Should Fighters Lift Heavy Weights

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When it comes to any type of sports, people, especially professionals, tend to go all out with their training programs. They think that giving maximum effort is what drives them to greatness. But, is that really what they need to do? How many results do they get and do they really benefit?

Keep in mind one simple thought: ‘Is it good for my body, since I have only one and I need to keep it in one piece’. Exerting your body has its ups and downs, but it’s only beneficial if it’s done in a controlled environment and under the supervision of expert trainers. Remember, experience before anything else.

Now, let’s shed some light on fighting sports. There are many young individuals who are ambitious and passionate about this kind of sports, and they want to start training as soon as they can, and be the best. I know, because once I was that type of individual. And just like others, I made some mistakes from which I’ve learned and now I want to share all that knowledge with you.

I’m here to help, whether you’re a new fighter or an experienced one having some doubts. Here you’ll find detailed answers to most common questions regarding fighting sports.

First, let’s start by explaining what is weightlifting and what are the effects and purposes of lifting. In these few sentences, I will mainly talk about types of training that are most common in gyms.

On one side we have heavy weightlifting training that helps you develop strong physique. Usually, this type of training is used for developing strong, durable and thick muscles but won’t make them much bigger and is based on lifting really heavy weights (usually 100% of your body mass and higher) for few reps and just a couple of sets.

And on the other side, we have lower weight, higher reps and sets training that will pump great amounts of fluids in your muscle (blood, glycogen etc.) making them look big and round.

So, the conclusion is that weightlifting makes you bigger and stronger, but do you really need it? Yes, you do! Every fighter wants to be fast and agile and although he has smaller muscles he packs a great amount of power behind his punches. With that being said, most of them keep their weightlifting simple and heavy, always thinking about speed and flexibility.

What are Drawbacks of Weight Lifting?

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With all said and done, if you think that lifting 5 times a week and doing some sparring will make you a better fighter, then I have some bad news for you. Even though by lifting you make your muscles stronger, it doesn’t affect your punches the same way.

To understand this, first you need to learn what punching really is. Punching is snapping motion and lifting weight is pushing motion, when you separate these two you can easily comprehend this.

When lifting you have time to feel the weight, to prepare your nervous system for it and in the ring you don’t have that kind of of luxury.

When punching, your goal is to get to your opponent as fast as you can, delivering your punch in an instant.

Having that in mind, with big and bulky muscles you lose too much speed and that is the greatest flaw one fighter can have.

How to Improve Your Boxing Skills With Weight Training?

Even though some coaches tend to forbid weightlifting for their fighters there is nothing wrong with it. The best thing you can learn from everything previously said is that weightlifting can be good for your if you know how to utilize it.

The best advice for improving your boxing is to strengthen you core muscles, keep your abs and inner back strong and thick. That will help you keep the balance in any situation and will give your punches even more power. This can be achieved mainly by doing deadlifts, squats and crunches.

The Bottom Line

Even though some coaches tend to forbid weightlifting for their fighters there is nothing wrong with it. The best thing you can learn from everything previously said is that weightlifting can be good for your if you know how to utilize it.

The best advice for improving your boxing is to strengthen you core muscles, keep your abs and inner back strong and thick. That will help you keep the balance in any situation and will give your punches even more power. This can be achieved mainly by doing deadlifts, squats and crunches.

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