The Theory of the Sweet Science
The Theory of the Sweet Science
If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable — Seneca
The second greatest thing that you can do to prevent fatigue and over training is set a specific goal and stick to it, in this case it ought to be boxing training. I emphasize the word specific because you are either engaging in cardio work whereby you may do a lot of running, boxing and long distance bike rides in order to improve fitness levels or you are lifting weights to develop greater strength. Unless you are some freak of nature or you are taking steroids, both goals are mutually exclusive. In other words having the strength of a power lifter and the fitness and stamina of a boxer is humanly impossible. That's not to say that boxers aren't strong, they are, but their strength is different and comes about mainly by the use of training with one's own bodyweight.
If your goal is to have optimum cardio fitness levels then your training should reflect that. If you want to be a boxer train like a boxer, if you want to be able to lift huge amounts of weight, then train like a weight lifter, but never ever try to accomplish both goals at the same time, it’s a surefire recipe for burnout.
Simply realise that health comes before fitness.
Lending a parable from Christianity: in John chapter 14:3 — no man cometh unto the Father, but by me
And so it goes that, no one gets to fitness but through health, it’s that simple. You have to have a healthy body and mind. Recurring injuries, aches and pains, psychological disturbances etc, all take their toll and the more of these things that are present, the less likely it’ll be that you can reach your upper limits.
Get the body and mind right first, it’s the foundation you’ll always be working from and it has to be solid.
Here are some signs of over-training:
So, by setting a specific goal you are honing your energy into that one task only. This will enable your body to cope and recover more quickly and more efficiently than had you otherwise been stressing it with an added training regimen that is contradictory to what you are trying to achieve. People who take on training methods that are conflicting with their main game find themselves using their time and valuable energy training in that second discipline, when in fact they should be using that time and recuperative energy to allow their bodies to recover from their main training routine. This also tends to set up a situation where you are only training in boxing half as much as you otherwise could have.
For an exercise to be specific it must fulfill one or more of the following criteria:
The exercise must duplicate the exact movement witnessed in a certain segment of the sports skill. For example, an exercise to duplicate the exact ankle, knee, hip, or shoulder joint action in running.
The exercise must involve the same type of muscular contraction as used in the skill execution. For example, in the knee drive exercise, the muscles undergo an explosive concentric (shortening) contraction (after being pre-tensed) to produce maximum force and resultant running speed. After the initial contraction the limb continues on via its own momentum until the antagonist muscles undergo a strong eccentric (lengthening) contraction to slow down and stop the limb before an injury can occur. The special exercise can also duplicate the speed of movement.
The special exercise must have the same range of motion as in the skill action. For example, in running, doing an exercise with the arm raised above the head and then pulling it downward may use the same muscles, but it does not duplicate the same range of muscular arm action. A more specific exercise is to move the arm backward and upward so that it duplicates the exact range of motion which occurs in the running stride. [Source]
The Body becomes its function - Bulgarian weight lifters motto
Simply put, whenever you train in one discipline (weights or cardio), you will have a detrimental effect on the other discipline. Cardio fitness routines by their very nature work to strip you of body weight, you’ll lose body fat but if you do enough of it, you will also lose muscle mass. On the other hand, training like a body builder or a power lifter will add bulk to your frame and slow you down. A boxers body should be athletic.
Not having a specific goal sets up a situation akin to a dog chasing its tail. You are constantly making gains in one area, then losing them in another. You never quite achieve anything of significance and that then serves to set you up for frustration.
It's also worth noting because it is largely understated, but social interactions suffer greatly when a person trains beyond their body’s ability to recover. Motivation to work, play and generally enjoy life in general wanes which can cause problems within itself.
Anyone who does any amount of physical training will know the feeling of getting that ‘natural high’. On a physiological level, endogenous neurotransmitters, probably in the form of dopamine and opioids like endorphins are giving you a temporary period of peaceful bliss and calm. Now, the drama is that people can and do get hooked on these feelings and can often replace their external goal with an inner need to get high from training. People will often do it without realising it and the consequences are overtraining and all the symptoms that go with that. In effect they are in no better a position in life than a drug addict. So steer clear of that. If this sounds like you put some serious effort into finding a hobby and endeavour to keep your personal life and your training separate.
A goose who was plucking grass upon a common thought herself affronted by a horse who fed near her; and in hissing accents, thus addressed him: "I am certainly a more noble and perfect animal than you, for the whole range and extent of your faculties is confined to one element."
" I can walk upon the ground as well as you; I have, besides, wings, with which I can raise myself in the air; and when I please, I can sport on ponds and lakes, and refresh myself in the cool waters. I enjoy the different powers of a bird, a fish and a quadruped."
The horse, snorting somewhat disdainfully, replied: "It is true you inhabit three elements, but you make no very distinguished figure in any one of them. You fly, indeed; but your flight is so heavy and clumsy, that you have no right to put yourself on a level with the lark or the swallow."
"You can swim on the surface of the waters, but you cannot live in them as fishes do; you cannot find your food in that element, nor glide smoothly along the bottom of the waves."
"And when you walk, or rather waddle, upon the ground, with your broad feet and long neck stretched out, hissing at everyone who passes by, you bring upon yourself the derision of the beholders"
"I confess that I am formed only to move upon the ground; but how graceful is my make! How well turned my limbs! How highly finished my whole body! How great my strength! how astonishing my speed! I had much rather be confined to one element, and be admired in that, than be a goose in all!"
Fables from Boccaccio and Chaucer, Dr. John Aikin (1747-1822)
Overtraining & Fatigue Continue to Part 2 »
