New and In Need Of Advice

[DJ Plastik]

Hi there.

I am a 31 yr old male whom has dabbled in boxing as a way to stay in shape for the last couple years. Mainly, I hit the heavy bag in my basement and work out at home. I have 2 kids and a home based business which allows me to train every day of the week, for short periods of time. Usually I can spend between 30-45 minutes each day either hitting the bag intensely or strength training. Anyhow, I have some questions which I really need answered and would appreciate any help you all can offer.

This is what I do now.

MWF- Strength training which includes weights, body weight exercises and ab work. I do this for approximately 30 minutes. The routine includes 3 sets of variations of push ups, squats, lunges, crunches, pull ups/chin ups and weights. It may sound silly but Ive based my routine on that 300 rep routine that it all over you tube. Ive taken what I like and changed it to suit me best.

Is there a magical strength regimen that I should follow instead or am I on the right track??

On my cardio days (ie T, TH, Sat) I tend to stick with what I love. Hitting the heavy bag. I do 10 rounds of 3 minutes with 30 second rest periods in between each round. I was resting for a minute but have gradually made it to 30 seconds now. This takes between 30-40 minutes including warm ups and such. On these days I often try and fit in some extra ab work if I have time and have the energy. I also do interval training on my tread mill on occasion instead of the heavy bag routine, but usually I hit the bag, as I enjoy it so much more. I try and incorporate intervals into the heavy bag work. IE hit hard for the last 30 seconds of each round.

So what I would love to know is whether or not I am doing this right or if maybe I should change it all?

I also wanted to know how I should use whey protein shakes? Right now I have one with my breakfast and one right after my work out. Ive just started using it this week and have yet to really notice any change. Is whey protein worth using? Am I doing enough each day to warrant using it or should I try to work out longer?

Anyhow, I appreciate any help you may offer. Im very concerned that I am not doing anything to truly benefit me.

Thanks in advance. Great forum you have here!!

[vein]

thats the way to push it man, but its a waste if u don't fight boxing for fighting not aerobics or bodybuilding.

[DJ Plastik]

thanks vein. yeah I would love to get in the ring but I live in a place where there is no boxing club or anything like that. we hope to move to a larger center some day soon....then I will definitely join a club and try fighting for real. Its getting boring battling a bag thats for sure.....:lol:

[DJ Plastik]

Anyone else have some tips for me? Thanks.

[JoHnNyBoXeR]

10 rounds on the heavy bag is great .. really good... get your self a jump rope and do like 3-5 rounds of that with no breaks.. u should shadow box for 3 rounds.. the calisthetics look good

[Spartacus Sully]

the 3/1 is how it is in boxing and i wouldnt reccomend changing it unless......well if you go for 4 mins then 1 min rest are you going to be trying as hard as you would be if you were going for 3 mins with 1 min rest? when you go on the bag with a 30 second rest are you going as hard as you were when you had a whole min to rest? id reccomend doing 3/1 on the bag but if you want throw in a few 30 second breaks. its still helpful raising the lactic acid threshold and improving atp re-synsythisis. it wont help you improve your technique, power, and speed if you fighting on 50% the energy you could have.

[Featherweight89]

Anyone else have some tips for me? Thanks.

What are your goals? Do you want to get jacked or do you want to learn to box, or just want to be fit? If you're bodybuilding or just doing it for fitness, there's nothing wrong with what you're doing. If you've never been, go to rosstraining.com. He has some very nice articles there on what you can do for conditioning at home and how to intensify your heavy bag workouts.

About whey protein, it's not some magic powder. The best way to think of it is as a liquid steak or chicken breast (with very little fat). It's just protein in powdered form, nothing more, nothing less. If you're trying to build muscle mass, you need to a) consume a high protein diet (1-1.5g of protein per lb of bodyweight is generally recommended) and b) eat about 500-1000 calories over your maintenence calorie needs which you're going to have to experiment with yourself.

[DJ Plastik]

10 rounds on the heavy bag is great .. really good... get your self a jump rope and do like 3-5 rounds of that with no breaks.. u should shadow box for 3 rounds.. the calisthetics look good

Thanks man. So the jump rope rounds should also be 3 minutes each with 1 minute breaks? And shadow box for three rounds on top of the ten on heavy bag? Cool.

[DJ Plastik]

the 3/1 is how it is in boxing and i wouldnt reccomend changing it unless......well if you go for 4 mins then 1 min rest are you going to be trying as hard as you would be if you were going for 3 mins with 1 min rest? when you go on the bag with a 30 second rest are you going as hard as you were when you had a whole min to rest? id reccomend doing 3/1 on the bag but if you want throw in a few 30 second breaks. its still helpful raising the lactic acid threshold and improving atp re-synsythisis. it wont help you improve your technique, power, and speed if you fighting on 50% the energy you could have.

You have a point for sure. Ive been doing the 30 second rests for about a week now and have noticed myself getting a bit sloppy. I figured I would eventually work up to the point when my energy level will keep up with that amount of rest. I appreciate your help. I think I may go back to 1 minute rests with the occasional 30 second, just to keep my heart rate up for longer periods of time.

[DJ Plastik]

What are your goals? Do you want to get jacked or do you want to learn to box, or just want to be fit? If you're bodybuilding or just doing it for fitness, there's nothing wrong with what you're doing. If you've never been, go to rosstraining.com. He has some very nice articles there on what you can do for conditioning at home and how to intensify your heavy bag workouts.

About whey protein, it's not some magic powder. The best way to think of it is as a liquid steak or chicken breast (with very little fat). It's just protein in powdered form, nothing more, nothing less. If you're trying to build muscle mass, you need to a) consume a high protein diet (1-1.5g of protein per lb of bodyweight is generally recommended) and b) eat about 500-1000 calories over your maintenence calorie needs which you're going to have to experiment with yourself.

Thank you very much. I guess my goals are to keep fit and maybe get more muscular. To be honest...when I started working out I was quite over weight, so initially it was a weight loss program. Now I am getting very close to where I want to be. I need to lose a bit more body fat and gain more muscle mass. I also suffer from SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia) which is an irregular heart beat that can be quite annoying and even dangerous. I take beta blockers every day and have had a catheter ablation surgery to help correct it but it still exists. So i have to be some what careful when getting my heart rate up as high as I do while boxing. I am doing well with knowing my boundaries now which is great because in the past i could barely get off the couch without my heart acting up. The surgery helped a lot and I am now almost SVT free.

Thank you for the info regarding whey protein. I think Ill stick to my 2 shakes a day. See how that goes for now. I also do well with eating a healthy diet including lots of healthy protein and fibre with smart carbs. Thank you all for the advice. Very much appreciated.