Training regimes from around 1900 inside

Umm no they didn't because they were probably doing 7-8miniute miles by all accounts

 

I'm 210lbs and do a 6-13mile run every 2 days and I'd agree if these boxers were doing that roadword they'd have legs as thick as mine but they have skinny legs for the most part. They would also look far far better conditioned, these boxers aren't that well conditioned.

I disagree that a boxer couldn't do 10miles in the morning and work bag or spar in the afternoon. Although if his knees/feet are bashed up from the roadwork he could have trouble walking

However all in all I'd say they'd do some of these workouts occasionally and hype up their workouts just as men in gyms around the world hype their workouts

 

Why would you have thick legs because you run further? Marathon runners, who i presume run as hard or harder than this in their training never have thick legs. The running trims them down. I would ahve thought that it would do the same for boxers. Perhaps this even accounts for the fact that older boxers as a general rule are often as tall as modern boxers but generally weigh much less. I dare say, that if a Lewis or Klitchsko trained like Willard, they would end up being built like willard. (or fulton or any other big tall fighter from the early days). Conversely, if Fitzsimmons had trained the same way that Toney did, he would probably weigh close to the same weight as him also.

Regarding being to tired after the run to do a solid workout, it is interesting. Again, i would have thought that this would be the best time to work on technique and training, as it would help build stamina down the straight. Do you think otherwise?

Regarding the Superman comment, i agree that they are not supermen, but it is a fact that performance is directly related to training. Just because you wouldnt do it and noone today would do it doesnt mean it wasnt done in years gone by. For the prime example, look up the training regiment of Walter Lindrum. No one today would consdier undertaking this, but he did do it and as a result of his training he set records that will probably never be broken. I agree that some of the figures may be exaggerated a little bit, but they couldnt all be, and they must be reasonably close to the mark.

 

I suspect that they eased up on the roadwork and focused more on sparring as the fight aproached giving their body time to recover but retaining the aerobic fitness.

 

Because marathon runners weigh 130-140lbs, not 200lbs, a 200lb man when running is putting 600lb of force onto either foot, a 140lb man puts 420lbs of force onto either foot, massive massive difference as the miles clock up, 1lb of bodyweight will add 5seconds to a 1mile time. Plus marathon runners still probably have thicker more developed legs than most of these boxers. The old time boxers don't look like they have the leg structure to do decent times over 10miles for the most part

There is an assumption in your post that all the top old timers trained hard. Many won't have done, especially the likes of Willard won't have done, I'd pick Lennox Lewis and Vitali to have far better mile times than Willard

 

Didn't Maher run over 20 miles on certain days or something equally ridiculous?

The guys workouts dwarfed Marciano's even.

 

That is what I have heard.

Matdenoleon would probably give you more details about Mahers workout.

 

Which Willard are we talking about?

The one of the Dempsey fight perhaps.

The one of the Johnson fight no way.

 

Wow. Maher could have just as easily gotten knocked out by running no miles at all.

Seriously, though, i think PowerPuncher is on to something. Perhaps they only logged such miles a few days a week or tapered off as the fight approach. Or also, part of their roadwork was a brisk walk. I have seen the photos of these guys in their large sweaters and wool trousers doing such roadwork. Still, most do not look to be in the shape of 70+ mile a week guys. Furthermore, the footware in those days must have been atrotious. I can only imagine the injuries sustained from all those miles and how counter-productive it would be to actual boxing.

 

Maher was a extreme alcoholic later in his career. His career and losses are a bit more complicated then they appear on paper.

 

the easy answer is these guys didn't know how far a mile was, I mean damn, even the fighters in the early 1800's who we know of their training regimens claimed to run ten miles.

as technology advances we learn more, and the easy answer is they weren't really running ten or fifteen miles, but only five or seven.

sheesh.

 

That observation is more than a little patronising not to mention ill informed.

Distances between urban settlements have been well known and publicised since the 1800s. They were the basis on which postal charges were calculated and were often measured in minute detail for that reason.

A common method used by ealy fighters to estimate distances was to run along the route of telegraph lines.

 

Max Schmeling

Max Schmeling usualy traveled to the Unites States by linner and would start off his training regime by running 12 miles a day on deck.

His Napanoch training camp was at an altitude of 1400 feet to facilitate altitude training.

Acording to the Sunday Pictorial (pior to the Ben Foord fight) his training rotine consisted of eight miles of roadwork through the snow, followed by 6-8 rounds with his sparring partners. He would then spend hours skipping and bag work. He would then relax in the evening with clay pigeon shooting.

We can inferr from this that Schmeling trained meticulously even for commonwealth grade oponents.

Joe Louis

When Louis trained for his title fight against Jimmy Braddock he set up quaters by Lake Michigan a month before the fight.

His regime early in the camp was thus:

He would rise at 5.00 and run ten miles with Jack Blackburn drove behind him in a car measuring the miles.

He would then go back to bed and sleep untill 10.00 after which he would wake for a breakfast of prumes, orange juice, and liver. He woult then relax for a few hours and hold sparring sesions in the afternoon.

Dinner consisted of chicken, fish and vegetables and Louis was alowed icecream for desert.

To relax Louis would play pingpong, read and listen to jazz music.

He would round the day off by going for a walk along the shore of the lake and then go to bed at 9.00.

I know that on other ocasions Louis often rowed which is probably why his training camps were always next to one lake or another.