When did boxers start using weights?

[Ray Corso]

Not much weight lifting up at Cus's gym. alot of chins and incline board work though! Working the mids off the ring aproon and that aproach to strength developement.

Tyson wasn't in the gym at 12 he was a chubby kid and never was 6 foot tall unless he was on a ladder! At 12 he was stealing purses and acting out like a fool! He got to Cus's just as he turned 14 if I remember right. he was a ward of the state of New York remanded into Cus D'Amato's care!
Once he got his ears boxed in he became a pretty humble kid, thats the Tyson I remember when he started. A far cry from what the fans know! Ray

[Suckmedry]

Boxers have always used weights and resistance training like Ray corso said, they used things like wood chopping, sledgehammer, weighted chin up and dips etc

A lot of old school guys just dont like modern lifting weights because of the misconception that its going to make you big and slow. It wont as long as you are doing it with the proper sets and reps for building strength, not muscle mass. Lifting weights properly is good for a boxer, however that said its should never overshadow the basics like sparring, bag work, pad work, shadowboxing, skipping etc. That is the training that makes a fighter.

[RiC-DiC]

i'd say power is based off technique more than anything, just cause youre big doesnt mean you're gonna have a hard punch but of course it is relative to size as well, so maybe boxers back in the day had better technique when they punched. As for when boxers started using weights im not really sure. my coach always told me to stay away from heavy weight exercises because it tightens your muscles making it more difficult to throw effective punches. But i have heard some weight exercises can help with power such as deadlifts and squats and other "power exercises"

^ this 100%

[mconstantine]

Lifting weights for boxers is fine. The key is how you lift weights.

Don't
- Lift very heavy weights
- Do isolated muscle weight lifting exercises

Do
- Lighter weights, more reps and explode with the movements to develop fast twitch muscles
- Do weight exercises that incorporate muscle groups, not isolated muscles. This should help avoid getting bulky, rippled muscles
- Incorporate loosening exercises in between sets of weight lifting so your muscles do not tighten up. Shadowboxing, jumping jacks, running in place etc. Tight muscles = slow punches = less power

[#1Assassin]

Lifting weights for boxers is fine. The key is how you lift weights.

Don't
- Lift very heavy weights
- Do isolated muscle weight lifting exercises

Do
- Lighter weights, more reps and explode with the movements to develop fast twitch muscles
- Do weight exercises that incorporate muscle groups, not isolated muscles. This should help avoid getting bulky, rippled muscles
- Incorporate loosening exercises in between sets of weight lifting so your muscles do not tighten up. Shadowboxing, jumping jacks, running in place etc. Tight muscles = slow punches = less power

good post. i might add even following these excellent instructions you shouldnt lift too often, twice a week at most.

you should spend more time swimming/running/biking to develop stamina, in the boxing gym working on speed and skills or at home on the couch studying fight film.

strength is obviously beneficial to a fighter but there are better ways to spend your time. besides you get stronger working in the boxing gym too.

too much strength work is detrimental as well. there is no easier opponent than some big, muscle bound bum who spent all his time getting big and forgot to learn how to fight. these days there are usually one or two in every boxing gym.

[mconstantine]

good post. i might add even following these excellent instructions you shouldnt lift too often, twice a week at most.

you should spend more time swimming/running/biking to develop stamina, in the boxing gym working on speed and skills or at home on the couch studying fight film.

strength is obviously beneficial to a fighter but there are better ways to spend your time. besides you get stronger working in the boxing gym too.

too much strength work is detrimental as well. there is no easier opponent than some big, muscle bound bum who spent all his time getting big and forgot to learn how to fight. these days there are usually one or two in every boxing gym.

So true. Definitely agree with not doing it often. I like to lift full body once per week. It makes me feel stronger and faster...I feel like anymore would definitely be detrimental and takes away from skill work.

I always shake my head when people who know nothing about fighting/boxing say "look at that guy, he's huge, I bet he could whoop some a$$" I'm like that's easy work for almost any decent skilled fighter with some rhythm and footwork.

[ShoulderRoll]

Boxers have always used weights and resistance training like Ray corso said, they used things like wood chopping, sledgehammer, weighted chin up and dips etc

That's true, this is the way they have traditionally trained. But it's a very different approach from the popular weight lifting methods where people do bench presses and biceps curls and the pec deck and all that.

[TheNegation]

Lifting weights for boxers is fine. The key is how you lift weights.

Don't
- Lift very heavy weights
- Do isolated muscle weight lifting exercises

Do
- Lighter weights, more reps and explode with the movements to develop fast twitch muscles

Actually you have it backwards. Fast Twitch muscle fibers and power is developed by moving large amounts of weight in an explosive manner.

