BoxRec

That's a decent build for sure but not a patch on The Squat Dog of "Current Scene" fame.

It is amazing how exercises come back on a cycle. Every few years a new fad comes into the gym (Super Slow, Circuit Training, Step Aerobics, Pilates, hot...cold...dry yoga, etc...

However, the best workout I have found (as a competitive athlete, coach and personal trainer) are the old stand-bys. The old timers really did know what they were talking about:

Push-ups: Great pushing exercise that workds chest, shoulders, tricpes. Plus, if you use a balance board, you will get a heck of a rear-deltoid workout.

Pull-ups: The best lat, bicep, and grip workout there is bar-none (no pun intended).

Overhead squats: Great core training, quads, abs, shoulders, hamstrings and glutes.

Wall sits: Do just three minutes and your legs will be shaking as if you ran a 10K race.

zojo, wrote:It is amazing how exercises come back on a cycle. Every few years a new fad comes into the gym (Super Slow, Circuit Training, Step Aerobics, Pilates, hot...cold...dry yoga, etc...

However, the best workout I have found (as a competitive athlete, coach and personal trainer) are the old stand-bys. The old timers really did know what they were talking about:

Push-ups: Great pushing exercise that workds chest, shoulders, tricpes. Plus, if you use a balance board, you will get a heck of a rear-deltoid workout.

Pull-ups: The best lat, bicep, and grip workout there is bar-none (no pun intended).

Overhead squats: Great core training, quads, abs, shoulders, hamstrings and glutes.

Wall sits: Do just three minutes and your legs will be shaking as if you ran a 10K race.

Wow what the hell, talk about digging up the past

not squat thrusts. squats are when you basically squat your legs down and push back up with your thigh muscles. if you do this with heavy weights perched on the back of the shoulders it's an incredibly intense exercise and also obviously works your back and to an extent shoulders - each session you have to do more or put more weights on the barbell, say doing it every other day to allow for recovery. works far more muscles than you would think

if you do it without weights obviously you have to make it more intense, by lowering yourself over a longer time i.e. 8 seconds and pushing yourself up over 4 secs.

Razor wrote:

zojo, wrote:It is amazing how exercises come back on a cycle. Every few years a new fad comes into the gym (Super Slow, Circuit Training, Step Aerobics, Pilates, hot...cold...dry yoga, etc...

However, the best workout I have found (as a competitive athlete, coach and personal trainer) are the old stand-bys. The old timers really did know what they were talking about:

Push-ups: Great pushing exercise that workds chest, shoulders, tricpes. Plus, if you use a balance board, you will get a heck of a rear-deltoid workout.

Pull-ups: The best lat, bicep, and grip workout there is bar-none (no pun intended).

Overhead squats: Great core training, quads, abs, shoulders, hamstrings and glutes.

Wall sits: Do just three minutes and your legs will be shaking as if you ran a 10K race.

Wow what the hell, talk about digging up the past

Actually, the reason why I was looking at this piece was because I just watched a clip of Holyfield vs. Tyson I. I noticed how large Tyson's biceps were (huge!). However, I wondered...Why? How do biceps help in boxing? The job of the bicep is to bend the arm (or pull, mind you). Seeing that most of the time in boxing, one is "pushing" much more than pulling. Pushing exercises are done by the quads, pecs and triceps.

I was wondering if having such enlarged biceps could actually be detrimental to a boxer because theu take up so much oxygen and are not a muscle usually associated with boxing.

KO Artist wrote:Johnson had a superb physique, he obviously took his training seriously, but looks a natural athlete.

He looks about 5'10" in the photo, but he could have weighed 185lbs at the time. Fighters of his era didnt go anywhere near weights.

Apparently fighters of that era swore by push ups as a staple form of exercise.

A mate of mine is a PT instructor in The Royal Marines. He says that the single best exercise are push ups.

He says if you do nothing else apart from 100 push ups a day, correctly and at a decent pace, you will maintain a reasonable level of fitness.

Probably true about most of them.

But surely the odd one lifted weights since alot of put over 40 pounds of weight on through their careers back then too.

Either that or did some form resistance other than push ups.

What your marine friend said is probably true but can be opinion too.

