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Professor Mandy Northcutt final paper....

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Running head: ROCKY BALBOA VS. IVAN DRAGO

Rocky Balboa vs. Ivan Drago A Comprehensive Breakdown of Training Methods and Physiological Responses David Holmquist Arkansas State University

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Introduction In 1985, Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren starred in Rocky IV, one of the highest grossing sports movies of all time. In the movie, Stallone’s character, the American “Rocky”, and Lundgren’s character, “Drago” of the Soviet Union, square off for vengeance, personal glory, and patriotic pride. To prepare for this grudge match, both characters push themselves to the limits through endurance training, resistance training, and aerobic training. However, Rocky and Drago prepared in drastically different ways, and their training regimen ultimately impacted their performance in the final fight. This paper aims to break down what muscles a boxer like the fictional Rocky and Drago would need to train and why, analyze the different training methods of the two boxers, explain the physiological changes that occurred in response to training, and describe the methods that gave one of the two a slight edge.

Needs Analysis Boxing is a sport that requires intensive, well-thought-out training to obtain a strong body that will last until the last bell rings. Boxing is a full-body workout, but competitive boxers like Rocky and Drago will take the time to focus on specific muscle groups to increase their chance of winning, and will use very specific types of training in their pursuit of victory. Contrary to what some may think, a boxer with a huge upper body but skinny legs would be at an immediate disadvantage. A punch thrown with good technique starts with proper lower-body coordination. As well, proper footwork, which allows

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boxers to put themselves in an advantageous position, is impossible without lower-body training. The main lower-body muscles used are the calf (made up of the gastrocnemius and soleus), the quadriceps group (Vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, rectus femoris, and vastus intermedialis) and the hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus). The hips are essential as well—well-developed hip muscles are integral to speedy and strong rotational movement and overall stability. The core, made up of the rectus abdominis, obliques, spinal erectors and lower back, is another important piece in the training regimen of a boxer. During a punch, the anterior core muscles aid in coordinating the rotational motion of the midsection and the anterior motion of the upper body to maximize force. The external obliques mainly assist with the rotational motion aspect, while the rectus abdominis, which runs from just below the ribcage to the pelvis, focuses on stability. The lower back muscles, specifically the erector spineae, contribute to punch recovery and preventing hyperextension of the back. The upper back, specifically the teres major muscle and latissimus dorsi, shouldn’t be overlooked. The teres minor, which is responsible for medial rotation of the humerus, assists the larger latissimus dorsi muscle in retracting the arm post-punch, an essential tactic. The arm muscles are the most developed and noticeable muscles on most boxers, and for good reason. While the arms do generate a good deal of force during a punch, the speed and endurance of the arm muscles are arguably more important than power integral in the grand scheme. The deltoids mainly keep the humerus raised and

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assist in force production. The triceps facilitate quick jabs, and the biceps, aid in snappy hooks and uppercuts. Finally, the chest can’t be overlooked. As the largest upper muscle, the chest has more motor units and therefore can generate more force than the arm muscles. The pectoralis major mainly does flexion, horizontal adduction, and inward rotation of the humerus, which are all essential punching motions. These muscles can be trained in a variety of ways, but the two major, essential categories of muscular training is endurance and resistance training. Endurance training, which uses the aerobic oxidative energy system, targets the athlete’s ability to produce force over a long period of time. Cardiorespiratory training, like running, incrases VO2 max, which increases the body’s ability to inspire oxygen. By using muscles over a long period of time, athletes can increase their threshold of endurance, both physically and neurologically. Resistance training utilizes the ATP-PCr and anaerobic glycolytic systems for short bursts of intense activity. Resistance training increases strength, speed and reaction time by the use of weights, plyometrics, sprints, bodyweight exercises, and other quick-burst exercises. Boxing is a physical sport, and injuries during training or bouts are commonplace. The most common sites of injury are the head and joints, most commonly concussions, fractures, and dislocations. However, injuries can be prevented with good technique, smart fighting, and muscular development. Strong, speedy arms and smart blocks can prevent traumatic head injuries, proper punching technique limits extra strain on the

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shoulders, elbow and wrist, and overall speed and endurance will enable the boxer to react quickly to avoid injury.

