SHADOW BOXING WITH WEIGHTS
Nowadays Martial Arts like Boxing, Muay Thai, Mixed Martial Arts, and Kickboxing have all become prolific combat sports. Each of these combat arts have a formidable striking game, and their own intricate training systems. Conditioning an athlete's body for combat is vital, and finding ways to improve the quality of their athletics, and their efficiency is a key component.
What this article covers:
- How to Shadow Box
- Can Shadow Boxing Teach an Athlete to Fight
- How Shadow Boxing Can Benefit an Athlete
- Shadow Boxing with Weights and Strength Exercises
- Can Any Martial Art Shadow Box
- The Importance of Strength and Conditioning in Combat Sports
There are many effective methods of improving strength and conditioning, and directly targeting an athlete's specific combat is crucial for functionality. This is where shadow boxing routines are a great way to build fluency within their striking, and a high quality of strength and conditioning.
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There are different ways an athlete can use shadow boxing to enhance their training programs. Using a high energy training system, where an athlete will showcase their striking proficiencies is great for fitness, strength and conditioning, and for fine tuning their game style. Most combat athletes will put in significant amounts of time into bullet proofing their bodies, and this is to enhance their quality of fighting, and to build up a resilience within their body's structure. In combat sports injuries can be a real problem, and athletes will use preventative measures to ensure the long term health of their muscles, and their joints.
HOW TO SHADOW BOX
Shadow boxing has been a part of the fighting culture for a long time, with iconic Boxers like Mohammed Ali, Joe Frazier, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Sonny Liston, and Mike Tyson have all showcased their ability to shadow box. This is a highly recommended training program that enables an athlete to work extensively on the combination of footwork, speed, power, and punching form. So how does shadow boxing work? This comprehensive training system involves a solo athlete to move around the mats with rhythm and form. The athlete will mimic a real fight by throwing different shadow boxing combinations like a jab, a cross, and then a hook, or adding in slips, ducks, and blocks, all while circling around a pretend opponent. There are different shadow boxing routine for beginners, and this is usually so the movements are not too complicated for them to understand. Beginners can use more simplistic forms of striking like the jab and the cross in a combination, as they mainly focus on their balance, their posture, and their footwork.
CAN SHADOW BOXING TEACH AN ATHLETE TO FIGHT
Shadow boxing is a highly energetic form of training that specifically targets the striking art. A common misconception is that solo drills can't help an athlete improve their fighting skills, so using shadow boxing drills will help an athlete extensively with many parts of their game style. The art of fighting goes far beyond a simple battle between two athletes, as the strategy involved incorporates foot work, speed, power, and balance. These aspects are extremely important, and are all factors that can be improved during a shadow boxing drill. Repetition is key, so the athlete develops muscle memory, and is able to instinctively use their techniques with good form. Practising form is vital, and in a shadow boxing drill an athlete can work out what works for them without the fear of being punched in the face. Shadow boxing will also help the athlete to develop a significant fitness level, and in today's fight game this is imperative for winning against high level opposition.
HOW SHADOW BOXING CAN BENEFIT AN ATHLETE
There are many benefits for an athlete that develops their game style with shadow boxing techniques. Developing form is extremely important, and sometimes only engaging in sparring sessions can mess with an athlete's flow. It is important to simulate a real fight, and explore many of their combinations with speed, and fluency. This type of training allows an athlete to make as many errors as it takes to perfect their movements. Balance is another benefit of shadow boxing training, as an athlete will comprehensively work on their defensive, and offensive structures. Understanding how to use their centre of gravity to their advantage is an important part of the training process. Athletes should always stand in base, which is standing in a position where their balance cannot be compromised, and this is something they will discover along the way.
Body posture is another extremely important factor, and this is how an athlete will be hard to knock out, or takedown. Shadow boxing is the perfect drill for an athlete to work on posture, and putting the time in on the canvas will benefit an athlete exponentially. Hand and eye coordination is another vital skill that needs to be developed, and through the shadow boxing platform, picking up these improvements in an athlete's fine motor skills is critically important. Developing a fast reaction time, and being able to throw strikes at quick speeds will ensure the development of every athlete that shadow boxes. Another important benefit of shadow boxing is that the athlete will develop significant muscle memory. This means to practise movements so much that they become ingrained into their subconscious, and the athlete does not have to consciously think about what moves they are going to make. Building up a good muscle memory is crucial for athletes, and this is so they become more instinctive with their movements, instead of telegraphing their strikes which can be predictable.
Another important factor that shadow boxing gives an athlete is the ability to relieve their stress. Any form of functioning fitness is a good way to have a mental break from life, and let out the frustrations that may have built up. This is also a huge factor in mental health conditions, as any form of exercise has proven to be highly effective in helping the brain release chemicals that make a person feel happy, and less stressed. Along with all of the mental benefits, shadow boxing is a functional way to stay fit, build muscle, and lose weight. Shadow boxing is similar to dancing, as it involves an athlete to move around the ring at their own pace, while utilising a full body workout. This is highly beneficial to the long term health of an athlete, as not only will they pick up cognitive skills, they will pick up physical ones too. Combining all of these concepts together into one structured workout routine is an excellent way of achieving all of an athlete's goals.
SHADOW BOXING WITH WEIGHTS AND STRENGTH EXERCISES
Shadow boxing can also be amped up by an athlete using weights. A common practice with high level competitive athletes like Boxers, or Mixed Martial Artists, is they will hold onto dumbbells and practice shadow boxing techniques. It is important not to overload themselves with heavy dumbbells, as this can simply cause injury, all athletes should stick to two kilogram dumbbells, and lighter for a more comprehensive effect. Some athletes will also wear a weighted vest, or wrist and ankle weights that strap on. Training while using weights has a number of different benefits, and building up a significant strength is vital to the long term success of a competitive athlete. Common techniques involve simple boxing combinations, and this can build up a comprehensive strength within the muscle groups. Using dumbbells is a good way of forcing an athlete to keep their hands closed, which is critical for targeted striking. Once an athlete jumps into a real sparring session their arms will be stronger, and their punches will be faster, making them a more formidable opponent.
