[quote]donnydarkoirl wrote:
I left work and got on the road for Limerick - a city maybe 70/80 miles away.
[/quote]
And a storied city that figured in a different thread.
Small world.
Regards,
Robert A
[quote]Aragorn wrote:
Things are going much better than last time my friend. My father had a couple strokes, two in 1 day, but he’s doing well and a full recovery including memory is on. Also work has slowed down just a bit giving me room to breath and take a weekend off for the mountains and breweries. Altogether feel much better!
[/quote]
I’m sincerely sorry to hear about your Dad, but I’m heartened to hear that he is fighting back. It would appear mental strength is a family trait!
Its great that you got the time to mentally decompress after your stressful period too. Glad you got that time pal
[quote]Beershoes wrote:
I do quite enjoy these drills already! I notice that I need to work more on keeping even footing. Any suggestion on how to do this without staring at your feet?
I love your programming on the weight sessions! Good movements that keep it simple and get you strong.
I’ll have to start epsomsalt baths, and be careful not to fall asleep in them (a bad habbit in the bath).
How hard to you go when you spar? What’s going through your mind when you do?
Lastly, thank you. You have been, and continue to be, both an emense help and an inspiration. [/quote]
Thats fantastic man- I think you can drill all you like- as complicated as you want, but its the fundamentals that are key.
I’ve been in the gym with a couple of relatively high profile fighters and I was surprised to see their coaches had leashed their legs together - so that their feet couldn’t spread more than 14 inches or so apart.
I haven’t tried this myself and I’m not sure I like it outside of extreme circumstances.
Howard Rainey has some terrific drills and use of instrumentation, but they are very hard come by.
For me the basic basic drills we mentioned before are the best.
A fight is a fight - you go with your instinct.
So repetition of the basic patterns we wish to use seem the most valuable.
Commit good form to habit and it’ll become instinct.
My programming really is down to some of the guys on this site.
I have always always really enjoyed reading about training and as a result I’ve taken heavily from Jim Wendler, Aragorn in this very thread and a miscellany of S&C coaches more obliging with their information.
One of my favourite quotes is by Chuck Palahniuk ;
â??Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I’ve ever known.â??
Sparring. Thats a great question and one I battle with regularly!
One of my sparring sessions a week will be light. My friend Derek and I take it as a technical exercise and we go in there with speed and skill.
However… I’m Irish and the practice in our gyms has always been to do it hard.
I’ll be sparring tomorrow with a guy in the world top ten. I’ll be going hard because I know he’ll be going hard on me.
Generally the practice has been 80-90% and just not going for the finish.
I guess when I spar I’m trying to win the round - but by ticking the boxes;
-Is my jab landing?
-Am I landing the combinations we’ve drilled?
-Is my defence solid enough?
Generally whatever the focus of my training has been I’m trying to reinforce that in my sparring. Like a test drive to see how the chassis is holding up!
You needn’t thank me. We are all in this together and you’ve already given me a gift by getting me to think.
This is an area I neglect so often, because I genuinely love fighting. Sometimes, I get caught up and forget to sit back think and box.
Already you’ve made me pause and have a think about why I do things. Thank you for that.
[quote]Robert A wrote:
And a storied city that figured in a different thread.
Small world.
Regards,
Robert A[/quote]
Really? I hadn’t seen that thread.
I lived in Limerick for years- for both University and Boxing.
Its a tough city with some great people.
03.04.14 PM
It was my first time joining in on Gerry’s group class. I was dismayed to find entirerly disimilar to a Crossfit routine!
I never thought crossfit would be my thing, but I guess my entire approach to training may suit it with the intervals.
50 Hang Cleans
40 Barbell Window Wipers
60 Straight Leg Situps
40 KB Lunges
60 T-Ball Slams
50 Weighted Pushups
I bludgeoned this routine. Gerry may have been taken aback with how I handled these, so he allowed me some extra sprints
It really gave me a boost of confidence not only to finish first, but in seeing the other athletes empty their tanks while I was cruising- it confirmed that I’m doing things right and I’ll be in sinister shape May 10.
My only word of caution is that I thoroughly believe Oly lifts should stay in very low reps. The carry over for speed and strength is just not there in high reps and there are so many great exercises that can take their place. That being said, AWESOME JOB! That routine is no joke and you cruised? You’re an animal. Can’t wait to hear about the desolation you lay upon your opponent on the 10th of May.
Thanks for the advise on footwork and sparring!
