If It Isn’t Broke Don’t Try To Fix It Part I
By Roy Bennett
A car mechanic squeezes his upper body into the footwell space under the dashboard. It’s an awkward position. He’s lying on his side but twisted face up. It doesn’t look comfortable. It isn’t. But he’s used to it. And there’s a job to be done. The sinewy forearms and thickened fingers are a byproduct of using the tools of his trade on a daily basis. Screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, spanners. The eyes have it. They know what to look for. The hands know what to do. In his own way he’s conditioned for the job. If you want to be a good car mechanic you’ve got to get your hands dirty and get busy fixing cars. Not bicycles. Cars. If you want to be a good boxer you’ve got to be willing to sweat and bleed. You’ve got to be willing to get your hands and face dirty by boxing and fighting. Not bicep curling. Not flipping JCB tires. Boxing…..
A boxer is a fighter. Not an athlete. The major difference between the two is the state of mind. It is not uncommon for boxers to fight through horrendous injuries to emerge victorious during bouts, as Rocky Marciano did after Ezzard Charles ripped his nose almost in half, or to get up from being knocked down and still roar back to win, as Diego Corrales did in his legendary brawl with Jose Luis Castillo, when it looked like he was a thoroughly beaten fighter.
Traditionally, for big fights, a boxer would isolate himself with his team in a rural or mountainous setting, at a training camp far from city life. Away from family, friends, modern conveniences, and any other unnecessary distractions. It was a spartan existence. It permitted the fighter to develop an unwavering focus toward the task at hand while he sharpened his skills and prepared his body and mind for battle. Muscles, sinews, heart, and lungs were trained to peak fitness through a rigorous daily regimen of exercises appropriate to the boxer’s trade. During this period of isolation the body was brought to a state of fighting hardness. Discipline and self denial enabled the boxer to push through the grind and intensity of the daily workload. Expectation that he would be finely tuned and ready to go to war come fight time had the effect of stretching the boundaries of the boxer’s mind so he was prepared, and willing to cross much higher thresholds of pain and injury to win than any athlete would dare. The result of all of this is a fighter. Not an athlete.
Old Skool Vs New School – Strength & Conditioning Methods
The acquisition of strength and endurance has always bestowed physical capability on the individual. You’re always going to be better off with it than without it. Especially in the world of combat sports, where even the smallest advantage, or lack thereof, can mean the difference between victory or painful defeat. Throughout history fighters in every culture around the world have developed training methods to increase physical strength, endurance, speed, and power. In Ancient Greece, legend has it that Milo of Croton, the most renowned wrestler in antiquity, carried a new born calf daily until it reached maturity and became a fully grown bull. His unique training method worked. He became the Olympic Games wrestling champion six times. In boxing, similarly, men have sought physical advantage over their rivals in numerous innovative ways. Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey used to soak his face and hands in brine to toughen the skin. He also used chews of pine tar gum to strengthen his jaw muscles. Unbeaten heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano had a specially made heavy bag that weighed three hundred pounds which he used to develop his tremendous punching power. When middleweight champion Marvin Hagler was preparing for a fight in training camp, which he used to call “jail,” he would do his running in heavy work boots to build extra strength in his legs. When asked why he ran in boots Hagler’s straight faced reply was, “Sneakers are for sissies.”
In boxing today strength & conditioning is a hot topic of discussion. There was a time, not too long ago, when the boxing trainer planned and organised his fighters physical conditioning routines. However, competition is fierce and boxers and other athletes are constantly searching for the latest training methods which will give them the edge, real or imagined, over their nearest rivals. I remember a fighter bringing a hypnotist into his camp to make him impervious to pain. Whether the effects were real or imagined it sufficiently unnerved his opponent. Some top fighters started to bring in specialised outside assistance in the form of strength & conditioning coaches armed with sports science qualifications, equipment never before seen in boxing gyms, and theories about how boxers should train to generate more punching power. Mapping, measuring, calculating, tabulating. These bearers of scientific knowledge were attempting to drag boxing kicking and screaming into the new century against its better judgement.
Old skool boxing trainers shook their collective heads when training methods from the wider sports world began to appear in some boxing circles thirty years ago. In 1985 light heavyweight world champion Michael Spinks resolved to do what no man before him had ever done. Move up to the heavyweight division and win the world title. But Spinks fought in the 175 lb weight class and would be giving away close to fifty pounds to the unbeaten champion Larry Holmes. How was he going to put on the required weight without compromising his movement or boxing skills? In the first example of its kind I can remember, Spinks employed the services of New England strength & conditioning guru Mackie Shilstone to help him. Working with Shilstone, Spinks added the necessary weight to his frame and on the night he entered the ring and stood in the opposite corner from Larry Holmes he weighed a solid, and battle ready two hundred pounds. Shilstone gave his take on a professional prizefighter’s conditioning requirements,
“In the ring there’s no difference between boxing and war. If a man hits another man, and the other man doesn’t get up, no one goes to jail. The ring is a theatre of operations with a Geneva Convention called a referee. Everything else is a child’s sport. All other sports pale in comparison. Boxers literally have to look out for their lives.”
Shilstone had Spinks run sprints instead of doing traditional roadwork. He committed boxing’s cardinal sin of putting Spinks on a weightlifting program. He made the light heavyweight champion take two days off per week to allow his mind and body to recuperate. Many boxing insiders were baffled by this new conditioning approach and described his training routine as, “All wrong.” But Spinks was effusive in his praise for Shilstone’s regimen, “My training and diet gave me everything I needed for this fight.” Michael Spinks would go on to beat Larry Holmes by split decision and become the first light heavyweight in history to move up and win the heavyweight world championship. “I’m not ashamed to say on that night my heart pumped better blood than Larry’s did,” said Spinks. He would repeat the feat six months later. This time by controversial unanimous decision. Shilstone made his thoughts on matters very clear, “I brought science to boxing when boxing was archaic.” But not everyone was convinced.
Come Back Tomorrow for Part II of: If It Isn’t Broke Don’t Try To Fix It
