What are the top

[Redd Foxx]

Technique. Boxing strength is not about muscle. I'll repeat, NOT about muscle. Work on your form and you'll get power, speed, and accuracy.

[Facade]

I have very good technique and angles but don't hit as hard as I should. I can barely do 20 press ups so I guess it's probably due to that

I was under estimating. I can do 50 full ones straight but I don't do it regularly. My conditioning is great I work hard but I just don't do the strength training as much and that's what I maybe need to do. I am striving hence why I'm asking what the best ones are.

You assume that you not hitting hard is due to a strength problem. You base this on the fact that you cannot do more than 20/50 push ups. However, being able to do more than 20/50 push ups has nothing to do with strength. It has to do with muscle endurance. To give a simple example: who do you think is stronger? The guy that can lift 100 kg 4 times, or the guy that can lift 10 kg 100 times? The answer is obvious of course. Not to say that there is no place for doing more reps in boxing. However, you should know what you are actually trying to achieve. You do not build strength by doing 100 push ups in stead of 50. After all, the resistance stays the same...

The only way to increase strength or muscle is to progressively increase the resistance. You can also increase the duration, by increasing your reps for example, but this only works up to a certain point after which all you will be training is endurance. Furthermore, this kind of progressive overload (8-15 reps) is mostly done to achieve hypertrophy which is something most athletes try to avoid. So, if you want to just increase strength you can do very low rep exercises with progressively increased resistance.

Keep in mind however that increasing your strength will not automatically increase the power of your punches. If your technique is faulty, then no amount of resistance training will help you. If I were you I'd start there.

[ShoulderRoll]

You do not build strength by doing 100 push ups in stead of 50. After all, the resistance stays the same...

Resistance stays the same but time under tension goes up.

Pushups are a time tested way to get stronger for boxing. They work.

[Facade]

There is a limit to that logic. You cannot increase time under tension indefinitely to build strength. There is a point where there are no more strength gains to be made by just increasing the time under tension.

Calisthenics are a form of resistance training as well. So yeah push ups can help build basic strength. The only difference is that your body provides the resistance. In stead of improving the sheer volume of the exercise, there is a point after which it is smart to make the exercise itself harder, if you want to build strength. I think it is safe to say that this point has been fully reached once you can do 50 push ups. This does not mean you have to abandon the push up altogether. There are progressions of the exercise that make it harder to do. You can repeat the process again then. Work your way up and then switch to a harder variant again... etc. etc.

[Syf]

Did you even read what I said or are you just ignoring it on purpose? Med-low weight and high rep doesn't build much in muscle mass, it improves more so in strength and conditioning. Doing what you are saying limits you. You are clearly stuck in the '60s or something. You can lift weights and not lose any speed. You can gain it if you lift explosively. As stated, if you focus on weights and not your boxing training, then you start to have issues, but not as a supplementary workout.

The fighters you listed had power yes, but the reason they looked so powerful is their timing and accuracy. Power is only 1/3rd the equation of a KO punch. There's a reason so many KOs look like they come off a light punch.

I read what you say, just don't agree. "Med-low weight and high rep" sounds like a pushup to me. Lol. Seriously though.. at 180... me doing 100 pushups str8. And 20 pull ups str8, and 21/2 to 3 hours on the heavy bag every other day or so, plus running.. is a perfectly fine regime and yields a more FUNCTIONAL muscle to the purpose of power delivery. I'm not convinced about your body weight is only for endurance claims at all. Throwing 180 on a pull up bar with good form about 22 times in a row or so takes a **** ton of strength!

As to your "point". Timing and accuracy was a component in those fighters, but they got by just fine without putting on excessive muscle mass. Your turn to ignore a point i guess. They had more natural muscle memory in which to deliver their power. Its about fluidity and grace amidst all of the destruction. Too often, you see guys that stack muscle but have **** power. The reason is their form has been undermined by the very thing they are undertaking to try to augment their power. They should just be concentrated on the fundamentals.

Experiment with weights if you must, but understand that's less time working on your form. You're on the weight bench.. I'm on the heavy bag!

[ShoulderRoll]

There is a limit to that logic. You cannot increase time under tension indefinitely to build strength. There is a point where there are no more strength gains to be made by just increasing the time under tension.

Realistically there will be a limit to how much you can increase poundages for weight lifting too. No one can keep adding weight to the bar indefinitely.

