Question. Weight Lifting and Cardio Advice

[C.Anthony1190]

Hey wsup everyone.
Have a question about weightlifting for boxers. Googled and found a bunch of mixed results and searched the forum but couldnt come up with a solid answer.

Im currently not doing training at a boxing gym yet, until middle of next month. Im currently at ballys fitness so they have the equipment im just trying to get myself ready for the work.

The programs that people suggested for boxers were SS and WS4SB, but i know its not limited to that.

-SS seems like its too low of a rep range? think it was 3x5
-WS4SB has more play in it with different rep ranges and weight % but not sure how to adjust it for boxing. when i used it, i was focusing on football.
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My question is how should i set up my weight lifting routine for boxing? ex. one day upper body another lower (Rep Range) etc.. I know a bodybuilding routine is not what i want to do but only seem to find those on the internet.

And how much cardio should i perform a day to take my conditioning to a great level. (Not doing any bag work, or anything yet) Just road work. 5 miles? 6 Miles? HIIT?

One thing that was brought up in many post is to lift explosivley which sounds good i heard about it before. Some people say lifting is detrimental to boxing but if it can be used in other sports and athletes are still fast as ever i dont think it would hurt.

Thanks for the read. ANY help or advice is appreciated.

[C.Anthony1190]

Ive been doing more reading and looks like lifting heavy weights with low reps is good idea because it builds strength.

But still having trouble figuring out what excercises would be best suited for boxing and would show in the ring. Maybe Olympic type lifts?

[Spartacus Sully]

Ive been doing more reading and looks like lifting heavy weights with low reps is good idea because it builds strength.

But still having trouble figuring out what excercises would be best suited for boxing and would show in the ring. Maybe Olympic type lifts?

do push ups jump squats and pull ups(wide and close grip).

a wide range of sit ups like leg raises planks v sits jack knifes obleaques and full hands over your head to touching your toes type sit ups.

do a mix of hiit, sprints, and long distance jogs.

In my opinion as far as weights its something like this:


100% 1 rep max 3 sets 1 rep = explosive strength with minimal hypertrophy

85-95% 1 rep max 3 sets of 3 reps = maximal strength and explosive strength with slight hypertrophy

70-85% 1 rep max 3-5 sets of 5 reps = maximal strength and explosive strength with slight hypertrophy

50-70% 1 rep max 3 sets 8-12 reps = maximal hypertrophy with slight maximal strength

40-60% 1 rep max 3 sets 12-20 reps = stamina/endurance with decent hypertrophy

20-40% 1 rep max 4-6 sets 20-40 reps done at a relaxed pace ensureing full sets and reps = stamina/endurance with slight hypertrophy

15-30% 1 rep max 3-5 sets 30-50 reps as fast as possible (1 sec per movement) = speed strength slight endurance and minimal hypertrophy.

for the heavier lifts you want more time between sets to recover for the lighter lifts focusing on stamina and speed you want less time between sets to recover.

[C.Anthony1190]

Thanks for the info!!

Been searching through the forums found a lot of good post from you and punchdrunk to name a couple

For Cardio i think just pushing myself everyday is gonna get it done. Going a little faster and a little farther each time.

[Spartacus Sully]

Thanks for the info!!

Been searching through the forums found a lot of good post from you and punchdrunk to name a couple

For Cardio i think just pushing myself everyday is gonna get it done. Going a little faster and a little farther each time.

you do long distance to work on breathing not cardio. when you exhale and inhale you only exchange a portion of your full lung capacity while the rest remains as a resivior for your lungs whiel you breath in and out. if your breathing isnt stable like exhaling to much at once or not inhaling enough at a time or even if your stressed and not breathing properly your resivior is unstable and you can easily find your self out of breath because your not refreshing that resvioror properly and your cardio can suffer greatly.

but at the same time sprinting intervals or hiit is pretty good for cardio

so you shoudl really mix it up and do a combination of both long distance where your really only working your legs and your able to concentrate on breathing properly like jogging walking or biking and you should also do sprinting or hiit to improve you cardio for the anaerobic portions of boxing.


get it? dont jsut work on running fruther and fruther, some days do a few 3 min sprints and some days do an hour long jog.

[Jack3d]

WS4SB is a good program but I wouldn't recommend it for a boxer.

Starting Strength is a program to basically build a base of strength and power and learn how to do the lifts properly. It's an excellent program.

Bill Starr 5x5 is also an excellent program.

Weight training should take a back seat to skills training, always. But these types of routine will build power and strength. Which will be beneficial to a boxer or combat athlete. I wouldn't worry too much about gaining a lot of weight. In combination with how intense your boxing training is and if you keep your diet in check, you should be able to keep your weight down.

[MePunchHard]

you do long distance to work on breathing not cardio. when you exhale and inhale you only exchange a portion of your full lung capacity while the rest remains as a resivior for your lungs whiel you breath in and out. if your breathing isnt stable like exhaling to much at once or not inhaling enough at a time or even if your stressed and not breathing properly your resivior is unstable and you can easily find your self out of breath because your not refreshing that resvioror properly and your cardio can suffer greatly.

What is this I don't even?

[Jack3d]

What is this I don't even?

You'll learn to not question him or debate and just lol at his posts. They really are quite comical

[Spartacus Sully]

What is this I don't even?

you have a reservoir of air in your lungs like when your normally breathing you dont exchange nearly as much air as if you were to force the air out of your lungs and take a deep breath. this reservoir of air stays in your lungs to allow a constant supply of oxygen to your lungs. this reservoir of air can go stale, to much co2 not enough oxygen so you take a deep breath to refresh, but everything up to that point of staleness your lungs and body arnt functioning nearly as well as it could be with a higher amount of oxygen in your blood.

things like biking and jogging allow you to just sit there and concentrate on breathing, relaxed calm breathing while properly circulating the air in the lungs. they of course have other advantages like biking or jogging long distances dont make your shoulders sore and it increases leg endurance and its not incredibly taxing that you still cant train on the same day and it probly does even help the cardio system but my point is thats not the only reason and saying that sprinting is better for cardio then road work is a weak excuse for not doing road work.

[C.Anthony1190]

you do long distance to work on breathing not cardio. when you exhale and inhale you only exchange a portion of your full lung capacity while the rest remains as a resivior for your lungs whiel you breath in and out. if your breathing isnt stable like exhaling to much at once or not inhaling enough at a time or even if your stressed and not breathing properly your resivior is unstable and you can easily find your self out of breath because your not refreshing that resvioror properly and your cardio can suffer greatly.

but at the same time sprinting intervals or hiit is pretty good for cardio

so you shoudl really mix it up and do a combination of both long distance where your really only working your legs and your able to concentrate on breathing properly like jogging walking or biking and you should also do sprinting or hiit to improve you cardio for the anaerobic portions of boxing.


get it? dont jsut work on running fruther and fruther, some days do a few 3 min sprints and some days do an hour long jog.

Yeah today i only got to lift and run 3 miles before i had to work. But i understand what your saying. Long distance with controlled breathing and same with hiit. Im definately going to switch the type cardio to keep my body from getting used to the same thing.