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this is straight from Juy Jeffrey, the only poster here who worships nigel benn as much as i do. when i was an am, i wanted to be nigel benn the way versy wants to be tython. the nige didn't do as much on the heavy bag as i would have thought, anyway, here it is:
He went through five different trainers. I know the routine he used when he was WBC champ...
"I'd start with loosening up and stretching exercises, then do three or four rounds shadow boxing with weights on the hands and one round with them off, then four or five more with pads - I loved pad work because I could let rip without breaking hands or heads and I'm a natural combination puncher.
"After that, I'd do some more shadow boxing, skipping and ground work and have a good loosening up.
"Weight-training would take place every other day and then, for a fortnight before the fight, I'd have a sparring partner for nine to ten rounds per day. Some days I'd take it down to six rounds. The art of the game is to peak on the night. I didn't worry about an off-day here or there. I'd just relax and come back again.
"I trained near Canary Islands and did my roadwork at about 10 in the morning. It offered a more temperate climate in winter and the opportunity for high-altitude running on Mount Teide.
"There is nothing more beautiful and fulfilling than running at an altitude of about 8,000 feet among snow-capped peaks in bright sunshine, well above the clouds. I can retreat into a world of my own, my own galaxy. Just me and my music and, later, the satisfaction that comes from physically punishing yourself.
"You can clear your mind of all anxieties and problems in that surrealistic 'moonscape' where they shot Planet of the Apes, and be at peace with the world. That's where I would get my 'high', others needed drugs.
"I'd run six to eight miles and then increase it to ten and even more. That's equivalent to running up to 15 miles at sea level. I built it up over camp and then came back down when sparring was brought into my gym sessions. The idea was to peak for the fight.
"Jimmy Tibbs knew how to get me buzzing. He and I both liked the pads and he always got the best out of me. He is very aggressive but knows what he is doing. He took a hell of a slamming from me every day, brainwashing me with his technique while I hammered away at him.
"Some people who had trained me in the past didn't really know what they were doing. Jimmy pushed me to my limit, which is important. We tried to cover every muscle of the body, even the neck. We put 100 per cent effort into training.
"The training is so intense that it is difficult to believe you're putting yourself through such a strenuous regime. Compared to that, the fight is easy. I never had wars in the gym in this time, I tried to slip into rythmic patterns and not get hit. I didn't put much into sparring, I just saved it for the fight.
"I was a far better fighter from the time I went to Italy to the time I fought McClellan than I ever was, would be or could be. You go through trial-and-error and I had everything nailed down to a tee."
He went through five different trainers. I know the routine he used when he was WBC champ...
"I'd start with loosening up and stretching exercises, then do three or four rounds shadow boxing with weights on the hands and one round with them off, then four or five more with pads - I loved pad work because I could let rip without breaking hands or heads and I'm a natural combination puncher.
"After that, I'd do some more shadow boxing, skipping and ground work and have a good loosening up.
"Weight-training would take place every other day and then, for a fortnight before the fight, I'd have a sparring partner for nine to ten rounds per day. Some days I'd take it down to six rounds. The art of the game is to peak on the night. I didn't worry about an off-day here or there. I'd just relax and come back again.
"I trained near Canary Islands and did my roadwork at about 10 in the morning. It offered a more temperate climate in winter and the opportunity for high-altitude running on Mount Teide.
"There is nothing more beautiful and fulfilling than running at an altitude of about 8,000 feet among snow-capped peaks in bright sunshine, well above the clouds. I can retreat into a world of my own, my own galaxy. Just me and my music and, later, the satisfaction that comes from physically punishing yourself.
"You can clear your mind of all anxieties and problems in that surrealistic 'moonscape' where they shot Planet of the Apes, and be at peace with the world. That's where I would get my 'high', others needed drugs.
"I'd run six to eight miles and then increase it to ten and even more. That's equivalent to running up to 15 miles at sea level. I built it up over camp and then came back down when sparring was brought into my gym sessions. The idea was to peak for the fight.
"Jimmy Tibbs knew how to get me buzzing. He and I both liked the pads and he always got the best out of me. He is very aggressive but knows what he is doing. He took a hell of a slamming from me every day, brainwashing me with his technique while I hammered away at him.
"Some people who had trained me in the past didn't really know what they were doing. Jimmy pushed me to my limit, which is important. We tried to cover every muscle of the body, even the neck. We put 100 per cent effort into training.
"The training is so intense that it is difficult to believe you're putting yourself through such a strenuous regime. Compared to that, the fight is easy. I never had wars in the gym in this time, I tried to slip into rythmic patterns and not get hit. I didn't put much into sparring, I just saved it for the fight.
"I was a far better fighter from the time I went to Italy to the time I fought McClellan than I ever was, would be or could be. You go through trial-and-error and I had everything nailed down to a tee."
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