Lifting and Boxing

[Capablanca]

I need some advice. Im 19 , 5'10, 175-180, (need to cut weight) .I need to know if its worth getting a weight lifting membership considering my goals are to get in to amateur box. My though was that I would hit the weight room first to get great conditioning, strenght and speed but not overdoing it before going to box. Are there good weight lifting routines for boxers? Anyone here have experience with this? Thanks in advance.

 

[Henry Swanson]

I'm a boxer and I highly recommend heavy weightlifting for all boxers. Now obviously when I was boxing I focused more on skill training/conditioning etc. but I still lifted 2-3 times a week. Leading up to a fight I lowered the volume even more because I was more than likely cutting weight.

As for routines check out www.rossboxing.com

 

[rickdog]

I definatly would add weight training as an effective tool for any combat sport. Lot's of chins and core exercises too. Good luck.

 

[Henry Swanson]

Yeah, as long as you're not sacrificing skill and conditioning work, strength training will do nothing but help you.

 

[rickdog]

Not to hijack this thread but Sonny, how is your conditioning coming along and how long until you have to go to the Academy. I am thinking of applying for the Mass. State Police and they have a 25 week Academy, you live there and only go home on the weekends. That must suck.

Anyway, have you dropped any weight, are your lifts still decent, do you feel healthier overall with all the conditioning work?

 

[Henry Swanson]

Not to hijack this thread but Sonny, how is your conditioning coming along and how long until you have to go to the Academy. I am thinking of applying for the Mass. State Police and they have a 25 week Academy, you live there and only go home on the weekends. That must suck.

I go back in June and hopefully will be accepted into the Academy for September. My conditioning is coming along since I've been focusing on it more. The training in the academy isn't exactly strength oriented hence my shift to more anaerobic/aerobic conditioning. I was talking to a patrolman the other day and he was telling me how when he got out of the academy he was a cardio machine due to the nature of the training in the academy. However, as he started having to deal with 200+ lb. assailants on a regular basis his focus shifted towards strength and hypertrophy. When he graduated he said he was around 160 lbs. now he's a heavily muscled 200 lbs.

This sounds bad but I'm working hard on my conditioning just so I can get through the academy, when I graduate I'll move back to a more strength oriented type training schedule but I'll still keep my cardio training intact, just less volume and frequency.

Anyway, have you dropped any weight, are your lifts still decent, do you feel healthier overall with all the conditioning work?

Interestingly, I haven't dropped much weight maybe just 5 lbs. or so. I'll be honest though, my lifts are getting tougher and tougher and I do feel drained at times but I know it'll be worth it. I just finished our CRAZY time of the year at work so that might be why I am so drained.

 

[rickdog]

What kind of work do you do presently?

 

[Henry Swanson]

What kind of work do you do presently?

Burpees by the truckload, usually 4x3 minute round burpees done 3-5 times a week, I'll throw in some tabata squats here and there as well, I also run sprints/hills on the weekend. The volume/frequency is adjusted accordingly depending on what else I am doing. Ex. if I do burpees 5 times in one week, I may lay off on the weekend sprints etc.

Lifting is down to twice a week, during the X-Mas season where I was doing a lot more deliveries I cut down on lifting even more.

I should point out that I DESPISE hard conditioning work, it's not something I enjoy but I know I have to do it. Obviously I would rather be lifting more but you gotta do what you gotta do right? I wasn't exacly dealt a good hand when it comes to natural ability, I trained for a good 3-4 months for my PT test last summer and did alright but not great, a couple lifting buddies of mine barely trained at all and they did fucking awesome on it.

To the original poster, PM me with your current training schedule etc. and I'll give you some better input.

 

[slayer36]

do you have access to wegihts/boxing equipment at the same place?

i do something like this sometimes

SKILL TRAINING15-30 minutes
pad work, shadowboxing, heavy bag, double end bag
WEIGHTS 20-30 minutes
usually a full body workout
MUSCLE ENDURANCE 15- 30 minutes
speed bag, jump rope

thats how i sometimes incorporate everything into one workout, it depends on how many days during the week i have to train

 

[slayer36]

oh yea, go to ross boxing.com, lots of good info and a good weight program there...

 

[AxeGrinder]

I'm a boxer, and I think lifting is a good idea, usually I stop lifting about a week before competition though, to not be so tight...but yeah, my power has got way better since I started lifting hard...

 

[Mark Limbaga]

It would be a great addition. If you're new to lifting, focus on technique primarily and worry about the weight next.

As an athlete, particularly a boxer, your objetive for lifting weights will be to improve your strength and add more sting to your punches.

 

[ouboxer]

when preparing for a fight my routine was spar first thing 4-5 rounds, hit pads and other skill work, lift weights high rep for about 30 min then run 4 400's, or run stairs at the basketball areana for 25 minutes. when i did this i was in the best shape of my life. there was about 4 of us who all did this together and we were great shape and only one of us lost thier fight in a close decision. This was all just for college boxing though not the most competeive type of fighting ever.

 

[OpethDrums]

honestly id say high reps and lots of volume. and some cardio on the side

i was lifting heavy and doing cardio before i joined my gym and the first thing i had to work on was muscle endurance.

 

[Henry Swanson]

i was lifting heavy and doing cardio before i joined my gym and the first thing i had to work on was muscle endurance.

He can work on his muscle endurance through sports specific training (bag work, pad work, sparring etc.)

 

[IMustBreakYou]

Technique, technique, techniuque get the technique down first before anything. I wouldn't do any type of to complex workout yet. In every aspect of boxing technique is most important. You don't have to be muscular to be able to crack the punches. I box and I lift heaviy however I've been boxing for years and my technique is good. Yes I hit harder now than I did but I use to fight at 165 weighing in like at 160. Now I weigh about 195, but being 30 lbs heavier I better hit harder. but so can the bigger guys. Punching is all in the hips.

 

[bdweezil6998]

I have a book called Fighting Fit by Doug Werner and Alan Lachica...it has weight routines for boxers in it. I think it was about $12 at Borders.