Training Rocky and Drago both trained hard for the fight, but due to their circumstances, they prepared in vastly different ways. Drago’s training method was meticulously planned and executed under trained supervision, and utilized machines and proven research. On the other hand, Rocky’s training focused on total-body fitness. Rocky was less focused on individual muscles and more focused on reaching overall peak physical condition. Looking at each fighter’s training methods individually will allow us to understand the pros and cons of their strategies. Drago’s training, as mentioned earlier, was meticulously planned out. He exercised under direct supervision of trained professionals using the best equipment available at the time, in a controlled climate. The movie shows Drago running on a track, running on an incline treadmill, boxing, punching a force plate, doing power cleans, using a trunk rotation machine, using a triceps extension machine, using a vertical stair climber, and a quadriceps extension machine. Running on a track will increase aerobic endurance and capacity, as well as increase muscular endurance in the legs. The incline running is more of an anaerobic exercise, as much more energy is required to sprint up an incline. This exercise will target the gluteus muscles, quadriceps, and calves and increase their explosiveness. Boxing, as an exercise, is a full-body workout that improves cardiovascular endurance as well as targets specific muscle groups. Neurologically, boxing practice will allow Drago to use

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his strength more efficiently. Punching a force plate will help Drago economize his punching force as well. Power cleans are an all-around exercise that works your whole body. The first pull of a power clean targets the back, shoulders, hamstrings, and traps, while the second pull works your calves, quads, upper back, shoulders, and triceps. Power cleans develop overall explosive power. The trunk rotation machine targeted Drago’s core, which is essential for spinal stability in a boxing fight. The triceps extension machine isolates the triceps muscles of the arms, which are essential for quick jab delivery. The vertical stair climber is both a cardiovascular and muscular conditioning tool. The movement of the arms and legs up and down on the “rungs” of the climber against resistance is strenuous and increases muscular strength and endurance, while the speed at which the motion is performed causes an increased heart rate. Finally, the quadriceps extension machine isolates the quadriceps group on the legs, which are essential in explosive footwork and proper punching technique. On the other hand, Rocky took a much more old-school approach. His training involved much more full-body exercises than Drago, he improvised a lot of his workouts, and he often exercised in the cold. Rocky’s training, as shown in the movie, included running in the snow, running up a mountain, hanging sit-ups, jump rope, throwing and lifting rocks, carrying logs, lifting a cart, rope uppercuts, pullups, chopping down trees, sled pulls, punching mitts, and sawing wood. Running in the snow will increase aerobic capacity and strengthen the cardiovascular system, just like regular running. However, the snow adds resistance to Rocky’s legs, drastically increasing his energy expenditure. Running up a mountain is similar to Drago’s training on the incline treadmill. This style of running will target the gluteus

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muscles, quadriceps and calves, and will be an aerobically taxing exercise. The hanging sit-up is an especially challenging core exercise that uses gravity to increase the challenge on the core and abdominal muscles. Rocky performs this while hanging from a rafter in a barn and getting punched in the abs by his trainer. Jump rope is a classic cardio training exercise for boxing, and for a good reason. The quick movement of jumping over the rope targets the calves and overall cardiorespiratory system, but it also improves coordination and agility. Throwing and lifting rocks helps Rocky to develop muscular endurance. He engages his core and lower body to lift the rocks, and throwing the rocks targets many of the same muscles used in punching. Carrying logs is another total body workout. The upper body, especially the shoulders, stabilizes the log overhead, while the lower body has to resist the added weight. Lifting a cart is one of the more visually impressive workouts Rocky performed. Similar to Drago’s power clean, Rocky engages his lower back and hamstrings to pick up the handles, and finishes the movement by engaging the lower body and upper back and explosively extending the arms overhead. Rope uppercuts helped Rocky improve his agility and timing, as well as general punching technique. Pullups are a tried-and-true strength training technique that engages the latissimus dorsi muscles, upper back, and the arms. Chopping down trees is a power move that requires short bursts of high-intensity movement from the core and upper body, and stabilization from the lower body. Sled pulls is a total-body endurance workout that works the core and lower body and is comparable in movement to the vertical stair climber used by Drago. Punching mitts are pretty essential to boxing, simply because they train the reflexes and agility of the

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boxer. Finally, sawing wood engages the core in trunk flexion and puts resistance on the deltoids, triceps, and biceps with elbow flexion and extension.

