A Day In A Boxer's Life

For years I have been writing about sports with two of my particular favorites boxing and basketball (http://sportsalchemist.com). I have been playing competitive basketball on my free time and have learned to love basketball more even doing game patching for NBAlive. I came to love boxing when my Dad was an avid boxing fan and watching fights became our bonding time. He used to spar with the boys on his neighborhood while he was young and was a pretty decent boxer while he narrated each fight with enthusiasm. I wanted to know how a boxer feels, how they live their respective lives, how they train hard for their coming fight… I have been writing about them for years and now it’s time to walk the talk. Allow me to share my personal experienced on a day in a boxer’s life…

4 A.M. - I am a night person so my usual slumber time would systematically be at 2 or 3 AM but this day it was something special and unusual I slept at 8PM and grab my shorts and jogging shoes at exactly 4AM… I started a 15 minute walk then 10 minutes jog I never felt so much palpitation in my life I had to stop and catch my breath and there was a time when I had to run really fast when a stray dog was going after me like I was his ticket meal. I ended my morning jog with a 5 minute uphill sprint but ended abruptly when my knees finally gave in it wasn’t a clear sign of aging but it was definitely a sign to stop.
Boxers usually eat a heavy breakfast so I got two boiled eggs and some tidbits of bacon…

12 Noon- Boxers used to cut down on meals especially lunch because it gives them time to trim down during weigh-ins which usually happens at night. I had to cut down on my carbs so I only had banana and tuna for lunch. 1PM I went directly to the gym for a 2-hour workout did my first 140 lb. bench press then Bicep exercises after. Since I don’t have a sparring partner and currently not enrolled to the number of growing boxing gyms in the city I decided to do something else, Shadow box for 30 minutes then sprinting up and down in the bleachers for speed calisthenics then ended it with a 100 meter dash.

6 PM- Enjoyed a warm bath with some cuddle with my lovely wife...Evening would be the usual weigh-ins and so I skip dinner for two hours and drink small amounts of water. I felt dizzy and drained most of the time but after 2 hours I munched up on anything I could see on the dinner table I never been so deprived of food for such a long time.

9PM- zzzzzzzzzzz

I may have no firsthand experience of a true Mano A Mano fight but it sure is hard to be in any boxer’s shoes…I had muscle cramps, palpitations and dizziness and it’s not even half of what a real boxer do on their usual regimen. I had the outmost respect for boxers but I think I’ll just stick to basketball.