WEIGHTS HELP: Strength Training Program

[The Golden Boy]

Hi guys,

just looking for a little help with my weights program. in the interest of keeping this simple to follow i will break it down.

CURRENT SITUATION: I weight 185 and fight at 178. i would like to increase my strength as much as possible without putting on any more weight or size.

IDEAL RESULT: Increase strength without putting on size so i can comfortably make 178 by fight time.

WHAT I AM DOING AT THE MOMENT: currently i am pushing weights about as heavy as i can in the 3-4 set 5-8 rep range. i do one main exercise for each body part back to back but not in a super set, just 1 set of each rotating. reason i do this is i want to have a longer rest perios between each one becase i dont want to put on size, just increase my strength. i am doing a 2 day split as follows:

Day 1 - Chest and Legs

- Bench Press
- Leg press (cant do squats as i have had shoulder surgery and dont have the flexability to hold the bar behind my head)

Day 2 - Shoulders and Back

D/B push press
Deadlift

i also do some exercises to compliment these ie. db jump squats, bb shoulder thrust, some arm work, pull ups etc but what is listed above is my main power stuff

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW:

1. what is the ideal set/rep range to build strength and not size?
2. is what i have listed above condusive to reaching my goals? if not what would you suggest i add, remove, change?

Thanks in advance for your help and please let me know if you would like more information

[kbpoetree]

well first off the heavy lifting has to go....heavy lifting is what gains size...cut down ur weight and increase your reps and number of sets...do explosion lifts such as w benching...start slowly going down to ur chest..once it touches...shoot it up then repeat...also switch it go down fast and slowly go up...do light weight i promise this will hurt after only a few if its not somethan your used to...key is to stretch...stretch like crazy keep flexible as weights without stretching will decrease your range...and one more thing...do lunges and frog leaps if you know what those are

[kbpoetree]

remember one more thing most people dont know or realize...the more your legs grow the more your body grows....lots of guys who quit gainin size if you look at em they look like a lightbulb big upper and no lower lol...not sayen quit w the leg workouts leg workout is key but tone down the weight you do your presses...you should b doin bout 4-5 sets of 15-20 reps

[hateinyaeyes32]

^^^ This.....

BUT, I think your asking this to gain more "power"... Do a bunch of bodyweight excersises, ive given this advice millions of times on here, pushups, pullups, chinups, dips, situps, ect. with and without weights.... Do lots of these, and I mean lots as in you cannot possibly do one more repitition... If you do that, you should not have many problems with your power... If you have the technique down, you should be absolutely fine combining that with those workouts... Your punches will hurt, if thats what youre trying to do...

[stefl14]

To start with, it is a common myth that heavy lifting causes weight gain and a loss of speed. The main contributing factor in weight gain is nutritional intake. If you don't eat, you won't gain weight, simple as that.

Bulky muscles are not necessarily a sign that someone is strong. Consider olympic weight lifters who must compete within weight classes. They are able to gain strength without gaining weight. In order to do this an athelete must target the nervous system.

To do this they must lift heavy to overload their muscles. To gain strength without gaining size atheletes should work within the 1-5 repetition range at 80-100% of their 1 repetition maximum. This means that you should be able to do no more than 5 repetitions with the weight you are using. A typical set for maximum strength would be 3 repetitions at 95% of your 1 repetition maximum. This targets neuromuscular strengh and does not cause hypertrophy (muscle gain). After doing each set a long rest period is required (more than 2 minutes) to allow for full recovery if you are targeting neuromuscular strength. For this reason it is a good idea to alternate the body parts you train using this method rather than waiting 2-3 minutes between sets. Then you can go back to the original body part later.

With this in mind. Maximum strength can be beneficial to a boxer but it is definately not their only need. Boxers should work on muscular endurance and explosive strength too. To develop muscular endurance free weights and/or bodyweight excercises can be used at a lighter weight (not too light!!) but a higher repetition range and shorter rest intervals between sets.
Explosive strength is perhaps one of the most important strengths for a boxer to posess. To develop this we can use plyometric excercises such as clap press ups as the resistance involved is not too heavy/too light but the muscular contraction is fast which helps to develop explosive strength.

Hope this helps

Stef.L

[Dirt]

well first off the heavy lifting has to go....heavy lifting is what gains size...cut down ur weight and increase your reps and number of sets...do explosion lifts such as w benching

dont agree.

heavy weights with low reps (3-6 reps) helps build strength.
8-12 range is for hypertrophy (building muscle)
15+ reps increases endurance.

you can gain strength without gaining size and you can gain size without really getting stronger. they are not directly correlated.

overall strength, you should do the compound workouts like bench, squats, deadlifts and bent over rows. but for boxing, you should also do sport specific exercises that will help with explosiveness.

In one of Ross Emanait's book, he says dumbbell snatches,swings and clean and press can help with power and explosiveness.

[Righthandbanger]

only stefl14 and dirt seem to have a clue here.

follow http://www.stronglifts.com and you will get stronger without gaining weight.. as long as you dont overeat your muscles will stay the same size

..I'm gna keep posting this ****ing link until people start to realise that without a proper program, most of the stuff you're doing in the gym aint worth a light

[hateinyaeyes32]

only stefl14 and dirt seem to have a clue here.

follow http://www.stronglifts.com and you will get stronger without gaining weight.. as long as you dont overeat your muscles will stay the same size

..I'm gna keep posting this ****ing link until people start to realise that without a proper program, most of the stuff you're doing in the gym aint worth a light

Just because a program works for some doesnt mean it will work with others... I definitely know what im talkin about when it comes to the weights buddy, believe me... I just dont feel like going into a long post elaborating about it.... You keep posting a link that noone else follows isnt doing anyone any good

[them_apples]

well first off the heavy lifting has to go....heavy lifting is what gains size...cut down ur weight and increase your reps and number of sets...do explosion lifts such as w benching...start slowly going down to ur chest..once it touches...shoot it up then repeat...also switch it go down fast and slowly go up...do light weight i promise this will hurt after only a few if its not somethan your used to...key is to stretch...stretch like crazy keep flexible as weights without stretching will decrease your range...and one more thing...do lunges and frog leaps if you know what those are

hes only going to get bigger if his diet increases or if he's already eating a lot.

I see some guys lifting heavy but then guys like Pacquiao and Mayweather seem to be using lighter weights.

[Dirt]

Just because a program works for some doesnt mean it will work with others... I definitely know what im talkin about when it comes to the weights buddy, believe me... I just dont feel like going into a long post elaborating about it.... You keep posting a link that noone else follows isnt doing anyone any good

very true. but power is usually gained through heavy lifting with low reps, certain bodyweight exercises that invlove explosive movements, and a few others.

BUT one this that doesn't increase power, is low weights high reps. thats for muscular endurance.