“Kung di ako nag training baka hindi ko kinaya yung laban.”
This was Cong. Manny Pacquiao’s response to Diane Castillejo’s question about how he was able to finish the fight strong.
That's me running beside Pacman ;)
Pacquiao said that it was one of his most difficult fights and that it was tiring to go around the ring to avoid being cornered so Margarito would not have the chance to blow punches given his height advantage. He practically had to jog around and depend on his footwork to have the upper hand.
It was like a David- Goliath fight. Pacquiao was like a kid being bullied by an older man but like the biblical story, the smaller one won. And if you’d compare the way they appeared after, you’d notice the huge difference and even without checking the scoreboard and count the number bruises on their faces, you’d arrive at the same indisputable conclusion that the belt belonged to Pacquiao.
What enabled Pacquiao to do this? Aside from I guess his natural boxing talent, I think and as he himself claimed, was his training. Coach Freddie Roach, however, has recently raised concerns about Pacquiao’s lack of focus in training because of his athlete’s various involvements. But Pacquiao tried to get back on track.
Because I’ve always admired Pacquio’s discipline, I did a quick search on his training program and found out that his trainors focused on three things: strength, speed and agility.
His usual training days include running with intervals as early as 5am, with either hill sprints or a run in the sand. Sometimes, Pacquiao swims. At the end of this session, they’d do plyometrics, ladder drills and core exercises. I’m not sure if it’s true that they hit his abs with a hard object to improve its strength but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s really how it is.
After that routine he’d do a thorough cool down stretching followed by a meal rich in carbohydrates to raise his insulin and promote recovery. He then goes home after an intake of protein shake, rest and then proceed with a session in the gym in the afternoon where he starts with a thorough warm up and shadow boxing then plyometrics and core strengthening exercises with weights, medicine balls, resistance bands and sometimes with a baseball bat where he swings and hits a bag with it. Then he will start with punching exercises with Roach, speed bags for several rounds and then jump rope for a few minutes before a good stretch to finish off the day.
Just writing this tired me ;)
This does not even include the kind of diet he maintains especially since he moves from one division to another. I could imagine how strict his diet is to have enough energy for the training but at the same time not gain weight or the effort to gain weight if he has to for a certain weight division.
It must have been difficult living a life being dictated and limited with the food you’re allowed to eat. Although according to his trainors, they did not have a hard time putting Pacquiao in an intensive training routine because of his clean and healthy lifestyle.
His commitment and discipline is really laudable. It inspires me to do the same as I train for my next full marathon which also requires a lot of sacrifice and hard work. Many times I get so tempted to shaft on the required mileage or to extend my diet cheat days but when I think of how difficult a marathon could be, I am motivated to keep the discipline. It also helps being reminded of my best marathon which I attribute to good training and the worst one which could be because of improper training .
Let me find an excuse from emulating the Champ. He is a pro, I am not. He probably had all the time to train especially after taking a leave from Congress while I have to squeeze in training in between tons of work stuff and a lot of other responsibilities. But whether pro or not, his discipline is still undeniably admirable because even if he had all the time and resources, he also had the freedom to go easy and let his previous victories get into his head and not train but he chose to take advantage of the privileges in his hands to reach the goal. So, I concede.
Pacquiao obviously loves his craft and has so much respect for it that he gets himself to commit to this rigid training. He’s also extremely motivated by his family and the Filipino people.
So I will also try to be as much disciplined and dedicated to training, maintain that love and respect for running, and sustain my motivation in finishing that long, potentially arduous 42 kilometers in December and my next marathons.
But these lessons I will not only apply to running but in other areas like work, studies, photography, or any other endeavor that challenges me to stay focused and excel.
Of course, it’s another story how Pacquiao will perform as a member of the House of Representatives, something to watch out for. I hope that he will be as focused. Let’s see.
Photos 1&2 from: http://mysundaespecial.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html
Photo 3: http://professionalheckler.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/man.jpg
Training program from:http://www.strengthspeedagility.com/manny-pacquiao-training-program
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