Muhammad Ali's training regiment?

Question

Off rip, I'm a huge muhammad ali fan. the way he impacted the sport and society is amazing. i'm not a boxer, but i do kick some ***. i just wanna know where i can find info. on his training regiment. what kind of diet plan he was on, what kind of training he did. if you can't be specific or don't know a website, don't bother answering. i know the mainstream answers about him jogging backwards, and boxing under water. i just want to do like Will Smith did, and have the same body shape/muscle mass. No homo, no offense

Answer 1

I can be specific. Physically, he did the pretty much same thing everyone else did and still does. All Boxers use very similar training plans. Ali liked to copy old masters like Marciano and Lewis.

Skipping and running for endurance, heavy bag for power and endurance, no weight training, double end bag for reflex, rope ducks for head movement, daily sparring for boxing skill and endurance, medicine ball and calisthenics for muscle training and endurance, and a carefully managed diet for strength, quick recovery, and weight management. Daily interaction with a trainer and coach who analyze the opponent and prepare a fight plan, and also teach the fighter to improve his technique and style.  

Each boxer has his own small twists, but every single pro boxer trains for weeks and sometimes months in preparation for a single bout, and everyone trains pretty much this same way because that is what works. Modern boxers often throw some steroids in for good measure, which is a bad idea, but it helps people recover quickly from training and build strength. Too bad, as it also ruins your body. They also add weight training. That might make you slow unless you are careful.

If you want to look like Will Smith did, then just take the steroids and do some weights. You will look like Holyfield eventually, but that will not make you into Ali.

If you do find some information about Ali's specific "regiment", take it with a grain of salt. All boxers vary their routines. Each fight is different (preparing for a new opponent's style), each day is different (perhaps you are sick, tired, or feeling great today), and everyone gets bored with routine (Mike Tyson would never have lost if he had stuck to his first training regiment, but he moved on to another, easier trainer).

Ali favored a lighter training regime (six miles running, no weights, afternoons in the gym) which suited his pure boxing style, and he liked sparing partners to hit him hard in the head so he could prepare to deal with the tough punchers of his day (Fraser, Foreman, Shavers....)

If you want to see the most important part of his training, watch the clip below. It lies with his psychology. He psyched everyone out. He was too smart for other fighters to beat. Even Foreman's tremendous power and conditioning, evidenced at the end with his work on the heavy bag too much for his assistant to even hold, was easily defeated by Ali's conditioned mind. His main training was in self confidence, mastery and self belief.