If his opponent did it before the match, yes.
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Hey bro…
Okay so, I’m already very deep into my pure squat strength training block. Gonna go maniacal on it. After that, I’ll go ahead and sacrifice video game time and actually cook my own damn healthy meals instead of the frequent gas station twinkie trips. What are your thoughts on leg strength maintenance as I do aerobic training and other boxing specific stuff? I know long-distance running gets a VERY bad rap among strength purists, but assuming I cut some weight, is it safe? Before abandoning my cardio, my form of cardio was the stairmill. I’ll resume cardio. I was wondering if the stairmill suffices for my purposes.
I just wanna get my Paul Anderson squatmilk itch out of my system before giving in to full-time boxing training… I’m really not even halfway from finishing this training block though.
Anyway, everyone, lately I’ve only been posting training entries in here once a week, but I actually train everyday. I did calves yesterday after my… Skwats. It’s technically Week 7 of my training block, but it’s fairly only Week 4 because my first three weeks were super light, just easing myself into full effort. So yeah, Week 4. Did a casual 3 sets of 3 reps for 305 pounds. I missed Tuesday’s daily squatting because of mental meds making me stupidly drowsy… But anyway, today another 3x3 squat of the same weight. Gonna do it later. Lots explaining to do on my part, such as… Where the heck are the upper-body training?? Hard to explain. When I get on my laptop and get comfortable, I’ll explain everything. It’s a pain on my smartphone… But yeah, as I’ve already posted, I worked my upper back last Monday. Also, later today, gonna do some heavy clean-pulls and heavy standing overhead presses. Last Wednesday, I did curls. I also did some chest flyes sometime earlier. I skipped direct core work. I HATE that I did and I really should fix that. It’s gonna suck if my squat gains get halted because of a weak core.
Thanks for reading, folks.
I really hope I don’t regret getting into this again.
I think it’s necessary. As I mentioned in the other thread, 1 day per week alternating heavy squats with lighter squats week to week, in conjunction with clean variations, is a good starting point. Just doing aerobic work, especially if it’s a lot of running, will beat your legs to hell and moderate squatting will strengthen your leg muscles and ligaments to combat that.
It gets a bad rap amongst strength purists because it doesn’t aid in strength. As with heavy daily squats, long-distance running is fine as long as it’s programmed intelligently. Just like if you max out on squats all day every day, not undulating your running intensities and distances will fuck you up.
Absolutely, stairmills/stairmasters are fantastic. So are stationary bikes. Like I said, loooots of running can beat you up pretty hard because of the intense single-leg loading (people forget just how much force is applied to the leg on each stride), so swapping in concentric-only methods is a good change of pace.
Once you’re ready to get back to cardio (though I’d suggest you do at least one day per week starting immediately. No time like the present), work your way up with running by doing a 2:1 rest/work ratio. Easy way to do this is to run for 1 minute, walk for 2. Then after a while do 90 sec running and 90 sec walking, then do 2 minutes running, 1 minute walking. Just progressively add time to your running sets and keep the walking at 1 minute.
Losing weight will help mitigate the amount of force each leg takes when you run, though.
That’s great! Squat away, my man. You need to understand that ZERO issue is taken with you wanting to squat heavy. If you’re enjoying it, then I’m right behind you cheering you on. Boxing isn’t going anywhere, so keep on squatting.
The ONLY issue was you, with absolutely no experience, claiming that you knew better what would benefit boxing training. It’s the same as me going into a doctor’s office and saying, “I think rubbing essential oils all over my body will cure my heart disease”, then when the doctor tells me otherwise, I tell him he doesn’t know what he’s talking about and because I BELIEVE my theory will work, it’s automatically correct.
Again, I love that you wanna squat. Squats are great. They just won’t benefit boxing as much as other stuff.
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I’ll go reread your post in that previous thread, but I do remember you mentioning punching power was all about rotational core work. What kind of exercises are we talking about here?
That’s part of it, but not the whole story.
A basic punch is broken up into 3 main portions that all need to operate simultaneously: triple extension and rotation through the lower body, trunk rotation, followed by shoulder and elbow extension.
Nothing beats olympic lift variations for lower body triple extension, which is why I believe they should form the foundation of your lower body work for boxing.
Bridging the gap between triple extension and trunk rotation are two of my favourite exercises: Hungarian plate twists (this is a movement used by the Hungarian hammer throwing team) and reverse wood choppers.
For pure trunk rotation, I really like Russian twists. You get the benefit of an isometric abdominal hold combined with rotation.
Push presses are my go-to for shoulder and tricep power.
Personally, I think strikers are best served focusing on building explosive power through the hips and trunk, as they’re the driver of force in a punch, while the arm/fist is simply the delivery system. Those who find it difficult to really hit hard are usually trying to power with their arms too much.
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Just wondering, I watched some YouTube video before where a dude explains that one other effective exercise for improving punching-power, aside from plyometrics and power snatches, is simply working the heavy bag, hitting it with force. Is that good BY ITSELF? Or do you think the Olympic Lifts would be necessary?
This week’s Monday, November 2, 2020, I did squats. 345 for 3 sets of 3. Then I did light clean-pulls and light overhead presses. For clean-pulls, I did 175 for five reps cold. For overhead presses, also cold, 95 pounds for two reps.
