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Boxing Workout – Plyometric Circuits for Speed, Power and Strength
Plyometric Circuits are the corner stone of a good boxing workout. A boxer must maintain his strength and explosive power through two or three minute rounds. Plyometric circuit training is designed to mimic the demands of an actual fight. It takes exactly two minutes, or the duration of a round in amateur boxing, to complete the following eight circuits. Leave one minute rest between each circuit and do sets of circuits to recreate the conditions of a fight. Do each exercise for 15 seconds at a very high intensity and then move onto the next.
Boxing workouts train you to be powerful, not just strong. Start with vertical jumps, then chin-ups, then seated medicine ball throws with a partner. Move onto straight one-two (jab-cross) punches with dumbbells. Then, using Swiss ball, alternate abdominal crunches with incline press-ups. Perform side jumps with a 20-30cm high rope. Move onto flurries of punching combinations while holding 1-2kg dumb-bells, and finish with 3-5kg medicine ball sit-up and throws.
Weight Training for Boxers
Weight training for boxing should benefit the whole body, so cut out isolation reps, and choose free weights over machines. You want strength, so aim for two to three sets with six reps, explosive on concentric phase and slow on the eccentric phase.
Plyometric Training for Boxers and Athletes
This is resistance exercise followed by a matching plyometric one. For instance, a bench press followed by medicine ball chest pass. The resistance workout kicks the nervous system into gear, so that more Type IIb fibers are available for the second explosive exercise. Type IIb muscle fibers are those that produce the most explosive force.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Squats | 2 | 8 | 60 secs |
| Vertical Jumps | 2 | 6 | 60 secs |
| Bench Press | 2 | 8 | 60 secs |
| Medicine Ball (MB) Chest Pass | 2 | 6 | 60 secs |
| Barbell lunge | 2 | 8 | 60 secs |
| Step jumps | 2 | 6 | 60 secs |
| Lat pull down | 2 | 8 | 60 secs |
| MB overhead pass | 2 | 6 | 60 secs |
| Weighted crunches | 2 | 8 | 60 secs |
| MB sit ups | 2 | 6 | 60 secs |
Boxing Specific Complex Training
Sport-specific complex training includes exercises of plyometric nature that closely mimic actions like throwing a punch from the ball of your back foot to your fist, with proper posture and technique.
| Exercise (one set) | Weight | Reps | Rest |
| Left jab | 1-6kg dumb-bell | 8 | No rest |
| Left jab MB throws | 3-5kg medicine ball | 6 | 3 mins rest |
| Straight right | 1-6kg dumb-bell | 8 | No rest |
| Straight right MB throws | 3-5kg medicine ball | 6 | 3 mins rest |
| Left hook | 1-6kg dumb-bell | 8 | No rest |
| Left hook MB throws | 3-5kg medicine ball | 6 | 3 mins rest |
| Right cross | 1-6kg dumb-bell | 8 | No rest |
| Right cross MB throws | 3-5kg medicine ball | 6 | 3 mins rest |
| Left uppercut | 1-6kg dumb-bell | 8 | No rest |
| Left uppercut MB throws | 3-5kg medicine ball | 6 | 3 mins rest |
| Right uppercut | 1-6kg dumb-bell | 8 | No rest |
| Right uppercut MB throws | 3-5kg medicine ball | 6 | 3 mins rest |
Pure Cardio Boxing Training
While a three to five mile run a week is a good idea, a boxer should make his cardio workouts sport-specific. Interval training is ideal for boxing. An 800 metre interval would closely mimic the anaerobic demands of a three-minute round of professional boxing. Amateur bouts consist of four two-minute rounds, and the following workout has been designed with this structure in mind.
Begin with a 1,200-1,600m warm up of jogging, hopping and short sprints. Then do three 600m intervals at medium intensity with a one or two minute rest between runs. Then do three 200m intervals at high intensity with 30-second rests and jog back to the start point after each run. Finish with an 800m loose run to warm down. Two interval training sessions per week should deliver the best results. Also buy a skipping rope to improve your stamina agility and foot speed.
Boxing Workouts and Motor Programming – Training the Mind of the Boxer
A vital part of a boxing workout is to imprint sport specific actions and make them reflexive by reprogramming the body’s motor programming unit. No matter how much stamina a runner has, he will be exhausted after just a couple of rounds. The act of running is imprinted from an early age, but throwing a punch with proper posture and leverage is an underdeveloped skill for most. An aspiring boxer can train to reprogram his motor unit and progressively boost his performance with better posture, balance and co-ordination, resulting in a drastic improvement in reaction time and fighting ability.
Portuguese version: Boxe Workout – versão portuguesa
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Hello people at Motleyhealth. I am a aspiring boxer who has just come across plyometric workouts and find this page extremely informative and easy to understand (boxing workout) though I can not get my head a couple of the exercises for example how can I throw a jab, uppercut etc with a medicine ball any tips on how to do these or explained so a dimwit like me can understand would be greatly appreciated thank you very much.
Stephen
Hi Stephen, you are probably trying to imagine how to do this with an old fashioned leather ball. There are two ways. If using an old fashioned ball, you need a partner – throw the ball across the body for hooks, and upwards for upper cuts. Or you can use one of those modern medicine balls with handles, like the Everlast Double Grip Rubber Medicine Balll. Then use them like dumbbells, or throw (let go) when shadow boxing. I should have been clearer – I am sure that you are no dimwit! Here’s a YouTube clip that explains a little better.