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Re: (good read) Ariza talks about Manny's training regime and diet
The regime created by Ariza to build that muscle and maintain the speed and power involves two parts. The first is what he refers to as “core training,” a phrase which has become a bit of buzzword in the last few years in the world of exercise and nutritional training, but is seldom heard in boxing. The “core” may sound like it means just abdominals, but it goes much deeper than that. The “core” is the whole area between the shoulders and the pelvis. The idea behind strengthening the “core” is that this area provides the foundation for all other areas of the body to function at its highest levels. Core training thus builds the muscles to produce explosive, powerful movements with mean and lean efficiency, and less likelihood of injury.
To accomplish this, twice a week, Ariza has Pacquiao doing punishing isometrics, where he has to hold a certain position for an extended period of time. In addition he has Pacquaio performing plyometrics, grueling drills involving quick bursts of energy, such as sprints on the track, high intensity cone and ladder drills, even swimming.
“We’re focusing on faster-twitch muscle fibers,” Ariza says, “getting them to fire, feet complimenting the hands, hands complimenting the feet, balance, coordination. “
The exercises are often mind numbingly repetitious and painful beyond imagination. Ever the warrior, Pacquaio says he doesn’t mind core training, but Ariza said that in reality, he actually hates them.
“You see this is something that Manny has been doing since he was five years old,” Ariza said referring to traditional boxing drills such as hitting the mitts, sparring and running. “His muscles are accustomed to being able to push and drive and drive and drive. What I would like to see is that kind of determination and intensity when we’re doing the hard stuff, things that he’s never done before; the track, the swimming pool, the speed drills, the foot drills, things that aren’t easy, things that he hasn’t been doing since he’s five years old. It’s one thing when you say, ‘Oh I did 17 rounds on the mitts.’ Well you should be able to do that. You’ve been doing that since you were five, asking for another round. I want to see him ask me for another drill, ask me for another lap, ask for me another sprint, ask me for something.”
The second part of Ariza’s training module involves extremely high caloric intake. He has Pacquiao consuming over 7000 calories of food per day, alternating between high protein solid foods and then liquid protein shakes. Pacquiao is forced to eat at least every two hours, whether he’s hungry or not. Contrary to the myth that Pacquiao enjoys fighting at higher weights because he can eat all he wants, Ariza says the constant consumption of food actually gets to the fighter, even if he’s eating his favorite Filipino dishes.
“Manny tells me, ‘You know when I grew up, I never ate. Now I’m eating all the time and I’m miserable.’”
However, Ariza says Pacquiao soldiers on through the pain and tears, especially when the stakes are huge.
“Our best camp ever I believe was the Cotto fight because I honestly believe that Manny had a little bit of fear of Miguel. His height, his strength, his power. Manny took him a lot more serious. He was up at five o’clock in the morning. He was listening to me when it came to the drills and the speed work and the swimming. He didn’t want to leave any rock unturned. He wanted every advantage he could get. And his conditioning showed in the Cotto fight. He took Cotto’s best beating and then when we got past the sixth round, well now we’re gonna see who really, really did the work. Manny just never stopped. “
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Ariza, 35, was born in Colombia and migrated to New York at 13 years old with his single mom and two older siblings. After a few years in New York the family headed to Southern California. Ariza eventually graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in Exercise and Nutritional Science. Although he had never boxed, Ariza felt his future lay in boxing, a sport where modern training techniques are often looked at with suspicion.
“Boxing offered me a forum,” he said, “a niche, where I could apply my own theories, my own concepts, my own way of what I thought was more important, recovery vs. muscle failure. I thought boxing was that place where I could have that opportunity. It’s the hardest sport in the world and they didn’t have science and conditioning coaches. On the flip side of that, if you don’t have a trainer, if Freddie wasn’t here, this thing would have never worked. “
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Originally Posted by Scrap
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