It’s natural to adore professional boxers, though mostly we found them shirtless fighting in the ring and they look perfect and absolute fit. Why are boxers not bulky, do they not work out to build muscles? Questions like that. Boxers do not get bulky or they are not bodybuilding material, they always get in perfect shape and maintain their weight.
However, speed and agility are the two keys every boxer has. Bulking up or gaining muscles can make them slow and beaten out, effortlessly. Following that, except for sparring with their partners and boxing bag workouts, there are multiple exercises you’ll find in a boxer’s arsenal.
If you are finding a way to get in shape like a pro boxer, all you need to do is to follow up on their workout routine. Every boxer has his own style of a boxing workout. You should follow your favourite boxer like the 3 great boxers of all time and workout according to their boxing training routine.
But, as a beginner, it’s hard to follow up a professional boxer. Through their intense boxing workout routine comprise hundreds of push-ups, pull-ups, and undefined time of isolated training. However, there is always a first time for everything, it took them years of consistent training to reach this level.
In this article, we have listed down the 10 most common yet effective workouts for boxing that will help you to become an unbeatable boxer. Follow these to get in shape with this intensive boxing workout to get yourself fit.
1. What are the Benefits of Boxing Workouts?
Boxing is not only a sport; it has many benefits and fitness is one of them. Although fitness boxing should not be considered superior to any other exercise, it does have multiple health benefits. Some of the prominent key benefits of boxing workouts are listed down here:
- Improves Balance
- Helps Maintaining Good Posture
- Strengthens Overall Body, especially Upper-Body and Core
- Boosts Muscle Endurance
- May Increase Alertness
- Improves Hand-Eye Coordination
- Enhances Mood
1.1. 6 Boxing Workouts to Help You Knock Out Fat
- Fighting off the shadows
- Power Circuit (Jump Rope, Slam Ball, Ladder Drill, Box Jump, Shadowboxing)
- Power Punches (Punch Combinations)
- Light-Weight Punches
- Under the Line Drill
- Middleweight Lighting Hands
2. What is the Best Boxing Workout?
Boxing is approximately 20% aerobic and 80% anaerobic, which should consist of interval training along with cardio and weight training. Below in this article best boxing workouts are given which combined strength, power, speed, and agility workouts. All of these boxing workouts ensure perfect shape to get you fit.
Boxing workouts are the best way to strengthen and condition your body and make you strong and fit. The best boxing workout contains exercises that hit all the muscle groups of your body to tone and strengthen them.
2.1. 5 Boxing Workouts to Get You in Lean Fighting Shape
- Heavy Bag Workout
- Footwork Drills
- Shadowboxing
- Boxing Conditioning
- Combinations
2.2. What is the Best Boxing Workout Plan for Beginners?
- Monday: Jump Rope, Speed Bag, Sparring
- Tuesday: Weight Training
- Wednesday: Rest
- Thursday: Running
- Friday: Shadowboxing, Heavy Bag, Sparring
- Saturday: Weight Training
- Sunday: Rest
3. Best Boxing Workouts to Get You in Shape
3.1. Jump Rope
Jumping rope is one of the best exercises every beginner should add to his arsenal. This classic boxing exercise should definitely be part of your boxing fitness workout because it helps build a lean, strong body.
Moreover, jumping rope helps to build stamina and endurance as no other exercise does, it aids in hand-eye coordination, agility, and active footwork. Since jump ropes are so portable, you can literally perform them anywhere.
Below are some jump rope variations listed down which you can try:
- Single Jumps
- High Knees
- Double Jumps
- Figure Eights
3.1.1. How to Jump Rope Like a Boxer-Explained for Beginners
Boxers typically jump rope for about 15 minutes with the split of 3 rounds of 5 minutes each for warm-up. There is a short rest interval between each set. Professional boxers use variations in boxing jump rope footwork like the boxer skip, one leg at a time, and criss-cross arm.
Beginners can start with a 3-minute simple jump rope warm-up and then increase the time and difficulty gradually.
3.2. Burpees
Burpees are pretty much considered the best exercise ever. This exercise helps to increase your strength and endurance like no other exercise will. In addition to that, burpees help you to get up and down in the ring if you are thinking of joining boxing as a profession. You should add burpees to your boxing fitness workout, either you are working out at the gym or at home.
How to Do it:
- Get down into a squat position with your hands on the floor in front of you.
- Kick your feet back to get into a push-up position and lower down to the floor.
- Get your feet back to the squat position as fast as possible.
- Jump up into the air as high as you can.
- Add a little clap to make it more challenging.
3.3. Sit-Ups
Boxers need a strong core to get themselves in a lean and fit shape. Moreover, a strong core is a powerhouse that provides the strength to keep throwing punches. However, sit-ups are one of the classic exercises to build core strength. Add this exercise into your boxing workout routine to get yourself fit and in shape.
How to Do it:
- Lay down on the floor with your leg straight
- Stretch your arms straight in front of you
- Use your core/abs strength to pull yourself up off the floor.
- Touch your feet with your hands while keeping your chest forward.
- Lower back down to the starting position and repeat.
3.4. Shadow Boxing
This exercise is a bit different from other boxing exercises for fitness. Although as a beginner first you should learn boxing fundamentals that will help you to perform this exercise later on.