Yes isometrics for the most part are usless, but heavy compound lifts and olympic lifts for doubles, triples and occasionally fives. Is ideal for building power.

Do weight exercises that incorporate muscle groups, not isolated muscles. This should help avoid getting bulky, rippled muscles
- Incorporate loosening exercises in between sets of weight lifting so your muscles do not tighten up. Shadowboxing, jumping jacks, running in place etc. Tight muscles = slow punches = less power

Or you could just stretch..... Your muscle typically won't be tightening up unless your are either doing a lot of reps or isometrics or combination of both. This includes lifting light weight for tons of reps. Building power is not about getting a pump and it you don't get pumps doing sets of 2's and 3's.

Being bulky is a byproduct of what you put in your mouth, not necessarily what you are doing in the gym.

My coach always told me to stay away from heavy weight exercises because it tightens your muscles making it more difficult to throw effective punches.

Is this your boxing coach or a strength coach? Because I can tell you right now, that is load of bullshyt.

I don't think you can look like Tyson and NOT lift weight. That would be extremely freaky.

That's not necessarily true. Different people respond differently to different types of training. Genetics needs to be taken into account. Tyson could very well have built himself without touching weights, he may just be genetically gifted like that. Not everyone is. Otherwise everyone follow the same protocol and see the same result. So I can see why one would believe this. I guess we won't really know.

[mconstantine]

Actually you have it backwards. Fast Twitch muscle fibers and power is developed by moving large amounts of weight in an explosive manner.

This makes no sense. By the shear nature of lifting heavier weights, you CAN'T explode with them. When you lift heavier weights, you're forced to PUSH the weight more than SNAP/EXPLODE with it. What I consider heavier weights would be a weight where you can't do more than 8-10 reps at a time. Heavier weights + lower reps = Mass (which is not what you want as a boxer). Lifting with lighter weights, using more explosive motion and higher reps also help build muscle endurance which is 10x more valuable than muscle mass for a boxer.

Or you could just stretch..... Your muscle typically won't be tightening up unless your are either doing a lot of reps or isometrics or combination of both. This includes lifting light weight for tons of reps. Building power is not about getting a pump and it you don't get pumps doing sets of 2's and 3's.

Being bulky is a byproduct of what you put in your mouth, not necessarily what you are doing in the gym.

Yes, stretching works too. Being bulky definitely is a component of what you eat and the way you lift. Yea bodybuilders consume massive amounts of protein and have very strict diets but they are also HUGE on isolation exercises to develop each individual muscle for maximum definition. That promotes chunkier/bulkier muscles which does nothing for boxers.

[TheNegation]

This makes no sense. By the shear nature of lifting heavier weights, you CAN'T explode with them. When you lift heavier weights, you're forced to PUSH the weight more than SNAP/EXPLODE with it.

HUH? I'm sorry but you're the one not making any sense. Moving ***** weights for tons of reps is not going to make you explosive or powerful.

Olympic Lifters are some of the most explosive athletes on earth, you won't see them Squatting with light weights.

Moving heavy weights in an explosive manner (2-5) is what recruits Fast Twitch muscle fibers and is what develops power and makes you explosive.

Go do some research before you try to give advice. (westside conjugate method, stronglifts, Defranco's training etc)

Here is a snip from Rosstraining.com. A popular source of advice around here

To understand the relevance of maximal strength training, it is important to first understand how the body functions. Once you understand the body, there is no dis*****g the relevance of maximal strength training.

For starters, muscle fibers are grouped into motor units. A motor unit contains hundreds of muscle fibers and one nerve, which delivers a signal to the muscle fibers. All of the muscle fibers contained within the motor unit are of the same type (fast twitch or slow twitch). When a signal is passed for the motor unit to contract, all of the fibers within that motor unit will contract.

When training for power development, we must target the fast twitch muscle fibers. Unfortunately, not all motor units are activated at once. Low intensity exercise does not activate the fast twitch muscle fibers. If the exercise does not stimulate a fast twitch motor unit, the muscle fibers contained within the unit will not adapt to the training. Essentially, if the motor unit is not recruited, no response occurs.

Thus, if you only lift very light loads, you will not adequately target the fast twitch muscle fibers. When lifting heavy loads (training maximal strength), a high percentage of motor units are activated. During such intense loads, fast twitch motor units are recruited. For this reason, maximal strength training is considered the superior method for improving both intramuscular and intermuscular coordination.

What I consider heavier weights would be a weight where you can't do more than 8-10 reps at a time. Heavier weights + lower reps = Mass

Wrong. This common bullshyt that noobs spit when they first discover weightlifting.