aerobic / anaerobic?

[josh-hill]

hey guys, i was wondering if boxing is mostly aerobic or anaerobic. obviously its both and you do use alot of quick anaerobic bursts of energy, but is it mostly aerobic or anaerobic?

[Sugarj]

I've heard some coaches say its 70/30 anaerobic.

But I'm not too sure. I think certain styles favour different mixes.

I'd certainly recommend a strong aerobic base for hit and move boxers with plenty of road/track miles. I'd doubt for example that prime Muhammed Ali would have been able to dance for as many rounds as he did without the strong roadwork background that he believed in (certainly as a youngster).

Its no surprise to hear that even on the domestic scene the boxers with the 'best engines' were schoolboy cross country champions etc.

I will add though that it is not healthy for a boxer to be breathing heavy through the mouth in an aerobic sense when boxing, its one of the best ways to end up with a broken jaw!

Fast explosive combination work can really catch out those with strong aerobic bases and little anaerobic training. Mike Tyson's style certainly favoured a strong anaerobic base, he has said in recent years that he always had problems with his breathing.......so its no surprise that much of his training would be high intensity/explosive, therefore working to his strengths.

For what its worth, work on both......cover both bases well.

[New England]

hey guys, i was wondering if boxing is mostly aerobic or anaerobic. obviously its both and you do use alot of quick anaerobic bursts of energy, but is it mostly aerobic or anaerobic?

i dont know why but there was a discussion on this


its a no brainer

boxing is a largely aerobic activity

three minutes on, one off

obviously you are trying to conserve as you box(especially in a long fight,) and keep your heart rate down where you can, etc, but you are boxing for three minutes and then resting for one

that is an aerobic activity. it gets you breathing hard.


bodybuilding is an anaerobic activity
you work as hard as possible for your working sets and then you must rest and let your blood pressure go back down and let your muscles rest and let some of that blood go.
you work until you hit the wall and then you rest. and then you work until you hit the wall again. that's the nature of the beast. thats how you build that type of muscle

you dont punch like that
you dont want to be working that hard when you throw your combinations, or clinch, or whatever demands you are making of your muscles



most of the work in boxing is done with the legs, moving around the ring and maintaining balance

aerobic activity

[Sugarj]

i dont know why but there was a discussion on this


its a no brainer

boxing is a largely aerobic activity

three minutes on, one off

obviously you are trying to conserve as you box(especially in a long fight,) and keep your heart rate down where you can, etc, but you are boxing for three minutes and then resting for one

that is an aerobic activity. it gets you breathing hard.


bodybuilding is an anaerobic activity
you work as hard as possible for your working sets and then you must rest and let your blood pressure go back down and let your muscles rest and let some of that blood go.
you work until you hit the wall and then you rest. and then you work until you hit the wall again. that's the nature of the beast. thats how you build that type of muscle

you dont punch like that
you dont want to be working that hard when you throw your combinations, or clinch, or whatever demands you are making of your muscles


aerobic activity

Its not that clean cut though.

The anaerobic system is very much used by boxers when throwing explosive combinations or moving in for the kill. Also in clinches, rapidly covering the ground in the ring with footwork.

Running is largely thought of as being an aerobic activity; however sprinting, interval training, hill sprints and certain fartlek routines are very much anaerobic based.

I've known decent distance runners with excellent aerobic capacities that have really struggled with boxing training. The anaerobic mix, the stop/start/fast pace/slow pace activity of the boxing ring really does require a good development of both types of energy system.

It isn't just body building/weight training that invokes the anaerobic system.

[Danny Gunz]

Its not that clean cut though.

The anaerobic system is very much used by boxers when throwing explosive combinations or moving in for the kill. Also in clinches, rapidly covering the ground in the ring with footwork.

Running is largely thought of as being an aerobic activity; however sprinting, interval training, hill sprints and certain fartlek routines are very much anaerobic based.

I've known decent distance runners with excellent aerobic capacities that have really struggled with boxing training. The anaerobic mix, the stop/start/fast pace/slow pace activity of the boxing ring really does require a good development of both types of energy system.

It isn't just body building/weight training that invokes the anaerobic system.

This is pretty much what I was going to say

Aerobic portions of a fight are the dancing and movements around the ring. The anaerobic portions are when you are letting off combinations and punching.

There is room for training for both parts in boxing but if you are not prepared or train for both you will have a tough time with stamina.

This is a good video regarding the topic:

[New England]

Its not that clean cut though.

The anaerobic system is very much used by boxers when throwing explosive combinations or moving in for the kill. Also in clinches, rapidly covering the ground in the ring with footwork.

Running is largely thought of as being an aerobic activity; however sprinting, interval training, hill sprints and certain fartlek routines are very much anaerobic based.

I've known decent distance runners with excellent aerobic capacities that have really struggled with boxing training. The anaerobic mix, the stop/start/fast pace/slow pace activity of the boxing ring really does require a good development of both types of energy system.