100 press ups all in 1 go??? I wouldnt of thought so, the best way to do a press up is slowly, taking about 2 seconds per rep, where your chest goes to about half an inch off the ground and you feel your chin just touch the floor, and you keep looking forward. Most fit people can manage about 20-25 max. Best done in about 4 sets of 12. they are hard but they are way better than the various humping the floor ways you see other people do them.

Rowing, running and bag punching are very good for conditioning, but in terms of calisthenics when you use your own bodyweight in the exercise i would say the best are press ups, proper sit ups, bicycles (where you lie down and touch your elbow to the opposite knee) and without any doubt you should work on overall conditioning aswell as strength with these 2 beauties. Killers and the plank.

mattym wrote:100 press ups all in 1 go??? I wouldnt of thought so, the best way to do a press up is slowly, taking about 2 seconds per rep, where your chest goes to about half an inch off the ground and you feel your chin just touch the floor, and you keep looking forward. Most fit people can manage about 20-25 max. Best done in about 4 sets of 12. they are hard but they are way better than the various humping the floor ways you see other people do them.

Rowing, running and bag punching are very good for conditioning, but in terms of calisthenics when you use your own bodyweight in the exercise i would say the best are press ups, proper sit ups, bicycles (where you lie down and touch your elbow to the opposite knee) and without any doubt you should work on overall conditioning aswell as strength with these 2 beauties. Killers and the plank.

press ups done slow are best for what???
I would have thought for explosive strength you need to train explosively.. so most athletes do quick press ups.... slow may be better for building muscle tissue (bodybuilder style)

zojo, wrote: Actually, the reason why I was looking at this piece was because I just watched a clip of Holyfield vs. Tyson I. I noticed how large Tyson's biceps were (huge!). However, I wondered...Why? How do biceps help in boxing? The job of the bicep is to bend the arm (or pull, mind you). Seeing that most of the time in boxing, one is "pushing" much more than pulling. Pushing exercises are done by the quads, pecs and triceps.

I was wondering if having such enlarged biceps could actually be detrimental to a boxer because theu take up so much oxygen and are not a muscle usually associated with boxing.

i actually read a story on HOlyfield once and one of the first things he worked on apparently when moving up to heavy was his biceps... apparently he felt he needed bigger biceps to catch the shots the heavyweights throw?!?!?!

make of that what you will

i dont mean super slow, sorry that was a bit misleading. What i should have said was controlled. So you make sure you're not just bobbing up and down a few inches. N when they r controlled you feel the burn better and increase your endurance by pushing through it. If its explosive strength you want youd probably be better doing a couple of fast sets or clap push ups. I still stand by the plank and killers though as the best exercises alongside press ups.

mattym wrote:i dont mean super slow, sorry that was a bit misleading. What i should have said was controlled. So you make sure you're not just bobbing up and down a few inches. N when they r controlled you feel the burn better and increase your endurance by pushing through it. If its explosive strength you want youd probably be better doing a couple of fast sets or clap push ups. I still stand by the plank and killers though as the best exercises alongside press ups.

ok, i get what you mean!!

what is this plank business you are talking about though???

not necessarily any need to do 100. like has been said, do 'em slower and that means you can't do as many - which can be better, more work in less reps. lower yourself twice as long as you push yourself up, i.e. 4 secs down, 2 secs up, or 8 secs down, 4 secs up. if you don't slow 'em down you can end up going on forever. also, if you can do so many, chances are some ppl are taking shortcuts and bending their back/legs to go up. if you do 100s you can mess your elbows up

oh buddy u r missing out! The plank is a legend for conditioning and strengthenin your abs, arms, shoulders, legs, and teaching u to deal woth a bit of pain. It realy does toughen you up. What you do is like get in like a press up position but on your knuckles, and put your forearm on the ground.
Keep your body in a straight line (like in a press up - no arses out) and sort of push your hips forward a bit to tighten your abs. You have to keep still and in the right position though cos if you shift about and fidget you are taking the weight off of the right places. Do that for about 2-3 minutes in your workout (best at the end) after some killers it realy is quite a demanding exercise, it helps to just imagine ya girl there underneath u or woteva, im serious it takes your mind off the pain so much.

mattym wrote:oh buddy u r missing out! The plank is a legend for conditioning and strengthenin your abs, arms, shoulders, legs, and teaching u to deal woth a bit of pain. It realy does toughen you up. What you do is like get in like a press up position but on your knuckles, and put your forearm on the ground.
Keep your body in a straight line (like in a press up - no arses out) and sort of push your hips forward a bit to tighten your abs. You have to keep still and in the right position though cos if you shift about and fidget you are taking the weight off of the right places. Do that for about 2-3 minutes in your workout (best at the end) after some killers it realy is quite a demanding exercise, it helps to just imagine ya girl there underneath u or woteva, im serious it takes your mind off the pain so much.

ahhh, i know the one.... just didnt know the name....
looks easy but when you start trembling you look a jack ass!!!

ah cool. do u fight then? Do you do killers cos they are seriously good for conditioning and do so many things for you at once trust me.

