[Mr. Sinister]

So as many people up here who interact with me know in March of 2006 I plan to head out to Vegas to throw my hand-in at beginning a Pro Career in Boxing. I been busting ass all year this year and some of last year to get into the best conditioning I've ever been in. Lately I been REALLY noticing the results. This is a good sign for me because being older it's tough to just be beginning in a World like Boxing. So, that being said I'm giving myself from now until the third week of March to get all the way down to a nicely sliced 154lbs, which is the weight division I will be fighting in. And just for shits and giggles, I thought I'd log it beginning today, the day after my Birthday.

Age: 27
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 162lbs.
BF%: 11

Goals:

To reach 154lbs (which is what I weighed when I was like 9 or 10 years-old), but be cut, establish the textbook Boxer build, defined arms, 6-pack, developed shoulders, strong legs, etc. To have INSANE, cyborg-like stamina. To have BAFFLING movement and accuracy to couple with my natrually apt punching power.

Gear:

75lb heavybag, double-end bag, speed-bag, 1 set of Pro Style 16oz Gloves, 1 weighted jump-rope, 1 ab-wheel, 1 set of 20lb dumbbells (Boxers competing in lighter weight-classes don't much lift weights), 1 set of push-up bars (in my routine you'll see why I use these), 1 road lol, 1 elliptical bike, 1 set of focus mitts, 1 training partner twice my size (260lbs roughly) three days per week.

[Mr. Sinister]

12/23/05


15 minutes mixed-stretching. I do a lot of plyometric stretches here like you see Boxers do warming up for fights. I do some extensive leg-stretching as well like splits, v-sit-and-reach, and a little Wu Shu jibengong stuff because I believe strong legs help in the ring a lot.

3 minute rope-skip to warm-up. Mixing jump-rope sprints in as well.

7.64 mile run.

Heavy Bag Rounds 101 (http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=270665)

Only went to round 5 though.

4 rounds double-end bag (here is my double-end routine for future reference):

The Double-end bag - My double-end bag has dual purposes. One is obviously learning to slip punches, but I also use it to train accuracy at hitting a moving target by varying what punches I hit it with and at what pace. But there's varying exercises you can do to use it to help you know how to move in and not be afraid of defending a counter. The first round I do on the double-end bag is just punch, slip slip, punch, slip slip, puch, circle, punch punch, slip circle, etc. Slower-paced, and working mostly on slipping and footwork. Second round on the bag I switch it up. I throw this combination drill repeatedly:

jab, jab, jab, jab, cross, jab, cross, jab

Getting faster and faster with it as time goes on. I also circle while I throw this. Why? So I can be comfortable throwing an extensive combination at full-speed, on a moving taget, going either backward or foreward. I do my best not to stop for the entire 3 minutes, some days I do some I don't. What makes this drill hard is the circling part. Because as you circle the double-end bag will start to respond all jerky and whatnot. Plus, this drill will help you understand that a jab has to CONTROL where your opponent is. The four jabs you'll find have a lot of effect on whether or not your crosses accomplish anything.

My third round on the double-end is pretty odd as well. What I do is I throw a punch. Let's just say my jab. Now the bag comes RIGHT back, correct? What I do is I jab, and when by the time the bag comes back I have my arm up to keep it from popping me in the face, glove near the ear. It'll bounce back off your glove when you do this, when it retracts from my deflect I throw a counter-cross. This emulates countering a counter. And you have to be wicked accurate to do this with any kind of rythm, timing, or consistency. Especially because for all basic purposes your blind as to where the bag is on the second retract. Your glove being up to deflect may block you from seeing it for a second. I do the same thing with the cross. Throw the cross, pull the hand tight to deflect the bag's counter-punch, then when it bounces off from being deflected, boom, hook.

Fourth round on the double-end bag is spent throwing hooks off the jab, cross, and 1-2 combo. Because a lot of guys have a good 1-2 and really don't know what punch to follow it up with. A good hook or uppercut will do the trick (duh). But, they hesitate because they think they won't land the hook, that they'll get countered. Hooking on the double-end will send it all over the place and really stress your accuracy. And you might get popped once or twice in training up the KO punch, so your confidence in eating a punch to land the KO should be fine.

