Looking for a fight -- please help...

[deckyrd]

So here I am -- finally taking my first step in making this real. Been reading the site and getting the emails for a while, and now I'm not taking any more excuses because I'm looking for help. The friendly kick in the ass, the pat on the back, the encouragement I know I need to get where I want to go.

I'm 33, I weigh 214 lbs, 5'11", I have a 2nd degree black belt in karate, and I just started going back to the boxing gym I used to work out at. Amateur boxing rules cut off registration at age 34, so I've got eight months to get in shape and get a fight before I'm no longer eligible.

Right now, at my weight, I qualify for the "Super Heavyweight" division (200 lbs and up) and to me that's just embarrassing so I've gotta drop 20 pounds (to give myself a nice couple-pound cushion) to get a fight in the heavyweight division.

My weak points:

-- TERRIBLE cardio -- I hate running. Period. But I know I need my lung power to make it through the rounds and to get myself into the superhero shape I want to be in.

-- Poor diet. I eat well (healthy, clean, good food, low-carbs, good fats, high protein and lots of veggies) about 70% of the time... The other 30% of the time, I'm really bad. It all but ruins all the good I do for myself when I do eat well. I enjoy food -- I really enjoy BAD for you food.

-- I smoke. I know it all, I've heard it all, I've seen it all, I know I must quit. I'm WAY down from where I was even a year ago (from three or four packs a week to one or two), but I've gotta get those last few cigs out of the equation once and for all.

My strong points:

-- I LOVE boxing and martial arts. I love superheroes and movies. I believe almost everything I see and hear and read, so I really think that anybody can become Batman, or Tyler Durden, or John McClaine, or Obi-Wan Kenobi. I haven't ever thought for a second that I couldn't do something if I worked hard enough for it and/or really wanted it.

-- I may not be the fastest, but f@ck you I don't quit. The few fights I've been in (when I was a kid) I never gave up, even after I'd been beaten stupid and senseless. I love hiking, for example, and to me 10 miles through wilderness with a pack on and supplies is nothing. I'll just keep on walking forever until I get there, whatever happens.

That's about all I can think of for right now -- I just wanted to get some things out and down on screen before I'd had too much of a chance to think and over-analyze everything. This place seems to be the place to be, and considering all of the awesome success stories on here, I think I've found some new friends.

Thanks in advance, I can't wait to hear back from somebody willing to come with me on this one.

[Tom Kenobi]

Welcome to the Rebellion man! I haven't been in a ring fight before, but I've been along side good friends who have. I know "road work" is one of those things that is stuck in the basic dogma of boxing/fighting. How about doing Tabata training instead of straight road work. That will help. If you think about it, Tabata training is closer to the timing/rythm of ring fights than just plodding down doing road work. High intensity for 5, 10, 25, 30 secs and then a lull and then another high intensity burst and then a lull. Hope that helps. If not, no worries. Get after it! Oh, and speaking from someone who understands/knows substance addiction - you have to just pull the plug man. Taking it down little by little is the brain's way of tricking you into staying addicted. My two cents, but I'm sure you've heard that too. You can do this! Hope to see some more updates from you in the WOOT Room!

[The Purple Diane]

Welcome!

I second the recommendation for Tabata training. Here's Steve's post about it: http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/06/29/tabata-the-most-efficient-4-minutes-of-your-life/

Seriously, it's scientifically proven to be efficient. How much more nerdy can you get?

On the food, it sounds like you're 70% of the way there. Maybe a good challenge would be to see if you can get that to 75% of the time, then 80%... it's a long journey but you can feel good about being headed in the right direction.

Good luck! Let us know how you do.

[CthulianDreams]

Good to see you here! Step one (you've heard it before, I know) is quitting smoking. Lots of us here have done it (myself included) so it is possible, but it's no fun at all. Fortunately, you're here so you're already a couple steps ahead of most people.

As far as week point #1, if you don't like running, don't run. You won't enjoy it, it'll be hard to stay motivated, and you'll come to resent the workouts. There's lots of things you can do instead; swimming, jumprope, burpees, etc. The most helpful tip I have is find something you enjoy, even if it's not the most effective workout, and do that. The Tabata training system works for pretty much anything you do (okay, maybe not burpees), even jumping jacks.

Just out of curiosity, what school of karate do you study?

[Hermione Gainser]

I hate running. Oh lawdy, do I ever. I want to like it... I really do.. but it just won't happen. So, I don't run.