Lifting weights is an old school tactic that most high level athletes are involved in. The importance of getting stronger in Martial Arts is exceedingly relevant to the modern day athlete. This is why athletes began combining strength programs with cardio based workouts, and classes like body pump, boxercise, and shadow boxing with weights are highly recommended. Combining cardio, and strength improves an athlete's cardiovascular health, muscular strength, and their endurance. These types of classes will use a variety of different equipment, which aims to directly target the muscle groups. Using weighted punches is a fundamental way of building the functional strength within the arm, and when an athlete is deep in the trenches against an opponent, they will need that resilience, and the muscle endurance.
Shadow boxing can also be utilised with an intensive strength element attached to it. It is one thing to move around the mats gliding, ducking, dodging, throwing punches, and changing levels, but if an athlete incorporates other strength elements they can turn a shadow boxing session into a grueling strength and conditioning workout. Adding in different exercises like push ups, lunges, burpees, or squat jumps can enhance the levels of strength that an athlete can train at. Building up to an athlete's optimum peak takes a lot of strength and conditioning, and all athletes must increase their muscle mass, while maintaining high energy levels. Sprawling is an extremely good exercise, especially for Mixed Martial Artists, and all they have to do is throw combinations, and then sprawl, as it will simulate an opponent trying to take them down to the mat. Utilising a comprehensive shadow boxing workout like this will build up a resilience within the joints, the tendons, the ligaments, and the bones, and will also help an athlete become a stronger version of themselves.
CAN ANY MARTIAL ART SHADOW BOX
Shadow boxing workouts can be structured to match any style of competition striking. Kickboxing, or a muay thai shadow boxing workout have similar techniques to a Boxing workout, only with a few minor differences. The use of kicks, elbows, and knees are all combined into the structure of a shadow boxing workout. In fact, any Martial Art can utilise shadow boxing like Karate, Kung Fu, and Taekwondo, and even grappling arts like Judo, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can shadow box. The only difference is instead of throwing punches they will utilise grappling movements. All solo drilling is highly relevant to each Martial Art, and practising them alone will help an athlete with their comprehension of the different positions they need to defend, and the ones they can attack from. Understanding the mechanics of how the techniques work is the first step in becoming proficient in each of the arts.
THE IMPORTANCE OF STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING IN COMBAT SPORTS
Strength and conditioning is extremely pivotal for a combat sports athlete. Building up power and endurance in the muscle is instrumental in having the ability to achieve a knockout, and still having the power in the later rounds of a fight. Strength training is critical for improving an athlete's bone health, and most athletes will lose bone mass by the age of forty. Studies have proven that three months of strength training can improve bone density by nearly three percent in the lower spine, and up to five percent in the femur. This is crucial for the older athletes, and just as important for a young athlete that will reach their optimal bone mass before they are thirty. Bone health is an extremely important issue, and athletes that are vigilant, and educated can avoid bone diseases like osteoporosis.
Muscle mass will determine an athlete's basal metabolic rate, so when they begin to reduce any unhealthy tissue, and begin to increase their lean muscle mass, their metabolism increases. This means an athlete will be capable of burning more calories before, during, and after training sessions. Lowering an athlete's abdominal fat level is great for combat sports, because it will allow a more rapid increase in muscular strength. If an athlete increases their levels of abdominal fat, which is more commonly known as visceral fat, this can put an athlete at risk of cardiovascular disease. Visceral fat can be found surrounding vital organs, so when an athlete improves their lean muscle mass, it can significantly enhance an athlete's cardiovascular health.
Strength and conditioning exercise will also increase an athlete's energy systems, by stabilising the blood sugar levels, and increasing chemicals in the brain like endorphins. Strength training will also create neurochemical, and neuromuscular responses, which are responsible for increasing energy levels even further. When exercise releases endorphins, this will play a critical role in improving an athlete's emotional well being. Strength training can also improve an athlete's mood, and this is because when they achieve their goals they become highly motivated. Ticking off strength goals is a huge motivational factor that will push all athletes to better themselves, which in turn elevates their mood levels, and gives them a greater sense of accomplishment.
Let legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas develop YOUR HOME FIGHT WORKOUT at DynamicStriking.com!
INJURY PREVENTION
Shadow boxing with weights is a great way to build up significant strength, so the athlete can be more powerful, and faster in their competitive matches. But there is an underlying fact that is even more important than becoming a more powerful fighter, and that is protecting the joints, and the muscles within the body. Injury prevention is one of the most important aspects for combat sports athletes, and if they do not take this seriously then they will be lucky to last into their thirties. This is why we see a lot of combat athletes retire early in their thirties, because it becomes increasingly harder to prepare the body for combat sports, as the body ages. Utilising different strength programs is imperative for staying healthy for the long term. Healthy joints, and healthy bones are extremely important, not just for mobility, but to reduce the risk of bone diseases.
All athletes must put in significant time into injury prevention, especially when an athlete is competing in high impact combat sports like Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai Kickboxing. These Martial Arts have a high risk of brain injury, as well as spinal injuries, and this is due to the highly intense, and dangerous nature of striking Martial Arts. Longevity in combat sports is crucial for an athlete, otherwise they will spend their later years with arthritis, and other muscular and joint pain. If an athlete warms up, cools down, and does the right strength and cardio workouts, they can stay healthy for longer, which will increase their overall efficiency within their sport. This will also help them to compete for longer, and stay healthier into their older age.
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