When we start out in boxing we leave it in the hands of our coaches to give us the road map on how to train for boxing.  Along the way, we pick up invaluable lessons but at the same time, we face struggles and challenges in the gym.  One of the main challenges is we only have so much time, or at least we would prefer to get as good as we can as quickly as possible.  I’ve always asserted that there are no shortcuts to training, but there are ways to ensure that you don’t waste endless hours and training sessions trying to figure things out.

In this post, I’m going to outline the benefits of boxing and how to train for boxing so that you can access those benefits to the fullest.  I will leave no area uncovered to ensure that you can train in a way that unleashes your boxing potential.  Along with each written section is a video that covers the same content, so if the video is your preferred medium then watch those as you scroll through this post on how to train for boxing.

 

Why You Should Start Boxing

 

There are a lot of people who are on the fence when it comes to getting involved in boxing. Maybe you’ve always wanted to try it, but weren’t sure if it was for you? Or maybe you took a break from boxing and need a little boost to inspire you to get back into boxing? Here are my top ten reasons to start boxing.

1. Boxing is a lot of fun

To start with, there is a lot of cool gear. Then fun exercises like shadow boxing, hitting the heavy bag, double end bag, doing pad-work, working the speedbag and not mention sparring! Where else can you have fun hitting your buddies and still be friends afterwards? If you are looking for a hobby that you can get involved in and have a lot of fun at the same time, then boxing is a great option.

2. You can choose your level of involvement

This is one of my favourite reasons to start boxing. You don’t need to commit to a team or organisation to start boxing. You can simply start shadow boxing in your bedroom; this is the most basic level of participation. The next level of participation would be getting some equipment, such as a bag and using that at home. Then if you’re seeking more in-depth involvement, you could start taking some local boxing classes. From here you could join a boxing gym that has an active fight team and look to get some sparring or fight experience.

There are even further progressions from here, such as amateur clubs and competitions and even going professional! The great thing about these levels is that you decide what level you want to participate at, and you can decide to switch it up or down a level at any time. Except once you go pro, then you can’t go back to an amateur level.

3. Boxing motivates you to clean up your life

Once you start boxing, you’ll feel compelled to clean up many other aspects of your life that may need improvement. You’ll start to realize and feel the benefit of a better diet, less alcohol, and more sleep. Your self-discipline will improve, and you’ll naturally want to avoid drugs and other trouble. This is especially the case if you’re sparring. The last thing you want to do is go into the ring when you’ve been partying, drinking and eating junk or having late nights! So in a positive, natural way, you’ll want to improve other elements of your life.

4. Your fitness and conditioning will gain purpose

Boxing and fitness go hand-in-hand.  If you’re not already involved in a regular exercise program, then you’ll naturally get much fitter once you undertake boxing. If you already exercise for health or maybe for body image reasons, then you’ll find that you gain even more motivation to exercise. Simply going for a run is often boring, when you are running for the sake of improving your boxing it can become a lot more purposeful and fun.

5. You’ll get into amazing shape

Not only will you be doing a lot more conditioning work, but you’ll find that you’re burning a lot more calories. This will mean you can lose fat, fast! The great thing is, you’ll be burning calories whilst having fun. Boxing works all three energy systems. From the endurance system to anaerobic system to your ATP/CP explosive energy system. Although research shows that boxing is mainly an anaerobic activity, you will still be working on other aspects of fitness.

You won’t gain loads of muscle from just boxing, it will give you a lean, naturally strong physique. One area that boxing doesn’t specifically improve is flexibility and this can be important. So aim to add additional flexibility work to your training, if that is one of your main goals. Overall, as a fantastic all-around fitness activity, boxing is at the top of the list.

6. You can progress on your own

You don’t need to rely on a training partner, you don’t have to book a court or use special equipment. You can improve your boxing on your own, with minimal equipment, almost anywhere, anytime. It could be the middle of the night, as long as you have some space and privacy you can train.

