The big abs debate...

[Sugarj]

And I'd agree with this sort of abdominal training Skilledb.

Any boxer knows that in absorbing body blows you do need to tense your muscles to help absorb the blow. Somebody that has not done any endurance type of abdominal exercise certainly will feel the effects of body blows later into a fight.

There is a reason why boxers are trained to do high reps of abdominal exercises. For many it is an aerobic cardio exercise. You are being trained to tense abdominal muscles for when you are in a boxing match and possibly tired and short of breath.

A low rep to failure, high resistance body builder type of training is not ideal abdominal training for a boxer.

[lefthook_86]

This is absolute bull****. It's a common training myth and has absolutely no basis in reality. None.

None.

I swear to Christ, asking for physiology advice on this board is like going onto a quilting forum and asking how to win a knife fight.

Training methods have nothing to do with muscle gain. Train to failure -- either high reps low weight, or low reps high weight, doesn't matter -- and eat. Period.

High-intensity training causes microscopic tears in the muscle, it doesn't matter how it happens. When those tears heal, they heal thicker with proper nutrition. Eventually you gain muscle size. If you don't eat enough, you will lose muscle tissue through the catabolic process.

That's all there is to it.

There is no "thickening" or "hardening" of the muscles from one type of exercise versus another. The apparent density of a muscle (in a living person) is a product of water and glycogen present in the muscle tissue. It's why bodybuilders carb-load before a show and why creatine makes you look pumped. (And why any boxer whose head isn't up his ass should carb-load, as well; you want your muscles to have peak energy storage and mass -- hence leverage -- before a fight.) But I digress. Again.

can i have *** with u?? smart people turn me on

[DeadlyWeapon]

Nutrition degrees aren't worth ****. Science changes it's views on nutrition all the time.

Then I guess medical degrees aren't worth **** either... that field of study changes constantly.

That's different. Medicine advances, so called nutrition experts just flip flop between one theory and another. Some blame the current obesity epidemic on the nutritional science/teaching of the 80's & 90's.

[Spartacus Sully]

yes i would consider medical degrees to be worth **** as well. all a medical degree means is that you got another 15 years before you become a doctor.

15 years of experience and learning.

[TheNegation]

That's different. Medicine advances, so called nutrition experts just flip flop between one theory and another. Some blame the current obesity epidemic on the nutritional science/teaching of the 80's & 90's.

You and I both know that obesity is a matter of laziness, not ignorant teaching.

[RayDiggle]

That's different. Medicine advances, so called nutrition experts just flip flop between one theory and another. Some blame the current obesity epidemic on the nutritional science/teaching of the 80's & 90's.

Obesity is because of the proliferation of McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell, Burger King, and all the other garbage fast foods out there. That and because today's generations are complacent and lazy (this is coming from a 17 year old). Not because of nutritional science or teachings.

[Danny Gunz]

I dont know what to think for abs.

Personally i do 5 sets of 15 with weights on incline crunches. I figure abs are the same thing as any other muscle and if i wanted my arms to get stronger i wouldnt do 200 curls of 5 pounds, so why would i do that with abs. But i could be wrong its just my opinion with it and its somewhat worked so far

[Danny Gunz]

You would not believe the load of bull**** I've seen on this site over the years. And it never gets better. There are like six guys on here -- maybe four, now -- who understand training science and modern exercise theory.

There was one thread on here where a guy was asking for advice because he was getting a cramp in his side when running. Some assmonkey told him, and I quote:

"Digging your fingers into the muscle will pop the bubbles and make it go away."

Just FYI, I have an NSCA-CPT and I'm a former bodybuilder. I used to box, briefly coached, and then quit coaching because the head coach knew f-ck all about physiology. He wouldn't let the kids drink water during a 90-minute workout because "water makes you weak and fat," and didn't want them to stretch because, and I quote, "Stretching makes your muscles flabby. You need to stay tight and hard, so those punches bounce off." These kids were getting muscle spasms and headaches from dehydration and he was telling them to work through it, to toughen up.

I **** you not.

When I pulled him aside and asked him WTF, he started yelling at me, saying things like, "You think you know everything 'cuz you've been to college and studied all that stuff."

Well, *******, it sure helps.

So I quit coaching and now I'm back to boxing. Well, I was back to boxing. I joined the Army Reserve last year and I'm shipping out in a couple of weeks.

Boxers are, as a group, the most willfully ignorant, clueless bunch of morons I've ever witnessed when it comes to nutrition and physiology, and especially about modern training concepts. At my first gym guys were arguing over water vs. Gatorade, and whether or not protein worked. (You'll still see posts on this board about "Does Protein Work?" "Is Creatine Good?" "Are Pushups Good for Boxing?")

I know fencers who know more about training than most boxers.

I do believe that a young boxer who takes advantage of modern exercise science -- who throws off the shackles of steak and potatoes and jump rope -- will dominate this sport and bring it back from the edge of extinction. I really do. I wish I'd found this sport twenty years ago.

Since I'm leaving, I leave you with this thought: As long as boxers and trainers want to pretend they're still living in the glory days of the past, the sport is going to remain there: in the past.

Amen man, you have no idea how many people i have had to fight off just by suggesting supplements and that weight lifting helps in boxing. I dont understand the ignorance of some of the people

[Spartacus Sully]

I dont know what to think for abs.

Personally i do 5 sets of 15 with weights on incline crunches. I figure abs are the same thing as any other muscle and if i wanted my arms to get stronger i wouldnt do 200 curls of 5 pounds, so why would i do that with abs. But i could be wrong its just my opinion with it and its somewhat worked so far

though if you did your 200 curls in like 5 sets of 40 at 20-40% your 1 rep max then finshed them up with like 3 1 rep max curls you would be building speed, endurance, strength, and explosive strength instead of just strength.

granted you wont gain strength as quickly but the increases in endurance and speed with out increases in size make up for it.

[Johnni G]

That many reps won't give any mass, just endurance