Bicep Muscle?

[Gavin]

Is it recommended to work on this muscle for Boxing? I ask because I can't think of any way to do it besides using Dumbells (have two at home) but using weights seems to be a no-no in Boxing? I do plenty of Push Ups so my arms are in pretty good shape but thise exercise doesn;t effect the Biceps.

[boxingtactics07]

It won't. The bicep only acts as a stabilizer when doing pushups. Doing chinups (palms facing towards you) is a good way to strengthen the biceps and your back. Weights are okay "if done correctly", but chinups will achieve your goal here. Search grease the groove if you need to learn how to do the exercise.

[Goose]

chin-ups,pull ups, and rows will work your biceps fully....those excercise are complex and will also work other parts of your body at the same time.

using weights its not a no-no for boxing,,,if you do it right

[Bodi]

Biceps don't have a lot of input into the mechanics of throwing a punch, but you need to consider the mechanics of the body. Your bi's are the antagonists of the tri's, which are very important when it comes to punching. As we all know, you need to have a good muscular balance between your muscles. The tricep is the prime mover in the arms when it comes to extending (punching), so your bicep is the antagonist for this movement. If you don't create a good balance, you will have injuries, loss of flexibilty etc, all of which are very important factors when throwing a punch.

The above suggestions of chin ups and rows will give your biceps plenty of work.

[Goose]

Biceps don't have a lot of input into the mechanics of throwing a punch, but you need to consider the mechanics of the body. Your bi's are the antagonists of the tri's, which are very important when it comes to punching. As we all know, you need to have a good muscular balance between your muscles. The tricep is the prime mover in the arms when it comes to extending (punching), so your bicep is the antagonist for this movement. If you don't create a good balance, you will have injuries, loss of flexibilty etc, all of which are very important factors when throwing a punch.

The above suggestions of chin ups and rows will give your biceps plenty of work.

Bodi, i feel that after throwing a straight punch or a jab you always need to bring back your hand very quickly to cover up.....the pulling motion that you train when doing chinups and rows would train your muscles to bring those hands back quicker, that way you avoid pushing your punches too much and it creates a snapping effect in your punches as well......thats what ive been told all the time. but i agree with everything that you said.

[Bodi]

When returning the hand from a punch, your bicep becomes the prime mover with the tricep now being the antagonist.

When returining your hand, you should obviously do this quickly - this is where curls don't make the grade. If you want your arms to move fast, you have to train them explosively - my two favorites for this are resistance band pulls and pendlay rows.

[Gavin]

Cool, so if I am working out on my Biceps I should do chin-ups, rows etc and avoid Bicep Curls? And is work on the Biceps essential, like Push Ups are to build up endurance in your arms and sit ups/crunches to protect against body shots?

[Windigo]

Lots of functions of the bicep are not being mentioned here. And that is not suprising since most people do not know the muscle groups functions beyond their primary flexor/extensor roles.

The bicep does not just flex the arm at the elbow it also rotates the forearm. Do any of you throw only vertical punches?

It also takes part in the abduction of the humerous, pulling the arm across the body. Do any of you throw hooks?

I can keep going. It has lots of jobs. Like simply helping the arm bare static weight. Do you like to keep your goves up?

Contrary to popular belief every muscle group in the body has many many functions beyond their primary flexor/extensor roles. Thinking that you can ignore any muscle group simply because with your sport specific needs its primary flexor/extensor function is not needed is folly because you most likely have no idea just how many other ways that muscle group moves your body.

[VanillaKilla]

Its good to train the biceps, but dont bunch them up. You dont really want that baseball looking muscle. You want that longish bicep.

[Bodi]

Lots of functions of the bicep are not being mentioned here. And that is not suprising since most people do not know the muscle groups functions beyond their primary flexor/extensor roles.

The bicep does not just flex the arm at the elbow it also rotates the forearm. Do any of you throw only vertical punches?

It also takes part in the abduction of the humerous, pulling the arm across the body. Do any of you throw hooks?

I can keep going. It has lots of jobs. Like simply helping the arm bare static weight. Do you like to keep your goves up?

Contrary to popular belief every muscle group in the body has many many functions beyond their primary flexor/extensor roles. Thinking that you can ignore any muscle group simply because with your sport specific needs its primary flexor/extensor function is not needed is folly because you most likely have no idea just how many other ways that muscle group moves your body.