Tuesday, November 3, did light squats. 315 for 3 sets of 3 reps. Did some isolation pectoral exercises, then suitcase deadlifts which really worked the legs. I had to modify my suitcase deadlifts to where there was more hip bend and less squatting down to deemphasize the already-exhausted legs. I of course alternated both sides for sets of 8 reps each, doing 5 total sets. Then did some ab crunch machine. At set-number 3, I freaking cramped on my abs. I let it go away, then continued. Was I dehydrated or something?
Honestly, dropping the cardio not only was a preference, it was also a requirement. Even without it, I get exhausted. Before, I just did a top set of five for my squatting. But now, the 3 sets of 3 are just beating me up. For good, of course…
Boxing is still my goal. I just wanna get the squat-milk itch out of my system.
For the next phase of my training, which is 2 weeks or so from now, I’ll move on to doing single-rep sets of squats. Same frequency, more sets, less reps each set.
Within reason, I really don’t care how strong or weak I get at the end of my training block. I’m pretty much guaranteed to be as strong as I can be anyway with my squat. So if that’s only 425 pounds for sets of singles, or 500+ pounds for sets of singles, I will cut it short on wherever I end up on and lose the damn weight. I want to and need to get lean.
Not badly enough.
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Olympic lifts are not necessary
Just so you know, cardio should increase your work capacity and allow you to do more than 3x3 before being gassed
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Nothing is “necessary”. Olympic lifts are just some of the most beneficial lifts if you’re looking for carryover between boxing and weights.
I agree with this — but only if your striking technique is on point. Nothing beats building striking power like honing your technique, and learning how to transfer energy through the kinetic chain. Heavy bags are used so that you can practice applying that force without accidentally hurting your pad holder or yourself.
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November 6, 2020, Friday…
Daily squats…
HUGE PRs on two things. Clean-pulls, 5 reps with 205 pounds. Last week it was 185. Big jump.
Overhead presses… Last week was 115 pounds for 2 reps. Now it’s 115 for FIVE reps. Happy about that.
This Monday, gonna go heavy on squats, shooting for a new PR.
The Saturday and Sunday before that, I’ll squat. Always… For this whole training block.
Just to add, after that overhead pressing, I isolated my triceps. So that’s that.
Pardon me if I have missed something, but do you ever…actually do any kind of boxing or heavy bag or anything?
For someone interested in boxing, not only do you focus an absurd amount on squat strength, but you also seem pretty out of balance overall in comparison to your upper body strength. If you cannot get past your obsession with these squats, how are you ever going to be able to focus on what’s important?
Not being a hater, just trying to understand.
Oh, and congrats on the PRs.
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Hi.
The boxing gym here where I live is closed. And since my state (Idaho) is back on “phase 3” of our reopening due to corona virus, it’s still gonna stay closed.
There are heavy bags in my gym, but I don’t really hit them because I haven’t learned proper punching technique yet. I’m afraid of developing bad habits.
I don’t think my squat is strong. lol. It’s very weak. I don’t consider it strong until it’s at least 500 pounds. One of my heroes in the world of sports is Paul Anderson. He’s part of the reason I’m inspired to get my squat up.
I really think this boxing thing is a distraction and you would be better served forgetting about it until you have the mental energy and drive to commit to it.
In my own life, I have quite a list of hobbies/pursuits that I’m absolutely interested in, and fully intend to commit a serious amount of time and energy to in the future. I don’t talk about them much though because I’m self aware enough to recognise that I don’t have the time or mental drive to commit to them right now.
In fairness, if Paul Anderson is his idol, he is following his footsteps as it relates to boxing
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My life revolves around four things and I’m able to commit to each of them all with equal intensity to a huge degree. One of them of course is lifting weights, but the others are a video game, then another video game, then my personal philosophy studies. It keeps me sane. And truthfully, the fact that I am able to compartmentalize my life in that way with great success is the primary reason I believe I can safely add boxing into my life after I get my squat goals done and over with.
Also, I’m gonna be enrolling in my community college soon. And considering how I spend four hours a day, almost everyday, studying philosophy, and have been at it for three years, it makes me wonder what is schoolwork compared to that? lol. All I’d have to do is quit my philosophy studies for a while while focusing on college.
If I could sacrifice one of those four aspects of my life and dedicate it to cooking healthy meals, I’d do it. But I don’t really feel like it right now. Plus, I’m at a pure strength block with my training right now. Cutting calories is a no-no for now. I’m making consistent PRs so it shouldn’t be that bad. And then, after this, I can always just sacrifice some training time into meal-prepping. At that point, I won’t be squatting everyday anymore.
So please don’t think any less of me for not getting my diet fixed. lol. I’m not making excuses, I assure you. I’m just juggling some commitments right now. Things should be easier when I won’t have to squat everyday anymore… It should be like three more months of it.
Yeah thanks man. I do look up to Paul Anderson a lot.
This is, quite possibly, the most honest and straight-forward you’ve ever been on this forum, and I respect you more for it.
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You read Ironmind’s “World’s Mightiest Minister”?