Boxing and Weightlifting

[them_apples]

Many people that just start out boxing are told by their trainers at the local gym not to lift weights. They say the only exercises that should be done for strength are bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, and dips. But are bodyweight exercises enough for the strength needed to compete in a boxing match? Wouldn't lifting weights be beneficial to your workout? Many old school trainers will say that lifting weights will pack on too much muscle and slow you down when you fight. But there are ways to lift weights that will benefit your body and improve your performance in the ring.

Weights should be incorporated into every boxer's workout. Seventy-percent of your power comes from your legs. To achieve powerful legs you must do exercises like squats, deadlifts, and leg presses. These exercises will give you strong calves which will help immensly in the ring. You also need a lot of leg strength to carry you around the ring. Having weak legs will make you more likely to be knocked down when hit by a hard punch. You should also do a lot of chest work and work on your arms especially your biceps and triceps. Your biceps and triceps are used to throw your punches out and pull them back in. They are also useful for clinches. Your abdominal muscles should also be worked with weights. Strong abdominal muscles are one of the most important things a fighter needs to win. Exercises like situps and crunches used with weights will make abs much stronger and your ability to take a punch will improve.

Strength is huge advantage in the ring and it allows to you to control the pace of the fight. Some trainers argue that packing on muscle from weightlifting will affect your coordination and reflexes because your body will be heavier and slower. This is incorrect because by dieting correctly and lifting light to moderate weights you can strip a couple of pounds of fat and tighten up your muscles which will increase your strength. However weightlifting should not be the core of a boxer's workout. The core of your workout should consist of cardio exercises like shadow boxing, jump roping, hittng the heavy bag, and jogging. If you do cardio in addition to the weightlifting then you will not become slower. All that cardio should keep you real lean with a low bodyfat percentage. Your speed and strength will improve and you will be a much tougher competitor in the ring.

Not using weights for boxing training comes from old school training method that many trainers today still follow. Most of the top professional fighters strength train with weights. However you should not train like a bodybuilder. Having big steroid type muscles are not going to do very much for you in the ring. You should lift moderate to light weight which will increase your strength but not bulk you up too much. All of your focus should go into what will help you win and not what looks good. The bottom line is that you should weightlift to increase strength and not weightlift to increase your bodyweight.



Just came across this article and felt it was a decent easy read for beginners with some questions.

Feel free to add things on, clear things up, or correct some mistakes or misconceptions in the post.

you are in a weight class. if you pack on muscle you go up a weight class and it defeats the purpose. If you are gonna use weights its essentially gonna do the same thing as body weight only body weight is less isolated, they almost all use the core and other parts. It's good to get used to throwing your own weight around as well.

I like deadlifts though.

I've tried both, I generally don't like weights that much, they do almost seem to slow you down but if you stop for a few days you get your speed back. I think you can use weights on other less used parts of your body though, like for developing a strong back, forearms, legs...it's mostly when your are hitting the bench presses, shoulders presses and bicep curls that your arms seem to get heavy and tire quicker.

As far as I'm concerned, there have been strong and fast fighters who both used weights and push ups one or the other. All seems to come down to genetics in a weight class.

you got middleweight Kelly Pavlik who uses weights all the time but is still slim. Then you got Clottey who doesnt use weights at all but is ripped as ***.

Pac and Mayweather, non of them hit the weights, they use other forms of strength training.

[LoadedWraps]

Because you don't NEED to lift weights to develop more power. And the reason boxer's are told not to weight lift is because weight lifting breaks down your muscles and contracts them, while shadow boxing and pads etc. stretches them out, confusing your muscle groups. You can very easily hurt yourself. Also most beginner boxer's probably have little weight training and don't know how to lift weights for core strength or conditioning etc. It can be balanced out and beneficial but do not depend on weights to get you the power you think you may need. Slow is fast,fast is strong. Strength will be developed naturally as your technique and speed progress so will your power behind your punches. Weight lifting I do myself by very little and only for certain muscle groups a few times a week. The majority of my training is cardio based and thighs can be burnt with plenty of squats and lunges and burpies. Pull ups and push ups are absolutely key to anyone who gives 2 shiz about their upper body and abs is about daily no matter what.
Bottom line, Weight lifting for boxing: necessary? negative.
Beneficial? If done properly and balanced throughout your training, of course. take note that lifting weights will also affect your speed and you don't want to fluctuate speed and weight (body-weight) every few days because weight-lifting is throwing you off.

