Training Program: Tomasz Adamek

May 13th, 2008

By Scoop Malinowski

Former WBC Light Heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek has recently relocated to Kearny, New Jersey in the United States where he will compete in his next two professional fights. The IBF#1 ranked cruiserweight Adamek (34-1, 23 KO’s) will face Gary ‘Pit Bull’ Gomez (18-9-1, 7) in Chicago on July 11 and then meet respected champion Steve Cunningham in a September showdown, possibly in Atlantic City or New York.

32-year-old Adamek shared some insights into his training regimen in this interview conducted at a celebration thrown in his honor by manager Ziggy Rozalski at Wallington Exchange in Wallington, NJ on May 9. Adamek, by the way, exhibited some John Travolta-esque dance floor talents and could more than hold his own on ‘Dancing With The Stars’:

Boxinginsider: Do you do long runs or sprints?

Adamek: “Distance running early in training. About five miles a day for conditioning-wise. Then closer to the fight I’m doing shorter distances but with sprint initiatives.”

Boxinginsider: How much sparring do you do for a 12 round fight?

Adamek: “Before the (last) fight with Bell (on April 19) I had about 120 rounds of sparring. Four spar partners, two from America and two from Europe.”

Boxinginsider: Do you lift weights? If so, what do you do?

Adamek: “Yes I do weights at Ziggy’s Gym (in Jersey City). Three weeks before the fight I do more of a dynamic type of conditioning. My weekly schedule emphasizes different muscle types. I have it set out for Monday, Wednesday, Friday.”

Boxinginsider: Do you ever skip workouts?

Adamek: “I don’t skip workouts. What I do is out of my heart. And the training I put in comes from me. So it has to be my dedication to train. And initiate all the responsibility that it takes.”

Boxinginsider: Do you employ any unique or eccentric training methods? For example Dmitri Salita said he used to spar against two people at the same time.

Adamek: “No I use all natural training initiatives. But I would be more afraid of my wife than sparring against two men [laughter].”

Boxinginsider: How important is padwork to your preparation?

Adamek: “The pad training is very important. It gives me the touch and feel of the person right next to me. And the relationship with the trainer is like a father and son. It’s very important because we get used to the speed and accuracy of being very close to the fighter.”

Boxinginsider: Has there been a weak area which you were able to strengthen because of hard work in the gym?

Adamek: “The two fights I can put next to each other were the fights with Paul Briggs – in that fight I took a lot of punches – and in my fight recently with O’Neil Bell I became more of a technical fighter. And I took away a lot of these punches from the opponent and I substituted the defense by my technical abilities and movements.”

Boxinginsider: What type of bags do you like to use?

Adamek: “I’ve got them all. All of them are Everlast.”

(Translation by Peter Szymczak.)

© 2011 BoxingInsider LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out written permission.

Click here to go back to Training and Conditioning main page