7. Stress relief and self-defence

Boxing has been a personal saviour of mine when it comes to stress relief and self-defence. Many people find it very cathartic. It helps to release a lot of stress. The last thing I am thinking about after sparring or heavy training is hitting someone; all I want to do is relax. From a self-defence point of view, boxing gives you a lot more confidence and awareness of how confrontations occur. This in itself will make you less of a target, but also knowing your capabilities gives you more self-control and will mean you are far less likely to get involved in situations where self-defence is needed.

8. Boxing is for everyone

Unless you have major physical limitations or injuries, then you can box. All you need to be able to do is move your head, your feet and your hands. If you can do this, then you can enjoy boxing. Age isn’t a limitation either, there are people boxing of all ages. So don’t limit yourself by thinking “I’m too old”.

9. Building Friendships

Through boxing, you’ll gain new friends and experience a lot of camaraderie. There’s almost no better camaraderie you can build than sparring with someone.

Training with new people and doing partner drills, will inevitably result in gaining new friendships. You will also gain a lot of trust and mutual respect from your training partners and you’ll learn to trust others. There’s nothing better than working with a training partner, to improve each other, knowing that you have each other’s best interests at heart.

10. You’ll avoid training just for aesthetics

This may not apply to everyone, but I know how easy it is to get caught up training solely for aesthetic purposes. This is particularly true in your early twenties if you have no other focus in your life.

Ultimately training just to make yourself look better, can be an empty path. It’s very subjective and it’s difficult to measure your progress. Most people are never entirely happy with their looks and so it becomes a bit of a futile process.

Boxing helps to switch your focus back onto performance, and off aesthetics, which will add more meaning to your training. You’ll be able to measure your progress and notice your improvements, which is very motivating. This doesn’t mean to say you can’t still develop an aesthetically pleasing physique. You can actually have both but in a much more fulfilling and meaningful way.

So those are my top 10 reasons to start boxing, it’s a fantastic sport and excellent all-around fitness builder. So what are you waiting for?

 

 

Shadow Boxing

 

Shadow boxing brings together the physical and visual dynamism that is imperative to improve your skills during a boxing workout.  A lot of people still haven’t mastered shadow boxing yet –  in terms of what to do or even the actual state of mind to be in. Shadow boxing often makes people feel goofy, they feel like they look “stupid.” Our goal here is to make you feel comfortable, to give purpose to your shadow boxing so that you remain focused.

For a lot of guys who haven’t sparred or had a competitive match yet, shadow boxing reference points can be made from street fights and schoolyard scraps. However, they still haven’t gotten to the physical and mental state that shadow boxing demands.

The state of mind that fighters need can be described as “alert aggressiveness.” This means picturing yourself actually landing punches or going towards your opponent to get the job done. In order to get into this groove here are some steps to follow:

1. Start moving

These are just simple elementary right and left movements and adjusting your body position. An easy and fun way to do this is to imagine there is a hula-hoop in front of you and all you’ve got to do is move around it. Practice footwork like choreography, get into a rhythm and decide when to start throwing punches.

2. Hit your target

After getting to your groove, it’s time to hit your target. Before getting to your target understand that the target is not right in front of you. You actually have to get to it and close the distance. The target here may be an opponent, punching bag or focus pad. The easiest way to do this is to imagine you are at the arcade playing a boxing video game and imagine that your target is a round ball.  Once your target lights up, it’s your cue to try and hit the ball. If visualization doesn’t work for you because you are more of an auditory person,  keep moving around your hula-hoop and when you are read, tell yourself “go,” then move in and throw your combos.

3. Choosing your combos

You most often want to start off with the jab, either to the head, body and continue with other punches. Next is maintaining a groove, with the boxing equivalent of a two-step. The most common combos will be the 1-2 (jab-cross) or 1-1-2 (double-jab-cross). From there on, just go with the flow and incorporate as many combos as you may like. Memorize about 4 or 5 combos and from there build on variations as you move along in your workout program. Check out some great ideas at combo workouts or my app that develops free combos for you.

4. Getting out

Imagine you are playing basketball and have to follow the three seconds in the key rule.  This same approach applies to stepping into your hula hoop to attack. You can’t stay in there too long, you need to get out before you are countered.  So in general, once you step in to attack you want to get out immediately after attacking. The basic way to get out is to move out of the hula-hoop the same way you went in. Other great ways of getting out can be found here.