Physiological Changes Both Rocky and Drago went through a series of physiological changes. The first change was Cardiovascular Efficiency. The repeated aerobic stress that both boxers put themselves under allowed the heart to pump more efficiently, decreasing their resting and submaximal heart rate, increasing heart rate recovery, increasing stroke volume at rest, and increased maximal cardiac output (Kenney, 253-255). Motor Unit recruitment increased as well, allowing for more synchronous recruitment, resulting in greater force output (Kenney, 229). Rate coding increased in both boxers due to their rapid movement and ballistic-style training, allowing them to reach absolute peak force (Kenney, 230). Hypertrophy of muscle fibers, due to a net increase in muscle protein synthesis as a result of testosterone, increased overall muscular size or cross-sectional area of muscle fibers (Kenney 230-231). Muscle strength increased as a joint result of hypertrophy, rate coding, and increased muscle fiber recruitment (Kenney, 231). Lactate threshold rises, and buffer system efficiency increases, allowing the boxers to compete at a higher level for a longer period before acid buildup contributes to fatigue (Kenney, 263) The activity of glycolytic enzymes such as phosphofructokinase, phosphorylase, and lactate dehydrogenase are increased, contributing to improvements in strength (Kenney, 275). Agility increased as a result of repeated stimulus resulting in muscle memory. This agility increase is coupled with coordination and increased reaction time (Kenney, 233). Core stability is increased as a result of repeated

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ROCKY BALBOA VS. IVAN DRAGO resistance exercises, and contributes to a decreased likelihood of injury, especially in the lower back and extremities (Kenney, 218). Finally, VO 2 max

increased as a

response to endurance training, allowing more oxygen to be delivered to and used by the muscles of the boxers (Kenney, 249).

Conclusion In conclusion, Drago and Rocky had drastically different training styles, but Rocky’s methods and training gave him the slight edge. While both had near equal physiological adaptations (at least to the naked eye) as a result of their exercise training regimens, Drago’s almost exclusive use of machines, which limited his range of motion, meant that Rocky’s training allowed him to recruit more motor units and achieve optimal training specificity (Kenney, 216). As well, Rocky trained in the mountains. Those hypoxic conditions simulated the release of erythropoietin, which stimulates red blood cell production, therefore increasing hemoglobin and oxygen transport to muscle (Kenney, 322). At first glance, it would appear that Drago’s structured exercise regimen gave him the edge, but as the movie shows, Rocky’s increased mental toughness made him that much tougher to beat, and his total-body workouts and altitude acclimation made him a fierce opponent.

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References

Donatelli, J. (2016). Is the Famous "Rocky IV" Training Montage Really a Good Workout? Retrieved November 15, 2016, from http://www.livestrong.com/slideshow/559445-is-the-famous-rocky-iv-trainingmontage-really-a-good-workout/

Kenney, W., & Wilmore, J. (2012). Physiology of sport and exercise (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Kerr, G. (n.d.). Endurance Training for Boxing. Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://www.rossboxing.com/thegym/thegym21.htm

Klatten, M. (2016). Functional strength training for boxers - Boxing News. Retrieved November 10, 2016, from http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/functional-strengthtraining-for-boxers/

Publications, H. H. (n.d.). Punch up your exercise routine with fitness boxing - Harvard Health. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/punch-up-your-exerciseroutine-with-fitness-boxing

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Rice, J. (2014). When Punching a Boxing Bag, What Muscles Are You Using? Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/274102-whenpunching-a-boxing-bag-what-muscles-are-you-using/

Schwartz, R. (n.d.). Training Energy Systems for Boxing Success. Retrieved September 19, 2016, from https://www.elitefts.com/education/coaching-education/trainingenergy-systems-for-boxing-success/...