It isn't just body building/weight training that invokes the anaerobic system.

there is no"anaerobic system"

aerobic and anaerobic are distinctions we make between the types of activity in human excercise

they are lines in the sand.

obviously boxing involves some anaerobic qualities. clinches would be one of them. but when you box you conserve. you dont clinch as hard as you can until you need a rest.
you clinch moderately if you can, and prolong the activity.


i never said bodybuilding is the only means of achieving anaerobic activity

i meant to infer that it was less like purely aerobic activities (running long distances, swimming, etc) than boxing is

which it is. if you dont get that you gotta get to the boxing gym and then the weight room.


lets have a look at the definitions:

aerobic activities:
prolonged levels of moderate activity

anaerobic activities :
the word literally means without oxygen
the activities are designed to tire you out quickly and require rest.

that's not boxing.

your muscles are conditioned not to fatigue in boxing.

bodybuilding // anaerobic muscles (i'm mentioning bodybuilding because it is a purely anaerobic activity and works well for the discussion.) are designed to fatigue and work to a maximum
then rest
and then go back at it

anaerobic

boxing at the very top (12 rounds, 15 and longer in the past) is an aerobic activity.
it's punctuated with furious amounts activity at times, but the boxer must continue without rest until the end of the three minutes, prolonging the activity, decreasing the level of intensity
and thus making it an aerobic activity



i understand your points, certainly, but you arent addressing the question of whether or not boxing is an aerobic activity


the duration of a boxing match is all you need to see

36 mins of activity
that is aerobic.



now... if somebody pulls a mike jones and goes all out for 1:30 seconds and gasses out then you have an anaerobic activity.

but the intention with a 12 round boxing match isnt to do that
it's to conserve energy, and create a level of activity that your conditioning can sustain.

[Danny Gunz]

"An Anaerobic Sport

A boxer must train in a sport specific manner if he wishes to be successful inside the ring. Many old-school trainers continue to preach the importance of long, early morning roadwork sessions. The great majority of boxers today still run 4 or 5 miles on a daily basis. These long aerobic running sessions do little to prepare the boxer for the physical demands he will face inside the ring.

Boxing is anaerobic in nature. The sport has been estimated as approximately 70-80% anaerobic and 20-30% aerobic. Anaerobic means to conduct an activity without oxygen. Anaerobic exercise, like boxing, stresses the muscles at a high intensity for short periods of time.

A perfect example is a fast combination that a fighter throws in the ring. The aerobic portion of the match takes place when the boxer circles the ring, perhaps catching a quick breath. Aerobic exercise is defined as low intensity activities performed for extended periods of time.

It is clear that a long slow distance (LSD) running is not a sport specific form of conditioning for boxing. A fighter must pattern his training after the physical demands of the sport. Why spend 100% of your time running in an aerobic manner when the sport is primarily anaerobic in nature? There is no answer to this question. "

A decent article I just found, heres the link: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ss11.htm

Also I hope people dont discredit it just because its on a bodybuilding site, that would be foolish.

[New England]

"An Anaerobic Sport

A boxer must train in a sport specific manner if he wishes to be successful inside the ring. Many old-school trainers continue to preach the importance of long, early morning roadwork sessions. The great majority of boxers today still run 4 or 5 miles on a daily basis. These long aerobic running sessions do little to prepare the boxer for the physical demands he will face inside the ring.

Boxing is anaerobic in nature. The sport has been estimated as approximately 70-80% anaerobic and 20-30% aerobic. Anaerobic means to conduct an activity without oxygen. Anaerobic exercise, like boxing, stresses the muscles at a high intensity for short periods of time.

A perfect example is a fast combination that a fighter throws in the ring. The aerobic portion of the match takes place when the boxer circles the ring, perhaps catching a quick breath. Aerobic exercise is defined as low intensity activities performed for extended periods of time.

It is clear that a long slow distance (LSD) running is not a sport specific form of conditioning for boxing. A fighter must pattern his training after the physical demands of the sport. Why spend 100% of your time running in an aerobic manner when the sport is primarily anaerobic in nature? There is no answer to this question. "

A decent article I just found, heres the link: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ss11.htm

Also I hope people dont discredit it just because its on a bodybuilding site, that would be foolish.

i'll discredit it becaus the guy has no idea what he's talking about.
you dont even need to get all the way through the first paragraph to figure that out.

boxing does not stress muscles at high intensity.

you are relaxed when you throw your punches, or at least you should be.
your bones and weight and your technique as you shift//move them is what's causing the impact,
not muscle contractions

running long miles conditions your legs. period.
your bones, muscles, and soft tissues need it.

look at fat solis... you think that guy;s knee would have blown out if he wasn't obese (i'd say he was no less than 25-30 lbs overweight for his fight with vitali) and had woken up at 5 each morning and ran three hard miles?

its also good for your lungs and heart, and keeps you light and lets your body know that it needs to be light.



go a year without running and get back to me about how little of an effect it has

did you really hate roadwork or something, lol?


some fighters do swim
both klitschko's swim, i belive. i'm positive wladimir swims and usually does not run on the road.
they are huge guys and cant be poundin the pavement every day

[Danny Gunz]

i'll discredit it becaus the guy has no idea what he's talking about
boxing does not stress muscles at high intensity

you are relaxed when you throw your punches, or at least you should be.
your bones and weight and your technique as you shift//move them is what's causing the impact,
not muscle contractions

running long miles conditions your legs. period.
your bones, muscles, and soft tissues need it.

its also good for your lungs and heart, and keeps you light and lets your body know that it needs to be light.



go a year without running and get back to me about how little of an effect it has

did you really hate roadwork or something, lol?

No, I dont hate roadwork haha I just do it in my own way. And ever since Ive changed the way Ive done it, it really has benefited me.

That other thread a couple weeks ago just got out of hand. Lol, I mean get a bunch of boxers into a thread and I start questioning the way they train they will get pissed off. Granted, I admit the way I was talking rubbed many people the wrong way.

[New England]

No, I dont hate roadwork haha I just do it in my own way. And ever since Ive changed the way Ive done it, it really has benefited me.

That other thread a couple weeks ago just got out of hand. Lol, I mean get a bunch of boxers into a thread and I start questioning the way they train they will get pissed off. Granted, I admit the way I was talking rubbed many people the wrong way.

you cannot argue with results. if it helps you out then it helps you out.
i'm making a result based arguement myself (boxing training is the way it is because of the results it has produced historically. and it has changed accordingly, again, based on results)


if we all agreed on everything all the time this place wouldn't be much fun.

i still owe you a green apple and will get it once i spread rep around