Overall, your goal is to get your footwork moving, step in to attack, and then get out. After mastering the basics, practice regularly and I recommend memorizing like 4 or 5 combos that you like. Have a target and have a cue point, whether visual, auditory or programmable on the App.  Using this guide will help you gain confidence and have fun while shadow boxing.

 

 

How To Improve Your Boxing

 

For any consistent boxer who has a regular workout plan, a month can make a great difference in improving your skill level in boxing. Even though 30 days in boxing isn’t that much If you are willing to put in the work, you can achieve great success in this beautiful sport by following these great tips:

1. Spend 5 to 10 minutes a day mentally rehearsing your boxing

Before stepping in the ring, you need to think about the combos and setups you are going to use.

Mentally plan your sequences and see yourself going through the motions with an opponent.

Sequences help you get a good flow and can make a difference in the ring during a fight.

In case you find yourself stuck in your visualization, chances are you are going to get lost when you are in action.

So work on filling all gaps and get your sequencing clear visually.

2. Focus 100% on the training bag like an opponent

This helps you focus and get familiar with the training bag.

You get a feel of how it moves and how it responds after you throw combos.

When you lack that focus, chances are when you are in a fight you are going to see your opponent but you are not going to find them because their movement is not similar to the bag.

Your eyes have to be concentrated on the target as should your body.

3. Learn to recognize tension

During a fight, some boxers tend to be oblivious of their tension levels, especially on forearms and shoulders.

Learn to let your body go loose between rounds and eventually between combos.

Learning to do this over time allows your body to relax and keep fatigue in check and it is better for your offense and general techniques.

4. Explicitly focusing on your breathing

This means you are exhaling when you are working.

When in the pocket, your breathing can be continuous or you could take a large inhale and exhale as you are working through.

When you are on the outside, your breathing should mimic the natural skipping/running breathing pace.

I find swimming great for setting breathing patterns since you exhale as you are working through the water and get only get a few seconds to inhale, similar to boxing.

5. Get in the habit of throwing compound attacks in everything that you do

Mastering your combos is not enough; you need to incorporate more movement in your attacks.

A shift, maybe a pop out then break with head movement, then throw again. Or move outside the pocket and throw again.

Building compound attacks is tough but it will help you build your work rate, efficiency, and endurance in the ring.

6. Building the pendulum step in everything that you do

The pendulum step conditions your body for the majority of boxing movements.

Boxing is either in-out, side-side with pivot/turns and quick steps.

The pendulum step helps condition movements and relax reflex in your body.

7. Move your hands faster

Condition your body that moving your hands faster is the new standard.

Find your level where your speed and technique are in unison.

Always endeavor to push your speed up a notch and your brain will eventually get used it.

8. Don’t get comfortable on a regular workout

Always try to think of ways to increase the volume and intensity of your training.

Note down all your current rounds and add 10% per week.

 

 

 

Breathing for Boxing

 

Most boxers have probably gassed out in the course of sparring, training and actual bouts in the ring. This is more common with beginners who get winded in the ring in the first few rounds. The major cause of gassing out is having problems in breathing and relaxation. Without proper breathing and relaxation, you cut the oxygen going to your muscles by half. This leads to your carbon dioxide levels building up to a level that your body cannot tolerate.

This makes your output and energy levels go down dramatically. A good illustration is swimming underwater without catching a breath. After 20-30 seconds you will be dying to get that next gasp of oxygen. As a beginner, you will often find breathing problems since your body has not adjusted to fighting patterns and rhythms.

Basic boxing breathing can be a subtle quieter version of running breathing. First, learn how to exhale on your defense and catching your breath when you get out.  While in the pocket you can wait till your opponent stops swinging, clinch and take a quick breath in.

Another common problem that beginners face is, your opponent moves right when you are about to hit them. So want to have that breath to exhale and throw the punch with and all of a sudden you hold it because you realize your opponent moved. This will cause a buildup of carbon dioxide in your body and you have to learn to let your breath keep going even when the situation changes.

