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Donaire Sprints Toward Sidorenko and Beyond

Original Article: MaxBoxing

By Steve Kim

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Picture for Donaire Sprints Toward Sidorenko and Beyond 

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."
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