Weight Training Makes You Faster
Photo taken by Charlie Hyams - IG: charlie_hyams
There are many coaches and athletes who believe that they shouldn’t train weight for boxing as it makes you slow. This is for the most part not wrong, as quite a lot of athletes prescribe themselves the wrong amount of volume or intensity. If you do not train proper aspects of strength and conditioning, specific to boxing. You will be left behind by your competition. In this article I will teach you how to increase your speed and punching power to enhance your boxing ability through proper strength and conditioning.
The Ingredients for Power
Force and velocity are the components we need to train to become more powerful. Some very lucky athletes are born with power. Most people need to train for it. Your genetics will determine how high the ceiling is for how powerful you can get.
Force is relatively easy to train as it is trained through strength training, which is straight forward – lift heavy weights. Training this aspect will increase the maximal amount of force you will be able to dish out in a punch… the only problem with this is if you haven’t trained velocity your punch will take a very long time to hit your opponent.
Velocity requires more specificity and programming. I have learned (through a long path of trial and mainly error) that for boxing the most important aspect in the weights room is working speed.
A much lesser problem in boxing by miles is strength. Having said that, a decent level of strength is needed to be able to stop opponents walking through your punches but also, and most importantly, a good level of strength will help you maintain power endurance as well as speed throughout the round.
Knowing what training you should be doing
It is hard to prescribe exercises to an athlete unless you are coaching them frequently. But simply put, if you are slow train for speed (velocity), if you are weak train for strength (force).
Training for force:
Training for force is easy in theory but taxing on the central nervous system (CNS), which can quickly lead to overtraining, lack of coordination, and a change in hormones which can affect an athlete’s mood and energy levels. I would advise boxers to train for force in the off season and stop lifting heavy weights at least a month before their fight as the strength will more or less stay the same.
Here is an example of a simple program a boxer could cycle for 3-4 weeks, adding weight each week if possible before having a de-load, then restarting at 10-15% less weight that they finished their last week on.
Day 1:
Squat – 3 x 5 reps
Bench Press – 3 x 5 reps
Rows – 3 x 5 reps
Hang Snatch – 2 x 5 reps
Weighted Pull-Ups – 3 x 5 reps
Day 2:
Squat – 3 x 5 reps
Push Press – 2 x 5 reps
Good Mornings – 2 x 5 reps
Pull – Ups – 2 x AMRAP
This is a very simple strength program that a boxer could do alongside training if they were careful with the intensity and thoughtful with the placement of the days with sparring and technique training. If a boxer with a decent S&C coach was supervising them with form and weights added, a weak boxer could add a significant amount of force into their punches in about 4 -5 weeks .
Training for Velocity:
Unlike strength training, when you train for speed (velocity) you can become faster quickly, however you will lose this new found speed quickly too if you do not keep it up. It’s important to note you need that base level of strength to produce force to move fast. The weights should be moved as fast as possible with the best form possible.
Here is a basic general speed session in the weights room that can be performed 2xs a week strategically around the rest of your training.
Speed-Strength Session:
Squats – 5-6 x 2 reps @50% for speed
S/S
Stiff Legged Jumps – x 3 reps
Back Extensions – 3 x 10 reps
Dumbbell OHP – 5 – 6 x 3 reps @50% for speed
S/S
Med Ball Throws – x3 reps
Pull-Ups – 2 x 8-10 reps
Your top end speed training will come from short, max effort sprints. You will also gain speed specific to boxing, by punching as fast as possible with light/no gloves on for short bursts with long breaks. Boxing speed program coming soon.
Conclusion
Power is force x velocity (P = F v)
You need force and velocity to be powerful
You need a base level of strength (force) to produce velocity as well as keep throwing hard punches when fatigued
Your force production from strength training lasts around a month before they start to go down a little.
Velocity is quick to gain but fast to lose, so train close to the fight and before you taper
I hope you learned something from this article. Please feel free to message me on Instagram: south_east_strength or message me on WhatsApp on 07948722747.
