Professional boxers are elite sportsmen who have dedicated their lives to the sport. The road to becoming a professional boxer is long and winding. To grow their strength, win at the amateur level on a regular basis, and keep their body in excellent physical shape, they need to train hard. The boxing gym will be where they spend most of their professional life. But do they spend some of that time on weight lifting? Let’s find out.
Professional boxers frequently lift lighter weights with a higher intensity. It allows them to shed weight, develop muscular mass, and improve their ring performance. A boxer’s training routine usually includes jump squats, medicine ball throws, and neck training.
Is It Good For Pro Boxers To Lift Weights?
For boxers, certain types of weight training can be detrimental. Weight training programs designed exclusively for boxers, on the other hand, are extremely useful to them.
Lifting weights for boxing should have a smaller volume but a higher intensity, which might come from load or speed. Jump squats, medicine ball throws, and neck training are all part of a boxer’s training regimen.
When boxers focus on bodybuilding or powerlifting, weight training becomes counterproductive. Bodybuilding routines focus solely on hypertrophy, which relies on volume for muscular growth, and this level of activity will exhaust a boxer during boxing training.
In addition, bodybuilding-style exercise favors the development of Type I muscle fibers, also known as slow-twitch muscle fibers. This style of training targets one or two muscle groups each session, making boxers more prone to injury and lowering their training boxing ability.
While powerlifting-style training makes them stronger, it lacks the high-speed component of training. The opposite adaptations to high-speed training are targeted by maximal strength training, therefore disregarding this component can be hazardous to boxing performance.
So, Should Pro Boxers Lift Weights?
The majority of professional boxers reap the benefits of a well-rounded strength program, and the culture of lifting weights with boxing has progressively evolved towards acceptability as fighters have come to appreciate the benefits of lifting weights. Punching power is transferred through having stronger legs and the ability to apply greater rotational forces.
Heavyweight boxers – A heavyweight boxer may appear to have no need to exercise due to an unfair advantage in size and mass, but a bigger body does not always equal more strength, speed, or power. Additionally, lifting weights aids in the development of injury resistance. A heavyweight can gain strength without adding bodyweight if the exercises are done correctly.
Middleweight boxers – Sugar Ray Robinson, a world middleweight champion and one of the best boxers of all time, have avoided the use of weights, but that doesn’t mean today’s boxers should as well. Athletes used to shun weight training because they thought it would make them gain weight.
People who engage in boxing should lift weights, according to sports scientists, because doing so can help them lose weight, gain muscle mass, and improve their effectiveness in the ring. Nowadays, sports experts agree that boxers should lift weights since it can help them lose weight, gain muscular mass, and improve their performance in the ring.
Lightweight boxers – One of the most well-known lightweight fighters of all time also avoids the weight room. Manny Pacquiao’s arduous workout plan demonstrates his dedication and hard work; he works out for three hours every day but rarely lifts weights. It slows down lighter fighters, according to his coach, which is why a boxer like Pacquiao prefers to focus on cardiac training instead.
Famous Professional Boxers Who Lift Weights
Tyson Fury likes to include weightlifting in his training regimen. Bench presses, deadlifts, and shoulder presses are among the classic lifts he has been seen practicing. After all, Fury is a lightning-fast heavyweight, and it doesn’t appear that these exercises are slowing him down at all.
Anthony Joshua is really ripped, which could be due to all of the weights he lifts. He’s been seen doing bench presses, deadlifts, and working with big medicine balls, just like the Gypsy King above.
Miguel Cotto: Weightlifting is nothing new to this multiple-time Puerto Rican world champion. Military presses, axe chops, weighted core exercises, and medicine ball work have all been seen in this now retired Puerto Rican star’s training program. Traditional weightlifting appears to be something Cotto dislikes. Bench presses and tricep pushdowns have never been seen in his training.
How Often Do Pro Boxers Lift Weights
Clearly, this will differ from one fighter to the next. While not all boxers include weight training in their regimens, some do so to keep their workouts interesting.
Boxers may lift weights three to four times a week during peak training for a fight. They’ll lift large weights with low reps on their tough training days and lighter weights with higher reps on their light training days.
Does Lifting Weights Increase The Boxer’s Punching Power?
Some boxers believe that lifting weights is the only way to improve punching power. This is predicated on the premise that lifting weights will strengthen the arm’s muscles and connective tissue, increasing the punch’s force. This has some truth to it, but it is primarily a myth.
It’s not just about power in boxing; it’s also about speed. When you punch, you should use that power to speed up your punches rather than merely hitting your opponent hard. Boxers who are the fastest and most strong may throw their entire body into a single punch and strike their opponents with devastating force.
Lifting weights is mostly used to increase muscular mass. Only your muscles are used to direct a hit in boxing; the main strength behind that fist is your body weight.
Benefits of Weightlifting for Boxers
Lifting weights, as previously said, prepares a boxer’s physique to withstand short bursts of explosive power. This isn’t particularly effective, but if he works on the right muscle areas in the gym, it could help him in the ring.
An explosive, hard-hitting punch could be just what he needs to gain the upper hand on his opponent. The quickness with which he can bring his arm back influences the pace with which he can throw blows. His lats, on the exterior of his back, are the muscle group most closely related with this action. Boxers will have stronger control over this range of motion if they undertake weightlifting exercises that work the lats, such as lateral pulldowns.
A boxer’s physical strength can also be used to improve his capacity to endure punches. His abdominal muscles cushion the impact on his internal organs. Tensing his abs creates a more resilient surface that can withstand greater impact. The longer a boxer’s abs can safeguard him and his organs from harm, the better.
Negatives Of Lifting Weights As A Boxer
Some weightlifting workouts are beneficial to boxers, but they must be properly chosen. When the incorrect exercises are performed, mass might be gained in the wrong places.
Because weight training necessitates short bursts of strong strength, it may also cause them to move more slowly and fatigue more rapidly. Weightlifting is not the best kind of training for boxing because it requires more energy and endurance.
When a boxer spends more time lifting weights, he has less time in the ring to practice sparring. This means that when they confront in the ring, he is likely to be less prepared than his opponent. Because weightlifting exercises isolate one muscle group to focus on it precisely, there’s a good chance that a boxer will harm himself while lifting weights. If the boxer does not accomplish this correctly, or if he overestimates his strength, he risks injuring himself. His capacity to fight may be harmed as a result of this.
Do Lifting Weights Make Boxers Slower?
Weight training that is correctly designed will not make a boxer slower. However, when boxers engage in standard bodybuilding programs or generic high rep training without focusing on maximum speed and power, they run into problems.
High-velocity or ballistic exercises, such as jumps and throws, allow for the maximum speed and power outputs, which not only prevent a boxer from becoming slower but also make them faster in the ring. Generic weight training may slow down a boxer because it induces adaptations that allow the muscle to be stimulated across the entire range of motion.
To transmit the most momentum to the target, muscle activation and stiffness should be at their peak during impact. A lot of effort spent honing the punch is required to develop these attributes to their full potential. Supplementing with high-intensity lifting through jumps, throws, and other explosive activities can improve this even more.
Conclusion
Lifting is a must for any boxer worth his salt. They do not, however, lift more than three times per week. Lifting does not, contrary to popular perception, slow down the muscles. We should also point out that, as a combat athlete, exercising the backside of one’s body is critical for injury prevention and the capacity to execute devastating punches.
Weight training is one of the most effective strategies to increase overall strength and explosive power, as many fighters practice. It’s important to remember, though, that fighters only have a limited amount of time to train. So, unless they are in the off-season and working on going up a weight class, their primary concentration is on fight training, while strength training will take a back seat.
