I've been attempting to put together a decent training plan to supplement boxing training itself, but searching for advice on what to include has only confused me... Some coaches tell you to run long distances 5 or 6 times a week, others swear by interval training or sprints or whatever. :? And then there's weight training, which is also the subject of mixed opinions. Would it be beneficial to include weights in a training routine, or is intense circuit training better? I've been weightlifting for a while now and I'd prefer to keep it up if possible, but most coaches I've spoken to about it seem to be against it, for whatever reason. :verysad Plyometrics would obviously be good for boxing, so I guess I'll start slamming a medicine ball off **** :good So my question is, what should I put in a conditioning program? Do I need to wake up early to run 7 or 8 miles, or should I go sprinting or something?? Now I'm no exercise physiologist (I'm an experimental physicist :yep ), but I don't see how weightlifting could be harmful to anyone doing an explosive, fast paced, anaerobic sport like boxing; olympic lifts in particular. Can anyone with a decent knowledge of the science behind this outline why this is? Thanks for your time! :good
Hey mate welcome to the forum, good to see someone come here with an open mind :good Whenever someone recommends training to you they must be able to justify it, they need to take into account your experience as an individual and where your fitness is at. I've found that a lot of people involved in boxing do things 'just because'. Training should be progressive to allow appropriate overload and adaptation. Lots of longer distance running may be beneficial for someone who hasn't done any cardio for a while (Still wouldn't be running every day though) but for someone at a decent level of cardio fitness it's not going to improve much. High intensity intervals are a far more effective way of improving the important markers of fitness, you'll get fitter faster without using up too much time, 2-3 interval sessions a week will really boost your fitness. You can still include a long distance run once or twice a week as an active recovery and that has other benefits (psychological and health, not so much for improving fitness after a certain point). Periodising is important in my opinion, as you focus on different particular aspects of fitness you can still maintain your gains in areas that you're not training at the moment (Intervals once a week, strength work once a week- both enough to maintain the gains you've made) The general rule is focus on endurance/hypertrophy to an extent then move onto strength and then power just before competing. That's your focus at each stage, you're still working other things. You will find different opinions on weight training, my opinion at this point in time is that weights for the lower body could and should be included, you can't overload those muscles without heavy squats and deadlifts. Those muscles used are the ones that generate the most power with a punch so why not train them? Tendon tightness low on the body is helpful to an extent as it improves the efficiency of your movement, the strong movements and muscles stretch the stiff tendons with relative ease. Olympic lifts are excellent for developing power, if you can do them with decent technique then they should definitely be included. You don't have to worry about building excessive body weight and you're sharpening up your nervous system. Olympic lifts and plyometrics are for developing power, they make you explosive and you don't have to worry about moving out of a weight class so they should be bread and butter for a boxer at the appropriate times. For the upper body I don't think weights are the best idea, you want compliant tendons around the shoulder and weight training could work against that. The arms shouldn't be adding much to a punch if you're doing it right so I see it as a bit of a waste of time. Bodyweight exercises along with bag/pad work should be sufficient for most people. Stretching the shoulder and hip areas should be a focus for a boxer as that's where the greatest range of movement is, that's where the tendons should be more compliant. I don't think boxing is particulary anaerobic, if you take it as a whole it's somewhere in the middle. Perhaps that's why people seem to be at different ends of the spectrum with boxing (weights vs no weights, long distance vs sprints). That's why I think it's best to train everything. That's why boxing is a great sport, you can include all sorts of training and you'll get benefits. There is a science behind each type of training, the art is combining them and getting them right for the particular individual at the particular point in time. Nothing can ever be perfect, but if you think and plan you can maximise your training and get the most out of yourself. Asking questions is always the best thing if you want to improve and grow :good
i agree with lefty, i mix in a bit of everything. i do interval training on the bike or elliptical. distance running, but only for a maximum of 20 minutes (usually less) and at a good pace (no jogging). skipping as well. i also do hill sprints and barbell complexes for anaerobic conditioning, barbell complexes will kick your ass if youve never tried them. once it gets nicer out im gunna head out to the field from across my house and run some sprints. try and get the best of everything.
