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What are some training methods that are often used but you think are unhelpful or useless?
I used to think if a world class athlete does something, it must be because it's good, but as the adage goes: elite athletes become world class not because of their training, but in spite of it.
I'm a believer that we fight how we train and specificity is very important, and sometimes training methods just make things harder without considering what it's actually supposed to achieve.
For me an example of this is shadow boxing with weights, either with dumbbells or vests, which I seem to see quite often at all levels. When you're shadow boxing, you're practicing fighting, and when you're fighting, you want to be fast and explosive, but with weights you will be slowed down and I think this will actually condition your body to be slower. The idea is that the resistance will make things harder, but making something harder for the sake of it won't always be applicable to the sport you're doing.
If you're doing resistance training for strength or power, you should be doing exercises that specifically train those things that don't affect your actual fight training imo. You could do squats for example when you're strength training to supplement your overall game, but randomly adding in squats between rounds of sparring or whatever would make no sense because you're exerting energy that could used for skill training. Unless of course the sport you're competing in has you do squats.
Another example of making something harder for the sake of it is when Floyd Sr. made Hatton do roadwork in combat boots. What was the point of that? Why would you want your athlete to run in footwear that provides less cushion for his joints? Is he going to fight in the ring with combat boots? I developed plantar fasciitis from my time in the army so that made me wince.
I used to think if a world class athlete does something, it must be because it's good, but as the adage goes: elite athletes become world class not because of their training, but in spite of it.
I'm a believer that we fight how we train and specificity is very important, and sometimes training methods just make things harder without considering what it's actually supposed to achieve.
For me an example of this is shadow boxing with weights, either with dumbbells or vests, which I seem to see quite often at all levels. When you're shadow boxing, you're practicing fighting, and when you're fighting, you want to be fast and explosive, but with weights you will be slowed down and I think this will actually condition your body to be slower. The idea is that the resistance will make things harder, but making something harder for the sake of it won't always be applicable to the sport you're doing.
If you're doing resistance training for strength or power, you should be doing exercises that specifically train those things that don't affect your actual fight training imo. You could do squats for example when you're strength training to supplement your overall game, but randomly adding in squats between rounds of sparring or whatever would make no sense because you're exerting energy that could used for skill training. Unless of course the sport you're competing in has you do squats.
Another example of making something harder for the sake of it is when Floyd Sr. made Hatton do roadwork in combat boots. What was the point of that? Why would you want your athlete to run in footwear that provides less cushion for his joints? Is he going to fight in the ring with combat boots? I developed plantar fasciitis from my time in the army so that made me wince.
