WATCH: Ryszard Lewicki Training Camp
Amateur boxer Ryszard Lewicki has been on the Boxing Science program at Sheffield Hallam University for the past 2 years, and his training is going from strength to strength.
Following his successful training camp leading up to his Bronze medal at the Elite National Championships, the 19 year old has progressed to full Olympic lifting, heavy compound lifts and explosive boxing specific.
This has lead to impressive results, including 13% increase in jump height and a wicked 23.4 km/h punch velocity for his right hand… that’s the fastest we have recorded on the program and 18% higher than the average!
Smashing the Cleans
It’s great to see the Boxing Science lads progress with their performance on the Cleans. Ryszard is near the front of the pack, improving his 1 rep max from 70 kg (August 2015) to 90 kg (October 2015).
These improvements have had transferred effects to the explosiveness of the lower body, improving his squat jump height by 13% (36.8 cm vs 41.5 cm) and countermovement jump height by 5% (38.4 cm vs 40.5 cm)
The reason why the Clean is an important part to Ryszard’s training is that it can develop rapid kinetic chain sequencing. The kinetic chain is important for any sport in which force must be applied e.g. Punch in Boxing: Force from the generated from floor to the hips, through the core then into the upper body for a knockout punch.
WATCH: Clean demonstration video and explanation of benefits
23.4 km/h Punch Velocity
Recently in our labs, we have been creating load-velocity profiles of the landmine punch throw to assess punching speed and strength. The test requires 5 punches on each hand over 5 different loads, starting at 20 kg with incremental 5 kg loads up to 40 kg.
From this data, we can predict what velocity would be achieved at 0 kg load – essentially what the hand speed would be in a punch (in this type of movement).
Ryszard excelled in this performance test, his predicted right-hand velocity at 0 kg load is now 6.48 m/s… that’s 23.4 km/h.
This is really impressive, especially when he is still just 19 years old.
However, as the weight of the bar increased, his decrements were larger than the average, meaning he had a less impressive punch strength. This has allowed us to structure his next training program to improve punch strength, rather than hand speed!
We aim to increase punch strength by increasing the load he throws on the landmine punch, check out Ryszard explosiveness at a 40 kg load in the video below.
Ryszard Lewicki looking explosive in his session tonight. Made light work of these 30kg landmine punch throws. Rys is ready for the Sheffield City ABC amateur boxing show this Saturday See here for more details http://boxingscience.co.uk/video-sheffield-boxing/ (Link in bio) #boxingscience #boxingtraining #boxing #sheffieldcityabc A video posted by Danny Wilson (@wilson_sc91) on
Increasing the Bang!
Along with heavy landmine punches, we can improve punch strength with increased loads during compound lifts. As mentioned previously, Ryszard has improved on both Squat Jump and Countermovement jump.
However, his Squat Jump (41.5 cm) is higher than his Countermovement jump (40.5 cm), further suggesting that Ryszard relies on explosive properties rather than strength. This is preferred for a boxer, however the more maximal force you can produce, the more you can transfer into explosive punches. We need to increase Rys’ bang for his buck.
Ryszard’s new program includes heavy triples and singles on squat, deadlift and pressing exercises. Check out his 100 kg front squat below.
CLICK HERE to Watch the Top 5 Strength and Conditioning Exercises for Boxing