[quote]Robert A wrote:
Sorry for the digression but:
[quote]Aragorn wrote:
Things are going much better than last time my friend. My father had a couple strokes, two in 1 day, but he’s doing well and a full recovery including memory is on.[/quote]
Aragorn,
I am very sorry to read about your father, but glad that his recovery is going well. I hope things progress as easily as possible.
Regards,
Robert A
[/quote]
Robert,
Thank you very much for your kind words, they are appreciated. He is in fact doing much better and was given clearance to get back to exercising again. It was rough going for a while.
[quote]donnydarkoirl wrote:
[quote]Aragorn wrote:
Things are going much better than last time my friend. My father had a couple strokes, two in 1 day, but he’s doing well and a full recovery including memory is on. Also work has slowed down just a bit giving me room to breath and take a weekend off for the mountains and breweries. Altogether feel much better!
[/quote]
I’m sincerely sorry to hear about your Dad, but I’m heartened to hear that he is fighting back. It would appear mental strength is a family trait!
Its great that you got the time to mentally decompress after your stressful period too. Glad you got that time pal[/quote]
Thank you very much sir. Indeed I very much needed the decompression. My father is quite stubborn, and so when the stroke happened he was hellbent not to go to the hospital with the paramedics. This, as you can be sure, drove us crazy for over an hour although we eventually triumphed. I’m glad he has his brains still, he is one of the most intelligent men I know and quite well read and witty.
He is doing well now although one of his carotid arteries is completely blocked. Strangely the doctors and a nurse friend I had check in on him tell me that the artery is not a threat, but I believe them–as I mentioned above they gave him clearance to start running and exercising a month ago.
It is disheartening to know your dad is finally human :). At any rate no more de-railing your thread. Great work on the group class btw–it always feels good to smoke guys who “should” be trained for that stuff. I’d second Beershoes’s comment on oly lifts being best in low reps but you already knew that. Strength is a rising tide that lifts all athletic qualities, as is explosiveness.
[quote]donnydarkoirl wrote:
[quote]Robert A wrote:
And a storied city that figured in a different thread.
Small world.
Regards,
Robert A[/quote]
Really? I hadn’t seen that thread.
I lived in Limerick for years- for both University and Boxing.
Its a tough city with some great people.[/quote]
It is in the “Bad Ideas” thread, that has morphed into being a tactics/gear thread. Unfortunately I was the one who brought up the city of Limerick in that thread, so of course the discourse was boorish and in poor taste.
In my defense, I hail from Pennsylvania, so gentleman from more cultured parts of the US like FighinIrish, Sentoguy, ect. probably think I spend my free time trying to get a sheep into a pair of fishnet stockings. Which is of course a hurtful stereotype and not at all true. Because everyone in Pennsylvania knows fishnets leave funny lines in the wool.
Regards,
Robert A
Aragorn,
I am glad your father continues to do well. I am sure that if he directs his will and intellect towards recovery he will continue to be a source of joy, aggravation, strength, and annoyance in your life for years.
I am not surprised by the news about the carotid, but it is positive they are not worried none the less.
Regards,
Robert A
[quote]Beershoes wrote:
My only word of caution is that I thoroughly believe Oly lifts should stay in very low reps. The carry over for speed and strength is just not there in high reps and there are so many great exercises that can take their place. That being said, AWESOME JOB! That routine is no joke and you cruised? You’re an animal. Can’t wait to hear about the desolation you lay upon your opponent on the 10th of May.
Thanks for the advise on footwork and sparring![/quote]
Completely agreed- as I’ve probably mentioned previously m y original S&C coach was an Oly lifter of good caliber and I was schooled to a competent level.
I was very much against the idea of high reps, so I performed sets of 5s.
Still high, but with such a light weight (maybe 40% of my max) I was yawning.
I’m not an animal at all yet, but hopefully I will be.
Thanks for the kind wiords andf input here man; I really appreciate it. Youre an asset to the thread 
[quote]Aragorn wrote:
Thank you very much sir. Indeed I very much needed the decompression. My father is quite stubborn, and so when the stroke happened he was hellbent not to go to the hospital with the paramedics. This, as you can be sure, drove us crazy for over an hour although we eventually triumphed. I’m glad he has his brains still, he is one of the most intelligent men I know and quite well read and witty.
He is doing well now although one of his carotid arteries is completely blocked. Strangely the doctors and a nurse friend I had check in on him tell me that the artery is not a threat, but I believe them–as I mentioned above they gave him clearance to start running and exercising a month ago.
