T Nation

Switching from Liffting to Boxing

Combat
#1

Hello,

I have been lifting for about the past 6 years now. After 6 years of lifting it is starting to take a toll on my shoulders and joints. I am 25 right now and would like to not be crippled by the time I am 40. A lot of my years of lifting I haven’t used the best form. Flared shoulders while benching, deadlifting with a bent back. The past couple years I have corrected my form but it hasn’t changed much with my shoulders and back.

I work a regular 40 hour a week job which consists of continuously running up and down stairs, lifting 55# buckets above waist level, lifting 50# plus baGs above waiste level from the floor and it has also done some wear on my back, shoulders, and especially my hands. I feel as if I have arthritis already. I have also been an idiot and have punched a few solid objects in my day, and accicdentally slammed my elbow into a sharp corner of a piece of steel at work and my elbow hasn’t been the same since.

I get pains through out my elbow while doing push exercises. Nothing unbearable but the pain is still there. It clicks every time I push. I can’t raise my hands above my head for long before my shoulders start burning. So I want to switch to training in boxing. Hitting the bag, speed bag, cardio, jump rope with maybe some light exercise. I have a bench with Dumbbells and all the equipment for boxing I need for now. I’m trying to keep my diet based around tuna, peanut butter and wheat bread, chicken, turkey burger, protein shakes and some creatine. Does anyone have any advice I can use for the switch I am trying to make?

For those of you who have made it through my long life story, thank u for reading.

#2

Sir,
With those list of problems at 25 years of age, I would suggest before you start any type of training, to get a very detailed medical /orthopedic evaluation. You need to know the extent of your physical problems, because, boxing may not be the correct choice for you, since it puts a heavy strain on the shoulders, elbow joints, and bones of your hands, same with Muay Thai. Corrective rehab exercise may be needed before you attempt training.

I would start by doing a search on this site for any articles dealing with stretching rehab, mobility, flexibility, post -surgery,etc. Look, get yourself physically back in order the best you can, then worry about choosing the best martial art or you really will be crippled at 40. Best of luck.

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#3

[quote]idaho wrote:
Sir,
With those list of problems at 25 years of age, I would suggest before you start any type of training, to get a very detailed medical /orthopedic evaluation. You need to know the extent of your physical problems, because, boxing may not be the correct choice for you, since it puts a heavy strain on the shoulders, elbow joints, and bones of your hands, same with Muay Thai. Corrective rehab exercise may be needed before you attempt training.

I would start by doing a search on this site for any articles dealing with stretching rehab, mobility, flexibility, post -surgery,etc. Look, get yourself physically back in order the best you can, then worry about choosing the best martial art or you really will be crippled at 40. Best of luck. [/quote]

I am inclined to agree. Boxing is explosive, dynamic, and can be brutal on your shoulders and elbow (especially in the beginning when you don’t know how to stay loose properly).

I second the “Get-yourself-fixed-first” approach. If you’ve got these issues so badly now, boxing is only going to exacerbate them.

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#4

With all those injuries and aches, I’d suggest swimming more than anything else. It was the core of my rehab after a car accident I was in. After a summer of swimming and biking I went back to weight lifting 15 pounds lighter with very little loss of strength.