Jake Lamotas stamina?

It can't be literally true - it's not that hard to dig up contemporary references to LaMotta doing roadwork. Either it's bravado on LaMotta's part or, conceivably, he misunderstood the question and thought he was being accused of running from opponents in the ring.

 

pretty sure he ran with combat boots...

 

People also like telling fibs. I think a lot of people really over or understate their training.

It sounds like it could have just been for comedic effect in this case too.

 

"I sometimes get the feeling that I should exercise then I lay down until the feeling goes away".
Neil Armstrong.

 

I think James Toney said he doesn't run. He gets his cardio by hitting the heavybag, sparring, and using the speed bag.

There is some logic to it as doing those things activates the muscles you actually use for boxing while running is mostly strengthening your legs and lungs but doesn't do jack for your arms or upper body. Not only that, but the type of running you do is relevant because boxing is 3 minutes, then a 1 minute break. It's more like a sprint. Running for a very long time over a hard surface for 8+ miles is bad for your joints and honestly isn't going to be great long term for an explosive fast twitch sport like boxing. Sprinting, suicides, light jogging and swimming might be better with only occasional really long runs for extra endurance.

 

It makes some sense to not do road work.

Just probably sparing combined with very light sparingly is better exercise for boxing, more sport specific. That and bag work.

For instance a competitive runner is best just sticking to running a swimmer to swimming and a cyclist to biking. If a swimmer did a lot of road work they would have less time and energy for the pool. Same goes for boxer imo.

 

Joe Frazier once said,," if you skip the roadwork in the dark of the morning, you'll be found out under the bright lights"

 

For a lot of his career, he fought so frequently that running wouldn't have made sense.

 

All I know is fighters from the early 80's and befor ran alot and there were no stamina issues that are pretty common today.

 

I don’t think it’s smart at all to say boxers shouldn’t run long distances just because a few old timers didn’t or because it “doesnt mimic boxing”. Pretty sure Jake Lamotta also overindulged in booze and James Toney was one of Burger Kings biggest customers.

You have to fight for 36 minutes in a championship fight. Nobody is capable of sprinting for 36 minutes out of a 47 minute time frame so it’s not really the same thing at all. Endurance is a huge requirement. When I was in the Marines the best runners were almost always very athletic and good athletes back home. There was occasionally the guy or 2 that was super skinny or slightly chubby running an unbelievably fast 3 mile.

Being able to not only run a long distance but to run it at a fast pace (6 minutes per mile or so) is massively beneficial to a fighters conditioning. The lungs become more efficient and the cardiovascular system gets used to working hard continuously for 30+ minutes.

 

There's a post in the General Forum that touches on this a bit ... my personal perspective, FWIW: we've had all kinds of studies about what boxing entails in terms of energy requirements during the fight, fast and slow twitch requirements, and how to apply modern sports science research to optimize training. All the stuff mentioned - working for three minutes with one minute rest, use of explosive training to optimize fast twitch fibers and mimic the demands of punching, etc - and using them as a foundation for training has yet to produce anyone or any performances that are any better than the old-timers and their old school methods. Boxers are really lean and strong, and become well conditioned athletes, but still gas at the end of fights, still getting knocked down and out, and there have been no KO standouts that can be attributed to gym work vs natural ability - the only thing I think may bear weight is injury prevention, which strength training can help with.

The old stuff works, even when it seems like there should be a better way. One may still exist. I think the factor that gets overlooked is fighters are dealing with another individual who may be dictating the demands in the ring, and that can change from moment to moment; fast pace, slow pace, increased offense/defense posture ... there are energy demands that are constantly changing, to say nothing of the intangibles of heart, will, and other outside factors that impact athletic competition. Can the lab account for these things? I don't know, I'm far from a scientist. Personally, I'm not at all closed-minded to modern training, and think there are many situations where it's the best thing going to improve performance. I just think boxing is its own animal, and should be viewed accordingly -

Just my .02, I could be wrong -

 

The ability to stay calm and relax in the ring is a skill in itself. Lamotta, James Toney and Roberto Duran are three guys that come to mind that typically got stronger as fights went on.

 

Good point - I wonder how many fighters are trying to optimize their mental prep as much as their physical training? Can that be developed and improved too?

 

Well i didn't actually write that boxers "shouldn't ever" run long distances. I said that doing it too frequently can be bad for the joints. If you aren't running a marathon there is no need to run 10+ mile long marathons.

If You don't have a fight coming up or the fight is several months away there is no sense in doing these macho Spartan long ass runs. That's exactly why guys like Frazier and Marciano had shorter careers and body issues in their early 30's. because they burnt themselves out. They had amazing endurance but at what cost? You have to pace yourself. It is undeniable that running like that frequently multiple times a week can be bad for the joints.

The smartest boxers build themselves up slowly up until fight week. They aren't having savage gym wars trading blows and going ham sparring for 10 rounds 4x a week when the fight is still 2 months away. That's stupid. You'll be beat up and ready to get stopped before you even get in the ring. The same applies to cardio. Why would you run a bunch of marathons when the fight is still months away?

Bringing up Jakes booze drinking or Toney's burger binging is a straw man as I never said you should mimic literally every habit they had.

I Also never said to sprint for 36 minutes. That wouldn't even qualify as a sprint at that point. But doing things like suicides, ladders/running up stairs, jumping rope, etc are going to activate your fast twitch muscles better and train your body to start, stop, start stop. Your heart will know "now it's time to relax. Oh wait, we're active now? Better start pumping blood". Once you really train your heart, it goes through a metamorphosis and becomes a "warrior's heart". When I competed I had a heart rate as low as 30-50 beats per minute. It isn't that low now due to my inactivity post surgery but my muscle memory is still good enough that I can roll out of bed and hit the heavybag for 15 rounds without gasping for air.