Amir Khan's Training for Gaining Muscle

[ShoulderRoll]

Someone posted this over in NSB. What do you guys think, is this a good approach for a fighter looking to bulk up?

[ShoulderRoll]

Or, if he was going to lift weights, would it have been better to train like Artur Beterbiev does in the second half of this video?

[Redd Foxx]

I think freeweights are far, far more efficient but what he's doing looks reasonable and safe. Didn't watch that vid but I've seen Beterbeiv train before and don't agree with that jerky, explosive stuff. Guys who train like that often get injuries and wear down their bodies.

I don't think Khan has the frame or genetics to be a muscular guy and, as a lean guy who once bulked up far beyond his natural range for a few years, I think it's a dangerous game. Your heart has to pump to all that muscle so your thought processes slow, endurance lowers, not to mention that your flexibility is gone. You feel more capable until you're actually pushing yourself, then all you feel is stronger.

[Journeyman]

I think freeweights are far, far more efficient but what he's doing looks reasonable and safe. Didn't watch that vid but I've seen Beterbeiv train before and don't agree with that jerky, explosive stuff. Guys who train like that often get injuries and wear down their bodies.

I don't think Khan has the frame or genetics to be a muscular guy and, as a lean guy who once bulked up far beyond his natural range for a few years, I think it's a dangerous game. Your heart has to pump to all that muscle so your thought processes slow, endurance lowers, not to mention that your flexibility is gone. You feel more capable until you're actually pushing yourself, then all you feel is stronger.

This is an interesting comment..

Can you further explain your experiences and ideas around this? I ask because I was boxing/training for a decade and have recently started bodybuilding for the first time...It is very difficult to gain muscle/size and maintain the gains for my body.

Not ready to give up the weight training yet, since I just started, but im curious

[Mr.MojoRisin']

Someone posted this over in NSB. What do you guys think, is this a good approach for a fighter looking to bulk up?

I think that training like that is useless. What is he doing? Tricep pull downs and Bicep curls with hideous technique? Just look at the guys training him. It obviously doesn't give you an aesthetic physique. Isolation workouts don't work for boxing as well as super sets.

To bulk up all fighters have to do is train and eat more. Of course paying attention to nutrition. You can't eat junk food.

I was rooting for khan to win but now seeing this I know he's going to get laid tf out.

[Mr.MojoRisin']

Or, if he was going to lift weights, would it have been better to train like Artur Beterbiev does in the second half of this video?

For the most part I like Beterbiev's training routine aside from the deadlifting. Lifting heavy like that isn't good for boxers. They can get injured too easily like the guy above said.

We will see how Beterbiev does when he goes the distance in a 12 rd fight.

[Redd Foxx]

This is an interesting comment..

Can you further explain your experiences and ideas around this? I ask because I was boxing/training for a decade and have recently started bodybuilding for the first time...It is very difficult to gain muscle/size and maintain the gains for my body.

Not ready to give up the weight training yet, since I just started, but im curious

Supplement advertising finances all the mags, websites, etc so you just don't see it talked about (the fact that genetics control the majority of our gains).

I'll be candid in hopes that it helps you out. I'm 6'3 and, at 25 years old, was around 165 on a normal diet w/ little to no exercise. I've been through many different stages in training. Strict training and exercise puts me around 185, where I feel healthy, strong, fast.

When I bulked to 205 I started to feel a bit slower, with less endurance, but did feel stronger. My blood pressure was up from having a lot more body mass for my heart to sustain and I didn't feel as good, health-wise. During heavy workouts I found my mind to get very hazy, which I later found was a byproduct of the heart and lungs being overburdened. All these are the types of things you see boxers and MMA guys go through when they go too high in weight. They don't move as well, don't respond as fast, and start to rely on power shots.

