Donaire Sprints Toward Sidorenko and Beyond By Steve Kim, MaxBoxing (Dec 4, 2010) Special to Doghouse Boxing - Tweet
As Nonito Donaire prepared for this weekend’s contest versus Wladimir Sidorenko, he enlisted the help of renowned sprint coach Remi Korchemny. For years, like many other boxers, “The Filipino Flash” conditioned himself with old-fashioned road work, consisting of pounding the pavement over a methodical pace in the early morning hours. However, under Korchemny's guidance every Tuesday on the track at the College of San Mateo, he embarked on a regimen that focused on speed and explosiveness.
Much of what Donaire did was the type of training utilized by the likes of world-class sprinters like Dwain Chambers, Kelli White, Alvin Harrison and Chryste Gaines. Korchemny has also worked in the past with boxers Andre Ward and Carina Moreno and trained former NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski.
And Donaire says he can already feel the results.
"I've figured out that my style is like a sprint," he told Maxboxing. "Every punch that comes out of me is a burst; every movement is a burst because I've got speed. In order for me to create power, I have to have that burst in my punches. So with Remi around, I'm in tremendous shape because of him. My recovery time has increased so much and I feel great. I definitely am blessed with Remi around because I feel great; I feel good. I'm in the best shape of my life. Literally, I'm in the best shape of my life."
So what exactly was Donaire doing under Korchemny during their 90 minutes together every week?
His unique training for boxers includes "driving resistance" drills using large bungee cords attached to a belt and stadium railing. He has Donaire repeatedly come forward, creating more resistance with each step and then finish the repetitions by throwing punches with the maximum resistance. These repetitions are also done with backward and side-to-side steps.
Korchemny also had Donaire doing sprint drills using a "bullet belt." The belt-and-shoulder harness is attached from the back to a line connected with Velcro. Nonito sprints forward with Korchemny behind him, holding the line to create resistance for each step for about 20 yards. Then he releases the line and Donaire "explodes" and then sprints all out for another 30 yards. This is to further develop his explosive speed and power.
Among many other drills and exercises, Korchemny has Donaire do repetitions of 20 and 40-yard sprints, which are all timed to measure his improvements.
That is what they did in a nutshell, in addition to the intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) Donaire started a full two months before the fight at the SNAC headquarters under the watchful eye of Victor Conte, who has worked Donaire since his last bout and has been associated with Korchemny for years. Conte would further detail Donaire's preparation outside the gym in an email to Maxboxing:
"We have been routinely using the latest generation fitness and heart monitoring device and "memory belt." This lightweight recording belt is worn around the chest. It measures seven different physiological parameters including TE (Training Effect), which calculates the training load based upon the intensity and duration of the workout. EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption), which is the amount of additional oxygen the body needs to recover from a workout, which helps determine the appropriate recovery interval needed. Ventilation, which is the number of liters of oxygen consumed per minute. VO2 max (ml/kg/min), which is the number of milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight consumed per minute. The device also records Respiration Rate and Energy Consumption. The minimum, maximum and mean averages are also calculated for these parameters.
Nonito wears the memory belt for each workouts including his sparring and sprint training sessions. Thereafter, he we routinely analyze and compare the data, so adjustments can be made accordingly.
In addition to the comprehensive blood testing (CBC, Comprehensive Metabolic Profile and mineral levels, etc.) that we did for his last fight, we have also been monitoring Nonito's LDH (Lactate Deydrogenase) and CK (Creatine Kinase) levels as markers of possible over-training. We want Nonito to be as strong, fast and fresh as possible on fight night, so he can execute the excellent plan designed by his trainer Robert Garcia.
It is my opinion that Nonito Donaire may be the most scientifically prepared fighters in the world of boxing today."
Like every other boxer, Donaire’s former ways of conditioning were rooted in long-standing traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation.
