Alright so that's enough drama for now, let's get down to business. I start with Syd on Monday for our first of 4 private sessions in the next 2 weeeks, in that time he also has me scheduled for other workouts and some sparring rounds. The purpose of the next 2 weeks is to determine where I am, and to determine when we can schedule a fight!
I'm not in bad shape, but nowhere near the shape I was in a year ago. I'm not in 'fight' shape. My stint over the winter season saw me gain 21 lbs up to 163. I'm manageable now at 150 but that's still too heavy for me to move the way I want. Ideally I should be around 140-142. I think. I mean, I feel good at that weight, I'm quick and as strong as I would be at 165. The only thing is, I remember that I didn't look good, I looked sick and mal-nourished. But I'm not too concerned with my appearance actually, I just want to be in peak physical form no matter what that entails. It really doesn't matter, I'll leave it up to Syd to determine what weight I should be at, I'll leave it up to Syd for everything I guess.
Right now I run 4 miles a day, and skip 12, 3 minute rounds with a 30 second rest between rounds then I'll do some rounds of bag work depending how I feel. Right now I can't really manage to do more than 4 rounds of meaningful punching. Then I'll do 15-20 minutes worth of abs on alternating days. I've converted the garage to a little boxing gym, there's a punching bag, a double-end bag(a head-sized bag between 2 bungee-cords) and a speedbag, and there is enough room to skip and do anything required to do any boxing related training.
I'll increase my strength and conditioning time once I get my body lighter as to not put too much stress on my joints with a heavier frame. That's my reasoning right now. Maybe it's just an excuse for not training harder and avoiding pain! I'm actually just trying to be smart, I think 2 years ago I over-trained a lot. I was always injured and fighting through some kind of ache or pain, some part of my body was always trying to heal or recover. My workouts were many times based on whatever part of my body wasn't ailing. It's boxing afterall. Training is vigorous, hard on the body, you have to expect to be sore. I remember a good friend of mine Tebor(Canadian Champ at 150lbs) telling me that as a boxer you will NEVER be at 100% physically. That's proven to be true. So while I can't prepare for any injuries or ailments that the future will bring, mentally I am prepared, better prepared than I was 2 years ago anyway. Mentally I'm ready. For anything.
I meet with Angela next week so set my nutritional plan. We were going to try to meet this week but scheduling the time was tough. Perfect for me, I can eat garbage for another week! Meeting with Angela might be the most critical part of my training. Food, my kryptonite. You can tell me to do sprints on 45degree hills, tell me to do 100 burpees with a weighted vest, tell me to do crunches til I puke, but hold a french fry in front of and ask me not to eat it...almost impossible. Nutrition has always been a problem for me. Nutrution will be the ultimate gauge as to how committed I am to my dream. I did make great efforts a couple years ago, but if I were to honest with myself, I wasn't comitted enough to eating properly. I'm ready this time, ready to do what it takes, even if it means eating organic cardboard. Angela...be kind.
So there's much to be done. I know that regardless of anything going on around me, I can only control one thing, my effort. In the past, there wasn't enough focus, I have to learn from that and do things differently. I changed my schedule at work so that I work all closes. That will mean I'm working later nights but it will allow me to train at a consistent time everyday which is necessary for me. I need routine. Without routine I will struggle. Routine is important for my sobriety too. And my sobriety takes precedence over EVERYTHING, even boxing.
I think I've learned from the past. I know more about boxing and the politics behind the scenes. As far as my own journey is concerned, I'm more sure of what it is I'm doing and the reasons I'm doing it. I've never been more excited, it's time, time to get down to business.
