Road running for boxers isn’t just a case of heading out every morning and jogging a few miles before breakfast anymore. Many people still think that is the case though…All boxers wakening up early in the morning and wearily jogging 3 or 4 miles before breakfast. While that kind of routine is still a lot better than bouncing your alarm clock off the wall, turning over and going back to sleep again, it isn’t really making the best use of your training time. Boxing is largely a fast paced anaerobic event, so why would you choose to limit your road running to aerobic jogging?…It would be FAR more effective to switch from aerobic jogging to anaerobic running a few days per week.

First of all though, you can’t over emphasize enough the importance of a proper “warm-up” before any kind of running, and a “cool down” afterward. The obvious benefits being the prevention of injury and an improved performance as you warm up the body and raise the heart rate in preparation for hard work. More blood flow to the body tissues also improves oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide removal too. Plus psychologically, it helps to focus your attention.

So the best kind of road running would ideally be directly related to the sport you’re involved with. In the case of a boxer, that consists of a 2 or 3 minute round followed by a one minute rest between rounds. Therefore your road work should be the same…Bursts of running hard for those 2 or 3 minutes, followed by a 1 minute rest period. Aim for three or four rounds to begin with, working up to maybe eight or so. Don’t go too far beyond that though for fear of over-training.

Try to bring variety into these sessions too. Mix things up a bit with sprints, hill running, and by varying the distance of your runs by incorporating 200, 400, & 800 metre bursts. This type of training is very intense and your body will need time to recover, so aim to do this kind of road work two or three times a week, with the more traditional 2 to 4 mile run on the other days. These longer runs are still important as they enable your body to endure the harder work. Ideally you want to do the “sport specific” road work on non-sparring days too, as it’s no fun trying to spar with worn out legs.

Men’s trail running is a type of running that is different from track running and road running. It typically takes place on hiking trails and most commonly on singe track trails. One specific characteristic of these trails is that they are many times inaccessible by road except at the end of the trails. This kind of running tends to have many different terrains, including deserts, mountains, hills, forests and narrowing passages. Sometimes rough terrain and steep inclines need to be hiked and scrambled. It is not uncommon for trains to incline thousands of feet.

There are just as many variations of runners as there are trail running. Many people prefer trail running for daily exercise and training, while others will spend weeks in the country. There is an increasing number of people who are participating in trail running trips, which is considered to be ultralight backpacking. A cross country running trip typically is done in a short amount of time and covers a longer distance that the average backpacking expedition. In just 2006, there were more than 6.7 million trail runners, both men and women, in the US and more than 40 million around the world.

This kind of running can be very good for the body. It is better on the ligaments and joints than a standard street, tarmac or bike path. There is nothing quite like the smell of trees and leaves underfoot while running along paths. This can only be enjoyed and loved if you actually able to get out and experience it. Many people begin to complain about trail running being too difficult or boring as they begin to age. Running on harder surfaces tends to jar joints over time, even with the most cushioned shoes. People who have given up on running are able to find the love of running on trails with the right kind of shoes.