Inhalation is not the problem, exhalation is

If you forget to exhale, you won’t inhale. Your body automatically knows how to inhale once all the air is out; your job is to exhale. Another situation where holding your breath happens a lot is when you have that breath you want to exhale with your punches. The rhythm of breathing on your punches, and they launch an attack before you do which brings you back to the previous situation of holding your breath on your defense.

The key to solving the aforementioned breathing problems is spending time and being mindful of your breathing /exhalation while you are working and training. Mentally rehearse all the scenarios of being attacked before launching an attack or your opponent moving just when you are about to swing and learn how to continuously breathe.

The 3 situations that lead to poor breathing can be summarized as:

1. When you defend shots and forget to exhale.
2. When you are about to launch an attack and your opponent moves.
3. When you are about to attack and you have that shot ready for them and then they attack first.

It is important to note that having a breath ready for them is not literally going up to an opponent, drawing a breath, holding it and waiting. It more of a subconscious thing that is happening while you are in your own rhythm and you are about to pounce.

Beginners tend to get caught up worrying so much on offense and failing to control your breathing techniques. Breathing is important for your power, speed, and endurance in boxing. The key is to stay in your natural rhythm. Maintain that flow through changes and disruptions in the course of the fight. Pay attention to your breathing when shadow boxing, in your bag, gradually during sparring and it will go a long way in building your overall endurance and everything entailed in your boxing.

 

 

 

Punch Mechanics: Hand Speed vs Punching Power

 

As a boxer, it is always important to focus on getting more out of your punches. Boxers like Iron Mike, Frasier, Marciano, and Foreman were naturally gifted heavy hitters who could drop opponents suddenly with a well-placed power punch. You’d be surprised that most of these guys weren’t the biggest fighters in the ring. Even though it sounds more like a cliché in a fight it is not who hits first, but who hits the hardest. For boxers who don’t yet have that KO punch, power punching & punch mechanisms can be acquired through the right conditioning and training.

Effective punching means first getting acquainted with the fundamentals of punching power, putting your combinations together, body mechanics and hand speed. To add to that, a boxer has 3 important things to keep in mind: Your intent with power, your intent with hand speed, and your transitions.

Hand Speed and Intent with Power

One important thing to note is that there is a big relationship with your intent with power (how much you commit to a shot) and hand speed. This biomechanics principle is best illustrated with two baseball swinging examples. When asked to swing a baseball bat lightly back and forth in continuous motion, you’ll have to no problem with the rhythm and coordination. But if asked to swing the bat with as much force and speed back and forth in continuous motion, you’ll probably not be able to match the rhythm and pace of the quick toggles.

As a rule of thumb, you want your most powerful punch to be the last in your combo. One of the main reasons why the last shot should be hardest is the time gap. If you throw a powerful committed shot, there is a time lag between that punch and the next one. In that time if your opponent blocks or slips, they have more time to counter you. If the opponent sees you going that (loading up) and they have good timing, you are going to be in a lot of trouble. So your hardest shot should be the last one in your combo and it can be in each section. As long as you have gaps in your punches you can land 2-3 hard punches, and then move in a good punching sequence.

Hip Thrusts

Another thing to be mindful about is how much you thrust the hip into shots versus hands. On a lead hook, when you put your hip into that shot, it will send body momentum coiling up with power and easy to come through with a powerful hook. If you commit your hip too much, there is a lot of time and energy you will have to take to throw the right hand and that’s where you can be countered.

Thrusting your hip with power and energy also affects your balance and should be reserved for the most powerful punch in your combo. The last punch is usually your set up punch where you plan an offensive move against your opponent. It doesn’t have to be the end of the entire attack sequence, you could use your head movement, angles, and footwork to buy you refresh time.

Quick concepts to take note of when mastering your punch mechanisms

• Power intent,
• Hand Speed intent,
• Use of your energy/boxing efficiency,
• Setups.
• How you commit yourself through your body.

 

 

 

Running Program for Boxing

 

Before starting on any running program for boxing, there are a couple of key concepts that to you need to familiarize yourself with. They include the Karvonen formula, Resting Heart Rate, Maximum Heart Rate, and Heart Rate Target Zones.

