THE FITTEST ATHLETES?

Deserter · Post by **Deserter** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:12

The other thread that developed into a discussion about cyclists etc really got me thinking...
Boxers are tradionally regarded as among the fittest athletes, but as we all know, there are a lot of unsung greats out there - just look at the way the likes of Brian Jacks (judo) and Brian Hooper (pole vault) dominated superstars - particularly in the events that tested strength and endurance.
Personally, I've got huge regards for the guys in these cross-training championships. I don't know whether everyone's familiar with the format, but it involves competing against the clock while completing a course involving a number of different strength and CV exercises (e.g. 50 reps of 40kg on the bench press, followed by 1,000 metres on the rowing machine and then 20 chin-ups...and so on).
The world champion (who I think is Welsh and an ex-squaddie) competed in Bahrain in an invitational recently and halved the time recorded by guys I know here and regard as super-fit! The end of this gruelling course involved a 1km run on a 12% incline but despite what he'd already gone through he ran it at a speed of 18.5km/h! I can't even sustain that on the flat!
What are other people's views - particularly about where boxers now stand in relation to other sports. After all, tougher doesn't necessarily equal fitter, and have boxing's more traditional methods been overtaken by the scientific approach to fitness adopted by other sports?

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:18

Well I always say boxers if anyone asks - but I'm biased!

Still, when you watch two fighters like Barrera and Morales in their first fight, you have to wonder how much fitter you can get than that.
Or those 15 round wars from the 80's and 70's.

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:18

all depends on how you judge fitness really....

J · Post by J » 21 Jul 2004, 10:20

its a bit generic to be able to specify, I think in terms of areobic fitness no one would argue that the top marathon runners are right up there, certinaly fitter in terms of aerobic capacity than boxers I would think.
Boxing however is a more even keel, a balance between fitness, power, strength and stamina.
You get people who are superfit from all sports I dont think you can partcualalry pick one genre to be ovber and above the sport with the fittest people. If you had to Id go with decathletes.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:21

Cardiovascular fitness?

Rowers apparently are the fittest.

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:22

Top class Rugby looks like one of the toughest to me. Although there are regular oppurtunities to take a break.

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:23

jamesmcdonnell wrote:Cardiovascular fitness?

Rowers apparently are the fittest.

yeah i heard in a survey that the rowers had the widest arteries which indicated they were cardio-vascular wise the top dogs.

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:23

That wouldn't surprise me. It's constant effort from the start line to the finish line.

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:24

Kilburn wrote:Top class Rugby looks like one of the toughest to me. Although there are regular oppurtunities to take a break.

rugby league looks a lot tougher than union, although i wouldnt fancy playing either

J · Post by J » 21 Jul 2004, 10:26

league is less techincal but probably a harder sport, at least in union if you dont fancy the roughhouse stuff on the inside you can go play in the backs .
Though if you seen Tana Umaga the all balck cenrte you would think he was an orc out of lord of the rings.
me i liked a bit of both scrum half. Wind the forwarsds up and hide out in the backs

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:27

knockout wrote:rugby league looks a lot tougher than union, although i wouldnt fancy playing either

Nor me. Running against the wind has got to be a lot easier than running smack into other people.

Having said that I used to love Rugby at school, until they banned it after a teacher got laid out. Such a shame (that it got banned).

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:30

jamesmcdonnell wrote:Cardiovascular fitness?

Rowers apparently are the fittest.

danny williams can do 2000m on the concept2 rowing machine in about 6m05..... pretty damn impressive

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:33

I consider myself a decent rower, 2715m in 10 minutes is my best.

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:35

knockout wrote:danny williams can do 2000m on the concept2 rowing machine in about 6m05..... pretty damn impressive

I'm sure if he improved his technique he could better that still. When he set that time he was pulling the handle up to his chest which is all wrong.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:40

knockout wrote:
jamesmcdonnell wrote:Cardiovascular fitness?

Rowers apparently are the fittest.
danny williams can do 2000m on the concept2 rowing machine in about 6m05..... pretty damn impressive

Shows you how powerful rowers are, Matthew Pinsent dwarfs Williams there.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:44

http://www.concept2.com/rowing/racing/2000_m_rec.asp

Check out these times, world records for 2000m, Danny must be bastard fit to have recorded that time, that's 30 seconds off the world record!

Check Andy Ripley's time in the 50-59 year old category, what a fit mutherfucker he is. Used to win Superstars all the time as I recall. Didn't he take up polevaulting late in life or something odd?

Lugh · Post by **Lugh** » 21 Jul 2004, 10:53

I remember reading somewhere that male dancers came out really high in all-round fitness!

The matrix included strength, C/V, endurance and a few others.

If Superstars is anything to go by, boxers don't rate at all!

They usually do well in the "purer" events but do poorly in the events that require any technique

They showed a clip of Alan Minter (I think) on the last series going like stink in the rowing - sadly he was going like stink in the wrong direction!

