Weights For Boxing

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Hey all,

I’ve recently started boxing (about 2 months ago) and I’m really enjoying it. Eventually I’ll try and get some fights, though I’m a long way from that now.

I’m hoping to get some advice on weight training for boxing. I’ve used the search function, and there is some info, but nothing very specific. Likewise for teh whole internets.

I’m getting in 2 skills sessions a week with my trainer - which i’ll move up to 3 once uni finishes (these always include jumping rope but also sometimes other forms of cardio and sparring). On top of that i’ve been doing two 7km runs a week.

That’s been great and I’m getting into much better shape cardio wise. My problem has been with my weight training. Before boxing, I’d been doing weights for a few years and made some pretty decent gains. I’m 6 feet tall at 195lb with low body fat. Obviously that doesn’t make me massive, but its nothing to scoff at either.

Basically, I don’t really want to lose what I’ve got in terms of muscular development. I’d be happy to come down to about 187lb or a bit below so that when I eventually fight, I can do so in the 178lb class. I know I might get criticised for trying to do two things at once - but at this stage boxing and weights take about equal priority for me.

So what would be a good program to both maintain my physique and compliment my boxing. At first I tried WS4SB. It wasn’t too bad, but I’m not sure how helpful the leg day was. Obviously you need solid legs for boxing, but having hams for thighs doesn’t really help with making weight. Also, I found it really difficult to do some of the skills stuff with massive DOMS in my legs.

Currently my week looks like this:

Monday morning: Roadwork
Monday arvo: ME Bench, 3 sets wide grip pull ups, 2 sets heavy DB curls, 3 sets Heavy tricep pulldowns, 3 sets Medicine ball throws

Tuesday: Boxing skills

Wednesday: ME squat, 10 rep squat, BB reverse lunges

Thursday: Skills

Friday: ME Deadlift, Pushups 3 sets to failure, chin ups 3 sets to failure, 2x8 BB Curls, 3x10 skullcrushers, 3x10 lateral raises, abs circuit

Saturday: Rest (possibly other skills session in future)

Sunday: 7km Roadwork

I know this might look like a lot - but I’ve worked up to it slowly and I have none of the symptoms of overtraining so I think I’m fine. My diet and rest is spot on.

How does this look??

Do I need to do that much (not much by BB standards, but I don’t know about boxing) leg work?

Also, I’m unsure about how to add shoulders into the mix. I feel like they get a fair amount of work from benching and I’m unsure about adding other pressing movements, considering how much work they get from punching.

Thanks for reading this epic request. Hopefully some of you guys have some advice to give and maybe you could even share what strength training you do. I know this has been covered before, so I apologise, but I couldn’t find anything specific enough for my liking.

Thanks

2

Pick one and prioritize… Honestly we all could go into a long ass diatribe on how to properly lift for a striking sport but it would be redundant as hell, so I’m going to leave this little link right here

^use that wisely. Every question you have will be answered and if applied properly you will be a fucking BEAST as far as conditioning.

3

Thanks dude. I’ve been to rossboxing before, it’s a really good site. I guess I’m just a bit of a n00b to the whole striking sports thing and I was hoping for some more specifics. Ross has lots of individual exercises etc, but not a lot of proper programs. Thanks anyway man.

4

buy his book

5

I might be going out on a limb here, but I seriously think that losing muscle mass from conditioning work is overrated. Unless your in a major caloric deficit, I seriously don’t see you losing any muscle mass at all. Infact, you could probably stop lifting for 7 weeks and I bet that while you might lose some strength, you won’t lose any mass.

6

[quote]Xen Nova wrote:
Pick one and prioritize… Honestly we all could go into a long ass diatribe on how to properly lift for a striking sport but it would be redundant as hell, so I’m going to leave this little link right here

^use that wisely. Every question you have will be answered and if applied properly you will be a fucking BEAST as far as conditioning. [/quote]

Exactly.

Show me a fighter that looks like a bodybuilder and I’ll show you a fighter that can’t fight.

If you’re going to think about fighting, do what’s only good for fighting. Don’t worry about your physique.

7

not to bust balls…well, nevermind…heres a fighter that looks like a body builder that can really fight.

http://greatbodies.blogspot.com/2007/09/great-body-alain-ngalani.html

8

[quote]admbaum wrote:
not to bust balls…well, nevermind…heres a fighter that looks like a body builder that can really fight.

http://greatbodies.blogspot.com/2007/09/great-body-alain-ngalani.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Ngalani[/quote]

There are anamolies, of course- Tyson being another one. But they’re the exception more than the rule, especially for a guy looking to compete at amateur level.

9

Prioritize what you want to be good at. Train your weaknesses first. Listen to your trainer.

10

first the most important thing is just learning how to box.it will take you several years just to know how to throw an affective jab.You need to focus on the basics and practice 5-6 days a week.boxing is like an art and it takes years to perfect, the weights are not so important right now,i would just focus on some light plyos some good core movements and getting my road work in with some sprints to.Ive played about every sport and have been boxing for several years now and i would have to say its the hardest thing to learn but once you start developing a rythem and start feeling it come together it becomes such a part of your life.

11

If you’re just getting into boxing, you probably need to concentrate on how to actually box. Like any combat sport, it’s very skill intensive. Since you asked about training, though, basic fitness stuff isn’t going to do a damn thing for you and bodybuilding style training isn’t either. You need to do some seriously intense stuff to take your level of conditioning up so many notches that your conditioning will actually make a difference.

I highly recommend you check out www.ultimatechallengetraining.com for some examples of how to train for boxing. It’s not boxing technique stuff. You get that from your boxing coach. This is training information that will make a difference. It’s super hard, but it’s worth it if you really want to change your body.