other defending, just movement, no punching<br />
<em>Shadowing</em>: Shadowing with the same guy, basically the movement drill above but with shadow punches.<br />
<em>Speed bag</em>: 3 x2 minutes<br />
<em>Wall pad</em>: 3 x2 minutes, mainly practicing rights<br />
100 crunches<br />
Stretches<br />
<br />
Very hard session, but happy with how it went.<br />
<br />
I’d covered by feet with plasters before I started, but I just ended up with blisters on the bits I’d missed. It’s pretty serious, I was struggling to walk all evening. On the plus side, since I've been planning to take a few days off before the fight, I'm pretty sure I'll be healed up and okay on the night, it's just a matter of how well I can train in the next few weeks. <br />
<br />
My nose feels better, so I’m not going to bother with the doctor. I think I must have just bruised the cartilage or something equally minor. In two minds about whether to spar on Wednesday. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow. <br />
<br />
19 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-10829550263170229932010-03-23T14:42:00.001+08:002010-03-23T14:42:40.623+08:00March 22ndNose still hurting, so decided not to spar and did heavy bag training etc. instead.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, nuts and sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Homemade chicken curry, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Homemade chicken curry, rice, mango chutney<br />
<br />
The curry is basically chicken in a tadka daal, so lots of lentils and spices. Didn’t go well with lunchtime vegetables though, so won’t be having it for lunch any more.<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
<em>Warmup</em>: Skipping, 5 minutes or so<br />
<em>Heavy bag</em>: Worked for about 30 minutes, doing various exercises including punchouts, jab drills, combinations, 2 minute rounds.<br />
<em>Weighted punches</em>: 3lb hand weights, 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute break between sets<br />
<em>Incline situps with twist</em>: 2 x50, 2 minute break between sets<br />
<em>Circuit</em>: 10 pressups, 10 crunches, 10 russian twists, 10 squat thrusts, 10 burpees, 10 ring jumps. Repeat, rest 1 minute = 1 set. Did 2 sets.<br />
<em>Warmdown</em>: 2 minutes shadow boxing.<br />
Stretches<br />
<br />
Good hard session. I wish I could have done sparring though. I’ve been told that we don’t spar after the weigh in, so we’ve maybe only got 2 sessions of sparring left before the fight.<br />
<br />
Felt pretty good, was hitting the bag well and felt quite fit. I could do with more sleep though.<br />
<br />
Weighed 74.8 kg this morning, still losing weight.<br />
<br />
20 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-5543066423185803112010-03-22T13:28:00.000+08:002010-03-22T13:28:25.145+08:00March 21stNormal weekend day, good exercise, terrible diet<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: None<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Goulash ‘Breadbowl’ (massive bread roll hollowed out and filled with stew, you eat the stew, then the bowl)<br />
<em>Snack</em>: ½ bowl of chips, pint of lager shandy<br />
<em>Post-workout</em>: Chocolate milk<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Barbeque pork loin with baked potato and salad<br />
<br />
Yup, pretty bad. <br />
<br />
No regrets on the lunch though, that thing was delicious, shall certainly be having again. And I couldn’t resist having a (sort of) beer and chips in the afternoon; we were sitting outside and it was all summery. First alcohol in 3 months!<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
<em>Skipping</em>: 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute break between sets<br />
<em>Core</em>: Medicine ball 300<br />
<em>Skipping</em>: 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute break between sets<br />
<em>Weighted punches</em>: 1kg each hand, 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute break between sets<br />
<em>Skipping</em>: 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute break between sets<br />
<em>Planks</em>: 4 x2 minutes, front and sides<br />
<em>Skipping</em>: 3 x2 minutes, 1 minute break between sets<br />
50 pressups<br />
<br />
Good intense workout, its good to just keep moving all the time, skipping between exercises. I think in future I’ll knock the breaks down to 30 seconds though. My ankles and knees felt okay but I’ll keep an eye on them.<br />
<br />
Injury wise, but feet are feeling a bit better, but we’ll see how they go on Monday night during proper training. The only other thing is my nose. I hurt it last Wednesday in sparring, and it’s still uncomfortable. It’s just the very tip of my nose that hurts, but even a light tap is pretty painful. On the plus side it’s obviously not broken, but I’m slightly concerned. If its still annoying on Monday I’ll consider not sparring.<br />