McCullogh, Hatton and Mosley (in the US version) did pretty poorly overall.

McCullogh demonstrated plenty of bottle whilst shredding his feet in the squat thrusts though!

J · Post by J » 21 Jul 2004, 11:00

jamesmcdonnell wrote:http://www.concept2.com/rowing/racing/2000_m_rec.asp

Check out these times, world records for 2000m, Danny must be bastard fit to have recorded that time, that's 30 seconds off the world record!

Check Andy Ripley's time in the 50-59 year old category, what a fit mutherfucker he is. Used to win Superstars all the time as I recall. Didn't he take up polevaulting late in life or something odd?

dont think so mate mate hw was ex england rugby number 8 played for rosslyn park was also a sevens specialist, now that is a game you have to be fit to play. Full sized pitch half the players.
killing.

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 21 Jul 2004, 11:08

J wrote:
jamesmcdonnell wrote:http://www.concept2.com/rowing/racing/2000_m_rec.asp

Check out these times, world records for 2000m, Danny must be bastard fit to have recorded that time, that's 30 seconds off the world record!

Check Andy Ripley's time in the 50-59 year old category, what a fit mutherfucker he is. Used to win Superstars all the time as I recall. Didn't he take up polevaulting late in life or something odd?

dont think so mate mate hw was ex england rugby number 8 played for rosslyn park was also a sevens specialist, now that is a game you have to be fit to play. Full sized pitch half the players.
killing.

some of those fijian/samoan 7's players are incredible.
Rokocoko, DOugie Howelett and Jonah Lomu all made huge impact in the full all blacks team and all have sub 10.9 100m times.

Howlett has a best of 10.76 and Lomu about 10.8.... apparently Rockcoko is even faster than Howlett.... and he weighs 15stone 7

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 21 Jul 2004, 11:09

Ah that's right, just remembered the sport he took up.....rowing.

Apparently, he was nearly good enough for olympic standard.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 21 Jul 2004, 11:12

fornicate me, Andy Ripley used to be a AAA's standard 400m runner, that is quite incredible seeing as he is 6'6 and weighs almost 17 stone. He must have been at least 15 1/2 stone even in his prime, how on earth could he run 400m?

harley_man · Post by **harley_man** » 21 Jul 2004, 15:18

I too have heard rowers called the fittest on the planet. And basketball players called the most athletic.

Don't know how Evander Holyfield would have fared in those sports or in the above testing but I saw a science documentary several years ago (I'm thinking late 80s) that compared his recuperative powers bewteen rounds to other top flight atletes. Basically his heartbeats per minute were well over 300 after 3 minutes of exertion (a round of boxing) but astoundingly back to his resting heart rate (45 or something insanely low like that) after 1 minute of rest. Compared to other athletes, this was unheard of. Then the kicker: it was just as good after 12 rounds as after 1.

I believe they compared it to top sprinters - 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m - and though they had phenomenal fitness in the sense of their ability to rocket up to high exertion and recuperate amazingly quickly, it didn't compare to Holy. Add in punches to the head and body and I'd rather that fitness over the ability to run 26 miles.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 21 Jul 2004, 15:30

I would consider myself quite a fit athlete.

J · Post by J » 22 Jul 2004, 03:58

knockout wrote:
J wrote:
jamesmcdonnell wrote:http://www.concept2.com/rowing/racing/2000_m_rec.asp

Check out these times, world records for 2000m, Danny must be bastard fit to have recorded that time, that's 30 seconds off the world record!

Check Andy Ripley's time in the 50-59 year old category, what a fit mutherfucker he is. Used to win Superstars all the time as I recall. Didn't he take up polevaulting late in life or something odd?

dont think so mate mate hw was ex england rugby number 8 played for rosslyn park was also a sevens specialist, now that is a game you have to be fit to play. Full sized pitch half the players.
killing.

some of those fijian/samoan 7's players are incredible.
Rokocoko, DOugie Howelett and Jonah Lomu all made huge impact in the full all blacks team and all have sub 10.9 100m times.

Howlett has a best of 10.76 and Lomu about 10.8.... apparently Rockcoko is even faster than Howlett.... and he weighs 15stone 7

yeah the fijian winger Cau Cau is somink else too, theres a couple of english lads who were pretty sharp Andrew Harriman ran the 200 metres in a fast anough time to have claimed bronze in the olympics at the time.
Thats fornicating scary pace to be facing.
Currently theres a couple of lads who are devastatingly quick Ian Blashaw runs about 10.8 shame he has no bollox though, also Richard Haughton of sarries and Ugo Monye of quins are pretty sharp as is paul sackey of London Irish.

dondada · Post by **dondada** » 22 Jul 2004, 05:24

Ballet dancers, cyclists, rowers, skiiers, rugby players...there's loads of examples and it would be hard to differentiate.

But one thing about boxing that is you unique. While you are trying to do your thing you have someone trying to take your head off! Actually, it might be like that in rugby too sometimes.