Earlier this month, Watermans ambassador Lewis Benson took part in a special training camp with his management team MGM in Marbella. During his two weeks kept an exclusive training diary – read Week 1 below…
Monday
I decided I wanted to get an early flight to Marbella so it would give me plenty of time to have a quick shakeout session before all the hard work starts on the Tuesday. At the hotel I was greeted by my management team and I got to meet the rest of the team. It was great seeing them as I had not seen the lads in quite a while. Training today was just a light shadowboxing round and bag works – just shaking off the old cobwebs. After having a great steak for tea, I decided to have an early night in preparation of the upcoming training days.
Tuesday
Day 2. Camp has officially begun.
I was hand selected for an 8 am run along the beach with my team mates: Derry Mathews, Jamie Conlan and Tom Stalker. They’re good boxers that I look up to and try to learn new techniques from. After the run we all went and attended a hot yoga class. I love yoga, it is something I do not really do too much of at home, but it is amazing! After having a healthy lunch and a relaxation session, it was time to hit the gym. We did some 8×3 minute rounds of tempo bag work. This is basically when your coach tells us what combos to play out and we just continue the routines until he decides to change. Afterwards, we finished with a core work out before calling it a night. I enjoy training with Derry and James as we are able to spur and push each other on!
Wednesday
We got up early at 7am to start doing some track work. I ran the 4 X 800m in recorded times between 2:40 and 2:47 for the four laps. My pace was good, I felt amazing! Afterwards we went back to the restaurant for breakfast where I feasted on porridge. During breakfast Anton from my management team, told me that Paulie Malignaggi was also training here, and Anton offered me the chance to spar with him on the Friday after next! I initially thought Anton was joking! I was buzzing to meet Paulie, as I had only ever seen him on TV.
Back in the gym for 5. I began by doing some bag work, followed by strength and conditioning by a coach called Taff. Taff is a well renowned coach in Marbella and many boxers visit the area just to get coached by him. He worked us ragged but I could feel that it was all worth it. No pain, no gain!
Thursday
Today began with an early run along the beach. I was feeling quite tired an achy this morning from the hard day of training I had yesterday. Today we had the arrival of my mate, Ronnie Clark. He came out here for preparation of his title shot, so he decided it would be best if he were to train with us. At 3 we all went to the gym. I started off by doing some bag work, before moving on to the pads, all the while being coached by an ex-boxer.
Friday
I knew today was going to be a big day. I was having my first spar against a member from the GB squad and he was looking to turn pro with MGM. My manager came up to me before the spar and advised me that my opponent would be trying to impress as he was looking to turn pro, so I knew I had to be on my game! I was razor sharp from the off catching him with nice shots on the front and back foot. We completed 6 good rounds of competitive sparring. My team were happy with the way I performed, so that is the main point from the exercise. Afterwards, I finished with a few rounds on the pads.
No Friday night out, as I had arranged to go for a run Saturday morning with a member from the gym.
Saturday
Woke up at 7, so I could get to the gym for 8 for the scheduled hour long run that had been pre-prepared. My body is very sore from all the training I have done this week, but I know I am nearing my rest day! We ran along the beach for about 5 miles, then we walked back. My legs were gone by the time we finished; the whole route did last nearly 2 hours! After the run I felt so sore, so I decided to book a massage for 2 o’clock. After having porridge and fruit for my breakfast, it was time for my massage. The massage itself, was no ordinary massage. It was instead more of a stretching session, followed by the masseuse walking up and down my back with her bare feet! That lasted nearly an hour and then there was an hour full body massage afterwards. I felt worse after the massage haha! At night Ronnie and I relaxed and watched the boxing.
Sunday
This was my only day off so I wanted to make the most of it. At dinner time some of the lads and I went to a restaurant to watch the football and got a Sunday roast. I had lamb with all the trimming! Amazing! After that we all went to the beach and chilled for the rest of the day.