Strength conditioning for boxing

['Ben']

El Puma, I have to say what makes me feel great during training for a fight is what a call 'bucket training'.... I invented it, and it may not be for everyone....

It's simple I have a big bucket that is filled to the top with plaster with a lid on top, and hold the handle with both hands holding it just under my chest, and I then run up 28 steps and then come down again and then I do it again another eight or nine times as fast as I can.... then I wait a few minuets and do it again.

It's the hardest strength/cardio indurance training exercise I've ever done! It gets my triceps, wings and shoulders ripped to the max without gaining extra weight! It also gives me an extra spring in my step when I'm running, or just using my legs in general.

It has increased my speed, indurance and power so much.

['Ben']

How many press ups would you say a fighter should be able to do without stopping, while at the same time not gaining any extra weight?

[El Puma]

Originally Posted by 'Ben'

El Puma, I have to say what makes me feel great during training for a fight is what a call 'bucket training'.... I invented it, and it may not be for everyone....

It's simple I have a big bucket that is filled to the top with plaster with a lid on top, and hold the handle with both hands holding it just under my chest, and I then run up 28 steps and then come down again and then I do it again another eight or nine times as fast as I can.... then I wait a few minuets and do it again.

It's the hardest strength/cardio indurance training exercise I've ever done! It gets my triceps, wings and shoulders ripped to the max without gaining extra weight! It also gives me an extra spring in my step when I'm running, or just using my legs in general.

It has increased my speed, indurance and power so much.

This seems like an excellent supplement to a running routine. Thank you

Originally Posted by 'Ben'

How many press ups would you say a fighter should be able to do without stopping, while at the same time not gaining any extra weight?

Not quite sure as I am an advocate of endurance training should come by way of sparring and punching the bag.

Extra weight is gained by extra calories and the more push ups you do, the more nutrition your body will need in order to repair itself and recover properly. If you do not want to gain weight, watch your calorie intake/ calorie output. For strength, go low and hard without burning yourself out. For endurance, do the heavy bag, spar and jumprope.

['Ben']

Thanks for the feeback.

['Ben']

I don't know about anyone else? but I don't skip. I found it really boring. To me sprinting on the running machine at the highest effort level for three minutes at a time.... and then having a one minute slow jog inbetween, before doing the sprinting again.... replicates your stamina for a fight much more effectivley.

Calzaghe never skipped, and he's stamina was amazing! Obviously if you like to skip then fair play, it just ain't for me though.

['Ben']

I've just also recalled that Juan Diaz never goes running. That guy has one hell of a workrate when he fights, so it just shows how much fighting the full distance is more to do with the mind than anything. I mean sparring is very important, but again I'll bring up Calzaghe.... who never used to spar that often.... and he had a notoriously great workrate when he fought!

[El Puma]

This is a guest post by strength trainer Jordan Vezina - From Running to Kettlebell Swings. Enjoy.

One thing we are always interested in regarding functional training is how it carries over into daily life, and other athletic events. A perfect example of this is running. Whenever a new client mentions that he or she runs I give them one piece of advice- “Don’t.”

Interval sprints and the like can be healthy, but the general public labors under the delusion that running is the king of exercises, and since we all know that more must be better, running for hours on end must be great for you, right? You are correct, if your destination is to get to your coffin as quickly as possible, or become a functional cripple by your forties.

If you engage in strength training and have proper running mechanics, you can avoid many of the negative effects associated with long slow distance running. However, most people do not have these things. Therefore they would be better off doing something with no impact on the joints, which combines resistance and cardio. I have just described a kettlebell swing.

To be an efficient runner three of the primary things I need are strong lung capacity, good cardio, and strong legs. Again, I get all of these from kettlebell swings. If you were to engage in a progressive program of kettlebell training (heavy on the swings and snatches) with minimal running performed primarily for specificity you would find that you are a stronger runner than if you had only run.

We know from weight training that the surest way to cease progress is to just keep lifting the weights and always trying to add more on. Yet this is how many (probably most) train for running. Come to think of it, this is how many people also train with weights.