No one has suggested that the bicep has 'no' input in punching. I suggested that it is one of the lesser used muscles during punching - I stand by this assertation.

Every reply so far has also suggested the inclusion of bicep training, using various methods, so again, no one is suggesting that a fighter completely omit bicep training from their programme.

We cold go into biomechanics if you so wish, but the op has asked a question, which I feel has already been answered in 'real world' terminology, and been given guidance on how to include bicep training by way of suggestions of rows, chin ups etc.

[Windigo]

We cold go into biomechanics if you so wish, but the op has asked a question, which I feel has already been answered in 'real world' terminology, and been given guidance on how to include bicep training by way of suggestions of rows, chin ups etc.

The notion that you can properly develop muscles like the bicep and tricep through core compound training alone is a flawed one. While they are secondary muscles in the motion you will quickly find them to be the limiting agent in your compound exercises if you expect crossover to develop them at the same rate as the core muscle groups.

Almost everyone I have ever met who subscribes to the crossover philosophy will almost always reach failure at the very end of the motion. I have long contrasted that observed fact the the other observed fact that those who give the supporting muscle groups their own individual attention almost always reach failure at the beginning of the motion. Why do power lifters train with bands and chains? Becasue they add weight at the lockout/full contraction which since they have ballanced power is the easiest part of the lift.

If you always feel the weakest just before lockout or full contraction your body's power is not properly balanced.

[Bodi]

The notion that you can properly develop muscles like the bicep and tricep through core compound training alone is a flawed one. While they are secondary muscles in the motion you will quickly find them to be the limiting agent in your compound exercises if you expect crossover to develop them at the same rate as the core muscle groups.

Almost everyone I have ever met who subscribes to the crossover philosophy will almost always reach failure at the very end of the motion. I have long contrasted that observed fact the the other observed fact that those who give the supporting muscle groups their own individual attention almost always reach failure at the beginning of the motion. Why do power lifters train with bands and chains? Becasue they add weight at the lockout/full contraction which since they have ballanced power is the easiest part of the lift.

If you always feel the weakest just before lockout or full contraction your body's power is not properly balanced.



Reread my second post. I mentioned resistance band pulls as one of my favoured exercises - the band exercise is not a compound exercise, thereby subscribing to your explained logic.

[Windigo]

Reread my second post. I mentioned resistance band pulls as one of my favoured exercises - the band exercise is not a compound exercise, thereby subscribing to your explained logic.

The bands and chains are nice but it is still not enough. In all of your compound lifts, compound means multiple muscle groups are working in unison by the way, the secondary muscles are not firing properly. They are never in the ideal position to get the maximum benefit. For instance on a wide grip pull-up the bicep will never fully contract because your scapula will lock well before your biceps reach full contraction. You have to give those muscles some individual attention in their best possible range of motion if you ever expect them to stay ballanced to the rest of your body.

You cant work your back, chest, and shoulders at 100% while working your biceps and triceps at 50% and expect them to keep up.

[Goose]

The bands and chains are nice but it is still not enough. In all of your compound lifts, compound means multiple muscle groups are working in unison by the way, the secondary muscles are not firing properly. They are never in the ideal position to get the maximum benefit. For instance on a wide grip pull-up the bicep will never fully contract because your scapula will lock well before your biceps reach full contraction. You have to give those muscles some individual attention in their best possible range of motion if you ever expect them to stay ballanced to the rest of your body.

in the chin up your bicep will full contract,and also stimulate your back....so why not do those?

I isolated single body parts since college and never seen or felt the results that i wanted until i switched to the compound lifts.....im faster and stronger than I have ever been as compared to time when I had separate days for curls and shoulders

[Windigo]

in the chin up your bicep will full contract,and also stimulate your back....so why not do those?

I isolated single body parts since college and never seen or felt the results that i wanted until i switched to the compound lifts.....im faster and stronger than I have ever been as compared to time when I had separate days for curls and shoulders

Well you kind of answered your own question. A chin-up is when you use an under hand grip and is a bicep exercise. The back is actually functioning as the secondary muscle. The humorous which the back is moving doesn't move nearly as far in a chin up as it does a pull-up but the bicep is able to contract through a much greater range. Pronate your grip to neutral or over hand and it becomes a pull-up which is a back exercise with the biceps serving as a secondary muscle.

