Guns N’ Roses in the late 80’s and early 90’s always had great anthems that would get you fired up to work out or before a football game. Those songs were great but my favorite song was actually a slower jam they had called “Patience”. Listening to this song, I should take its advice. A month into my boxing training the first obstacles has been patience. I often have conversations at work with other guys my age and when talking about any venture we set out to do a patient mind set is the difference between success and failure. When I set out for a goal I always picture the ending in my head often forgetting about the journey and small victories that lie in the middle. I have to learn to enjoy the process, take my time, and not anger if it doesn’t all come together on a particular day. In the simplest terms as Coach McDonough tells me “Get out of your own head”.
To go along with needing to be patient, I need to find what tempo you can work at. I can remember growing up and watching Rocky and thinking that boxing was always fought at that furious pace. Then I watched an actual boxing match. My father would tell me if two guys fought like that they would be dead. My Uncle Charlie gave me a pair of boxing gloves from when he had boxed and I would have matches with my brother in our basement in Pennsylvania. Since we had 1 pair and I wanted to wear the gloves, my older brother Anthony would wear tube socks on his hands. Seems fair! Well after two or three punches to the head I realized what my father said was right as I was icing a knot on my head. I have always had to learn the hard way. Every punch doesn’t have to kill a person. One punch sets up another, one movement sets up another and one counter sets up a counter punch. Breaking it all down to the simplest forms is what will help me succeed. These are the 4 pillars I have broken my training into.
Boxing Training:
Six weeks ago was my first official day at Danbury Champs Boxing Gym. It was two days shy of my 40th birthday and I was a bit nervous. It was like the first day of practice as a freshman. I didn’t know anybody, don’t know where to stand, and don’t know where to start. Coach McDonough walked in and put me at ease. He treated me like a fighter and went to work. When I embarked on this venture I went in with the mindset that I know nothing about the sport and I am a blank canvas. I began with a warm up walk on the treadmill. We had already had an initial meeting the week before, but I was not familiar with his style of coaching yet. The feeling out process between trainer and trainee can only happened by allowing yourself to be trained. The first training was a success. We worked on the heavy bag for two rounds (rounds are 3 minutes long), the hand pads for 3 rounds, and did some conditioning with medicine ball slams and the battle ropes. Now 3 minute rounds doesn’t seem long on the surface but when you are 315 pounds, out of shape, and throwing a lot of punches it feels like an eternity. My arms felt like they weighed 1000 pounds. I had to make sure I found some consistency in my workouts.
As the weeks rolled on I have found some rhythm in my schedule (see below). I train with Coach McDonough every Wednesday. He adds something every week. My volume of punches thrown and rounds continue to go up. Knowing that I am a former football coach he is consistently giving me comparisons to football when it comes to footwork and techniques. The boxing stance is very similar to an offensive lineman in a two point stance. Your hips and legs is where you generate most of your power on your punches like you would when blocking. Boxing, like football, is all about reps and you build up muscle memory so it becomes second nature. These similarities to the game of football have helped make it more relatable to me.
This past week I started to lose myself in the workouts in good way. I turn on music, move from drill to drill, and get my work in. This past month has been an eye opener in how far I have fallen physically however; I love a good comeback story.
Weekly Schedule:
Monday – Marciano Mondays
Tuesday – Stretch day
Wednesday – Boxing, Train with Trainer
Thursday – Cardio/Strength Training & Boxing training
Friday – Cardio/Strength Training & Boxing training
Saturday – Cardio/Strength Training & at home defense training
Sunday – Recovery day
Nutrition/Sleep:
After two weeks of training with Coach McDonough he sat me down and spoke to me about my diet. My starting weight on January 18th was 315 pounds. This is the most weight I have ever carried. As I got in a more comfortable area in my life, it has become easy to neglect my eating choices. This has not been an overnight process. Years of starting and stopping have been the reason I have reached this peak of my weight gain. We both decided I should keep a goal of 2000 calories a day. I have two meal replacements and high protein snacks in between them, and a normal dinner at night. So far, so good and I have incorporated this plan on the 4 days a week I work. Since we are in the season of Lent, I have also decided to fast every Thursday (1st one went well and I actually had a ton of energy during my workouts). Fridays, there is no meat so it’s pretty easy to keep the calories down. My kryptonite has always been the convenience of a drive thru or a stop into a gas station. Now I have faltered a couple of times at this but for the majority of the time I have stayed discipline. My weight as of March 1st was 298.8, the lowest total in about 6 months for me. A good friend of mine Mike Mancusi and I are what we call accountability partners for our weight loss. We weight in every Monday and check in with each other. Although I am proud of my initial weight loss, I deemed it the equivalent of a deck chair off the titanic. He was more optimistic claiming it was like 2 engines and a dining room table.
