I was told the other day that my fitness isn't a problem but I need to work on my conditioning? What's the difference? I guess I can get more conditioned to fighting by sparring because of the mental and physical punishment elements but is this all I can do?
I guess fitness would be your speed, agility etc. Conditioning your stamina and ability to maintain the pace you set. Only guessing, though.
How I understand it is that conditioning is the application of your fitness. i.e. I can do pad work for at 100mph for an hour but after 3 rounds sparring I'm shattered. Why? Because although I have the fitness my body is not used to (ie. conditioned) to the mental efforts, pads not being put in the right place etc. Thats how I understood it anyway.
Just because your fit doesn't mean that you are specifically conditioned for boxing, for example a marathon runner is fit but would struggle to complete a round of boxing which is high impact, anerobic. Your trainer sounds like he might have a bit of sense.
I would say im extremely fit but not well conditioned to boxing . For example iv trained now for a year 5-7 days a week and im one of the fittest people i know. However when it comes to sparring or even some boxing drills in general i get as nackered as the next new person. Im injured at the moment but once healed im going to start focusing on conditiong and gear it more towards anaerobic exercises mostly using Ross training as a guide and see if i notice a difference which im pretty sure i will!
I wonder how much of it is mental? The really good people I spar are so relaxed and looked like they could fight for 100 rounds!
So for a novice as myself, would you recommend several 3 minute drills of high intesnity training is a better way for preparing than roadwork? Roadwork is starting to affect my knees as I have been running/sprinting for years.....hence the question.
Running is only used on boxing to stimulate your heart and lungs. If your having promblems with your joints try a cross trainer. As a novice it would be more beneficial to train your endurance (long slow work) for now as the demands on your body aren't massive.