In amateur boxing all the coaches ive had, give you a kick in the balls if you use weights!

ABA Boxing wrote:In amateur boxing all the coaches ive had, give you a kick in the balls if you use weights!

First one I was with did but I never told him the co coach did!

Second one I ain't told them but the Solly has a weight room though anyway so they wouldn't say nothing really.

knockout wrote:

zojo, wrote: Actually, the reason why I was looking at this piece was because I just watched a clip of Holyfield vs. Tyson I. I noticed how large Tyson's biceps were (huge!). However, I wondered...Why? How do biceps help in boxing? The job of the bicep is to bend the arm (or pull, mind you). Seeing that most of the time in boxing, one is "pushing" much more than pulling. Pushing exercises are done by the quads, pecs and triceps.

I was wondering if having such enlarged biceps could actually be detrimental to a boxer because theu take up so much oxygen and are not a muscle usually associated with boxing.

i actually read a story on HOlyfield once and one of the first things he worked on apparently when moving up to heavy was his biceps... apparently he felt he needed bigger biceps to catch the shots the heavyweights throw?!?!?!

make of that what you will

I guess that makes some sense, the extra muscle would dampen the effects of the blow.

Saw an interesting programme about wing chung the other day. The wing chung master said that big biceps actually reduce punching power, as the arm is pushed out from the shoulder and by extending the arm with the tricep.

zojo, wrote:Pull-ups: The best lat, bicep, and grip workout there is bar-none (no pun intended)

I love pull ups.

Followed by seated cable rows.

knockout wrote:

mattym wrote:100 press ups all in 1 go??? I wouldnt of thought so, the best way to do a press up is slowly, taking about 2 seconds per rep, where your chest goes to about half an inch off the ground and you feel your chin just touch the floor, and you keep looking forward. Most fit people can manage about 20-25 max. Best done in about 4 sets of 12. they are hard but they are way better than the various humping the floor ways you see other people do them.

Rowing, running and bag punching are very good for conditioning, but in terms of calisthenics when you use your own bodyweight in the exercise i would say the best are press ups, proper sit ups, bicycles (where you lie down and touch your elbow to the opposite knee) and without any doubt you should work on overall conditioning aswell as strength with these 2 beauties. Killers and the plank.

press ups done slow are best for what???
I would have thought for explosive strength you need to train explosively.. so most athletes do quick press ups.... slow may be better for building muscle tissue (bodybuilder style)

Plyometric pressups are the best for explosive strength.

I used to be able to do that thing where you clap in between press ups, but no longer sadly.

knockout wrote:http://www.antekprizering.com/johnsonharoldlouis.jpeg

If i saw Harold Johnson today I would swear he was bang on the gear....
but this was 1940 and steroids were unheard of in the gyms of philly....

c`mon now dude u aint gotta be built like that to be on roids

Mr Knockout,

another man who swears by doing press-ups is TV chat host Michael Parkinson. The man is a well over 70 and he still does 100 push-ups every morning.

I'd be lucky to do 100 after a bit of training (I can do about 20 tops right now), let alone in over 40 years' time at age 70!

best wishes,

"T.M.K"

Loftgroov wrote:I heard he once took two visiting Iraqi delegates hostage after the prison warden promised him some colouring pens (Bronson is an artist) and forgot…? I heard he made them tickle his feet and then threatened to eat one of them.

Classic

wayne rigby former british champ and the fittest man i ever come across had an amazing physique .dont know how it came about but wayne used to write to bronson a lot i know he invited wayne to open an art exhibition he was displaying somwhere but wayne had a fight at the time and could'nt go. all the lads thought wayne was nuts getting letters off bronson,but i know they talked a lot about fitness and you dont get fitter than rigby

Are there different kinds of press-ups to do different parts of the chest? If so, what are they?