During the course of your running program, you need to monitor your heart rate. A heart monitor always comes in handy but if you don’t have one, use your fingers to the side of your throat. Count the heart beats for 10 seconds and multiply that by 6. Here are some boxing running workout exercises that will help you build your physical and mental stamina.

Base Running

The most basic type of running for boxing is base running which is the standard distance run. Base running consists of 30-60 minute light runs and takes up 55% to 65% of maximum heart rate. If you can’t do a 30-60 minute run, you won’t probably be able to do a gym training session for a similar amount of time. Base running prepares you mentally and physically for all the work that you are doing. It is great for building stamina and preparing you for higher intensity work especially if you have been out of shape. In the middle of your runs, you can throw little punches, slips, move around a bit, just to make the run a little more fun.

Anaerobic Threshold

This is the next level in your boxing running program is anaerobic threshold training. It is going to happen at 70% to 85% of your maximum heart rate. For boxing, the intervals range is between 1 to 5 minutes with 2 to 3 minutes on with 1-minute break. As you build on your stamina you will be doing anaerobic training maybe once or twice a week as you move to a higher intensity. Try to maintain to the fastest pace that your body can withstand through intervals. As you get into better shape you will be able to go harder and maintain that pace.

VO2 Max Runs

This is where you are training your body to utilize as much oxygen as it can for short burst activities that are longer than a sprint. This goes well with boxing where fighters go in between explosive sprints and sometimes longer bursts of activity. VO2 Max training consists of 30-45 seconds of activity and 1-3 minutes of rest. Push above a sprint and get your body in the best shape it can oxygen wise. This training is effective but can be draining if you aren’t in good physical condition overall.

Utilizing Sprints

Boxing requires bursts of sprints, through quick punches, movement, and constant recoveries. There are 3 types of sprints:

• High Quality where you go long and as hard as you can with long breaks. If possible do these along the beach with Apollo Creed in a cropped tank top if you can.
• Try working up the stairs, push yourself and do a sprint right at the very end.
• Shuttle Runs are great for agility and getting your body into great shape. Just be careful to go a little easy on the stop-go, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off.

At the end of the workouts don’t forget to do your stretches. Do basic stretches for quads, lower backs gluts, hips, and your hamstring. Try and ease into the stretches, don’t be in any rush and try and hold them for about a minute.

As you get better in shape you will be able to do more of the high-intensity work, VO2 Max and sprints.  They are however harder to recover from and it is important to have a base as well and do your base running.

 

 

 

How to Train for Boxing

 

One of the most common question that boxers often have is “how do I set up my boxing routine and training?” Honestly, there is no easy answer to this question because it largely depends on the level of a boxer.  Training for boxing will be different sets for individuals ranging from beginners, somebody who is going for the first fight, a novice, open class, and pro fighters. I will detail a range of training exercises that is insightful and beneficial for both beginners and fighters at different stages of boxing.

When you are looking at boxing from a general perspective, you are looking at 3 variables you want to build up in training; intensity, frequency, and volume.

• Intensity: This is how hard and fast you go, your movement per minute. It can also be described as work rate or punch output. One way of assessing your intensity is by using a heart monitor to see what round fatigue begins to creep in based on your work rate while training.

 

• Frequency: How many days per week do you train? For beginners, 3-4 days is advised, advanced boxers can do 4-6 days a week.

 

• Volume: How many rounds per week shadowboxing, heavy bag, pad work, double-end bag, speed bag, partner drill, and freestyle and open drills. Intensity will dictate the volume but generally, I’d recommend the following rounds: Beginners 40-60, Novice 60-80. Elite amateur 80-100, Pro Olympic 100+.

How to plan your training

First of all, understand that your body can’t go all out 100% every day. Training requires good preparation, familiarizing you with macrocycles and microcycles. Personally, once I go more than 2 intense days in a row, the third day I’d be tapped out. Ultimately within a 5-7 training day week, you will not be able to train at the same intensity. An easy way to do this is 1 day hard, 1 day lighter, 1 day hard and 1 day lighter. Another way is 2 days hard, 1 day lighter, 2 days hard, 1 day lighter or off.

