Endurance in Boxing

**Mordschlag** · Posted On: 5/24/2012 5:46pm

So now that I'm back in Americaland I've been going back to my old boxing club. I'm slowly getting back into shape but my endurance is awful. Awful like I can barely finish the third round. I'm not sure if I am getting too worked up and it's in my head or if I need more cardio. I decided to go look through my old boxing books for advice but I don't understand how these dudes went like 80 rounds, especially when they only did what seems to be 30 minutes of general strength training a day with weights that weighed 5 pounds max.

I'm not training for competition or anything, but I really want to be able to go three rounds without feeling like I'm having something between a stroke and a religious experience. How do y'all train for endurance? Any WMA guys out there with old time endurance training tips?

**lordbd** · Posted On: 5/24/2012 6:09pm

Ive been jumping rope trying to build up to 3 minutes. Plyometric workouts might help too because they're intense.

**Permalost** · Posted On: 5/24/2012 6:13pm

Originally Posted by Mordschlag

I decided to go look through my old boxing books for advice but I don't understand how these dudes went like 80 rounds, especially when they only did what seems to be 30 minutes of general strength training a day with weights that weighed 5 pounds max.

A few things:
-athletics have improved a whole lot since the 1800s, so if you can ask a modern boxing coach this question, do so and do what he says

-"80 rounds" didn't mean the same thing it means today, a round was ended when someone was thrown or put a knee down. So, a round could be a lot less than a modern timed round, and I'll bet the stop-and-reset allowed for lots of quick breathers

-world class boxers like Fitzsimmons talk about how you should train 30 mins a day w/ 3lb weights, but if a world class boxer trained that way, then the ranks of fighters one would be fighting probably were too. Its easier to be an out of shape fighter when pretty much everyone works out by lifting some soup cans for a bit, doing some deep breaths and going for a constitutional

-jump rope!

-I also assume that the lax physical standards should be viewed with the lifestyle of the time in mind. People were more likely to have real, physically demanding jobs back then, so they probably got lots of exercise while working all day, so half an hour of old timey exercise may have been more appropriate.

**lordbd** · Posted On: 5/24/2012 6:24pm

Fitzsimmons supposedly built his hitting power during his years as a blacksmith. Case in point.

**gregaquaman** · Posted On: 5/24/2012 7:22pm

Hill sprints. Fixes everything.

Personally I think a lot of it im mental while sparring anyway.

**DubhGhaill** · Posted On: 5/25/2012 10:04am

Roadwork.

Also...

**W. Rabbit** · Posted On: 5/25/2012 12:25pm

Learn to breathe more efficiently.

Great techniques, striking power, strength...they'll turn into nothing if you don't regulate your breathing.

**Mordschlag** · Posted On: 5/25/2012 5:53pm

Originally Posted by lordbd

Ive been jumping rope trying to build up to 3 minutes. Plyometric workouts might help too because they're intense.

Googled plyometric exercises and seems like something I can do. It appears to be not dissimilar to the way I’d jump around the boulders here, so I can incorporate this into my hill sprints. Have you been doing plyometrics and if so, what are your impressions?

Originally Posted by Permalost

A few things:
-athletics have improved a whole lot since the 1800s, so if you can ask a modern boxing coach this question, do so and do what he says

-"80 rounds" didn't mean the same thing it means today, a round was ended when someone was thrown or put a knee down. So, a round could be a lot less than a modern timed round, and I'll bet the stop-and-reset allowed for lots of quick breathers

-world class boxers like Fitzsimmons talk about how you should train 30 mins a day w/ 3lb weights, but if a world class boxer trained that way, then the ranks of fighters one would be fighting probably were too. Its easier to be an out of shape fighter when pretty much everyone works out by lifting some soup cans for a bit, doing some deep breaths and going for a constitutional

-jump rope!

-I also assume that the lax physical standards should be viewed with the lifestyle of the time in mind. People were more likely to have real, physically demanding jobs back then, so they probably got lots of exercise while working all day, so half an hour of old timey exercise may have been more appropriate.

These are all good points, thanks. It also probably helped Fitzsimmons that they didn’t have weight classes, considering his size. At least I have the benefit in knowing that I will always have a shot at being the champion of pygmy boxing.

Originally Posted by gregaquaman

Hill sprints. Fixes everything.

Personally I think a lot of it im mental while sparring anyway.

Good idea. There just happens to magically be a hill near me anyway so this is something I can put into my training routine.

Originally Posted by W. Rabbit

Learn to breathe more efficiently.

Great techniques, striking power, strength...they'll turn into nothing if you don't regulate your breathing.

Agreed. I think I need to calm down and loosen up more when I spar. Any tips?

**W. Rabbit** · Posted On: 5/25/2012 7:25pm

Originally Posted by Mordschlag

Agreed. I think I need to calm down and loosen up more when I spar. Any tips?

I'm not expert, but here's what I've learned:

Learn to stay relaxed under duress and fear of being hit. This can take practice but (imho) is one of the biggest advantages of doing at least some sparring..learning to stay unwound until you really need to explode. Stress/Fear = Tension = Wasted Oxygen.

Train in diaphragmatic breathing so that your upper body muscles (shoulders, back etc) can focus on blocking and striking instead of breathing.

Train your nose. Learn to breathe through your nose instead of sucking air through your mouth. Keeping your mouth closed has the added benefit of keeping your mouthguard in place, imho.

**Mordschlag** · Posted On: 5/26/2012 12:29pm

Originally Posted by W. Rabbit

I'm not expert, but here's what I've learned:

Learn to stay relaxed under duress and fear of being hit. This can take practice but (imho) is one of the biggest advantages of doing at least some sparring..learning to stay unwound until you really need to explode. Stress/Fear = Tension = Wasted Oxygen.

I think this is gonna be key for me. I've noticed that I'll be less tense in some sparring situations and more tense in others, like I'll be less tense when I spar friends that I know I'm better than or when we use rule-sets I enjoy more than others. Just gotta work on being calm and treating everyone I spar the same (confidence-wise).