I’m going to start studying boxing soon. I figured it is the fastest to get real fighting skills in the least amount of time. What kind of lifting program do you all reccomend to go along with boxing? I’ve been working out westside style for about two months. I like it alot so i might just stick with that.
While you may have many difference’s of opinions on this topic, I tend to consider the approach more towards to funtional training for a boxer. I would be pleased to discuss.
In faith, Coach Davies
Coach Davies,
Could you elaborate a little more on functional training? What comes to my mind is pull ups, one legged squats, and lifting heavy, everyday objects.
thanks,
anton
anton
what coach davies means is a style of training such as the renegades, believe me this will help you greatly as i like to work out on the heay bags and such and after incorporating his workouts with a pavel ptp program i can tell you that the difference is remarkable i can hit the bag with the same intensity for rounds after rounds now after just a few weeks, and the power and endurance is up also as is reactions and speed. Try it you will not be disapounted, on that note he has a journal coming out through infinityfitness that is geared towards martial artists and boxers, basically those involved in combat sports.
Happy training and productive workouts.
FFB made a great point - I have recently realized that some use the term of “functional training” a little different than myself and certainly a lot more academic. Well the old coach likes to keep thing simple but there was some confusion. FFB’s comments are very accurate. Function is in reference to perform the function of the desired skill. In your instance it is boxing. I will be pleased to discuss boxing training if you wish. In faith, Coach Davies
First and most important thing to learn when you start learning the boxing skill is…
How not to get hit. Learn that and you can add the rest later. Doesnt matter if you can hit hard, if you cant stop him from hitting you.
Coach Davies,
I went and reread both your renegade training articles. If i put together some type of program based around those excercises, would that be a good start towards functional boxing strength? If not maybe you could point me in the right direction.
thanks,
anton
Very interesting topic. I would like to hear what Coach Davies has to say in regards to functional strength training as it relates to boxing as well. What exercises specifically would you recommend Coach that would lend themselves to the specific nature of boxing. I’m assuming a high level of GPP work is needed to ensure a high work capacity is gained. But what exercises in particular would you recommend? Thanks for your replys which are always awesome in their content.
Anton maximising boxing power is not that difficult at all, a punch is generated from the legs and core, so if you can maximise rotational power you will notice a dramit increase in your strikes power, take one of the renegade training programs and simply add in some sumo deads, or regular deadlifts and some heavy ab work suck as dragon flaflags, full contact twists and janda sit ups. Do your sumo deadlifts in a pttp type routine and then follow on with the renegade training, remeber it can be split up and portions missed out such as the endurance training aspect, i would recommen dthe sprint portion though as boxing is aneorbic, and sprint training as well as kettlebell work, the core training,PTTP, gpp and the skipping will ensure that you will notice dramatic increases in your boxing performance.
Something to consider train blind folded as this will increase your perception and balance, it will also ready you for fighting with blury eyes as if often teh case in a boxing match.
In terms of a strength training program as an aid to your boxing, I think the west side program is an excellent choice. You develop maximal strength along with explosive strength on the dynamic training day. There are a number of different forms of strength such as
- absolute strength
- limit strength
a. competitive max b. training max - starting strength
- explosive or speed strength also known as power
- relative strength.
All of these types of strength come into play during athletic events. some more than others.
Here is a term I found from the book Science and Practive of Strength Training by Zatsiorsky- Explosive Strength Deficit. It takes around 2 or 3 seconds to complete a 1RM on the bench press for example. that length of time is far greater than what occurs in an athletic movement, in your case a punch. Lets look at two athletes. The first can bench 400 pounds and can generate 100 lbs of force in an 1/8th of a second. The second can bench 500 pounds but can only generate 55 lbs in an 1/8th of a second. The second athlete has a much greater Explosive Strength Deficit. The first athlete should have a better punch. The moral of the story is to train for strength, but train for all types of strength, just as the west side barbell club does.
