Wladimir Klitschko: Lean, Mean and Unique in the Gym

Posted by Ramon Aranda on 02.10.2009

Muscle & Fitness magazine gets a close look at Klitschko's training camp before Executive Editor Mike Carlson talks to 411mania.com.


Klitschko photos by Ian Spanier

Though Wladimir Klitschko has had his ups and downs throughout his boxing career, no one has ever confused him with Butterbean on the physical front. Klitschko, through his training regiments has become one of the finest physical specimens the heavyweight division has ever seen which begs the question, what does he do to get in that kind of shape? Well Muscle & Fitness magazine must have been thinking the same thing as Executive Editor Mike Carlson and his team had a chance to visit the Klitschko camp during his training for his fight with Hasim Rahman in December. The March edition of the magazine has an exclusive look at his training camp that boxing fans will certainly want to read.

Recently I had the opportunity to talk to Mike Carlson about that experience and on Klitschko's training methods which the magazine had plenty of interest in. It all began with Carlson contacting Klitschko's people about running a story on him and the camp gladly invited them down to their gym in Mallorca, Spain and M&F was happy to attend. After spending two days with the IBF and WBO heavyweight champ, Carlson observed what he called "a very sophisticated camp with old school ideas mixed with new age ones". When it comes to conditioning, Klitschko does without any roadwork which is obviously unorthodox for a fighter, instead opting to swim for his cardio workouts – something he takes very seriously. While M&F was there, Carlson told 411mania.com that they were told a rather comical anecdote about Wladimir being challenged by personal chef David Williams to a race in the pool. Apparently, Klitschko was demolished in said race but Klitschko began practicing and got himself a trainer to improve his swimming. After some time, Klitschko challenged Williams again and this time around he licked him. It's that type of thing that shows how dedicated Klitschko is to training.

Of course swimming isn't the only cardio work that Klitschko does. He also likes to jump rope and does extensive sparring though his sparring partners, as M&F mentions in their article, sometimes go numb after getting caught by Klitschko's booming right hands. In one instance, a sparring partner's contact lenses actually came loose. Now that's a hard punch! But even when he's getting down to business, Klitschko finds a way to add some spice and fun to his regiment. As Carlson points out, Klitschko enjoys dancing and during one of their visits, trainer Emmanuel Steward blasted some music while Wladimir did eight rounds of dancing. "It was sort of a combination of boxing-style dancing and literal dancing, which Wlad loves to do," said Carlson.

Interestingly enough, Wladimir doesn't do much weight training, which is a surprise given his physique. Carlson says that Klitschko bulks up pretty quickly so they decide to forgo weight training since added bulk affects his speed and mobility. Klitschko does do a bit of weight training but skips it completely during his actual eight-week training camp. When I asked Mike Carlson about what stood out for him about Klitschko training, he said it was his hand speed which he feels is underrated. Carlson also told us that Klitschko seems to be a very intelligent guy, which would make sense given his Ph.D. in Sports Science from Kiev University but also attributes a lot of his in-ring intelligence to Manny Stewart.

As an odd tidbit about Klitschko's nutrition, Carlson pointed out that Wladimir tends to eat a lot of watermelon. He says the fruit helps him re-hydrate while giving his muscles the needed sugar. In my years of following the sport, this is probably the first time I have ever heard of watermelon being eaten with that kind of frequency during training. To go along with his watermelon, Klitschko takes multivitamins and eats three times a day, taking in foods like egg whites, chicken, vegetables and beef.

One thing that did stick with me is something that Klitschko does to toughen up his knuckles. During a fighter's career, his hands are the most sensitive and most likely parts of the body to get injured. Time and time again we hear of guys who break their hands, causing many problems during their time in the sport. M&F described a Klitschko method of combating injury – he carries around a wooden board that he softly punches it in combinations to toughen up his hands. Another form of hand exercises is done by Klitschko getting on his knees to lean forward onto his clenched fists with his arms fully extended. "One at a time, and alternating sides, he goes from supporting his weight on closed fist to fully extended fingertips," describes Carlson.

Carlson noted, "I think the most impressive part of his training is his dedication to his longevity. The guy does a ton of training to circumvent injury. As athletes get older it is a contact struggle to balance intensity and maximal efforts with safety. Klitschko has that aspect down to a science. His abandonment of traditional roadwork and his adoption of swimming speaks to that fact."

Carlson mentioned that at Muscle & Fitness, they are aiming to take a different approach by showcasing the everyday athlete and not just the body builder. They've had mixed martial artists on their cover recently and Klitschko is just another athlete in the long line of people they hope to cover. It's a great way for fans and aspiring athletes to see what these guys do to get in shape without having to follow a body builder's regiments. It's worth noting that Wladimir Klistchko is only the second boxer to be featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness alongside Muhammad Ali who made the cover in 1979 when the magazine was just called "Muscle". The whole experience seemed enjoyable for both Klitschko (and his camp) and Muscle & Fitness – so much that Carlson tells us Klitschko's team would like to invite them back to cover future training camps.

We'll look forward to hearing more about it.

You can check out a video of some behind the scenes shots of M&F's visit to Klitschko's camp by clicking here.

You can check out the entire feature in the March '09 issue of Muscle & Fitness featuring Wladimir Klistchko on the cover, which is on newsstands now.