Hello,
So shadowboxing, bagwork, drills, and sparring provide the highest ROI
Yes, this is also what I am disposed to think. I always try to do a very complete shadow boxing, which mixes all the things I know. Most of the time, due to schedule constraints, I do only 2 or 3 rounds. In addition to the technique, it also gives me a some conditioning (both muscular and cardio vascular).
Regarding the shadowboxing, now, I always do it with resistance band. This is very convenient to avoid damaging both the technique and the joints.
Even if this is not that much, I really feel a difference during fights. This difference goes from simple footwork (just looking for the good distance) to how to properly landing the punch and getting back to a safe zone. I also guess this is quite good for the brain because if I want to do it properly, I visualize an opponent.
LSD runs I believe are mostly done out of tradition (at least for recreational competitors). I only ran intervals back then, and the common thing my opponents said was that I never stopped moving forward
My "cardio" work is really diversified.
I practice HIT here and there as a part of my "personal home routine". However, I do not practice it on a very regular basis at home. Our boxing teacher makes us work on intervals, mainly using heavy bags or mitts. Of course, there is the sparring part of the training. Due to 2-3 boxing sessions a week, this is more or less enough for me, because as you said, I do not train to be world champion.
When I do my personal home training, I usually do every other day, 20 minutes of skipping rope. Here and there I do an acceleration, but nothing fancy. Most of the time, my skipping rope training is some kind of "cleaning", nothing more. As you say, maybe there is a lot of tradition here, however, I noticed it has been working fairly well on me because my cardio remains acceptable. By acceptable, I mean it fits my goals of the recreational boxer and also general health. Comparing to other boxers, I also noticed that this simple thing teaches me how to have gas in the tank, even during 8 rounds, without a real decline of rythm.
My mace training is based more or on less on the same idea. I always try to reduce rest to the bare minimum. Maybe the combination of the boxing per se, plus the skipping rope, plus the home training are some kind of sweet spot. Plus, I walk at least 1h30 a day (going back and forth from work, carrying the food, never using the lifts, etc...)
I think that due to the highly specialized and asymmetrical nature of boxing, GPP is even more necessary to counteract some of the imbalances that would inevitably develop.
Once again, I agree. Even if I try to add here and there some specifics to improve my boxing, I always want to keep the "GPP spirit". Indeed, in any kind of occasion, I want to be able to pick heavy stuff up, potentially several times. Basically, this training gives me some kind of "brick layer" strength-endurance training.
Boxing by itself is fun enough and should take up enough time to keep you occupied for a while. Following the SF philosophy, you can see what works for you and slowly hack away at the non-essentials, eventually figuring out what is indeed optima
Oh yes ! Plus, I would even say that this is a very long process. When we are teached a technique, I always practice it very slowly, at least at the beginning. A lot of folks enjoy practicing super fast, as soon as they are shown the technique. I do not think this is a good option, because doing so, you are also memorizing an imperfect technique. Once again, shadowboxing may help.
Kind regards,
Pet'