Honestly, all the cardio I ever did never got me to where my endurance is now. I got that from boxing. The fitness workouts that we do on top of our regular training are the best cardio workouts I've ever done. And I love it so I never stop. I'm not sure what your boxing gym is like but if it's anything like mine you'll be good to go in no time. Otherwise, try something like crossfit or any intense circuit training. You can do all cardio circuits or you can mix it up. I've had loads of links given to me by fellow nerd fitnessers relating to the subject. And, honestly, I think sparring and circuit training are the best way to get the kind of conditioning you need as a boxer.

Good luck finding a fight! I definitely will not be getting in the ring with you, but I hope someone does!

[halftruths]

Welcome to the rebellion! Fellow karateka here. I'm not a big fan of running, but it's growing on me and part of that is due to how we train at my club. We do quite a lot of running, and usually spend half an hour to fourty minutes doing pure conditioning at the start of each class. Generally, we to either a really varied run (which includes hallways, stairs, parkades, fields, pretty much wherever Sensei takes a notion to go), or alternate sprints with full-power katas (sprint/run one loop, then do one kata, then do the running loop again, then do the next kata, etc), or wind sprints with random periods of techniques, push-ups, leg-raises, whatever worked in. The end result was that by the end of my first four months with the club, I could finally run 5 k. I've since started going on additional runs a few times a week during lunch. It's good for conditioning, and the gym across the street is to damn expensive.

In terms of getting into shape for a fight, though, the short sprints are more useful than endurance running. In particularly, the run/sprint loops with alternating katas really works well. Additionally, you can do 30 second sprints or 90 second flat-out runs (depending on your level of fatigue), then rapidly cycle through a set of body-weight strength exercises (pushups, walking planks, etc), then explode back into the sprint/run loop. I find that this sort of stop-and-go activity more closely mimics the type of aerobic and anaerobic energy expenditure you get into a fight.

[Knightwatch]

Welcome!

There's a classic Crossfit workout called Fight Gone Bad. Try that once a week or so; you'll have to do additional conditioning work on the side, but it's a helluva workout itself, and a good way to judge progress. Try to get more points every time.

Good luck!

edit: oh, right. Link.

[deckyrd]

Hey all! Thanks for the great outpouring of support and encouragement! I don't have much live support here (most of my friends are already in good shape or don't care enough to want to try, so it's hard to find encouragement here), so I really appreciate hearing back from all of you!

@Cthulian -- Right now I'm a 2nd degree black belt in Shudokan karate, but in the past I've also practiced/studies Shito-Ryu Karate, Hung-Gar Kung-Fu, Aikido, and (as I mentioned) boxing.

@Tom and Purple -- Thanks for letting me know about the Tabata training! I checked out the Nerdfitness write up about it and it sounds AWESOME. I've already got a few exercises in mind to try it on and I'll get on it tomorrow when I hit the gym.

@Laura -- Great to meet another boxer in here! Have you had any fights yet, or do you just do the workouts for the ASS-KICKING WORKOUT it is?

@Halftruths -- Your dojo sounds INTENSE! I'm kinda jealous -- my sensei doesn't work us out too hard with much (if any) real FITNESS stuff, it's a 15 minute warmup followed by mostly kata. Sometimes we do sparring drills (which, as I'm sure you know, are only good for point sparring and next to worthless in real fights), but even the drills are light and easy with not much cardio work involved. The best workout I get at karate (aside from doing katas at full speed/strength) is when we actually spar/fight because it's the constant movement and fighting that gets the blood moving.

@Knightwatch -- Thanks for the link! I haven't watched it yet, but along with the Tabata it sounds great. I'm psyched to get cracking on all of these ideas and find what fits/suits me best!

Thanks again everybody! You rule and I'm damn glad I joined up on here!

[Hermione Gainser]

It's always a pleasure to meet another boxer :-D

I had an amateur fight back in October...that was my first. I was definitely the more skilled fighter (it was my opponents first fight, too) but I got mental and froze :-( Ah well.. we live, we learn, we get back in the gym... I'm not sure when I'll fight again or if I will. We'll see. In the mean time, I keep up my training like I am going to fight BECAUSE it's such a killer workout. I'm also an assistant trainer so I get to run the fitness classes on occasion.

I'm glad we're here to support you! Explore the forums and question away!