I recently got back into sparring after 3 years and my stamina is pretty atrocious, anyone have any recommendations on how they maintain good cardio during a sparring sesh?
Out of the gym - try two to three days of running, but ranging from jogging to sprinting each run. Even 20 to 30 minutes will be beneficial. The next one is personal, but better start with 2 minutes rounds. Then move up to 3. And always give your maximum, no matter running or rounds. Of course, if no health issues. But you just need to get back in shape if you had it 3 years ago, so don't rush, but do it wisely and be persistent - it'll comeback.
yeah, jumping into sparring without first easing yourself in with some roadwork or aerobic respiration training is a bad idea.
I actually find that running doesn’t do much except make my lungs feel a bit fresher in the ring, which of course isn’t a bad thing. However, if you really want to improve stamina for sparring, you need to do a lot more sparring. If you want to lessen the risk you can do high volume body shots only. What has also worked for me is just constantly hitting the heavy bag nonstop until you no longer can. This is what Errol Spence does and he’s known for his great gas tank.
Yeah, light sparring (even just drills moving and swapping turns jabbing & slipping) is a good way to soft-launch yourself into harder sparring. You just don't want to go in cold from "not really in shape" to slugging. You'll be donezo inside a round and it won't even have been productive, just a waste of time. You have to meet a minimum cardiovascular threshold before any coach worth their salt ought to be greenlighting you.
I've always wanted to try and do 10 hard rounds on the bag every day, but I so far haven't really set up a schedule for it. Do you think that can help?
It will definitely help a lot, but it won’t exactly match the intensity of sparring. When you’re actually in the ring you’re doing a lot more movements that you won’t even be thinking of on the bag. On the bag you also don’t have things to really drain you like nerves, missing shots, and getting hit.
Yeah I haven't sparred in awhile before the past few months and it's EXHAUSTING! I sparred today and even though I did good in the first rounds, by the end of it I was completely gassed and just trying to survive
Beside all the work in gym and roadwork like others said, remmber about your breathing not only in offense but also i defence. Try tu put on your pace use feints and stay composed.
Most of what people do in the gym is called "physical activity". There's a difference between PA and cardio. There's a proper way to increase endurance through cardio. And that is to push your heart rate to a certain threshold and maintain it for 20-30 minutes. If this is not done, all you're doing is PA. You're not increasing endurance. The most successful fighters have superior cardio because they jog alot. By having good cardio, you can reach into the later rounds, where your opponent won't.