While I was with the California National Guard I had to take part in two of the Army Physical Fitness Tests, each of which required a two-mile run. I ran both tests in about 12:30-13:00 minutes. Not super fast, but I’m a poor runner. I finished ahead of about ninety percent of the battalion, most of whom were a decade younger than myself. I had not run a single mile on my own in about six months. What I had been doing was a boatload of swings. That’s when I stopped running completely.

Something else important to consider is the postural element of running. These same elements apply to biking, to an even greater degree. The big rage in the gyms is the spin class. Now, these do work you hard I agree, but is it worth the negative effects? Next time the spin class ends at your local gym watch everyone who walks out. Most of them will have slumped posture, forward heads, posterior pelvic tilts. Your body will adopt the posture that it perceives to be the norm. If you’re hunched over your desk all day, hunched over the steering wheel in your car while commuting, hunched over a bike in a spin class, or hunched over as you run, why would your body suddenly adopt proper posture? It will adopt the posture that you are most consistently in.

Now we come back to the kettlebell swing. What is my most common admonishment to clients learning the swing?

“At the top of the swing you should be two straight lines. Straight up and down, and straight out to the bell.”

There is no room for slouching in the kettlebell swing. Doing this will only earn you bad form as well as back, shoulder, and elbow pain. Swings performed properly will continue to whack you back into shape, and along with properly performed Turkish Get Ups they will restore your shoulder and front panel flexibility.

I understand that I can’t stop you from running. Well I can, but I don’t have enough duct tape and rope for all of you. So what I instead encourage you to do is swing your kettlebells and minimize the running to what you need in order to remain efficient at it.

['Ben']

Good points. The running isn't just used for cardio in Boxing it's also used for losing weight. If I was just training for fitness I probably wouldn't do much running. The Bucket training is all I need for cardio, and I do the sprinting for the extra weight lose and the Buckett training I do helps it alot. The upper and lower body strengh it gives me makes me go harder and longer. The round duration is just an extra touch for the running, as I feel the closer your training resembles what your training for, the better it works out.

I have a very slow metobalism, and if I didn't do that extra running, my weight simply wouldn't come off!

['Ben']

When I said my Bucket traning was all I needed for my cardio, what I meant to say was it was all I needed for my cardio outside of the routine Boxing training regime (hitting bags, pad work and sparring) just to set the record straight.

I also do plenty of squats, push ups, set ups etc. just to mix it up afterwards.

[Goose]

this is an awesome guide, thanks alot for this.

my martial arts teacher makes us do cross training with different stations, where you spend 2-3 minutes on each station and then quickly move on to another one. You usually start with a heavy bag where you would do a very basic combo and try to work on technique, then you'd go to into a jump-rope station for 2-3 minutes, move to push-ups station, squat station, and shadowboxing with low-weight dumbells in your hands, etc. There is about 20 seconds rest betweek stations, but the variety of the excersise lets groups of muscles rest. I found this to be very good for conditioning, speed, and weight loss. For strength you can add ankle weight or weighted vest when doing the excercise.

[pretty boy]

El puma did ur trainin programme and its really gud thanks pal.

[El Puma]

Originally Posted by pretty boy

El puma did ur trainin programme and its really gud thanks pal.

Anytime bud. Working on some more killer training routines that will make their way here gradually, over the coming 2 months.



Gotta try em out first and find out if they're worth a damn

[thekokid]

how should i build up my punch power,

as im moving up a weight class next year yet nd dnt feel my punches can be enough to stop and make guys think

[RightHooker]

Originally Posted by 'Ben'

I've just also recalled that Juan Diaz never goes running. That guy has one hell of a workrate when he fights, so it just shows how much fighting the full distance is more to do with the mind than anything.

He doesn't run, but he still does a ton of cardio work. He just uses the stair master and he swims alot instead. IIRC it's because he finds it easier on his knees. There's a video on youtube somewhere where he talks about it.

['Ben']

Originally Posted by RightHooker

He doesn't run, but he still does a ton of cardio work. He just uses the stair master and he swims alot instead. IIRC it's because he finds it easier on his knees. There's a video on youtube somewhere where he talks about it.

Using running as my main source of cardio work outside the gym makes me feel like I get worse at it the more runs I actually do! so I think running is an overrated part of the training to be honest although I still do it.... just not as much though.