Having completely plateaued, I went non-natural in a series of carefully planned cycles. That got me up to 225, where I felt slow as hell, was getting sick more often, blood pressure was in the danger zone (even when off-cycle), and I hated the way I felt, healthy-wise. Though I looked like an absolute beast, I felt no stronger. I was doing 400lb rows in the gym but managed to throw my back out lifting up a 5lb bucket of detergent at home because I had done it at an angle. I had no real strength when doing things that weren't a weight lifting motion. That thing they say about "show muscles", it's real. I knew that the 165lb version of me could have kicked the 225lb me's ass because I was just big and stiff. I knew I was shortening my lifespan the longer I stayed at that weight (60lbs above starting point), with or without the drugs.

Speed, flexibility, the ability for the heart and lungs to provide nutrients to the body during exercise (including, to the mind) are all directly affected by your size. Not to mention your overall health (blood pressure, etc). So, back to my original point, if you're not genetically inclined to carrying a more muscular frame, you will find yourself hitting a wall, which is absolutely normal. If you force gains through steroids, you will be able to get larger, but at serious risk and not necessarily much benefit.

[ShoulderRoll]

I think freeweights are far, far more efficient but what he's doing looks reasonable and safe.

You don't think it's too bodybuilder-ish for a fighter? He obviously wants to get bigger to face Canelo but at the same time he still needs to prepare for a fight...hopefully training for the first doesn't affect the second.

Didn't watch that vid but I've seen Beterbeiv train before and don't agree with that jerky, explosive stuff. Guys who train like that often get injuries and wear down their bodies.

That is a good point. His workouts have him looking very big, strong, and solid but he did suffer a shoulder injury during training that ended up requiring surgery.

[Redd Foxx]

You don't think it's too bodybuilder-ish for a fighter? He obviously wants to get bigger to face Canelo but at the same time he still needs to prepare for a fight...hopefully training for the first doesn't affect the second.



That is a good point. His workouts have him looking very big, strong, and solid but he did suffer a shoulder injury during training that ended up requiring surgery.

I've found freeweights to strengthen tendons and supporting muscles, which are important to a boxer. As long as you keep the reps high/weight low, I think it keeps you safer than machines (when you transition to other things like punching) as you're not just building strength in a linear, narrow movement.

[Journeyman]

Supplement advertising finances all the mags, websites, etc so you just don't see it talked about (the fact that genetics control the majority of our gains).

I'll be candid in hopes that it helps you out. I'm 6'3 and, at 25 years old, was around 165 on a normal diet w/ little to no exercise. I've been through many different stages in training. Strict training and exercise puts me around 185, where I feel healthy, strong, fast.

When I bulked to 205 I started to feel a bit slower, with less endurance, but did feel stronger. My blood pressure was up from having a lot more body mass for my heart to sustain and I didn't feel as good, health-wise. During heavy workouts I found my mind to get very hazy, which I later found was a byproduct of the heart and lungs being overburdened. All these are the types of things you see boxers and MMA guys go through when they go too high in weight. They don't move as well, don't respond as fast, and start to rely on power shots.

Having completely plateaued, I went non-natural in a series of carefully planned cycles. That got me up to 225, where I felt slow as hell, was getting sick more often, blood pressure was in the danger zone (even when off-cycle), and I hated the way I felt, healthy-wise. Though I looked like an absolute beast, I felt no stronger. I was doing 400lb rows in the gym but managed to throw my back out lifting up a 5lb bucket of detergent at home because I had done it at an angle. I had no real strength when doing things that weren't a weight lifting motion. That thing they say about "show muscles", it's real. I knew that the 165lb version of me could have kicked the 225lb me's ass because I was just big and stiff. I knew I was shortening my lifespan the longer I stayed at that weight (60lbs above starting point), with or without the drugs.

Speed, flexibility, the ability for the heart and lungs to provide nutrients to the body during exercise (including, to the mind) are all directly affected by your size. Not to mention your overall health (blood pressure, etc). So, back to my original point, if you're not genetically inclined to carrying a more muscular frame, you will find yourself hitting a wall, which is absolutely normal. If you force gains through steroids, you will be able to get larger, but at serious risk and not necessarily much benefit.

Thanks, good information