[Klemman]

The reason lifting weights tends to be negative for boxing is that most trainers/coaches/athletes who lift weights for boxing don't know what they're doing. So what you get is a bodybuilding or powerlifting routine.

The goal for lifting weights in boxing is not to develop size, it may develop strength but in such a way as to not slow you down. It can be used for muscular endurance but I think that pushups and pullups (if you can do them), roadwork, skipping rope, shadow boxing, and actually punching is a better way to do that.

Lifting weights should be done to build up power. And classic power lifting (squat, bench press, deadlift) despite the name, does not build up power and/ or force in the physics sense.

Olympic lifts will accomplish this but to get the most of them requires proper technique, something most boxers don't have the time to do.

My suggestion is to limit lifting weights to the following.

1. Standing pushpress. It's like a standing press but you initiate the action with a slight bend at the knees, then push upwards with your legs simultaniously, driving the bar off of your shoulders until your arms are fully extended over your head.

2. Front Squat. Not a back squat. THis will put more emphasis on your quads which will balance out the work your hamstrings get when doing roadwork.

Do these exercises for set of 1-3 reps with a weight that you have to work hard to push up, but can still feel like you are able to accelerate throughout the movement. Do 3 to 5 sets.

3. Russian Twist- Google this exercise. Great for core and rotational muscles in the trunk.

4. Some kind of high row to work your rear deltoids and lats.. As boxers we overwork our front delts and pecs, working these muscles will prevent imbalances that can injure your rotator cuffs.

Do these exercises for 8-12 reps, with a moderate weight. You should feel the work but not overstressed.

Never do these exercises to muscular failure. If anything, at the end of the workout you should feel tired but energized.

I know a lot of you really believe in bodyweight exercises, and as mentioned, for muscular endurance they're great. But once you can do a single push up, doing any more will not make you stronger. Once you can do a single push up fast, doing any more will not make you more explosive.

While I believe that there is a place for lifting weights in boxing, your priorities in training should go in this order...

1. Technique
2. Cardiovascular endurance
3. Muscular Endurance
4. Power
5. Strenght

[Tripoli Tornado]

I think that "weight" training is essenstial in modern day boxing to be succesful. HOWEVER it should be done in moderation. Your training for a boxing fight, not a weight lifting contest. I study sport strengh and conditioning and have myself on a 3 day non-linear program, this is because i have boxing training 6 times a week plus anerobic and arobic conditioning and anymore would exaust me. For Strengh i do 1 40 min power session after my boxing on a monday, 1 speed session on a wednesday after my boxing and either a maximal strengh or muscular endurance session on a friday after boxing. If i was training every day on my strengh i would excust myself for the most import sessions which are boxing. Also you dont need no more than 40 mins worth of quality work. If your in the gym for 2 hours your probally not training at the right intensity. If anyone wants a copy of the strengh sessions im doing ill happily send them or post them on here.

[Darkstranger]

I disagree regarding Powerlifting not building power. Many powerlifters incorporate dynamic lifting days, this is where you use 60% to 70% of your 1 rep max and move the bar as quickly as possible.

I wouldn't recommend 8 to 12 reps either, I'd recommend 3x5 for strength gains.

Squat, Bench, Deadlift, Power Clean and Standing Overhead Press or Push Press.

Each to their own, but I agree that Boxing skills shoud be the priority.

[Klemman]

I disagree regarding Powerlifting not building power. Many powerlifters incorporate dynamic lifting days, this is where you use 60% to 70% of your 1 rep max and move the bar as quickly as possible.

I wouldn't recommend 8 to 12 reps either, I'd recommend 3x5 for strength gains.

Squat, Bench, Deadlift, Power Clean and Standing Overhead Press or Push Press.

Each to their own, but I agree that Boxing skills shoud be the priority.

My point on powerlifting wasn't that powerlifters don't train for power, but by your own admission, powerlifters do separate dynamic training routines to develop power. It was more for the lay person who is doing primarily bench, squat, and deadlifts. All great compound exercises, but may negatively affect some boxing skills/attributes.

The higher reps were for exercises that would be considered injury prevention. For boxing, the backside to balance all the work we do on the pecs and front delts.

I put in a more extensive post on lifting weights for enhancing athletice performance on the thread regarding overworking muscles. I think that you would find some of the points similar to what you have mentioned.

The issue is always what is the goal of the athlete. There are optimal ways to lift if your goal is to build strength, or speed, or size, or power. If any of those are your desired endpoint, then comming up with a program is easy. If your primary goal is to box, other martial arts, soccer/football, rugby, basketball, etc... than it becomes more of a juggling act.