Sparring Volume Calculator

Build (14 base rounds) is modeled as the peak-volume phase of camp, done 4-8 weeks out while there's still time to recover between sessions. Sharpen (10 base rounds) intentionally reduces volume but raises intensity (phase intensity 8 versus Build's 7), reflecting the periodization principle that as fight day nears, training shifts from building capacity to sharpening technique and speed without accumulating fatigue you can't shed in time.

The taper factor is applied on top of your camp phase's base rounds regardless of which phase you selected: it stays at 1.0 (no reduction) until 21 days out, then steps down to 0.75 inside three weeks, 0.5 inside two weeks, and 0.25 inside one week. So if you select Build phase but you're actually only 10 days from the fight, the calculator will apply the 0.5 taper multiplier on top of Build's base rounds — worth double-checking that your selected phase and days-until-fight are consistent.

ACWR compares your weekly training load (rounds × phase intensity) against an idealized chronic load computed from the base rounds, experience modifier, and intensity for your camp phase. A ratio above 1.3 suggests you're spiking volume or intensity faster than your body has adapted to, which sports-science research (mostly from team sports) associates with elevated overuse injury risk; below 0.8 suggests you're training well under what your phase and experience level could safely handle.

The experience modifier scales the phase's base round count: under 2 years of experience gets 0.6×, 2-5 years gets 0.85×, 5-10 years gets 1.0×, and 10+ years gets 1.15×. This reflects that less experienced fighters generally can't yet absorb the same sparring volume as veterans without a higher relative injury or overtraining risk, even within the same camp phase.

Minimum rest days is set directly by camp phase — 1 day for Base and Build, 2 days for Sharpen, 3 days for Taper — independent of how many rounds you're doing that week. This reflects that taper's purpose isn't just doing fewer rounds, it's prioritizing full recovery and freshness for fight day over any additional training stimulus, so the calculator recommends more days off even as weekly volume drops.