In case you are sparring, the workout the day before shouldn’t be your all intense workout. Reserve it after your sparring because those training rounds after the sparring are ultimately the championship rounds of your training. Going it easy after sparring is a common mistake most people make; instead, you could do 10 rounds heavy bag sparring combos.

During the planning phase within a month as you build on your weekly cycles give yourself 1 week out of the month where you go a little lighter.  Some fighters out of habit may feel guilty because of going slow, but it is important to let yourself recover and build up the energy for the next monthly cycle. Build your cycle as follows:

• Week 1: Start your cycle.
• Week 2: Get more volume and intensity (10% more from the previous week.)
• Week 3: Get more than in week 2.
• Week 4: Scale back and go easier than in week 1.

In the next cycle week, 1 should look like week 2 from cycle 1, week 2 should look like week 3 from cycle 1 and so on. Remember to keep track of the 3 training variables and try to put in a little bit of extra work. Like in month 3 week 3, your intensity and volume should be a little higher than in month 1 week 3.

Competitions: On-season and Off-season

In the off-season, it is imperative that you establish a baseline for yourself. In case you normally do 80-100 rounds a week set a base of about 60 to help maintain your skill. In case you have an upcoming tournament work on your cycles, and here the specifics of a detailed training plan come in.

Look at building up for one month, scaling back for a week, building up again with the aim of peaking towards your fight.  This means that by the second month, in the last week you won’t be scaling back but peaking. Continue with your precise training with your coach or training partner each day so that you can be ready for the competition/fight without peaking too early or too late.

Structuring Your Workouts

Here is a great template for a standard boxing training program

• Skip Rope: Start off with your skip rope, to get your body moving and blood circulating.
• Warm up: Proceed with a warm up to get your joints moving and get your body used to the boxing motions.
• Shadow Boxing: After the warm-up, get into your shadow boxing 4-5 rounds, 1 round should be focused on footwork.
• Bagwork: Next get into your bag work, the core being those 4 fight-paced rounds – and they are not easy to bust out, so do them on your hard days. Put your body through the stress you through in sparring for 4-10 rounds, 4 of which should be fight paced. You could try one round focused on the Southpaw, 1 round focused on the jab, and another on head/foot movements.
• Standard double-end bag 4 rounds, speed bag 4 rounds: Next is doing the standard double-end bag 4 rounds & speed bag 4 rounds. In case you don’t have access to any of those you are looking at punch out drills. Other options are slip line and slip bag to get in those rounds.

Any round you put in pad work, partner drills, and sparring, you can deduct those from your heavy bag rounds provided they are intense enough. Use your judgment and account for these deductions in your training.

Conditioning

There are different kinds of conditioning that you will be working on part of it will be your running the other will be your in0gym conditioning. Generally for ab work, pick your favorite exercise (criss cross, punch crossover, knee tucks, single side twist, oblique crutches or lying side bends) and do 100 reps. Aim between   300 – 500 total reps and if you can why not go for 1000 reps. Personally I would take 3 to 6 exercises and do 50-100 reps of each and get my quota of 300-500 reps of pure ab work.

During conditioning, a lot of work will be geared toward sprint type activity. Anaerobic sprints are more closely related to boxing movements and output. Exercises include burpees, mountain climbers, shoe shine and any activity that makes your body move quicker. Work in those bursts 15-20 seconds of work followed by 15-30 second rest.

Repeat these exercises the duration of time you would normally be in a fight. For example, 8 minutes worth, do 8 sets of one thing and that takes up 4 minutes like a Tabata set and 8 sets of another activity. So you can do sprint work to be the equivalent of the amount of time you’ll be fighting. Here your body is conditioned to sustain bursts of sprints throughout the duration of a fight. For amateurs, it is going to be 8 minutes of work factoring in rest periods.

Flexibility and Stretching

A lot of boxers neglect the flexibility aspect of training. Tension inevitably builds up when training and impedes the development and efficiency of your techniques. Stretching and flexibility exercises help reduce tension on your body. Work on stretching your whole body, incorporate yoga postures or any exercise that will move your body in a different way. Stretches help in your mobility, preventing injuries and recovery between workouts.

Some More Tips

For beginners work on the structure, build yourself up and master the basics. If you are an elite amateur look at how you cycle your training and keep track of what you are doing so that you can make steady progress.

