Monday, January 9, 2012

Good Latissimus Dorsi Boxing Exercises


It may come as a surprise to casual boxing fans, but the arm muscles are not the most important area of strength when delivering a punch. It's your latissimus dorsi -- those large muscles in your upper back on top of your scapulae -- that provide the upper-body power for a punch. Because of this, boxers employ a variety of exercises and drills to develop these muscles.
Heavy Bag Work
One of the best exercises for developing the muscles used in a punch is, unsurprisingly, one where you practice punching. A heavy punching bag resists the force of your blows and develops the muscles engaged when punching. When working a heavy bag to develop your lat muscles, you must pay attention to form. Punching with just your arm won't build your lats. You must throw punches that engage your lats by pushing your arm rather than reaching with your hand.
Clinch Drills
A clinch is when a fighter grabs the other by the head and/or shoulders in an attempt to control his positioning. It's not permitted for long in a boxing match, but makes for an effective strategy and conditioning drill. When you clinch a partner for this purpose, bend your arm as far as you can and pull down, using the muscles in your back. Just like the bag work, if you do it incorrectly, lat development is less effective
Weight Training
Competitive boxers train with weights in addition to their boxing workout sessions. You can use barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells or machine weights for this purpose. Examples of weight training exercises that develop lats include pulldowns, deadlift, kettlebell press and dumbbell rows.
Medicine Ball Throw
Imagine a basketball or beach ball that weighs 10 to 15 pounds. That's a medicine ball. Boxers use a variety of medicine ball drills to build different attributes. A medicine ball throw with a partner helps you develop your lats by tossing the ball laterally and decelerating it when your partner throws it back. Again, it's key to engage your lats if you want to develop them with this exercise. It's easy to use your triceps instead.
Pullups
Pullups are another traditional boxing exercise that directly develops the muscles in your back. You do a proper pullup with an overhand grip and raise your body up to lightly touch the back of your neck to the bar. This is not to be confused with a chest-touch pullup or a chinup with an underhand grip. Those shift the load to your arms and chest.

 
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