Personally I don't like how my joints feel or how my fluidity in the ring suffers when lifting weights. That's not to say that others won't get good results from it, but for me calisthenics just feel better and they get me plenty strong for my sport.

That plus working on the bags, doing mitts, and sparring is pretty much all I need.

[Facade]

Realistically there will be a limit to how much you can increase poundages for weight lifting too. No one can keep adding weight to the bar indefinitely.

Personally I don't like how my joints feel or how my fluidity in the ring suffers when lifting weights. That's not to say that others won't get good results from it, but for me calisthenics just feel better and they get me plenty strong for my sport.

That plus working on the bags, doing mitts, and sparring is pretty much all I need.

There is a limit indeed, but that limit has more to do with someones own capabilities than the effect of the addition of weight itself. As long as you are able to, more weight will have positive effects.

As for the rest, I get your point and in the context of boxing there is certainly something to be said for what you are saying. Even though I believe there are better ways to produce raw strength, I have reservations about the usefulness of that strength in the context of boxing.

[PitbullParsons]

I read what you say, just don't agree. "Med-low weight and high rep" sounds like a pushup to me. Lol. Seriously though.. at 180... me doing 100 pushups str8. And 20 pull ups str8, and 21/2 to 3 hours on the heavy bag every other day or so, plus running.. is a perfectly fine regime and yields a more FUNCTIONAL muscle to the purpose of power delivery. I'm not convinced about your body weight is only for endurance claims at all. Throwing 180 on a pull up bar with good form about 22 times in a row or so takes a **** ton of strength!

As to your "point". Timing and accuracy was a component in those fighters, but they got by just fine without putting on excessive muscle mass. Your turn to ignore a point i guess. They had more natural muscle memory in which to deliver their power. Its about fluidity and grace amidst all of the destruction. Too often, you see guys that stack muscle but have **** power. The reason is their form has been undermined by the very thing they are undertaking to try to augment their power. They should just be concentrated on the fundamentals.

Experiment with weights if you must, but understand that's less time working on your form. You're on the weight bench.. I'm on the heavy bag!

You are completely missing what I am saying. You can build strength with your body weight, yes HOWEVER you are limited. If you are doing 100 push ups, you aren't gaining any strength, you are gaining muscle endurance. If you are doing high reps on body weight then you are no longer gaining strength, only muscle endurance.

Let me put it this way, if say you bench press 200lbs max but when you are working out you do 130lbs for the rest of your life, it's not going to increase your strength. If you go up to 200lbs and work on it so you can lift it over and over, your max will increase we'll say to 240lbs when you are doing it over and over. You won't get any stronger than that though unless you add more weight. This is the same principle with using body weight. Yes, you get stronger but only until you plateau at the point of your body weight. Unless you add weight, you won't be increasing strength, only endurance.

You keep going on about muscle mass. I'm not talking about muscle mass, you are. I'm talking about strength. Lifting weights doesn't have to put on a bunch of mass. I have stated this already. Using med-low weight, I meant it as being still heavier than your bodyweight. If your pushup is equivalent to say 160lbs, then you should be using 180-200lbs and doing high rep (20+). If I was talking about adding mass, like you can't seem to understand I'm NOT, then I would be saying do heavy weights and low reps. Instead of 180-200lbs I would be saying 250+ for 6-8 reps.

Just because you are lifting weights, it doesn't mean that you lose any fluidity or speed. There's a right way and a wrong way to do it and clearly you know nothing of the right way to do it. You need to open your world to other possibilities as you have an old time set of mind. I have stated several times that weights are supplementary to boxing training. That means get your **** done with boxing and then worry about lifting. So yeah, I'll be on the weights while you're on the bag but it's because I've already put in my work on the heavy bag and the end result is, I'm going to be stronger.

[DMD3]

Exercises to improve power and strength?

Sledgehammer tyre,
Push ups,
Pull ups,
Anymore?

As many others have stated, make sure you're working your legs. You're quads, hams, and calves are used to throw punches, to bob & weave, move around, etc.

In fact, I'd say a developed lower body is even more important for a boxer than the upper body.

[RedZmaja]

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet but hill sprints are the exercise I would really recommend. I'm not allowed to post links yet but type "Hill sprints: Increase power, build muscle & burn fat" in youtube and you'll see what I mean.

It's fun and you really push your body. You develop specific strenght and explosiveness and you burn your fat immediately. I think it works perfect for boxing. Also, there's less risk with injuries than with regular sprints.