<br />
21 days to go…Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-83706814448055837802010-03-21T11:05:00.000+08:002010-03-21T11:05:50.498+08:00March 20thAs I said yesterday, I didn't think training at Vanda (jogging, shadowing etc) would be a good idea, so I trained at the condo.<br />
<br />
<b>Diet</b><br />
<i>Breakfast</i>: none<br />
<i>Post-workout</i>: Chocolate milk <br />
<i>Lunch</i>: Chicken biriyani <br />
<i>Mid-afternoon</i>: Frozen yoghurt with cornflakes and strawberry sauce <br />
<i>Dinner</i>: Steak with homemade baked beans<br />
<br />
Ha! Thats a terrible day for the diet. The biriyani was a real treat, and the steak was delicious.<br />
<br />
<b>Exercise</b><br />
<i>Warmup</i>: 5 minutes crosstrainer, stretches<br />
Weights set:<br />
<ul>
<li>100 incline situps</li>
<li>Lat pulldowns, 52.2 kg, 3 x8</li>
<li>Shoulder press, 52.2 kg, 3 x8</li>
<li>Chest press, 52.2 kg, 3 x8</li>
<li>Lateral raises, 2.5 kg, 3 x10</li>
<li>Bicep curls, 7.5 kg, 3 x8 </li>
</ul>
<i>Cycling</i>: 16 minutes, lvl 6 intervals<br />
Then I repeated the weights set and the cycling again<br />
Stretches<br />
<br />
Good set, but because I did it pretty much as soon as I got up, no breakfast, so I was a bit low on energy.<br />
<br />
I don't regret skipping normal training at Vanda, my feet feel better for it. I know I won't have missed any sparring, because we don't do any on Saturday, and I had a good session at home.<br />
<br />
I also bought some special 2 layered socks, apparently one layer sticks to your foot, and the other sticks to the shoe, thus preventing blisters. Thats the idea anyway, we shall see on Monday.<br />
<br />
22 days to go...<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-70065918259957635962010-03-20T19:23:00.001+08:002010-03-20T21:47:01.295+08:00March 19thRest day, so not much to report.<br />
<br />
<b>Diet</b><br />
<i>Breakfast</i>: Oatmeal, nuts and sugar<br />
<i>Mid-morning</i>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<i>Lunch</i>: Chilli, rice, steamed veg plus some biriyani rice with curry sauce<br />
<i>Mid-afternoon</i>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<i>Dinner</i>: 1/2 small pizza with salad<br />
<br />
Normal really, had a little extra lunch because of a safety meeting. The pizza seems way out of bounds, but it was a home cooked jobby, so not to bad for me really.<br />
<br />
<b>Exercise</b><br />
None<br />
<br />
Feet are healing nicely, but still pretty bad. I'm pretty sure I'll be skipping Saturday training at Vanda and doing something at home instead that won't make my blisters worse.<br />
<br />
23 days to go...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-61884760097527209682010-03-19T09:40:00.000+08:002010-03-19T09:40:58.216+08:00March 18thPersonal training session again today. Hard work as usual. My feet are a mess.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, nuts, sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Chilli, rice, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Tuna, ricecake, boiled egg, apple<br />
<em>Post-workout</em>: Chocolate milk<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Thai yellow laksa with chicken and potatoes, frozen yoghurt<br />
<br />
Me and Kirsty both felt in need of a treat, so we went to Thai Express for dinner (living large!) and as usual it was delicious, if drenched in unhealthy coconut milk.<br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
<em>Movement</em>: 4 rounds of what was essentially shadowing-without-punching. Really good drill actually, not throwing punches makes it easy to concentrate on correct footwork and guard.<br />
<em>Shadowing</em>: 4 rounds<br />
<em>Focus pads</em>: 6-7 rounds, working on combinations and guard. I’m still dropping my hands when I get tired<br />
<em>Speed bag</em>: 4 rounds, 2 working on snapping back my jab, 2 endurance and timing<br />
100 crunches<br />
<br />
Hard work, but I’m getting better at the focus pads drill, throwing quick punches and moving well. I’ve still got the usual issues to iron out::<br />
<br />
1. Dropping my right hand when I throw a jab<br />
2. Lifting my back foot when I throw a right<br />
3. Not fully turning my hips and lower body when I throw my right, and so losing power<br />
<br />
We worked hard on #3, practicing that turning motion over and over. If I can get it right my cross should be a useful weapon for the fight. The other 2 are habits, with enough practice they’ll fade and I’ll be a better fighter when they do.<br />
<br />