Poor diet has not been the only factor; my horrible sleeping habits have been right there with it as a major factor. I worked nights for about 10 years at the hospital both as a security guard and as a dispatcher. For most of those years, I averaged about 4 hours a sleep a night and only slept 6 nights a week (I wouldn’t sleep before work Fridays either because of coaching or driving the kids to activities). Now that I work day shift I still struggle with consistent sleep. The mental aspect of it is the real struggle. After a full day of work, and my wife and kids go to sleep, I enjoy the time to wind down but often get caught up with television and other distractions. Before I know it I look up and its 2 am. It’s like fighting an uphill battle. I feel like I need someone to text me at 10:30 and say “Go to bed idiot”. If there are any volunteers let me know.
Strength training:
Along with boxing training, I want to really have a well-rounded workout regime. I spoke with my good friend Chris Doyle about taking me through some lifts to help strengthen my legs, hips, and shoulder (All body parts that benefit boxing). We both met at the Iron Factory in Brookfield, CT to get started. I hadn’t squat with weights or done power cleans in a long time consistently but in the spirit of getting outside my comfort zone I went in open minded. There are many disadvantages to being 5’8” with short arms and short legs. Like I can’t reach the cookies off of high shelfs in the pantry or reach across the table for another piece of bread. Well I guess on my current journey those could be looked at as advantages. However, having compacted frame makes for a perfect body type for lifting. Doyle has been religious about Olympic weight lifting for almost 2 years now and developed a real passion for the sport. He is stickler for details and progression which as a former football coach, I love. This training is in its infancy, but should be a great addition to my program.
Mental:
When coaching football, the only way I knew how to be successful was to be consistent and have a plan. I wanted constants every day for myself so I wouldn’t fall off track. I went to a local Staples Store and purchased a daily planner book. Each Sunday I try to plan out my week down to each individual detail. This is the only way I can stay on task. In the calendar, I fill out each day with 4 broad constants: Read, Write, Train, and Pray. Mentally, writing these down is a way to hold me accountable. If I don’t write it down often my day can become sporadic and off kilter. This is a constant work in progress but I am getting there.
Wanting to dive right into the sport, I began reading Unbeaten: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World. It’s the complete story about the only undefeated heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, his rise to stardom during the crazy times of the 40’s and 50’s. I am not an avid reader but this story grabbed me and pulled me in from the beginning. Marciano was not an ideal size for a heavyweight fighter but he had two things that were undeniable. Rocky’s right hand was deadly and his endurance was legendary. Inspired by this I began to do Marciano Monday’s which consists of 100 push-ups, 100 sit-up, 100 squats, and 100 jumping jacks. Now apparently Marciano would use this as a warm up but I am drenched and exhausted after this. In fact the second Monday I did this after about 40 jacks, 20 pushups, 20 sit-ups, and 20 squats I sat down on the couch and promptly passed out. The last two weeks I completed the workout and stayed away for the couch. Marciano also had some legendary fights which I am going to begin to watch and study.
Overall this first month has been an eye opener. I am activating things both mentally and physically that have lain dormant for years. Moving and reacting athletically has been invigorating for me. Pushing myself past my perceived potential has been challenging but I have never had any quit in me. My support system is too great for me to tap out. My family has dove in with both feet. My wife has helped me with meal prep and is also showing me some yoga routines (yes me doing yoga, my comfort zone no longer exists). My kids are even helping with my defense by giving them 45 minutes to beat on me without any repercussions (which they love). So I have no excuses but a long way to go, I guess all I need is just a little patience.
