Proper gain of muscle mass during boxing
Quite a lot of people who practice boxing also go to the gym. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this, but gaining muscle mass in combination with boxing training requires a more careful approach, because otherwise you can harm your own body.
Modern boxing in Kazakhstan is at a fairly high level of development, therefore, if you wish, you can find a lot of recommendations on combining the ring and training equipment, but the best adviser is your body. Listen to him, and you will definitely be able to develop an optimal training system.
Boxing and strength training - how to combine them correctly?
Even if punching bag boxing is more of an endurance sport, it can be very well complemented by fitness and strength training. Anyone who has already trained on a punching bag will certainly agree and appreciate the accompanying strength training in just a short time.
Strength as the basis of boxing performance
Strength is an important part of boxing because in addition to endurance, speed and coordination, punching power also plays a decisive role. Therefore, strength training in boxing is the foundation of performance for improving speed and power. This can be achieved through what is called maximal strength training. This approach trains two specific factors that determine performance.
1. Muscle hypertrophy.
Muscle hypertrophy (power phase), also called thickness growth. It involves increasing the size of the striated muscle as a compensatory response to increased stress, such as targeted muscle training. The cause of muscle growth is microdamage to muscle fibers provoked by stressful exercises with an increase in the volume of myocytes. This effect can be achieved through short intense loads on the muscles with short breaks between them. We are talking about the so-called interval method. The intensity should be high, and the load volume should be about 12 repetitions and 8-12 sets. In between, it is better to take a 1 minute break.
2. Intramuscular coordination.
Intramuscular coordination (maximum strength phase) describes the ability of a muscle to contract as many muscle fibers as possible. Intramuscular coordination training is an extremely strenuous form of training designed to increase an athlete's strength levels. To enhance intramuscular coordination, it is advisable to perform basic exercises with 1-6 repetitions at a high intensity of 80% - 100%. The break between individual workouts should be about 2 minutes. Strength gains do not occur through an increase in muscle volume, like muscle hypertrophy, but through improved biochemical processes.
Simply put, in muscle hypertrophy the strength of individual muscle cells is trained, while in intramuscular coordination the simultaneous contraction of cells is enhanced or trained.
How important is strength in boxing?
While strength, as mentioned, is an important part of boxing and an indispensable foundation for a successful athlete's performance, there are still some areas that are more important to a boxer than pure strength. Strength is a requirement for successful boxing and should therefore be trained during the muscle building phase. If a strong foundation of strength is already in place, boxers should focus more on other areas. The main motor requirements for a boxer are strength and endurance from 35% to 40%, speed 25%, coordination and flexibility by 25%. However, the stated strength performance is "only" 10-15% overall.
What does this mean for boxer strength training?
These performance demands mean that after training in the maximal strength phase, you should focus primarily on speed and endurance, as well as technical and tactical training. When training beyond the maximum strength phase, it can become a problem that the newly developed muscle cells do not yet have sufficient energy reserves and therefore cannot perform consistently. Since the energy needed by the muscle cells must come from somewhere else, during competition it can suddenly happen that, for example, the arms can no longer be raised up, or the legs become heavy and the athlete literally loses his breath.
Does muscle building slow down during boxing training?
It is widely believed that large muscles are said to be designed to slow down the musculoskeletal system. However, this is not entirely true, because large muscles should not slow down the body. The solution is dual and balanced training. In addition to building muscle mass, you should always be working on strength and speed. For this reason, a combination of strength training and boxing training is ideal for strengthening your body and working on building muscle in addition to endurance. While boxing training trains agility, targeted strength training can improve punching power, footwork and stability.
Finally, a training tip to improve your striking power:
You should develop: 1. 4 x 3 minutes - technique training; 2. 4 x 30 seconds - punching exercises; 3. 1 circle for 3 minutes – endurance exercises.
The workout begins with 4 rounds on a punching bag with an emphasis on clean striking techniques. When practicing technique, you move from left to right, and then again from right to left. You can also enable block movements. Take a minute break between rounds. After practicing the technique, so-called striking exercises follow, that is, an endless sequence of strikes lasting 30 seconds. You should hit as hard as possible. There is also a one-minute break between rounds. Finally, there is a 3 minute sandbag round. Due to rigorous training, symptoms of fatigue will initially appear and you will be forced to fight fatigue - much like in a real fight.
