Struggling with press ups...

[Patty Tanager]

I've got them perfect push ups, but i find them even harder than normal push ups .

Also what is this shrug you speak of?.

[Spartacus Sully]

I've got them perfect push ups, but i find them even harder than normal push ups .

Also what is this shrug you speak of?.

hold weights in each hand and shrug.

[Sugarj]

yes i train in a gym and i dont do push ups.

i dont really do anything other light warm ups like circles and stretches for the arms and legs then shadow box hit the bag hit pads hit the bag shadow box and sit ups.

some times ill spar 2 or 3 rounds after stretching and skip the pads bag shadow at the end.

i dont really follow any gym made routine other then showing up on time for sparring as im not that bad and i seem to improve.

its not like their not helpful but pull ups and shrugs are much more helpful.

push ups can help your back strengthen your shoulders intercostals and serratus anterior and they can also occupy 20 students that also know how to squat for up to 20 mins during a training class with out the coach having to do a damn thing.

its a waste of time and a waste of energy that could be much more wisely used for pull ups and shruggs.

I wouldn't have said pullups would be any more beneficial to a boxer. I assume that you mean wide arm chinups with a bar? The bicep and lat exercise? Or the barbell upward rowing exercise.....again bicep but with delts work too?

I'd have said the triceps would be more used in straight punching. Of course the biceps act as the primary shock absorbers when landing hooks and uppercuts.

As for shrugs, nothing wrong with them, but in preference to pressups?

For boxing training I think a degree of resistance exercise for all areas of the body is beneficial. Pressups, lighter weighted lat raises (front and back), chinups, squat thrusts, rowing machines, natually abdominal work.

I'd take a fair while to map out my own training schedule, but its fair to say that I dont neglect any muscle areas in resistance training and concentrate on alot of cardio work (running/bag work/skipping/weighted speedball) alot too. Running involves alot of varied distance. I might do a max effort 800 metres one day or anything upto half marathon distance on a dry Saturday afternoon. But I'd never neglect higher rep resistance training.

Well I'm glad you're improving and trust that your training will progress well over time mate.

[Spartacus Sully]

I wouldn't have said pullups would be any more beneficial to a boxer. I assume that you mean wide arm chinups with a bar? The bicep and lat exercise? Or the barbell upward rowing exercise.....again bicep but with delts work too?

well chin ups are to the chin and work more of the biceps and they are with your palm facing yourself where pull ups are with your palms facing away but the pull up should be done more so to your waist with your body kinda parallel to the ground.

as well the pull ups should be done close grip to work the mainly the lats and not so much the teres major, and close grip to work the triceps and biceps more so equally and have a greater ROM for the whole movement.

and thats just what i do at the gym, i do a good deal at home as well.

[Sugarj]

well chin ups are to the chin and work more of the biceps and they are with your palm facing yourself where pull ups are with your palms facing away but the pull up should be done more so to your waist with your body kinda parallel to the ground.

as well the pull ups should be done close grip to work the mainly the lats and not so much the teres major, and close grip to work the triceps and biceps more so equally and have a greater ROM for the whole movement.

and thats just what i do at the gym, i do a good deal at home as well.

You are right about the palm inward chin up being a good bicep exercise. The problem with the chin up with your palms out is that in most gyms you wouldn't be able to pull up to your waist because the bar is usually attached to the wall. Surely the rowing machine is a better bet for that movement.

But I've never heard that the best way to do pullups is with a close grip. I'd have said shoulder width or a touch wider to give a better stretch to your lower lat dorsi. But remember the triceps only take a stabilising role in that exercise, it is primarily a bicep/lat exercise.

[Spartacus Sully]

You are right about the palm inward chin up being a good bicep exercise. The problem with the chin up with your palms out is that in most gyms you wouldn't be able to pull up to your waist because the bar is usually attached to the wall. Surely the rowing machine is a better bet for that movement.

