Find out if you can effectively gain muscle mass in the gym while boxing. Today the conversation will be about how to combine boxing and a gym. Moreover, we will consider the issue of fully combining these trainings - combining performances in two sports disciplines at competitions, albeit at an amateur level. You must understand that professional training in such a situation is impossible. However, first things first.
Can boxing and gym be combined?
To get an answer to this question, it is necessary to find out whether the muscular system can work in such an extreme mode. Equally important is how this combination can affect the performance of athletes in each discipline. You've probably heard talk about how large muscle mass slows down the work of the arms and the boxer is not able to achieve the desired "relaxation".
Security officials also do not stand aside, putting forward counter-accusations to boxers in the high trauma of the ligamentous-articular apparatus. However, this is not entirely true, because the discomfort in the joints of novice boxers disappears after a couple of months of regular training. In the future, injuries are most often the result of an accident or the athlete's own mistakes.
Of course, there is no escape from the accumulation of fatigue, but this is true for any sport. Here, first of all, it is necessary to consider the correctness of the training process. It remains for us to consider the effect of active strength training on the speed of the boxer's arms.
Based on our practical experience, we can say that our muscular system has a certain conditioned reflex, which allows the body to independently determine the dominant type of load. The higher the load of one type, the worse the muscles respond to the other. Simply put, if the volume of strength training is approximately equal to that of boxing, then the athlete loses his former sense of power.
Perhaps, just at that moment the question arises, how to combine boxing and a gym? Perhaps it is worth slowing down in one sport discipline, adding in the second. Let's figure it out, because the topic is interesting and quite relevant. It should be said right away that security officials should start boxing immediately after the end of the competitive season. If in the next couple of months you do not plan to take part in new tournaments, then the situation to start combining is almost ideal.
For the first 14 days, you should give up strength training and devote yourself entirely to boxing. We are sure that the upcoming loads will pleasantly surprise you. When two weeks have passed, you can gradually return to the "iron sport". However, you should not rush and at first it is enough to carry out one or two workouts a week.
If you are doing powerlifting, we recommend that you perform only competition movements to maintain your technique. Use weights that are 60 percent of the maximum, and the number of repetitions in the set should be reduced to three of the possible. For example, previously you did 10 repetitions on the bench, now do seven or even six.
In order not to overload the body in this mode, it is worth training for a couple of months and only after that return to classes with the same intensity. During this time, you will already develop an approximate strategy for combining two sports disciplines:
- How many workouts in each sport to do per week.
- Which will be the first.
- Whether to combine them on one day and if the answer is yes, then on which one.
- The intensity of each session, etc.
There is no ready-made answer to all these questions, since the human body is individual. In addition, do not forget about ordinary life, because each of us has certain plans and tasks that need to be solved. Some athletes are sure that the next day after strength training, boxing is not worth it, because the muscles are recovering and are not able to work well.
Others do not see any problem here and simply adjust the intensity of each workout to themselves, performing the required volume, both in boxing and in solo training. It is quite obvious that this requires a certain amount of experience. There are those who remove the negative effects of training in the gym with the help of "shadow boxing". We recommend that you try all the options and find the one that suits you best.
However, remember that these types of workloads are completely different and in any case, you have to prioritize. You should focus on your performance calendar and other life circumstances. Moreover, any period of the training process can be used with benefit for each sport. To begin with, while in the boxing phase, you can take a break from strength training. During this time, you can heal the damage inherent in the security forces.
The body responds well to changes in the type of load. When you return to the strength phase, then your progress will definitely accelerate, it will be possible to adjust your body weight. After a full phase, boxes often need to gain weight. Even if you try to keep your body "dry", its weight will decrease, which negatively affects strength.
When the desired mass is reached and there is no fat left in the body, progress in boxing will accelerate. When the situation calls for it, you can quickly regain your strength in powerlifting. Of course, for this you have to often make changes to your diet, but no one said that everything would be simple.
How to combine boxing and gym - features
In the previous section, we had a rather lengthy conversation about the necessity and possibility of combining two different sports. Now it is worth giving specific recommendations. Let's say that you are boxing and decide to actively use strength training as well. By the way, before that we talked more about the opposite situation.
For starters, you shouldn't use flexion movements in your strength training program. Thus, only extensors remain, and now you will understand why you need to do this. Quite simply, flexion movements can cause the boxer to be clamped.
As a rule, muscles take part in them, which do not work, or do not actively do it, during the impact. These include the same biceps. As you may be aware, boxers are more likely to use the shoulder girdle and triceps. It is for this reason that extension exercises are needed, for example, presses, spreads, etc. For training the muscles of the legs, dynamic exercises, or more simply, jumping, will be very effective.
We have already partially touched on the potential harm from combining the two sports disciplines. We can assure you that it is not, but subject to regular training. If you are a boxer and periodically actively swing, then an imbalance will arise in the speed indicators.
They will first rise and then fall. It is quite obvious that your striking technique will also suffer from this. When sparring, your attacks will become sticky and your counterattacks will become slower. However, if you practice regularly in each sport, the results will be good.
Note that the maximum progress in boxing will be observed among representatives of light and medium weight categories. This is due to the fact that they have high maneuverability and fight at a high pace. When they begin to combine boxing with strength training, the body's energy storage increases dramatically with all the ensuing consequences.
The situation will be somewhat different in the heavy and heavyweight divisions. In the ring, such boxers cannot boast of a high speed of movement. For protection, they most often use dives, slopes and stands. Their technique is based on impact speed. As you should be aware, this indicator depends on the degree of relaxation of all the muscles in the body.
As a result, improper strength training will build muscle mass, which will lead to a loss of speed. Let's not forget that a boxer's fatigue may also increase after training in the gym. This will cause you to miss out on time - the counterattacks will become slow, as will the reaction.
At the same time, we do not want to say that it makes no sense for heavyweights to conduct strength training. However, it is important to accurately select the dosage of this load. It is quite difficult to solve this issue without the help of an experienced coach. You probably already realized that a boxer cannot use the same training programs in the gym that are used by bodybuilders and powerlifters.
If you ignore this recommendation, then you will simply overload the muscles, which will prevent you from achieving positive results in boxing. Since the blows will become more viscous, and sharpness is needed to win. If you want to know how to combine boxing and a gym, then you need to draw up an individual training program.
It is quite obvious that a boxer must be mindful of his body weight. Strength training helps to increase muscle mass and, as a result of active exercise, may be outside of your weight class. However, if this is exactly what you are trying to achieve, then this is an obvious plus of this combination. By the way, most Western boxers do just that. You don't have to look far for examples - Evander Holyfield, Ray Jones, and many others were specifically gaining muscle mass to move into a new weight category.
Remember that this scheme can only be effective in combination with a well-designed nutrition program. Again, we recommend weighing in and seeking professional help. It is possible that there will be several people who are experts in certain matters to visit. Often it is nutrition that determines the success of the athlete in the first place. This applies not only to boxing, but to any sport.
In the West, boxers have several specialists at their disposal and strictly follow their recommendations. They understand that one cannot be well versed in all areas, and their main job is boxing. It is here that you need to show everything that you are capable of. It is better to entrust nutrition and training issues to other people who understand the current in them. The situation is similar in power sports.
If you want to know how to combine boxing and gym, then this is possible and with the right approach will definitely bring positive results. Today we talked about the main points to which you need to pay attention. However, you should not wait for accurate answers, because you should focus on the characteristics of your body.
How to combine boxing and training in the gym, says Denis Borisov in the following video:
