Movement Flashcards
The first two steps a boxing journey should start with are?
mobility and movement
Before we even lift a weight, we need to ensure that athletes have the foundational movement skills to perform exercises correctly. This enables our athletes to achieve better results and avoid injury.
mobility benefits
It enables more fluid and faster rotation through the kinetic chain.
- It enables the lower body to produce more force during punching motion, leading to a harder punch.
- It can help to reduce and prevent injury in boxers, which is important for long term development
Hip flexor tightness can cause many different injuries and dysfunctions, including
lower back pain and limit glute strength.
Rotational mobility is needed to
transfer force from ‘foot to fist’ when delivering punches.
tightness in muscles across the thoracic spine can limit rotation, causing the ———————- to play a big role during rotation.
Quadratus Lumborum
How to effectively fix Quadratus Lumborum problems
The QL is a muscle in the side of the lower back. Overactivity can cause lower back pain. You can use a foam roller, spend money on a sports massage and try numerous ways to stretch it to make it feel better, but this is likely to be only a short-term fix.
To make beneficial long-term changes, you should focus on improving thoracic and core rotation. This will reduce the compensatory patterns of the QL and use the preferred muscles in your kinetic chain.
is an important contributor to forceful hip extension and rotation needed during running, jumping and more importantly, punching
Glute Strength
Stronger glutes can improve your ability to
engage and strengthen the core, which can help protect against injuries to the lower back muscles
The most effective way to strengthen the glutes would be to
lift heavy using squats, deadlifts and hip thrusts. However, many boxers need to use isolated exercises to help improve activation patterns of the glutes first.
Having good footwork is the foundation of many boxing champions, in particular lateral movement. This can be developed through
This can be developed through shadow boxing, pad work and in sparring
Using isolated exercises and drills can improve the quality of your lateral movement. This works by
This works by strengthening and engaging the gluteal muscle groups, adductors, and lateral stabilizers of the core. These are the desired muscle groups for effective lateral movements.
Mini-bands are a great way to fire up the
glute muscle groups prior to lateral activities
Exercise for lateral movement
Main Coaching Points
- Mini band around the knees. Push out using the knees but not excessively.
- Control hips in both movements
Exercise for lateral movement
Side Step to Single Leg Holds
This exercise allows you to maintain the desired hip position during lateral movements. Main Coaching Points
- Keep feet hip-width apart, push out with the knees. Keep hips pushed back throughout the movement.
- Raise inside leg to balance on one leg, keep balanced on heels with knee tracking the toe. Keep hips back.
Plyometrics for boxing and combat sports
‘Plyometrics’ is a term used to describe jumping and speed exercises. However, by definition, a plyometric action is only achieved when ground contact time is under 0.25 seconds.
How can a boxer benefit from plyometric training?
by developing the elasticity of their muscles and tendons. Elastic muscles and stiff tendons contribute to fast feet, good balance, and an effective stretch-shortening cycle.
However, it’s not just a case of performing high volumes of jumping and hopping. Boxers should take a careful and systematic approach to integrate plyometrics into their programs.
What is the stretch-shortening cycle?
This is the sequencing of a fast eccentric (stretching) and concentric (shortening) action of muscles. The quicker this happens, the more likely to produce more force.
This plays an important role in sprinting, jumping, hopping and throwing.
General Knowledge
Eccentric utilization can be improved by increasing strength levels. However, high-training loads and negative energy balance can make this process slow, as well as making athletes sore for their conditioning and technical training.
Boxers should start plyometric training by learning how to land safely.
This will improve the way you control and absorb force. It also isolates the eccentric component of the stretch-shortening cycle and will provide you with the opportunity to develop eccentric muscle action capability.
plyometric training knowledge
Boxers should start plyometric training by learning how to land safely. This will improve the way you control and absorb force.
It also isolates the eccentric component of the stretch-shortening cycle and will provide you with the opportunity to develop eccentric muscle action capability.
The plyometric journey is as followed with the followng three phases
Land/Jump
jump
loaded
Land / Jump Phase
Perform 5-8 reps x 3-4 sets of each exercise Altitude Landings Box Jumps Altitude Landing – Hold and Jump Countermovement Jumps
Altitude Landings coaching points
Start on a platform 30-50 cm from the floor.
- Step off, land softly on both feet with knees slightly flexed and hips pushed back. Hold for 1-2 seconds then repeat.
box jumps Main Coaching Points
Perform a small dip of the knees and hips, before explosively extending upwards and jumping on to a box (approximately (20-40 cm).
- Land in a similar position to that which you would in an altitude landing, landing in a strong and solid position. Hold for 1-2 seconds, then repeat.
