Pacman is currently training hard in California to finally seal the deal and erase all doubts about his previous fights with the Mexican boxer.
Manny’s team is amazing. Freddie Roach is one of the world’s best trainers and conditioning coach Alex Ariza certainly tops everyone in the biz also. Manny does conditioning work, strength training, speed mits and spars with a number of opponents. Not satisfied with the regular training regimens that most boxers do, he does uphill running, basketball and swimming.
Cross training is a great way to diversify the usual training routine and develop new skills for specific purposes that are not necessarily covered by the usual schedule. Running greatly improves Pacquiao’s stamina. His signature fleeting left overhead punch while ducking and sliding into and out of the opponents reach clearly mimics his cross-over moves in basketball. His agility in the court translates well on the ring.
Swimming is a perfect alternative to road work like what happened last year when a tropical typhoon ravaged through Baguio while in training. Ariza wove this discipline into Manny’s training regimen.
Cross Training in Other Sports
In sports medicine, cross training is a beneficial training regimen to keep a high level of overall fitness for athletes. For example, you may use both biking and swimming each week to improve your overall aerobic capacity, build overall muscle strength and reduce the chance of an overuse injury (www.about.com).
Cross Training in Photography
And since this is a photography column, I will move forward and say we also need cross-training as well. Trying out and studying other creative disciplines such as painting, graphic design or even music and literature is very helpful in developing good artistic and design skills.
These activities, if you haven’t tried them yet, will definitely improve your taste, creativity and visual vocabulary. After all, your photography work is just but a reflection of your inner self. If you’re life is boring and uneventful, expect your photography to be like so.
“The Filipino Flash” fights today
Our very own Nonito Donaire (26-1, 18 KOs) will be facing Argentina’s Omar Narvaez (35-0-2, 23 KOs) today at the Madison Square Garden in New York. Unbeknownst to many, Nonito is an amateur photographer and is starting to produce a fairly good portfolio of works. You can view his images on his Facebook account here: www.facebook.com/nonitodonaire. Here’s to hoping he KOs this Narvaez guy.
Happy shooting!
(For questions and comments regarding this column, please email me at ryanmacalandag@yahoo.com or look me up on Facebook. We are conducting regular basic and advanced photography workshops through Sideroom Workshops. Please visit www.facebook.com/sideroom to inquire.)