For intensive training on a punching bag, you should choose punching bags made of leather or special fabric made of durable PVC, otherwise the joy from training will not last long.
Features of strength training
Any boxing section requires its fighters to adhere to a certain regime. In particular, they should not overload their body. That is why when gaining muscle mass it is very important not to overdo it. In addition, in the gym you need to choose the right exercises, because completely different muscle groups are important for a boxer than for an ordinary athlete.
After intense strength training, you need a rest day, when only light stretching exercises are allowed. Well, in the gym itself, special attention should be paid to push-ups on parallel bars and from the floor with weights, overhead and chest presses, wall push-ups, etc. You also need to deal with the development of the neck, back and legs. A professional trainer will provide more detailed information on exercises useful for boxers, but remember that extra loads do not make sense, since their results will be burned when working with bags and in the ring.
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Principles of nutrition
- Planning and daily adherence to time frames for food intake to prevent overeating and starvation of the body, improve digestion.
The quantitative guideline for nutrition is 3 to 5 times a day.
- A special feature of the diet on training days is eating 2 hours before training and 40-60 minutes after it ends.
- Calculation and adherence to caloric intake of the chosen diet.
The calorie content of the daily diet cannot be universal for everyone, because... calculated taking into account many individual indicators: gender, age, weight, intensity and training goals. Ignoring the amount of calories you consume will minimize the benefits of boxing and lead to a loss of motivation.
- Balance of nutrients in food:
- The daily protein intake is 2-2.5 g per 1 kg of weight. A lack of protein in the diet provokes rapid fatigue and a decrease in muscle mass. Excess – dehydration and intoxication.
Sources: animal products (eggs, meat, seafood, fish, cottage cheese, milk, cheese) and plant products (beans, rice, soybeans, potatoes, buckwheat and oatmeal).
- The rate of fat consumption is up to 2 g per 1 kg of weight.
When drawing up a nutrition program, it is necessary to take into account quality characteristics: introduce predominantly unsaturated fats into the diet (olive oil, nuts, fish), minimize saturated fats (fatty meat, lard, sausages, cream) and exclude trans fats (fast food, baked goods, chips, crackers) .
- The required need for carbohydrates per day is calculated individually and depends on the goals of the student: on average from 3 to 10 g per 1 kg of weight.
Sources of simple (harmful) carbohydrates: sugar, confectionery, baked goods, carbonated drinks, beets, white rice, fruits. Complex (healthy) carbohydrates are found in beans, brown rice, whole grain flour products, mushrooms, vegetables, and unsweetened fruits.
Balance of carbohydrate intake: complex 65%, simple 35%.
- Maintaining water balance.
Water consumption is the main condition for the life of the body, justified by the following functions: thermoregulation of the body, transport of oxygen and nutrients to organs, removal of toxic elements from the body, improvement of the functioning of the digestive organs.
High intensity boxing training activates increased sweating (water loss) and water imbalance. Mandatory adherence to the drinking regime during exercise is aimed at preventing dehydration.
The daily volume of water consumption is 2-3 liters per day, including training days.
- Fortification and mineralization.
Often, due to the existing food basket, it is not possible to completely satisfy the body’s need for mineral elements and vitamins, and therefore there is a need for their additional source.
Multivitamin complexes and preparations containing microelements in optimal proportions help minimize the resulting deficiency.
The decision on additional fortification should not be independent and uncontrolled. Taking medications should be discussed with a trainer or doctor.
- Cooking methodology: stewing, grilling and baking, boiling (including steaming), raw consumption of vegetables.
- Matching the nutrition plan to the athlete’s specific task.
Bodybuilding for the martial arts athlete
In this case, when the main sports discipline is martial arts, bodybuilding can be very relevant. This is due to the development of all muscles of the body. Using the example of Thai boxing, as an athlete who has devoted more than three years to this sport, I can say that the development of muscle mass greatly affects the work in the clinch and the power of the blow, since it depends on mass and speed.
Yes, most will say that “rocking” reduces speed, explosive power and whiplash, and in principle they will be right, but only if we are talking exclusively about bodybuilding. We are talking about a combined load, in which strength training is a smaller part of the training process and is secondary. In this case, the speed and severity of the impact will not decrease, but body weight and strength will increase. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that exercises for martial arts athletes must be basic (multi-joint), and training schemes should be alternated. It is better to exclude isolation exercises from the training program and add weightlifting snatch and clean and jerk.
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