It is disheartening to know your dad is finally human :). At any rate no more de-railing your thread. Great work on the group class btw–it always feels good to smoke guys who “should” be trained for that stuff. I’d second Beershoes’s comment on oly lifts being best in low reps but you already knew that. Strength is a rising tide that lifts all athletic qualities, as is explosiveness.[/quote]
You’re not derailing my thread at all.
The thread helps me with my lifes passion and if we can use it to get things off our chests, I see it as well used!
I wish him well. It must be frustrating for him- which in turn makes it hard on all his family.
[quote]Robert A wrote:
It is in the “Bad Ideas” thread, that has morphed into being a tactics/gear thread. Unfortunately I was the one who brought up the city of Limerick in that thread, so of course the discourse was boorish and in poor taste.
In my defense, I hail from Pennsylvania, so gentleman from more cultured parts of the US like FighinIrish, Sentoguy, ect. probably think I spend my free time trying to get a sheep into a pair of fishnet stockings. Which is of course a hurtful stereotype and not at all true. Because everyone in Pennsylvania knows fishnets leave funny lines in the wool.
Regards,
Robert A[/quote]
I caught up with that thread over the weekend; that particular “incident,” that was ROUGH!
I remember when that story came out, we were shocked, the guy got sentenced last year.
Limerick is a city that gets little good press. Despite being the sports capital of the West, its also a gangland haven (though it has improved in recent years.) When I went to live there at 17 it was termed “stab city” by the media.
I went there for the sport and to grow into a man.
The first night I was there I was assaulted -
it was the first time I ever knocked a guy unconcious and the first time I learned the meaning of “run for your life.”
The first night!
I met some wonderful people in that city though and its a second home.
Ha your second paragraph made me laugh!
Ok, we have some catching up to do here!
04.04.14 AM
Drop into Box Jumps 3 3 3
Overhead Med. Throw 3 3 3
Squats 5 5 5* (Knees buckling in; roll the it bands. handled weight well.)
Bench Press 5 5 5 AMRAP PR=6 amrap=8
Pendlay Rows 4 x 6s @ 132lbs
Chinups 25 reps
Preacher Curls 3 x 10s.
RPE; 6
04.04.14PM
Warmup - Joints, Muscles & Cardio systems.
5 Minutes Skipping
4 x 3s Bagwork; High paced, building off straight shots with combinations.
4 x 3s Shadowboxing; Movement and evasive defences. Combination punching.
4 x 3s Bagwork; Continue the high pace. Boxing from a distance
5 Minutes Skipping.
RPE; 8
05.04.14 AM
One hour bodyweight session, focused primarily on the core & posterior chain.
Finshed with 3 x 2s KB Snatches.
Hitting new PR
RPE; 7/8
06.04.14 PM
Fundamental boxing Session.
Revising defence, movement and punch mechanics. Light sweat only. RPE; 6
07.04.14 AM
Agile 8; Real Slow focus on IT Bands & adductors.
Plyometrics;
Seated Box Jumps; 4, 4, 4.
Side Throws 4s, 4s, 4s.
Strength;
Deadlift; 3s @ 132, 154, 188, 200, 231, 242 (5)
Military Press; 3s @ 66, 88, 92, 105, (6) 119 (8)
Assisistance;
Pronated Grip Pullups 5, 5, 5, 5, 5.
DB Rows; 100lbs; 10, 10, 10, 10.
EZ Curls; 3 x 15s
Knux Up Curls; 3 x 10s
07.04.14 PM
My plans were interrupted when another professional invited me to train with him yesterday evening.
I reluctantly agreed and joined his session.
5 minutes skipping
4 x 3s Bagwork
4 x 3s Sparring*
4 x 3s Shadowboxing
*The sparring was slow and constrained - the actions of two people who don’t fully trust the other.
It was useful for movement, defense and some tactical experiments, but that was the extent of its benefit.
It was 12 rounds in the bank - but I can invest my hours better. The intensity was not near my norm and doesn’t lend itself well to my style or tactics. We have a cordial relationship and I don’t want to spoil that, but I need to prioritise myself.
08.04.14 am
Up before the sun again today - but i decided not to have breakfast as I felt a bit swelled from eating some bread yesterday.
I had three local boxers join me this morning.
Gerry said it to me; “You’re getting Stronger, you’re getting faster, you’re getting better” and I feel it.
4 Repetitions of this circuit. 30 seconds on, sub 10 second transitions;
(i) T-Ball Slams
(ii) Battling Ropes
(iii) Suspended Pikes
(iv) Hanging Leg Raises
(vi) Russian Twist
(vii) Med Ball Slam
(viii)TRX Tricep Extension
(ix) Inverted Rows
(x) Pushups (2 Circuits normal, before Gerry Grabbed my feet and ramped them up!)