"The thing was," said Donaire, who will earn a crack to Fernando Montiel in February if he beats Sidorenko at the Honda Center in Anaheim, "with my father before, it was always traditional- you can't have sex; you can't drink sodas. You can't do this; you can't do that. You can't eat this. It was always about that. And it takes a toll on your body and your spirit and your mentality. And in the fight, you're not 100-percent. When I started realizing, first off, with my strength coach, Michael Bazzel, how much he increased my stamina, how much better I felt. And the thing is, I would train my butt off with my father; I would train my butt off from Monday through Saturday and by the time Sunday came, I was so exhausted, from Thursday to Saturday on, I didn't even want to go in the gym anymore."
Another lesson he has learned is that the recovery process is every bit as vital as the work put in.
"I've really learned how to listen to my body," Donaire explained. "To pay attention to what's wrong with it and how I can maintain my speed and my power throughout the week- and that was through rest. It's very important for me as a fighter to rest."
The flaw in running long distances over a steady pace, according to Conte, is that, "It develops slow-twitch muscle fiber. Boxers need explosive speed and power. So you need to do the sprint training, the speed training to develop the type of fast-twitch muscle fiber that you need as a boxer. So I think it's old-school. In fact, I had a discussion a couple of days ago with Robert Garcia (Donaire's lead trainer) about this. I had watched “24/7” on Margarito and I see the chopping of the wood and like Mosley and De La Hoya that go up to Big Bear- that stuff makes you lose speed and power.
"I explained that the reason why is simple- when you're sleeping at a high altitude, it accelerates your heart rate and you burn more calories and you lose muscle mass and strength, which a boxer doesn't need to do. So you do need to do the adaptive mechanisms to kick in," Conte added.
This is why Conte believes that his IHT- which is a form of high-altitude training that can be done at sea-level- is of great benefit to any athlete looking to build endurance and oxygen uptake.
Donaire says of the benefits of his work with Korchemny, "I think that my legs are a lot stronger and I'm a lot faster. I've noticed when I first used an eight-ounce glove- I'd been using 16-ounce in sparring- on the bag and on the mitts, Jonathan Penalosa (his co-trainer) couldn't catch up to me and it was just like, 'Wow', because of my speed. I'm able to pull it longer because with sprints, my body is used to just going all out in a matter of seconds and recovering from it. I can throw so many punches and I do get winded- but I recover really, really fast."
The 78-year-old track guru, who has lived in the United States since 1975, describes his work by stating, "By education, I'm a physiologist and a physiology is a science that deals with the human body. No matter what sport you train, the system that I do, it develops athletic ability to maximize your event. So you can go with any sport and I try to analyze requirements of the sport and try to introduce the body to the stress of the sport. I don't train the technique and tactics. But I train their body to react with better strength, better endurance with the demands of their event."
Korchemny says of his newest pupil, "He's a very good athlete. As a matter of fact, he has a very good ability to absorb the stress of the training.”
Garcia is impressed by what he has seen from this fighter since he joined their camp a few weeks ago after Margarito's bout against Manny Pacquiao on November 13th. This has also been a bit of an eye-opener for him.
"Just by looking at what they do, it's different and what they tell me makes sense," he says of Conte and Korchemny. "I don't know how to use it or how to do it; it's something where they do a lot of tests with things wrapped around their chest and all that. I have no idea on how to even work those things. But it makes sense, the way they do the sprint conditioning and all that. And I'm already thinking that if [Donaire] is going to fight February 19th and then Brandon Rios fights February 26th, I'm thinking of bringing Brandon with me for a good two months before the fight. That way he can do the training over here and do all that work that they're doing. It does seem like it makes a big difference in Nonito. I would really like to use it with Brandon."
RISK FACTOR?
Donaire has never shied away from his association with Conte and the use of his SNAC supplements. Conte will forever be linked with BALCO and for some, will always be- unfairly or not- blamed for the proliferation of illegal performance-enhancing drug use at the turn of the century. But Donaire has stated time and time again that he believes not only in second chances but that, "I do trust the people that I work with like Victor Conte."
