Does running help punching endurance?
I keep reading about guys in this forum who don't have enough stamina and endurance to work the heavy bag for a long period of time or a full round without getting ridiculously winded and tired. Does running a lot (either long distances at slow pace, or short distances at fast pace, or even both) actually help in the bag endurance? I'm assuming your arms and shoulders rely solely on how often you work the bag and other arm/shoulder exercises, but in terms of becoming winded, does it help?
Re: Does running help punching endurance?
Jogging and sprinting are good for developing the cardiovascular and respiratory systems which are key factors in fatigue. So yes, running helps in that aspect. But they obviously do little to build muscular endurance in the arms that comes into play when doing bag work.
Re: Does running help punching endurance?
You could swing your arms a lot faster and harder when your running, that might help, or you could get some wrist weights and run wearing them. But normal running won't do too much for arm endurance otherwise.
Re: Does running help punching endurance?
Quote:
Originally Posted by hobbsy
You could swing your arms a lot faster and harder when your running, that might help, or you could get some wrist weights and run wearing them. But normal running won't do too much for arm endurance otherwise.
Its nothing to do with working your arms out, its how efficiently your body can supply energy to the muscles which whilst you punch (which isn't just the arms any way, the legs play a larger part of making the punch, all teh arms do is deliver it ;))
Re: Does running help punching endurance?
Running is good for building stamina in general, and is pretty much essential for boxers. However. it won't do as much for punch endurace as a workout on the bags.
Running builds up your aerobic endurance which you need to move around the ring, and also helps to recuparate energy after throwing/taking alot of punches. Punching is an anaerobic excercise, you use up energy before the oxygen has a chance to reach the muscles being used. Therefore boxers need to build up their anaerobic endurance, this is done by heavy workouts on the bags and hill sprints.
Before I started boxing I thought I was pretty fit from all the running I'd done, but just thirty seconds on the heavy bag I was spent. It's important to build up your anaerobic endurance as well as your aerobic endurance if your a boxer.