7 minutes continuous speed-bag (my speed-bag is on a free-moving swivel ball as well. Meaning when you hit it, if you don't hit it right it moves in circles and fucks you up. Some guys now use ones that just go back and forth, not full-range, which I feel is cheating).

10 pull-ups (I do them on the rafters in my little gym-room)

20 push-ups, 10 with the bars facing horizontal to my view, 10 with them facing vertical to my view.

Tidbits: I carry a grip-strengthener with me, which I must have squeezed about a thousand times at work. I just do it mainly to keep from hurting people. lol I also subconsciously Shadowbox every chance I get.

[graedy]

Push up bars are nice. If i do normal pushups i get a numb right shoulder afterwards (it kind of hardens up). But if i use the pushup bars ---> no problem. The increased ROM make this exercise a whole anohter story than normal push ups. You can also try reverse grip push ups on the bars (palms facing out). If you go all the way down, they are pretty hard on the region arround your neck.
Well, im lookin forward to see more of your work outs. Its interesting to see someone work to go Pro.

[Mr. Sinister]

Push up bars are nice. If i do normal pushups i get a numb right shoulder afterwards (it kind of hardens up). But if i use the pushup bars ---> no problem. The increased ROM make this exercise a whole anohter story than normal push ups. You can also try reverse grip push ups on the bars (palms facing out). If you go all the way down, they are pretty hard on the region arround your neck.
Well, im lookin forward to see more of your work outs. Its interesting to see someone work to go Pro.

Yeah, I like the bars because they isolate muscle groups really well, as well as dips do (since I have no apparatus to do dips on). And doing inverted push-ups with them is absolute MURDER.

Today:

20 minute stretch

4 minute rope-skip

6.87 mile run

Heavy Bag Rounds 101

3 rounds double-end bag

3 rounds speed-bag (I was about as coordinated as a newborn giraffe trying to walk today)

10 pull-ups

2 rounds Shadowboxing

Weights:

Standing dumbbell curls: (what I do here is curl up, and as I push the curled arm down I begin curling the other arm midway, so the full motion resembles the 1-2 punch combo)
- 4 sets of 10 (counting every other rep as one)

Seated dumbbell curl:
- 3 sets of 20 per arm

Overhead tricep hammer-curl:
- 3 sets of 20 per arm

Tricep kickbacks:
- 2 sets of 20 per arm

Weighted shoulder shrugs:
- 2 sets of 20 rotating forward
- 2 sets of 20 rotating backward
(alternating)

Frontwards raises: (focusing on trap and lat flexes)
- 4 sets of 10 counting every other rep as one

20 push-ups, 10 with the bars facing horizontal to my view, 10 with them facing vertical to my view.

The End.

(To think I gotta get cleaned up and get to work soon, luckily it's not a full day of work.)

[Mr. Sinister]

Christmas Schmistmas. Put them sweets down and get your lazy ass to training:

15 minute stretch.

3 minute rope-skip.

5.25 mile run (I lessened the time today because I incorporated a 3-minute stint of only back-pedaling, which sucks.)

Heavy Bag Rounds 101
(I was hitting like a bitch today.)

4 rounds double-end bag.

4 rounds speed bag.

2 rounds Shadowboxing.

10 rafter pull-ups.

40 push-ups. 20 horizontal bar-placing, 20 vertical.

8 inverted push-ups. Here's how you do an inverted push-up:

what you do is a hand-stand near a wall, so that you tip forward and can bend your knees and touch your toes to the wall for balance. You're up on the palms of your hands basically in hand-stand position, and you do your push-ups like that. Of course the advanced level of this is actual hand-stand push-ups...no wall.

That is all.

[Brandon MacRea]

Hey KK, interesting log. Sort of inspiring to see another boxer lurking around here. I'm also fighting at 154, and I'm 6'0.