But I've never heard that the best way to do pullups is with a close grip. I'd have said shoulder width or a touch wider to give a better stretch to your lower lat dorsi. But remember the triceps only take a stabilising role in that exercise, it is primarily a bicep/lat exercise.

actually the wide grip tend to build more teres major and minor which puts the mass right under your arm pit.



the close grip works the lats more which are right below the teres major also alot tighter to the body which when mass is added you keep the mass tight to the center and it dosnt effect your rotation speed.

also if you dont allready do pull ups and spend most your time punching youll notice its alot easier to do close grip then wide grip, showing that close is much more closely related to punching then wide grip.

and thats really why they dont do them at a gym, you need to do them in some kind of door way or open space and they usually dont have enough weights and variety of weights for every one to do shrugs...so they just have you do push ups.

[Sugarj]

actually the wide grip tend to build more teres major and minor which puts the mass right under your arm pit.



the close grip works the lats more which are right below the teres major also alot tighter to the body which when mass is added you keep the mass tight to the center and it dosnt effect your rotation speed.

also if you dont allready do pull ups and spend most your time punching youll notice its alot easier to do close grip then wide grip, showing that close is much more closely related to punching then wide grip.

and thats really why they dont do them at a gym, you need to do them in some kind of door way or open space and they usually dont have enough weights and variety of weights for every one to do shrugs...so they just have you do push ups.

We could go on and on but I've always found, and I believe its widely known that the wide arm chinup or lat pulldown is a superb lat exercise, possibly the best. I go on what I've read as well as with the results in my own physique and I'm talking the best part of two decades training .

The ease at which you do close grip as opposed to wide grip has nothing to do with punching or boxing, it is largely down to the development of your lat muscles (as both work the biceps and use the triceps as stabilisers) and I cant say that the close grip chinup or lat pulldown is anywhere near as effective.

But I'm delighted that you're so keen on the subject and interested in muscle groups, you'll find out what works in your own physique as you train over the months and years. But I'd read up too, a few of your theories dont seem to concur with what I've read.

All the best mate and enjoy your training.

[Spartacus Sully]

We could go on and on but I've always found, and I believe its widely known that the wide arm chinup or lat pulldown is a superb lat exercise, possibly the best. I go on what I've read as well as with the results in my own physique and I'm talking the best part of two decades training .

The ease at which you do close grip as opposed to wide grip has nothing to do with punching or boxing, it is largely down to the development of your lat muscles (as both work the biceps and use the triceps as stabilisers) and I cant say that the close grip chinup or lat pulldown is anywhere near as effective.

But I'm delighted that you're so keen on the subject and interested in muscle groups, you'll find out what works in your own physique as you train over the months and years. But I'd read up too, a few of your theories dont seem to concur with what I've read.

All the best mate and enjoy your training.

sorry i only got 9 years training under my belt 2 years of which were doing gymnastics.....

a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, even if that link is a stabalizer its still going to be the weakest link and the point that is taking the most stress.

if all you do is work the first 10 degrees range of motion because your doing wide your gonna get a back like this:



or you can go close grip and get a back like this:

[Sugarj]

sorry i only got 9 years training under my belt 2 years of which were doing gymnastics.....

a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, even if that link is a stabalizer its still going to be the weakest link and the point that is taking the most stress.

if all you do is work the first 10 degrees range of motion because your doing wide your gonna get a back like this:



or you can go close grip and get a back like this:

Hee hee, I'd say my back looks more like the bottom picture and with the rarest of exceptions I've only ever done wide grip lat pulldowns or wide grip pullups........

It'd take some serious lifting to get like the guy from the top pic, wide arm chinups wont give you anything like that sort of muscular development without having serious weights strapped to you. That coupled with every borderline legal suppliment, a crackers diet and possibly some steroid abuse too. Ha ha

[Jack3d]

People with long limbs will always have a harder time doing pressing movements, that's just the way it is. Your longer limbs create a longer Range of Motion.

If you want to get better at push ups, the easiest solution is to just do more push ups.

press ups are mostly useless(for boxing). they improve your serratus anterior some shoulders a little back and intercostals while they add mass to your chest and biceps. for boxing youd be better off with shrugs and pull ups.

look at it like this, the amount of mass you need to add to your chest and biceps to be good at push ups will take away from your speed.

Tell me how are pull ups and shrugs more beneficial that push up to a boxer?

Push Ups also, require core stabilization while performing it, and there is certainly no harm in strengthening your core.

Boxers need to start doing Olympic and Powerlifts.