 

 

 

How to Train Your Lower Body for Boxing

 

As a fighter, it is imperative you work on your leg endurance, lower body explosiveness, and stability for boxing. There are a couple of components and exercises for complete lower body training and I will go over them in detail on this post.

Stability and Stance Training

Stability training includes isometric stances and holds, it basically comprises of squat holds, lunge holds. Do that for a minute working each side every day of the week for a month. Once you get it locked in, it will gradually be built in your daily boxing. Stability is great for throwing punches while in your stance, stopping, decelerating and balance.

Repeat Launches/Explosiveness

This was actually a pretty big game changer for me. When you are in a fight and tiring in the 3rd or 4th round, you realize how much energy it takes to launch an attack. It takes a lot of reserve energy to keep launching solid attacks, especially when fatigue sets in the later rounds. One exercise for building up reserve energy is burpees. These exercises train you for the repeat start and explosiveness.  Here your body gets used to quick repeated attacks and recoveries in a sequential manner without running out of juice.

With burpees, the protocol is simple; do 100 a day. If you have built up the endurance you can do this for 5 days a week. In case you don’t have the endurance yet do this every second day, so 100 burpees in sets of 20s every second day, 3 days a week.  Try not to give yourself a long break interval, after a set of 20 burpees get a 20-second break. During training my goal to see if I am on the level, I try to get 100 burpees in under 5 minutes. In case you are having difficulties try doing 60 in sets of 20s for 3 minutes, rest for a minute, do another two sets of 20s to get to your 100.

The Depth Jump

This is one most simple, straight forward and effective exercises that I personally discovered for explosiveness, also known as the shock method. It is a very straight forward plyometric but it has to be done in the correct manner. Here you are trying to stimulate your nervous system inside your muscles not necessarily working yourself into the ground with repeated work.

The protocol for plyometrics is a little different from your chronic work. Get a platform or box, I recommend starting with maybe a foot or less. Stand on the edge and just drop there will be a wee bit of sync or absorption then explode high upward as high as you can go. Do one set 12-15 reps, one rep at a time with a 30-40 second break. Do depth jumps every second or third day.

The beauty of the depth jump is that when you drop there is more overloads going into the quads and the calves than any type of movement. It is more than a squat or a jump. It is opposite of an explosive jump upward when you drop the overload is going into the leg and your legs have to battle it to go in the opposite direction.

Conclusion

Do your basic fundamental strength training like squats twice a week while doing the depth jumps. Burpees can go for 5 days a week, if you are tiring don’t do them on the day you are doing strength training or vice versa. Another important exercise is the pendulum step with 180 turns in all your boxing. It helps build your reactive forward and backward movement.

To sum it all up here is what to do for a complete lower training for boxing:

• Stability and stance training every day of the week.
• Pendulum step built in all your boxing.
• Burpees for repeat starts, 3 to 5 days a week, 100 reps in sets of 20.
• Strength training, twice a week.
• Depth jumps, the golden rule is quality over quantity

 

 

10 Tips for Your First Ever Sparring Session

 

When stepping up for the first sparring session, there are a lot of uncertainties that fighters encounter.  Sparring is one of the most intense experiences you can go through. You are not in full control; you are being forced, you are being pressed to attack a moving target.  Here are the top 10 tips to help you with your first sparring session.

1. Your main goal. The ultimate goal for your first sparring session is to make it to your second sparring session. Your first session is an experience, not an evaluation; just try to make it through and at the end of the day, if you feel you want to go for another session, that counts as a success.

 

2. Listen to your coach.  Coaches tend to know what is best for boxers than anyone else. They know what is most pressing at that moment. So listen to your coach and make the necessary adjustments.

 

3. Combos off the jab. When starting off your first sparring sessions, get combos off the jab, combos off the double jab, cover and move. Over time, if you jab a lot you might get timed from the predictability of your moves. Mix it up with some fakes maybe lead with the right hand. It is rare to see a beginner throw a left hook.

 

4. Eyes on your opponent. In the heat of the action, fighters tend to make the mistake of looking down. It is always important to maintain eye contact with your opponent. Remind yourself constantly in your sessions.