You mentioned you wanted powerful legs and cyborg-esque stamina, I'd really suggest burpees. Nothing fancy, just bodyweight burpees with a full push-up and tuck-jump, or if you HAVE to weigh them down do Medicine ball burpees. No matter the variation, make sure you're keeping a fast and explosive pace. These not only toast your legs but are a great form of GPP. You probably know all of this, but hey, just saying, throw them into a circuit, some shadowboxing/burpees intervals, or as active rest and you'll thank me (once the hatred and burning subside...)

Good luck

p.s. the "Heavybag Rounds 101" routine is pretty damned good. I follow a rudimentary heavybag routine (4-8 rounds with punch-out drills to punctuate each round, or the 10x10/5x20 drills) and I find that "heavybag rounds 101" is great to throw in atleast twice a week because of the isolated punches and the uber-emphasis on form. Fucking grade A stuff

[Mr. Sinister]

You mentioned you wanted powerful legs and cyborg-esque stamina, I'd really suggest burpees. Nothing fancy, just bodyweight burpees with a full push-up and tuck-jump, or if you HAVE to weigh them down do Medicine ball burpees. No matter the variation, make sure you're keeping a fast and explosive pace. These not only toast your legs but are a great form of GPP. You probably know all of this, but hey, just saying, throw them into a circuit, some shadowboxing/burpees intervals, or as active rest and you'll thank me (once the hatred and burning subside...)

I haven't gotten to leg-day yet bro. Heh heh. When I used to train Arts that used my legs, burpees was one of my staple-exercises. Here was my routine for building strength in legs:

1) Squat kicks - Stand in your stance and squat bending only at the knees. When you rise completely, pop a teep kick. Repeat. Then after a while switch sides and work on the other leg. You can also do this with your feet even and your hands up, alternating legs. Squat, stand, left kick, squat, stand, right kick, etc. If you can have someone hold a blocking pad for you, you can work on accuracy and follow-through. You can also do this for side-kicks and back-kicks, and it will give you strength and balance enough to kick people so hard in the gut they have to pee.

2) Squat Thrust (a.k.a. "Burpees") kicks - This one SUCKS, but works like a charm. Perform a squat thrust. Stand with feet together, arms at your sides. Squat all the way down bending at the knees and slightly at the waist, hands flat to the floor, thrust out your back legs keeping them straight and together (so that you end up in push-up position), and then pull in the legs back to the squat position, shoot back up into standing position, and pop a teep or round-kick, repeat, and on the next one alternate legs. The trick is to do this all in one fluid motion. You might fall over the first couple of times you do it but you'll get used to it. This one is also fun with a target, blocking pads work best.

3) Frog Jumps - Hands behind your head, squat down as far as you can, then spring up and jump, landing back and flowing down back into the squat positon, repeat. Your ass and hamstrings will get solid REAL fast with this one.

4) Machine-gun kicking drills - I actually stole this from my TKD classes when I was little but man does it help with kicking power and speed. On your heavy bag (I assume you have one, if not GET ONE, they're a Muay Thai fighter's BEST friend), do your kicks in succession as fast and hard as you can for like 50 straight kicks. 25 with each leg. Increase as it gets easier and faster. So that this is how it goes: Left Right Left Right , as if you're walking down your opponent with your kicks.

I don't so much kick now because of Boxing, but I haven't abandoned them. Just my leg-day hasn't come in the log yet. It'll be Wednesday and you'll see what I do nowadays.

[Mr. Sinister]

Rest.

[Chad Hamilton]

It's about time you coughed up some secrets.

I'm sure viewing this will be a humbling experience for me.
What the hell am I saying, it already has, I feel like a...well...an amateur.
Hmm?

I'm gonna go sit under a big tree and think.
Be back in a few weeks.

[Mr. Sinister]

It's about time you coughed up some secrets.

I'm sure viewing this will be a humbling experience for me.
What the hell am I saying, it already has, I feel like a...well...an amateur.
Hmm?

I'm gonna go sit under a big tree and think.
Be back in a few weeks.

You'll be Pro in no time man. I have a feeling...rather an intuition, that when you get back to civilization in full-force from your training you're going to be Chad version 2.0, the Upgrade.