tournament result:advice needed

[40 cent]

well this was my third full contact tournament. there was only 4 fighters in my division, it was novice lightweight under kyokushin rules, so barefisted with knees and elbows allowed, no punches to the face (tho u always cop a few) but kicks to the head allowed.

as most of u would know ive been doing a fairly intensive program considering my level-running, sparring, conditioning, weights, bag work etc so i was in reasonably good condition.

i was really nervous for the first fight, in fact i was nervous a week before. i fought a guy of good skill level, he was tough, and he fought the same as me. i went ok for the 2 minutes, but halfway through the extension i just completely ran out of stamina. he wasnt hurting me as such, i just completely died and his work rate was better than mine. i lost that fight.

second fight i lost the taste for battle a bit so i wasnt as nervous. i fought well and it went to extension and my workrate remained pretty good, although this guy didnt stay on me as much so i was able to move around and play my own game.

it was odd, i understand that nerves take energy away and so forth, and that can only be countered through experience, but i was really dissapointed that my stamina, which i thought was a strength going into the fight, left me so early, and so quickly. im used to doing rounds and so forth and not running out of steam.

my question is, can anyone give me some good exercises to help with stamina under pressure. im thinking of changing my bag work out to more intense and longer periods, trying to rest as much. i really dont want it to happen again coz it was dissapointing i lost due to lack of stamina and not being hurt. help me out and give me as much advice as possible, i got the best thing out of it and that was to learn from it.

btw ill hafta change my training for a bit coz i broke my big toe down the bottom halfway through the second fight. excellent. keep in mind i fight in the nationals in 2 months, so my training will be geared towards that. thanks a lot.

[ninjanurse]

You should take a look at your nutirition and hydration. Often that can be a huge factor in endurance/stamina.

[Meguro]

Sounds like nerves, which as you say, will be taken care of with more experience.

What was your training routine before the fight? Do any intervals? Running?

[Aodhan]

I'd tend to agree with the nerves, which translates into increased adrenaline. That will burn through your energy reserves faster than it will when you are training. And that will take care of itself with more experience in the ring.

Aodhan

[Ben Martin]

i hate nerves i get them so bad when i get in to the ring well not getting in but the waiting ive had stage fright since i was young and hate doing things in front of crowds and my mates always come in groups and film it which makes it worse lol

[AnonymousOne]

Many fighters suffer from a lack of stamina in fights and this is because they have not developed their anaerobic system.

All too often in MA and boxing they train mainly in aerobic conditioning when the art/sport actually has anaerobic needs.

They need to study how to develop anaerobic threshold.

There are many exercises you can do to develop this area. For example:

Sprinting

Squat jumps

Burpees

Medicine ball exercises

Plyometric exercises in general.

The eminent boxing coach and athlete Ross Enamait has written on this extensively and has several training manuals one can buy.

[markusan]

I agree with the above. It's all about anaerobic fitness. So when you run put in 75 percent pace sprints upt to abou 200 metres. I do mine around an athletics track. sprint 200, jog 200 sprint 200 jog 200, do as many as you can. Do a couple of sessions like that a week. The same goes for bag work, Always use a clock. Punch the bag as fast as you can for a minute, rest for a minute and repeat. Then take it to two minutes and eventually three etc over time. But keep it so hard and fast that by the end of the period you can't suck enough air. Do the same with kicking. When you start to improve make yourself a circuit of bagwork, sjipping rope, situps, burpees, back to bagwork. Again it has to be all hard fast and explosive and your breathing has to burn. You are trying to lengthen your intense exercise period and shorten your recovery period/ It hurts but it works.

[Sam]

I agree with pretty much everything that's been said.

Anaerobic fitness is vital to sparring / tournament situations, but if you're saying you've already developed this - then like its already been said its mostly down to nerves : high adrenaline, your lose your control over your breathing rate, heart rate increases, you start moving in a different way and not using your muscles as efficiently; just expereience helps you get over this - not much help i guess considering you got the nationals so soon.

All i would say is when you get in there try andtake a moment to calm yourself and just take it as it comes - try not to put any expectations on it.

[40 cent]

ok thanks for the advice everyone, its reassuring in a way i guess.

i havent been doing any sprints, so i will need to work on that a bit more, i think i will have to spend more time on the bag going 'flat out' as a move around a bit much i think.

so how do u think i should structure my sprints, ive been running 5 days a week for 30 mins, i will swap these for 2 sprint sessions. how should i structure it on those mornings?

[cheeks]

when structuring training you need to remember to rest, as well as working hard as it is during the rest days that your body recovers and gets stronger/fitter.

as far as your training goes it depends on what is comfortable for you.

if i was doing this i would have 4 sessions a week:

day 1 slow jog - 30 mins

day 2 sprint session - 15-20mins

day 3 rest

day 4 slow jog - 30 mins

day 5 sprint session - 15-20mins

day 6 rest

day 7 rest

a quick tip: you should never let your training stagnate. once you sgtart getting used to it, make it longer, ie a 40min run and 25min sprint. and beyond

a 2nd quick tip, during the sprint sessions if you are feeling tired and start slowing down, dig your heels in, keep it going and finish it. the mental toughness you develop on the hard sessions will prepare you for competitions, when you get lethargic, grit your teeth and keep going