Well, lets start at understanding your conditioning. I would like to propose a basic training session and then get back to me with your results. Do you also have some place to chop with an axe, instead of wood we can also use tires. Let me know. Lets try this: 9, 3 minute rounds with 1 minute active breaks, Rounds 1,4,7 50 pushups, Rounds 2,5,8 10 Commando Chins, Rounds 3,6,9 15 burpees. Its fairly straight forward and will only take 36 minutes but it will help a little. After that, based upon your comments, I can prescribe the next series. In faith, Coach Davies
i disagree with the assertion that boxing is the best way to get real fighting skills in the least amount of time. boxing is dissimilar to a ‘real’ fight in a few but very significant ways. it has rules, you can only punch in certian places AND you can only punch. real fights don’t have these rules, you can attack however you want, hit wherever you want and without warning, there are no timeouts in a ‘real’ fight, no refs. the use of boxing gloves dissapates the force of a punch, allowing you to take many more than you could with bare fists. if you are interested in learning ‘real’ fighting skills, there are several programs out there aimed directly at that, SCARS and krav maga are two I am aware of. Keep in mind that the most important thing in learning how to fight isn’t what method you study, but who you study it under.
I’m a wrestler and so my opinion my be biased, but I think that wrestling is a much more effective discipline than boxing. I’ve gotten into fights with people with boxing skills and it doesn’t help much. What people don’t realise is that most fights involve a large amount of grapling. If you’ve ever watched ultimate fighting or any other type of “real” fight situations, the more succesful fighters alwas shoot a double (type of takedown) or use greco throws. Through my experience if you take a shot and keep your head down, nothing can hit you hard enough to stop you from getting the other person on the ground, once that happens and your on top of them, they could be mike tyson and it wouldn’t help them too much. Wrestling also teaches you how to stay ontop of the person maitnaing hip control. Anyways sorry for the long rant, I like boxing and I think it can be fun but if your looking for an improvment in fighting skill go with wrestling.
regardless, mike tyson would still knock most everyone here out (if not everyone) in a fight.
That, Dman. And he’d eat anyone he can’t knock out.
dman, Tyson is absolutely savage. That is the reason he will not lose another boxing match. He does not box people, he fights people.
coach I did your first boxing workout and I got through it ok. I found it tough but pushed through and completed it. I do have a place to chop with an axe and I live on a 3 hectare block of land so I have plenty of room and all sorts of objects, old farm equipment,boulders etc to use for training as well as weights
I now have a renewed interest in training and look forward to your next post thankyou
ausbox
Coach In regards to my last post, I have just gone back and reread your post and relised in my keeness to get started, I did it wrong with no rest inbetween each exercise I just went from one to the next Thats why I found it a bit tough.Your post was perfectly clear I just read it once through and did it. Had I done it as you specified it would have been fairly easy. Thanks ausbox
My question is similiar to the one in reference to Renegade training and boxing. I’m mostly interested in overrall/everyday strength and improving my athleticism for combat sports, basketball, etc. However, I don’t have a qualified coach for some of the olympic lifts. The power clean I’ve tried and was pretty simple to learn starting out light. I’ve always read that you should have expert instruction when learning more complex lifts such as the snatch and the clean and jerk. I’m also concerned that this Renegade style of training might be overtraining. I consider myself an average joe, 25 years old, clean lifestyle as far as partying/drinking and work 40+hours per week. Ian King is extremely cautious as far as volume, frequency, intensity and in general overtraining. In fact he stated numerous times that the most common mistake for most weightlifters/bodybuilders is overtraining. In a nutshell, is this Renegade training and “9 most functional exercises” mostly for professional athletes or is it okay for everyday “recreational weightlifters” and athletes? John Davies even states in the beginning of one of his articles that this style of training is for athletes who are already in excellent condition and have been under his tutelage for years. I’ve been weight training for 4 years now. Thanks so much for any input from John Davies or anybody else. I’m always open to learn. I know this is asking a lot but if I do start this training how do I know how many days per week to train and which days are for what exercises? That’s the main attraction to me with Ian King’s routines because they are planned out so well in detail.
Just so that there is no confusion, you feel if you performed the training session in the 36 minutes it would have been fairly easy. If you could clarify for me that would help. And what is your boxing schedule (ie days in which you do your speed / heavy bag work). Hope to hear from you, In faith, Coach Davies