 

5. Breathing. Always remember to exhale on your punches, your body automatically knows to inhale. Your job is to exhale, if you are holding your breath you are just inviting fatigue. Remind yourself on all your offense to exhale and in whatever you are doing. If you know that you are going to be sparring in a few days, spend the next couple of days working on exhaling while you work your combos. Push that air out and your body is going to do the rest for you.

 

6. Go to the body. This is a sweet bonus, only because you don’t see a lot of beginners do this, go for the body. It is very common for beginners to headhunt. What happens is, when you head hunt, a lot of it gets blocked. The head is a small target and can be easily defended. A more experienced fighter will be moving and slipping making you miss all day long. Start with something up top, go to the body, show that you are working your craft and skills in a continuous motion. Adding body shots is already next-level boxing in your first sparring session.

 

7. Defend the jab. Expect your sparring partner or opponent to attack with the jab, so defend it the way you were taught. Catch that jab or cover, don’t always be an offense machine, you will get hit. Think about your defensive game and incorporate it in your boxing. If your sparring partner lands that jab, chances are they are going to land more shots after that. Shut down the jab and you’ll shut out the rest of the offense easily.

 

8. Have one Takeaway. After your sparring session, come away with one clear technical or tactical problem that you can fix and work on. If you do that in every sparring session you are well on your way to developing into a high-level boxer.

 

9. Move after you hit.  Get into a habit after you throw your offense, get out of the danger zone by covering and moving. After you throw a combo, swiftly get out of the pocket since the opponent will most likely want to get back at you. Practice with your bag; after working, you are out to safety.

 

10. Simulate work rate in training. For your own training and conditioning especially of you had a hard sparring session, remember your level of exhaustion you went through. Remember that intensity and recreate it in your training so that you can adjust and adapt to it. Sparring at 95% and training at 80% means you still have a 15% gap.

For your overall awareness #3 and #4 are very important. Focus on that and you won’t feel overwhelmed and get to learn the most after the sparring session is over.

 

 

 

First Fight Preparation Tips

 

For any boxer, the first fight is one of the most memorable moments in their career.  It is important that you are conditioned to go the distance. This means you are throwing good combos, getting good volumes and possess a good defense. In case you are due to have your first fight, here are some tips that will help you both in the first fight and in the long run.

Double Jabs

If you can get it down quick, the double jab is one of the best tools you can use. If you are an outside fighter, stepping back and you miss that first jab, you can adjust and tag your opponent with the second jab. Or if you miss throwing another one quickly, even if it doesn’t land perfectly it is going to stop and offset their offence if you are the taller fighter.

For short or same height boxers, some fighters find it hard to close the gap and when they miss they have nothing else to follow up. The double jab is the ticket to getting in range. Key to the jab is that your eyes are locked on to your opponent.

Alternatively, you can throw a bunch of combos; straight or slip on the second one or to the glove and up to the center or up the body to the head. Another variation is getting a little bit low, bury yourself and go right to the upper chest base right to the neck. In a manner like you are taking off, same time you are eyes are fixed on the opponent and arms ready to swing. The double jab is a good way to get to where you want to be.

Body Shots

As a boxer, you should have one or two specific body shots that you like and you know how to set them up so that they land. Some of the favourites are the left shovel hook and right hook to the body. For illustrations, you can watch the Tyson vs. Golata fight. Have a specific setup that you are good at and you can unleash in the heat of the action with a good exit plan.

Mental Preparation

Most mental preparations for beginners centers around staying relaxed mentally and not allowing nerves to get a hold of you. Another innovative approach is to keep in mind that at some point in the fight you will have to “let the tiger out of the cage” to win the fight. This means giving yourself permission to put it all in the line for the win. It is more about having a winning mindset especially when you are tiring and telling yourself you want this more than the opponent. Specifically, go at your opponent with 3-5 punch combos and taking the fight to your opponent.

This does not mean you let your defense down, but having an exit strategy after throwing the combos. While doing your training whether sparring or heavy bag, try to go to that zone of somebody putting it all on the line. Most of the time if you are trying to win by edging it out, you will probably lose and you will not be satisfied with your result.