By Chris Williams: Strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza is reportedly pleased with Manny Pacquiao’s training with him. Pacquiao has gone back to the old regimen that Ariza used to put him through in the past before Pacquiao started suffering leg cramps fight after fight, and Ariza is hopeful that Pacquiao won’t be suffering leg cramps in his June 9th fight against Tim Bradley.

According to Philstar.com, Ariza is having Pacquiao work on plyometrics to get ready for the Bradley fight. Plyometrics are exercises that some athletes use to product fast, power movements. It’s often used for athletes in track and field for the shot put, discus and throwing the javelin. It’s unclear whether it has any real use for a sport like boxing where a fighter is using his conditioning is more of issue.

Unless Pacquiao is going to go out and KO Bradley in the first round, I think it’s probably a big waste of time for him to be spending valuable training time on things like plyometrics. Pacquiao would be better off using that time to job or spar rather than working on plyometrics. Unless Pacquiao is going to pick up a javelin and heave it across the ring at Bradley, I think he’s probably wasting his time with these types of exercises. I’d lose Ariza.

Instead of going back to the basics with Ariza, I think Pacquiao should go back to the old school training that he was doing before Ariza showed up on the scene. If the problems with the leg cramps have been occurring under Ariza’s watchful eye, then Pacquiao needs to consider dumping Ariza or giving another title, and doing what he used to do in training camp BEFORE Ariza started working with him.

I see Pacquiao having the same leg cramps problems been having recently. It’s going to really mess him up when that happens because Bradley isn’t old and beat up like some of Pacquiao’s recent opponents have been. He’ll be able to pluck Pacquiao’s feather’s clean if his legs aren’t working right due to cramps.