Credible sources re: Marciano’s training and dieting?

Thanks for this - why do we always mythologize our idols? As said before: the idea he DIDN'T run 10-15 miles a day doesn't demean his accomplishments or his dedication to training. But why is it necessary to create insane numbers to justify his status? It reminds me of the stuff said about Bruce Lee - at one point, it was said he could hold a 70 lb barbell straight in front of him for several seconds. Believable, and remarkable. Then it became a 100 lb barbell. Then 150 lbs (bear in mind, he only weighed about 130). Then it became a 100lb dumbbell held to his side. I believe at one point he could levitate and juggle a pair of 70kg kettlebells blindfolded while whistling the Battle Hymn of the Republic - or God Save the Queen, I forget which.

 

I have combed thru dozens of firsthand accounts of his training camps from Walcott I thru Moore. They are remarkably consistent regarding the distances he ran or ran/walked... 5-6 miles a day, which is no mean feat by the way considering he still had a full day of training in front of him. Nowhere did I see 9-10 miles or 10-15 miles or any other distance reported.

 

Joe Louis ran 6 miles every day, and i heard rocky would too on the off season and in the earlier parts of fight camp. He only bumped it up to 10/15 for a limited amount of time, and not every day. That would be suicide.

 

Can you give me a link or a photo of the new york times one?

 

The AP one?

 

oh, my bad, i meant Detroit times. the one you said he ran 6.5 miles a day on

 

For Louis or Marciano?

 

Why me?

Anyways tons of sources have claimed it, though there's no *difinitive* proof, like a video. I take it to be true since it's so widely rumored and it fits his god-tier stamina

 

For comparison, assuming their memories are good about their training when interviewed decades later:

Ken Norton: 3-8 miles, "depending on my progress in training camp"

Muhammad Ali: "about 6 miles," which he claims he usually did in about 40 minutes running in "army-type boots"

Leon Spinks: 6 miles a day, 6 days a week, with Sunday off.

Source: Workouts from Boxing's Greatest Champs, Gary Todd (2005, ABC Books); information taken from standardized questionnaire interviews from Norton, Spinks, and Ali.


Allowing for a bit of exaggeration, inexact calculations, and cloudy memories, this isn't too far off from what the Marciano sources @Seamus found are claiming for Marciano. It sounds pretty standard for well-conditioned elite athletes from the mid-century, pre-Shilstone era.

 

is good for you
mentally and physically

 

Its funny to me how people criticize the miles he put in.
Apparently it did work for him since he had great stamina.

Sounds like those couch potato's who talk about overtraining and recovery rather than get the work in.

 

"he didn't lift weights due to his bad back"

wasn't he known for lifting boulders from the ground up over his head and tossing them, his bad back would have prevented him from repeatedly ducking under a swinging heavy bag like he did too