There are four basic punches in boxing, jab, cross, hook, and uppercut. Mastering them is crucial to perform shadow boxing workouts to get yourself fit.
Shadow Boxing is one of the most effective exercises that help to improve your core strength and agility to land punches with proper technique. It is the best way to practice your movement which deals with your footwork and helps to strengthen and tone your lower-body muscles.
The Art of Shadowboxing: Why We Shadowbox
Yes, it is right, shadowboxing is an art. In shadowboxing, we perform art by using the proper technique but not hitting any tangible thing like no punching bag, no mitts, and not even fighting with the opponent. However, still, this art is the most effective exercise for best boxing workouts.
Why We Shadowbox?
Interesting question though. Usually shadowboxing is used as a warm-up for a boxing workout. The duration is not specified, but every pro boxer sets his shadow boxing duration according to his workout plan. Isn’t it polite to get your hands hitting the hollow and fighting the air before directly getting them to a hard bag?
Moreover, shadowboxing has multiple benefits that help the fighter to get in perfect shape and stay fit.
- Improves stance and form
- Technique
- Helps with movement and balance
- Muscle memory
- Mindfulness
- Shadow Meditation
- A whole-body workout
3.5. Push-Ups
Push-ups are beneficial to give you strong arms, shoulders, chest, and core muscles. Moreover, they require no equipment whatsoever, so you have no excuse not to do them.
How to Do it:
- Get into a push-up position, with your shoulders directly over your hands.
- Tighten your abs, thighs, and glutes.
- Lower yourself down and bring your chest down near the
- Push yourself up back into the starting position and repeat.
Do Boxers Do Mostly Push-ups for Their Upper Body?
Although, boxing is an Elite Sport mostly based on punches that consume upper-body strength. Push-ups are both effective and important for boxing training. Most boxers do push-ups for their upper-body strength and conditioning.
3.6. Pull-Ups
Although chin-ups or pull-ups are totally badass exercises and hard to perform, that doesn’t fade their effectiveness. Pull-ups are effective to build up your arms, shoulders, chest, back, and core strength. If you feel difficulty performing even a single pull-up yet, don’t give up. Keep trying by following these steps.
- Commence from a dead hand with a straight elbow, palms facing you to perform a chin up and facing away for pull-ups.
- Keep your chest up and your shoulders back by squeezing your glutes, cross your feet.
- Pull yourself up so that your chin rests over the pull-up bar.
- Lower down in a controlled motion and repeat.
3.7. Squats
Boxing is not only the name of throwing unlimited punches, what if the table turns out and your opponent got the chance. Defense in boxing is more important rather than any other technique because by defending yourself you are wasting your opponent’s energy.
However, squats help to strengthen your legs and glutes so you can weave, bob, and slip to dodge your opponent’s attack. A strong lower body helps with balancing while shifting body weight to throw a powerful punch.
How to Do it:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Pull your shoulders back while engaging your abs.
- Push your butt and hips back and go down as low as possible.
- Maintain balance by keeping your weight on your heels.
- Go down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
- Raise your arms to chest level as you lower down.
3.8. Shoulder Press
Boxers need strong shoulders if they want to be able to keep punching round after round. The shoulder press is the best exercise that will help build up strength and endurance.
How to Do it:
- Stand straight holding dumbbells or barbells in your hands.
- Keep your hands at your waist.
- Raise the dumbbell up to your shoulders by keeping them pulled and your abs tight.
- Straighten your arms at a moderate pace.
- Lower back the dumbbells down to your shoulders and repeat.
Do Broad Shoulders Help You to Hit Harder?
Although broad shoulders could help to hit harder, punching power is mostly based on technique instead of muscle mass. A broad shoulder can intensify the ability to hit harder but being a boxer, you can’t grow broad shoulders.
Best Shoulder Workouts for Boxers
- Shoulder Press
- Dumbbell Punches
- Bag Workout
- Lateral Raises
3.9. Walking Lunges
Not only will walking lunges build strength in your legs, glutes, and core muscles, they may also help with flexibility and balance, which are the key requirements for any fighter.
How to Do it:
- Start in a lunge position and step forward with your right leg, bend it down so that your knees almost touch the ground.
- Alternate legs without pausing and bring your opposite leg forward into a lunge position.
- Continue alternating legs while moving forward.
- Hold a weight or something heavy to make it more challenging.
Knees to Elbows
Although sit-ups are awesome exercise because you can do them anywhere with no equipment, knees to elbows will give you an even stronger core. Moreover, this exercise will help you build up even cooler abs and also help you to do other abs exercises like windshield wipers, and toes to knees, conveniently.
How to Do it:
- Grip the pull-up bar with your palms facing away from you.
- Keep your arms shoulder-width apart.
- Bring your knees up to your chest by adding a slight swing.
- Make a little higher and try to touch your elbows.
- Lower down and repeat.
4. Takeaway
As there is no doubt, hard work always pays off. These boxing fitness workouts are quite helpful to get you in shape, try doing these intensive boxing workouts to get you fit.
Conclusively, boxing is the best way to get yourself healthy and fit. Instead of keeping you fit, it helps build muscles, strengthen your bones, and provide strength to your muscles.
Instead of keeping its practitioners fit, boxing serves and proves itself beneficial in many ways. It helps to maintain good posture, improves hand-eye coordination, enhances mood, and increases alertness.
Photo credit: pinterest
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