Why do so many Id say the majority of boxers have large upper body and small legs?

[OMGWTF]

The power comes from your legs not your upperbody. The upperbody is so weak compared to the lower body.

Yet alot of boxers look like poser body builders that neglect their legs.

Rocky Marciano had it right, Tree trunk legs and just enough upper body strength for clinching etc

Why isnt everyone like this?

[Magges]

it is very hard to gain mass on your legs. They are the part of your body you use the most via walking,standing etc. It is much easier to gain additional strength in areas which are not used so heavily in everyday life. More room to develop one could say I think

[OMGWTF]

Originally Posted by Magges

it is very hard to gain mass on your legs. They are the part of your body you use the most via walking,standing etc. It is much easier to gain additional strength in areas which are not used so heavily in everyday life. More room to develop one could say I think

Are you sure about that? Because the easiest muscles to build/strengthen are the ones that are already the biggest and strongest!

I get what you are saying about the roadwork having an impact and making it hard to develop leg strength, but Muay Thai Kickboxers and Western Wrestlers do alot of road work and dont have this problem!

[Magges]

Originally Posted by OMGWTF

Are you sure about that? Because the easiest muscles to build/strengthen are the ones that are already the biggest and strongest!

I get what you are saying about the roadwork having an impact and making it hard to develop leg strength, but Muay Thai Kickboxers and Western Wrestlers do alot of road work and dont have this problem!

I actually did Muay Thai myself and don't have this problems either

But I trained my legs for years seperately, boxers are fulltime sportsmen who logically invest most of their work in the upper body because they are not allowed to kick.

Several problems arise for boxers:
- Leg muscles amount to 40% percent of your total muscle mass (don't know if this is the exact number but the percentage is pretty high). Muscles are heavy and apart from HW there are weightlimits to take into consideration.

- leg training sets free more growth hormones than muscle training for other areas (that's why big muscles grow the best). These growth hormones are dumped in your whole body not just in the used mouscle group. Meaning leg training doesn't only affect your legs, but only other muscle areas (upper body).

If you invest most of your time into your upper body (remember you are a boxer) your upper body will grow faster than your legs. These are just 2 of the reasons why training your legs is hard to balance for boxers. I guess you could find several others if you do extensive research.

[OMGWTF]

Originally Posted by Magges

I actually did Muay Thai myself and don't have this problems either

But I trained my legs for years seperately, boxers are fulltime sportsmen who logically invest most of their work in the upper body because they are not allowed to kick.

Several problems arise for boxers:
- Leg muscles amount to 40% percent of your total muscle mass (don't know if this is the exact number but the percentage is pretty high). Muscles are heavy and apart from HW there are weightlimits to take into consideration.

- leg training sets free more growth hormones than muscle training for other areas (that's why big muscles grow the best). These growth hormones are dumped in your whole body not just in the used mouscle group. Meaning leg training doesn't only affect your legs, but only other muscle areas (upper body).

If you invest most of your time into your upper body (remember you are a boxer) your upper body will grow faster than your legs. These are just 2 of the reasons why training your legs is hard to balance for boxers. I guess you could find several others if you do extensive research.

Your punching power dosnt come from the upper body (only inexperienced fighters punch with upper body) it comes from nearly your whole body but the majority of the power comes from your legs!

I suspect you are punching the way they taught you in Muay Thai? Thats a weak way to punch!

[dyna]

Because longer legs are less stable.
Also short legs don't produce less power, most boxers aren't Sven Ottke who need to be able to sprint 100meters.

[Magges]

Originally Posted by OMGWTF

Your punching power dosnt come from the upper body (only inexperienced fighters punch with upper body) it comes from nearly your whole body but the majority of the power comes from your legs!

I suspect you are punching the way they taught you in Muay Thai? Thats a weak way to punch!

But we don't talk about me The reason many Muay Thai fighters display such poor punching technique is simple: For example if a boxer throws a hard straight right hand, he plants his left foot a bit infront of his body. He uses his whole body to generate force. If you do that in Muay Thai, you get your left leg, which stands out, kicked, which really sucks if it happens several times.

Also I wouldn't say that most punching power comes from the legs. I guess saying the punch starts in the legs would be more correct. You still have to use the rest of your body to move the generated force to your fists (hip movement, back and shoulder muscles and finally the arm you punch with).

[ROG]

Because they are roided muscleheads meatheads who likes to roll on the ground like homo***uals.

[Nipple]

Originally Posted by ROG

Because they are roided muscleheads meatheads who likes to roll on the ground like homo***uals.

Say's the man who has a picture of a fighter in his avatar who wears a GIMP MASK for every one of his fights AND hugs like a queer in EVERY ****ING FIGHT he has..

Power comes from the ground up...

It's EASY to put mass on your legs, easy.

[irishny]

Its VERY hard to have big,thick legs as a boxer, with the amount of endrance they need.

They're on their feet moving,for the whole 36 minutes.

They jog,skip,etc.

With the training they do,its pretty much impossible to have big legs. Have you ever seen a middle distance runner with big legs?

Modern boxers are starting to use more explosive strength training for their legs, like doing sprints instead of long pointless jogs, or doing plyometrics,and also weight training.

But its going to be very rare you see a boxer with big, NFL style legs, simply because their craft wont allow it.

[irishny]

Also, the old saying that "your power comes from your legs" is REALLY misinterpreted on this board!.

When guys say that,they mean,the torque starts from your feet up, so you use your whole body and dont just throw arm shots.
You plant your feet,get good hips rotation and good snap with your arm,to get your weight behind the shot.

It doesnt mean you have to be able to squat 500 lbs!

The ACTUAL strength of the legs doesnt have anything to do with the power of your punch

[KO-KING]

Originally Posted by irishny

Also, the old saying that "your power comes from your legs" is REALLY misinterpreted on this board!.

When guys say that,they mean,the torque starts from your feet up, so you use your whole body and dont just throw arm shots.
You plant your feet,get good hips rotation and good snap with your arm,to get your weight behind the shot.

It doesnt mean you have to be able to squat 500 lbs!

The ACTUAL strength of the legs doesnt have anything to do with the power of your punch

I agree, but stronger legs means more power can start from your feet up, power actually comes from the upper thigh/lower back area - your backside

[dyna]

Originally Posted by irishny

Its VERY hard to have big,thick legs as a boxer, with the amount of endrance they need.

They're on their feet moving,for the whole 36 minutes.

They jog,skip,etc.

With the training they do,its pretty much impossible to have big legs. Have you ever seen a middle distance runner with big legs?

Modern boxers are starting to use more explosive strength training for their legs, like doing sprints instead of long pointless jogs, or doing plyometrics,and also weight training.

But its going to be very rare you see a boxer with big, NFL style legs, simply because their craft wont allow it.

Prime David Tua is the only exception to that rule.
Damn those legs.

[Nipple]

Tyson also had huge legs.

[gobblock]

There's also a genetic component to this: Asians have the largest calves relative to the rest of their bodies with Africans generally having the thinnest.

Calves are made for endurance so it takes a concerted effort to build them for strength and size, and that doesn't always result in a net positive result for a boxer (who may prefer endurance to increased punching power in the scope of a 10-12 round fight.)