(xi) Jump Squats
(xii) Bulgarian Bag Rotates
(xiii)Bulgarian Bag Get Ups
I’m still not coasting this circuit. I bust my ass each exercise and basically survive the last 10 seconds after i hit the anaerobic threshold.
The lower abdominal exertcises are a weak point Gerry spotted for me, but we’re definitely developing and its catching up with my upper
Rectus and obliques.
I’m just feeling better and better. Boxing is a little disappointing thus far, but I know once my fitness is good and I’m getting plenty sparring I will be fine. I am not worried.
However, I’ll still strive to get everything perfect.
08.04.14 PM
So for 6.30 I hit the gym. This was my original amateur gym and it was very comfortable arriving in to see all my old coaches and a lot of the amateurs.
I got changed and hit the floor for a quick session.
Warmup - Joints & Muscles.
5 Minutes Skipping (changing the joint movements constantly.)
4 x 3s Bagwork
(focusing on combination accuracy and headmovement.)
4 x 3s Padwork
(these pads were with Mike - a colleague in my amateur days- now the head coach.
These are the type of pads I want on a regular basis and from now on, this is where my boxing sessions will be based.)
4 x 3s Sahdowboxing
5 minutes skipping
This session, I felt slow & lethargic.
I realise that this is because I had a monster conditioning session in the am, but I am still motivated to go back and show what I can really do to the guys who know me since I was a short-ass. Something clicked last night- I sweat buckets and I’ve found the place here at home where I will improve.
This is the gym that made me “tough” I may have learned my skills elsewhere, but this is the place that made me brave enough to use them.
I only have 4.5weeks to train here, but I am confident and for future fights, this will be the place.
[quote]donnydarkoirl wrote:
4 x 3s Padwork
(these pads were with Mike - a colleague in my amateur days- now the head coach.
These are the type of pads I want on a regular basis and from now on, this is where my boxing sessions will be based.)
[/quote]
What was different from your normal padwork? There’s always something comforting about returning to your gym roots.
[quote]Beershoes wrote:
What was different from your normal padwork? There’s always something comforting about returning to your gym roots.[/quote]
When I was an amateur Mike and I worked together all the time -
we had our own rythm and style we worked too.
That was drastically altered when I turned pro and hooked up with a much more regimented trainer.
My last coach- padwork was like drilling. Set combinations - hit them correctly, or start again. This was excellent training in terms of learning about boxing and the mechanics of punching.
Mike and I worked letting the hands go, I axctually find this better training for a fight- or perhaps now that I’m older I trust myself to throw the hands correctly.
I used Patterns I haven’t used in a long time;
1-slip-hook-2-hook-roll-1-1
1-2-slip-r.up-hook-2-hook-roll
1-2-1-slip-body-hook-2-roll
Almost non-stop, a different variation each time, with the defences built in-nothing called.
After this session I remebered something about range;
If I’m too close, the set up of the punch can feel awkward or stifled - after I land I need to get out or pick an angle to escape- this makes mike adjust so that I have time get into good attacking position.
I like those combos, and I love hearing what combinations other people practice. I’ll have to start working those into my shadow boxing.
Questions:
When throwing something like a 1-2-1, is the 2 thrown while still moving? Or is it - Jab and step, plant, throw 2, jab and step? It seems like the 2 needs to be thrown so that you can continue to close distance, but the ranges are different in boxing and kick boxing.
If you’re throwing the 2 while moving, what are the mechanics of this? Is it more of an arm punch so that distance can be covered while moving off the rear foot?
Good question- and one my old coach drilled with me continuously.
Generating momentum from the rear foot- we push forward, the left arm is extended to jab.
Simultaneously, the fore foot lands on the floor, toe first and the front ankle “kicks out” allowing the front hip to rotate externally and extending the jab a little extra.
Upon the jab landing, you immediately pull back the punch and rotate the rear hip/knee/ankle violently- as your weight launches forward the right arm is released.
The first two punches are thrown with forward momentum.
When the right hand lands, we perform a similar push/pull mechanism-
We pull back the straight rear arm and use the momentum to rotate the shoulders.
Simultaneously- the front foot will be rotated “kicking the heel out” and firing a jab using momentum from the shoulder hip and knee.
I hope that made sense???
Forward momentum on the 1-2
With the follow up 1 being from a static position to avoid over extending or compromising balance