In between getting shouted at for my faults, Alexis told me he was impressed with how much I’d improved since I started training back in January. Was good to hear, and I’m pretty sure that 3 months ago I couldn’t have done today’s session without collapsing. <br />
<br />
Feeling good health wise, not real injuries except for my feet which are <em>shredded</em>. Kirsty suggested I take a photo and put it on here, but that’s disgusting. Just take my word for it. I covered both feet in plasters before training, which made it bearable but after the session they really started to hurt. By the evening I was hobbling around like a right idiot. I don’t have time to give them the fortnight off that they’d need to heal, so I’ll just keep slapping on plasters and training as normal. Having said that, it’s tempting to skip Saturday training (we’ll probably go for a run, which would be agony) in favour of training at home where I can row, cycle or swim instead and give them a chance to mend. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow.<br />
<br />
23 days to go…Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6304419939646958165.post-19935287234932215992010-03-18T14:55:00.000+08:002010-03-18T14:55:29.815+08:00March 17thSecond sparring session of the week today, turned out to be pretty interesting.<br />
<br />
<strong>Diet</strong><br />
<em>Breakfast</em>: Oatmeal, nuts and sugar<br />
<em>Mid-morning</em>: Double tuna, 2 ricecakes, apple<br />
<em>Lunch</em>: Butterbean stew, steamed veg<br />
<em>Mid-afternoon</em>: Double tuna, 2 ricecakes, apple<br />
<em>Post-workout</em>: Chocolate milk<br />
<em>Dinner</em>: Baked tandori chicken, boiled rice<br />
<br />
Didn’t have my usual pre-workout food, and felt better for it. I eat my ‘mid-afternoon’ food about 3.5 hours before the gym session, which is easily long enough to get it digested, but not so long that I don’t have any energy.<br />
<br />
I’d run out of eggs as well, hence the extra tuna. <br />
<br />
<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
<em>Shadowing</em>: 2 x2 minutes, rest 1 minute between sets.<br />
<em>Sparring</em>: 4 x2 minutes, rest 1 minute between sets. This was the interesting bit; there were only 3 of us there in our weight class, so our rest times were much shorter. 1 minute is exactly what we’ll get on the night so it was interesting to see what that’ll be like.<br />
<em>Circuit</em> 1: 15 pressups, 15 squat thrusts, 15 crunches, 15 burpees, 15 ring jumps. Repeat, rest 1 minute. <br />
<em>Circuit</em> 2: 10 pressups, 10 squat thrusts, 10crunches, 10burpees, 10ring jumps. Repeat.<br />
<em>Planks</em>: 2 x1 minute, rest 1 minute between sets.<br />
Stretches<br />
<br />
When we were sparring Andy told us to go even easier than usual, about 40%. I think the reason for this is that with the shorter rests we’d get tired, and when you get tired you can easily get sloppy with your movement and guard and get hit extremely hard. We stuck to it well and had some good rounds.<br />
<br />
I got in some good shots and got hit pretty rarely so I’m happy with how it went. I felt like I was moving well. After the session the guys I fought complimented me on my defence.<br />
<br />
After the session I asked Andy for some tips, and he recommended that with my height advantage, I should try to stay on the outside, throwing lots of jabs, then when my opponent moves in to get past my jab I should be throwing hard rights. At that point I can either move out again or take the opportunity to land a combination. Seems to me that this could be an excellent tactic that suits my style and strengths. Next sparring session I’ll try it and see what happens.<br />
<br />
The 1-minute rest made the sparring experience very different. Even at 40% we were all getting very tired by the end of our second rounds. It seems like it’ll be impossible to keep up a 100% work-rate for the whole fight, but adrenaline is a funny thing, so we’ll see. One thing’s for sure though, in the later rounds guys will be landing some big punches as arms get tired and hands drop.<br />
<br />
With regards to the nerves I was experiencing before sparring, they’ve now mostly gone. I felt relaxed before the session, and wasn’t worrying all afternoon about it. Like anything, doing it over and over takes away the fear-of-the-unknown aspect. <br />
<br />
Only bad part of the night is my right foot, I’ve got blisters on top of blisters and it’s a right mess at the moment. I’ll patch it up with plasters for personal training tomorrow and hopefully it’ll be okay. <br />
<br />
Lastly, I weighed in at ~75kg (11 stone 11 pounds ) today, so I'm down 7kg from where I started. That's the equivilent of a full set of golf clubs, 3-SW. That's quite a lot!<br />
<br />
24 days to go…Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192831080828346538noreply@blogger.com0