Conte, who has developed a tight bond with Donaire and his wife, Rachel, describes him as “highly intelligent” and that, "This allows him to be open and understand and calculate the benefit-to-burden ratio in working with someone like me. He understands the stigma; he knows what other people are going to say and question the rest of the baggage that goes along with an association with me. But he sees the benefit; he embraces it and regardless of what others think, he knows that the Victor of today, as opposed to the Victor of pre-BALCO raid- and that was my last day of wrongdoing. I've said this many times before; I'm doing everything to redeem myself and make a contribution to sport, as well as the anti-doping movement. And he said at the open media workout the other night, 'Listen, people are going to say what they're going to say; here's my arm. You want to take blood; take it 24-7; I've got nothing to hide."
Speaking of which, Conte emailed this to Maxboxing on Friday afternoon:
Nonito Donaire routinely does comprehensive blood testing to monitor his health and training. There are specific markers that can be used to possibly indicate over-training syndrome. These markers can be used to help an athlete achieve an optimal balance between the training load and recovery intervals.
The use of PEDs can cause abnormalities in some of the parameters contained in a comprehensive metabolic blood profile. Elevated liver enzymes, reduced HDL cholesterol levels and high hematocrit percentages are examples. Anti-doping officials refer to routine blood chemistry screening as "biological passport" testing. It is simply another tool that is used in the attempt to reduce the use of drugs in sport.
Although drug testing in boxing will never be completely foolproof, the health and safety of boxers has always been of the utmost importance. They all deserve to have adequate medical testing available to them.
Nonito is in excellent health and his most recent blood test results contain no abnormalities, which is to be expected from a healthy and drug free athlete.
Victor Conte * Nonito Donaire has requested that his recent blood test results be made public. Please click link to view results:Nonito Donaire's Comprehensive Blood Test Results - (Opens in New Browser) - Or to view as .PDF File Click here.
FINAL WORD
A few weeks ago, Shane Mosley dropped his $12 million defamation suit against Conte because, well, he really had no leg to stand on. Finally, Conte’s life is “Sugar-free.” But he did have a few final thoughts on this ordeal which lingered the past couple of years.
"I'm just glad that Shane Mosley finally made a good decision, in my opinion, as much was the case with Marion Jones, I believe he just got bad legal advice- in my opinion. And he was likely told that at the end of this, it would serve him in some way, shape or form. I believe that it was about attempting to muzzle the truth. I would like to say- and I've said this before- that I had not said a single word about Shane Mosley publicly since September of 2003, the infamous BALCO raid- until he did that September 2007 interview at a press conference in New York before his fight with Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden. And he suggested that I misled him and it was basically saying that I told him I was giving him vitamins but I slipped him something else.
"And all I really did was attempt to set the record straight by saying, 'That's not true,' continued Conte, “and of course, within a short period of time, here comes a $12 million defamation suit. So I'm glad to have this behind me and be able to focus on more positive and productive endeavors. I'm sure that Shane feels the same way. I feel sorry for him; I really do. I feel sorry for Marion Jones. Because if you notice, it doesn't seem to go away because people are not stupid and they realize who's telling the truth and who has not been telling the truth. And if you notice in Marion Jones' case, many, many articles have come out saying that she's still in denial. She's not telling the truth. How can she promote this message of ‘Do the right thing. Take a break. Make good decisions. Don't lie’- and she continues to not to be truthful herself?
"I don't know what causes this denial but my opinion is Shane Mosley continues to be in denial and I think at any point in time, that he would finally admit and come completely clean and stop attempting to throw others under the bus like Darryl Hudson and myself. I believe it would serve him and I would like to see him do that."
FLASH FLURRIES
My condolences to Don King on the death of his wife, Henrietta...The official kickoff press conference for the January 29th bout between Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander takes place on Tuesday at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. They are dubbing this “The Super Fight”...I was informed that a junior welterweight bout between Mike Dallas Jr. and Josesito Lopez will take place on ESPN2, January 28th on “Friday Night Fights,” when Chris Arreola headlines...
