By the healthiergang writer Gabriele Galasso, Functional Training instructor and K1 competitive athlete.
Athletic Boxing Preparation
What you are about to read is not meant to be a “plug and play” package but rather a tool to think about and base their athletic training in the field of standing combat sports such as kickboxing, Thai boxing, boxing and the like.
A question of percentages
I like it, to make things easier, divide the amount of training over the course of a season into "percentages" as is done for macronutrients during a diet: those who get their results with 40% carbohydrates, 30% fats and 30% proteins, those who instead have to favor carbohydrates by sacrificing other macronutrients ... and those who still have to increase their protein intake to disadvantage of carbohydrates and fats ... in short, we are all different and each of us needs their own diet tailored to them by a professional based on their somatotype, goal, physical activity, etc ...
Perfect, having said that, it is therefore impossible to give perfect percentages, but let's say that with the ones I'm about to show you, I got the best results on some athletes:
What our "nutrients" will be, are listed below:
1. GPP (general physical preparedness)
2. Conditioning aspecifico
3. Specific conditioning
Phase 1
This phase is present above all in the amateur context, where the long summer breaks of inactivity make the effects of the de-training very evident: we are talking about the end of August and the beginning of September, where the competitive season resumes, but the dates of the appointments are still not well known.
Working on GPP in a intense and differentiated, lays solid foundations for the next job: in my opinion, the first phase of the athlete's preparation must be as much physical as technical, thus setting aside everything related to the technical gesture itself.
So off to running sessions (both continuous, sprint, and HIIT), functional circuits with free body and tools (kettlebell, sandbag, battle ropes ...) trying to involve both aerobic / anaerobic energy systems in various separate sessions of training or why not in different parts of it.
Phase 2
We are getting closer to the periodo match, but we're not that close yet. We have about a month or a few more weeks (at best some matches are fixed with 2-3 weeks' notice): we begin to work on the concept of non-specific conditioning for about 60% of athletic training, focusing on all those suitable activities. to improve certain conditional skills (strength, endurance, speed, flexibility), without however entering the technical domain of the sporting gesture.
We therefore speak of sessions that I prefer to vary by working with macro circuits with the help of some bodyweight exercise and plenty of room for weight vest, free barbells, kettlebells, resistor (elastic), clubbell, sandbag.
A 10% of GPP is maintained in this phase, in my case I like it for example join an aerobic interval endurance run on a day of active rest: recent studies have shown that aerobic training favors an increase in the density of the capillaries surrounding the muscle mass, with a consequent improvement in performance due to a more effective transformation of energy into muscle contraction.
Indeed one of the bigger mistakes in my opinion it is the exclusion of running from the modern athletic preparations of combat sports, on the wave of the fashion of functional training. The adaptation just described due to aerobic training increases VO2max in a way that is certainly more effective than circuits in the anaerobic field.
In addition, the 30% specific conditioning, that is a muscular conditioning that re-proposes the technical gesture. The mother exercise in my opinion are the repetitions to the bag / hitters, which at this distance from the match can be kept for one minute longer than the recovery to be made, with timing that touches the aerobic field (20/10 or 30/30 my favorites).
Shadow boxing shots can also be included in this 30%, working at different rhythms, for example 15 seconds at high intensity and 45 seconds at low intensity).
Phase 3
During this phase, the match is upon us: my opinion is to leave ample space for all that is specific conditioning.
This phase could vary from 20 to 15 days before the event, always leaving it for granted that you are talking about amateur events and that therefore there are no warnings for a couple of months as in professional contexts.
For phase 3, the sparring sessions, hitters and above all repetitions have to do the bulk of the work, occupying about 75% of the time. A percentage of about 5% is always left to the usual jog that we have included in the GPP category, while the remaining 20% ​​to non-specific conditioning.
The latter would be well addressed to not too exhausting work from a physical point of view, more than anything else to the conditional skills that the athlete most needs according to the coach at that time: for example an athlete who has no problems with holding all the shots necessary for the required intensity, could neglect the resistance to the force (which he already has and which he will keep with the specific conditioning) in favor of another aspect, such as mobility or speed.
In summary
PHASE 1 (start of the season up to a couple of months after the match)
100% GPP
PHASE 2 (up to about 20 days from the match)
10% GPP
60% Conditioning aspecifico
30% Specific Conditioning
PHASE 3 (about 20 days before the match)
5% GPP
20% Conditioning aspecifico
75% Specific Conditioning
All this is to be understood as a line indicative guide, net of everything related to the technical part. Apart from PHASE 1 where it is possible to overlook the technical discourse, for PHASE 2 and PHASE 3 the time dedicated to the technical / tactical aspect, fundamental and which obviously requires its spaces, has not been counted in the percentages.
Good workout!
