Adam Lusby Strength & Conditioning

I don’t agree with Tony Bellew or Steve Bunce

It’s a different sport nowadays requiring different “fitness” needs.

Twelve rounds vs fifteen isn’t just “one less round.” It’s a different event entirely, like comparing a 1500m runner to a marathon runner. Different demands, different bodies built for the job.

Old school prep was roadwork, bags, sparring. Built toughness and a big engine, sure. Built nothing for power output, explosiveness, or keeping fighters’ bodies together long-term.

We celebrate the ones who lasted 15 rounds. Nobody talks about the ones whose bodies gave out early because there was no such thing as managed load.

Every sport on earth has accepted that science moved athletes forward. Nobody’s out here saying 80s footballers were fitter than today’s. So why’s boxing suddenly the exception?

Crawford. Usyk. Benavidez. Bivol. Haney. Literally every elite fighter right now has a strength and conditioning team behind them.

So are they all getting it wrong?

Why did Moses Itauma gas so early?

When a boxer fades after only four rounds, there are three main areas I would examine:

1️⃣ Preparation and recovery
Was there something wrong with his training camp, sparring, recovery or overall preparation?

2️⃣ Physical or medical factors
Was he carrying an illness or injury, or was there another physical issue affecting his performance?

3️⃣ Pacing and fight ex*****on
Did he expend too much energy early, struggle to manage the pressure or simply fight at a pace he couldn’t sustain?

Normally, one of the first things I would consider is the weight cut. A badly managed cut can drastically affect a fighter’s conditioning, but Itauma is a heavyweight, so that clearly wasn’t the issue here.

This doesn’t automatically mean his conditioning is poor. There are several reasons a well-conditioned boxer can suddenly appear exhausted on the night.

What do you think was the biggest factor? Let me know below 👇

Sean Clancy Jr gets it done and is now a UFC fighter

Here are the 2 things I did in his camp.

Coaches listen up !

I used to start with the exercises.

Now, I start with the sport.

Early in my career, I thought programming meant finding effective exercises and arranging them into a session.

But I eventually realised I was starting at the end of the process.

My job wasn’t to create a workout that looked athletic.

My job was to understand the demands of the sport, assess the individual athlete and identify the most important problems I could realistically help them solve.

Only then should the exercises enter the conversation.

That change in thinking helped me progress from training athletes for free to working with world champions and UFC fighters.

The Enhanced Coaching Academy isn’t being created to give coaches another collection of exercises.

It’s being created to teach coaches how to think, how to make better decisions and how to confidently explain the reasons behind their programmes.

Join the group by hitting the link

🔥 THERE IS NO “OFF CAMP” ANYMORE.

Another big win for Sam Hickey, but performances like this aren’t built in the 8 weeks before a fight.

They’re built in the months and years before it.

The idea that you finish a fight, disappear for 2–3 months, then start getting fit again when the next date comes through is outdated.

There’s no off camp.

That doesn’t mean going 100% all year round. We push when it’s time to push. We pull back when we need to. We deload. We recover. We take days off.

But we never completely switch off.

Sam has trained consistently for the last year. Fight booked or no fight booked, the work continues.

So when the call comes, we’re not trying to build an athlete in 8 weeks. We’re simply sharpening what’s already there.

Consistency beats camp mentality. Every time. 🥊📈

Sam Hickey does it again. A devastating knockout in the 7th round.

You can have a fat loss camp or a performance camp. Trying to have both usually means you compromise both.

One of the biggest mistakes I see in boxing, MMA, Muay Thai and other combat sports is athletes turning up to camp too heavy. Instead of spending the first half of camp improving their strength, speed, power and conditioning, they’re stuck trying to lose body fat as quickly as possible.

A fight camp should be about improving performance, not desperately chasing the scales.

If you’re cutting large amounts of weight during camp:
• Recovery suffers
• Training quality drops
• Strength and power can decrease
• Fatigue builds faster
• You’re less likely to perform at your best on fight night

The best athletes don’t just prepare for camp. They prepare before camp.

Stay within touching distance of your competition weight year-round, so when camp starts you can focus on becoming a better fighter, not just a lighter one.

Do you agree, or do you think fighters should use camp primarily to lose weight?

Most people go into sparring trying to win the round.

Terence Crawford goes in trying to improve one specific skill.

Maybe it’s landing the right hand.
Maybe it’s fighting off the back foot.
Maybe it’s working on a weakness.

That’s called deliberate practice.

Psychologist Anders Ericsson found that the world’s best performers didn’t just practise more. They practised with intention, focusing on the skills they needed to improve rather than just repeating what they were already good at.

The same applies to boxing, MMA and BJJ.

If you’re sparring someone who’s slightly below your level, don’t just beat them with your best weapons.

Use the round to improve something you’re not good at.

The goal of training isn’t to win every spar.

The goal is to become a better athlete.

Next session, pick ONE thing to work on and judge the session on whether you improved that skill, not whether you won the round.

What would your one focus be? 👇

Everyone loves to glorify the 4am grind.

But here’s the question…

If you’re waking up at 4am by sacrificing sleep, are you actually giving yourself an advantage?

For most people, the answer is no.

Sleep isn’t a luxury. It’s when your body recovers, builds muscle, regulates hormones, strengthens your immune system, and consolidates learning. Cut that short consistently and you’re making progress harder, not easier.

The people you see online posting 4am selfies rarely tell you what time they went to bed.

If you’re getting 8-9 hours of quality sleep and naturally wake at 4am, that’s absolutely fine.

But if you’re staying up until 11pm, then dragging yourself out of bed at 4am because you think that’s what successful people do, you’re probably hurting your performance more than helping it.

Discipline isn’t about copying someone else’s routine.

It’s about consistently doing what gives you the best results.

Stop chasing the clock.

Start chasing better habits.

Would you rather train at 4am on 5 hours of sleep, or at 7am after a full night’s recovery?

Let me know below. 👇