And I'm not dissing compound lifts at all. I'm a powerlifter for christs sake. What I'm saying is that you need to stay balanced. If you just bench bench bench you will find that your chest can lift a hypothetical 350lb in the mean time you can only lift 275lb because your triceps cant lock out any more than that.

And when I said individual attention I didn't mean isolation. I never even used the word isolation. You did. Isolation exercises never develop the raw power needed. I meant you need for example a tricep program you cant expect crossover to take care of them. The core of a good tricep program should never be cable press downs or any other isolation exercise it should be close grip bench or another compound lift where the triceps serve as the primary muscle group like a modified tricep dip.

I'm a compound lift compound lift compound lift guy. Everything be it chest, biceps or triceps works around major compound lifts not isolation. Isolation is secondary but still has its role. Isolation never develops real power real power but is great for training that specific muscle group to failure. When you fail in a compound lift it could have been any number of muscle groups that failed first and caused the lift to fail. They body is designed to function as a unit. But just as with any team you need to separate the parts and let them do their thing too. Then you put it all back together.

[Bodi]

Windigo - i'm not disagreeing with your points. Anyone who knows anything knows that any athlete is only as strong as their weakest link.

I would also like to add that in my second reply, I also stated that chin ups were one of my other, favoured exercises, alongside resistance bands - so you see, i'm not against training biceps for a fighter, but I do suggest that as the biceps are one of the more under utilised muscles in boxing - you limit the time spent training them, in favour of exercises which are going to have the greatest carryover to the ring. I could add isometrics to this as they are another of my favoured exercises. I use a 'pool' of exercises and I pick the one's that are most suited to my/my fighters specific training needs.

Specificity is hugely important in all sports. You are a powerlifter, so i'd imagine the bulk of your training revolves around the three lifts, gpp and accessory work. As a fighter, you can only train so many aspects in a given time. We have to look at conditioning, several different strength forms, skill training - there is only so many hours in the day. For a fighter, you are looking for exercises that give you the most 'bang for your buck'. As a coach, I analyse my fighters, and built programmes specific to their needs - if they have a weak link, I will focus more training on that area, with the goal of making an all round athlete. In addition to this, I cannot stress enough the importance of intermuscular coordination - just because you are strong in the gym, doesn't mean that you can throw a punch. With the limited time that my fighters have available, providing there are no apparent weaknesses, I like to stick to more compound exercises on our main strength day, and add in plyometrics, isometrics, bands etc as time allows. If we spent too much time on isolation, I would feel that the time wasn't being used efficiently.

[Windigo]

Well actually I'm a power lifter who has started to get vain as he gets older so at the current moment I'm training with an old friend who is an ex Mr. My Home State and I hate it.

Oh to go to the gym pull 600lbs 3X3 do some other back work and leave. Ahhhhh the quick intense pain Im use to. But nooooo we've got to work till we fucking die. I swear to god that bastard designed this program around everything that a powerlifter finds awkward or doesn't do particularly well. If he tells me elbows out one more time I'm going to strangle his weak striationed ass.

[JagOfTroy]

Is it recommended to work on this muscle for Boxing? I ask because I can't think of any way to do it besides using Dumbells (have two at home) but using weights seems to be a no-no in Boxing? I do plenty of Push Ups so my arms are in pretty good shape but thise exercise doesn;t effect the Biceps.

You have to think of it like this..

When you look at that part of the arm, you have to see that the tricep and the bicep are working in co-hesion, so that muscle group is only going to be strong as its weakest link. Most people assume that the bicep is more important and that it is doing all the work since it gets huge peaks on top when in-fact, it is more of a helper to the tricep muscle.

Push-ups are more of a conditioning exercise in my beliefs. You may get some good gains from it for a while but it doesn't target or isolate any of the muscle groups. To increase mass, I have found no better way than to do targetting exercises with weights.

Pretty much, if your going to work out the tricep then you should equally work out the bicep as well. I believe from the compound exercise of hitting a heavy bag, its working out those muscles anyways so a little added benefit couldn't hurt from lifting the weights. Lifting too much and putting a lot of mass on doesn't seem to work well in boxing but like everything else in life, balance is the key.

I don't see it as a bad thing to have a little bit more mass to your arms with taking physics into mind.