Anthony Joshua - Does muscle make you slow?

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After AJ’s loss on Saturday, I’ve seen loads of people talking about how ‘too much muscle’ has made AJ slow, stiff etc. I’ve always believed that with the correct form of strength and power training, it’s possible for athletes to actually increase their speed while gaining muscle and not the opposite. I’m interested to know what you guys’ thoughts are on this. Below is a post from a very popular boxing Facebook page, I’d like to know what you think of his statements too

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Incorrect bro science or is there actually some truth to it?

 

[Noodles03]

From my experience, weight lifting does makes me stiff and I don’t feel as fluid when boxing. So that being said, I believe that Anthony’s strength training might of affected his performance.

 

[NurseKnuckles]

He probably should have practiced getting a jackhammer to the face.

 

[JSnake]

Jon Jones also performed poorly when he started lifting heavy weights to add muscle to his frame. Metal weights themselves are stiff, slow and stationary; so it seems only natural that those qualities could have an influence on the body.

From a neurological standpoint, fighting at its root is based on survival which is linked to instinct (the lower part of the brain and gut); whereas bodybuilding is based primarily on ego (front of the brain), and building those nerve pathways too much could possibly dominate those of the instinctual processes.

I don't think it's the muscles themselves so much as the nerves beneath them, as some fighters can move fast and fluid regardless of how they physically appear on the surface. So from my own experience and observations: yes, in general, bodybuilding can slow you down; but it is not absolute... it's largely dependent on the mindset of the individual and their ability/fluidity to activate those pathways. When done in moderation and as a supplement to training; weights and the added mass may be beneficial to an extent, but it should not be the focus, since the body is not what makes a good fighter.

 

[CauseImbetta]

Not necessarily slow. But requires more oxygen to maintain high levels. Hence burn out faster.

 

[xnhojx]

He seemed like his body was in anerobic mode the entire fight. He never seemed to completely switch over from the krebs cycle of energy to using the electron transport chain.

 

[IndyCovaHart]

The fucking bro science is out in droves.

Fat is now fit.

 

[Ian Coe]

Bollocks.

The only problem comes if you spend a disproportionate amount of time focusing on weights compared to cardio and skill work.

Unfortunately lifting heavy will wreck you for the next day/hinder your performance, so affects your recovery and thus the quality of work you can perform.

It is a difficult balancing act and something in my late 20's I found to balance myself. Late teens, early 20's, recovery was not an issue (as much).

 

[deadshot138]

Or, as Deontay Wilder said, dude was trash to begin with and got exposed

 

[gspieler]

The fastest, most explosive people on the planet are all very muscular. Hypertrophy only makes you slower if you ignore the neurological aspects of training for speed/power. With muscle mass, obviously there is a point of diminished returns, but the point still stands.

 

[j123]

I've been lifting to supplement martial arts for a long time

I've gotten much faster and explosive since then. Heavy squats and deads made my sprint times faster.

Oddly, it's not a popular thought, but calf raises helped me more in striking. Helped my checks get a bit faster

Overall it has more benefit over to grappling than striking, but it's not like it made my striking worse, just the rate of improvement wasn't as high compared to grappling.

 

[TheeFaulted]

For fucks sake it doens't make you slow. Muscle is the contractile fiber that allows your body to move.

 

[SMSLY]

If you're boxing everyday lifting a few times a week isn't gonna affect your speed or coordination, but as said above it'll give you a cardio challenge to overcome.
AJ reckons he doesn't bench press, but he squats and trap bar deadlifts for sure. Look at the guys quads!!! He supposedly only does plyometrics and calisthenics for upperbody.
I don't think anybody can call AJ slow for a heavyweight...

 

[iwillbebackin3weeks]

Joshua is a well rounded athlete, but dude lacks exp.

His 40 yard dash is amazin.

 

[puppybird]

He’s got sweet boobs bro

 

[HunterAcosta]

I think in his case, "YES" it could be affecting him. He didnt look fluid at all. Heavy of feet. Tight on his punches. BUT...he also got hit by a freight train left hook behind the ear that fucked him all kinds of right up....so theres that.

 

[SMSLY]

It's a case of the heavier you are the slower you are after a certain point. Doesn't matter if it's fat or muscle its weight. I agree he's gone past the point of diminishing returns in the weight room.

 

[MilkManUK]

I like Anthony Joshua, but he has always reminded me of Frank Bruno.

 

[AnotherOldGuy]

The fastest runners in the world are pretty muscular (most 100 meter sprint champs). Ben Johnson was extremely muscular (steroid aided of course) when he set a world record for the 100 meters back in 1987 in a time that would still be very fast 30 years later (9.79 seconds). Meanwhile marathon runners have relatively low muscle mass.

What this means is that muscle is what allows you to accelerate. It makes you faster. However it also burns up fuel extremely quickly. The problem in sports like boxing and MMA is that its not enough to be lightening fast for 10 seconds -- you have to be able to keep a fast pace for up to half an hour. Sprinters get to lie on on the ground and get their breath back after their race. Boxers and MMA fighters don't, so having too much muscle is going to slow you down over the course of a fight.

 

[cunglaowins]

It depends on how you lift. Bodybuilding looks for that pump that comes from max time under tension: slow movement to the point of failure. So your CNS is very used to moving slowly.

But if you train for speed strength then you don’t have that problem. I remember seeing GSP exploding in the contractual phase and slowing releasing.

Also muscles are heavy so you will be slow if you’re too big no matter how you train