Facts on How a Boxer Might Train Before a Fight

Boxing, like all sports, requires a great deal of training. Some of this training is sport-specific, while the rest of this training is based on building general strength and endurance, both of which are key for success in any sport. A boxer needs to ensure he hits all of the key elements necessary for his physical fitness before a fight to achieve the best possible result.

  1. Aerobic Training

    • Aerobic training improves your body's ability to get oxygen to your muscles. Oxygen doesn't move particularly quickly. Aerobic training is more concerned with endurance--it's increasing the size of the fuel tank rather than increasing the size of the engine. In the early stages before a fight, a boxer will work on improving his endurance to maintain peak strength throughout the fight. The archetypal example is a long-distance, medium-intensity run.

    Anaerobic Training

    • Anaerobic capacity is a boxer's ability to perform high-intensity, low-duration activity. Basically, it is his ability to punch extremely hard for the entire two-minute round. Anaerobic capacity is built through interval training. Again, running is generally used (although other cardiovascular activity is fine). Rather than going on long runs, a boxer will go on runs that involve jogging, sprints and jogging in intervals that boost his anaerobic capacity.

    Strength Training

    • A boxer needs to be strong to punch hard. This point is where strength training comes in to play. In the weeks preceding a fight, a boxer will build his muscle capacity through a variety of compound exercises, performed with high weights and low repetitions. These exercises include squats, deadlifts, bench presses and overhead presses, all of which build full-body strength.

    Sparring

    • Strength and endurance are important, but they also need to be applied. After all, if a boxer can't apply his skills to an actual fight, it doesn't matter how strong, fast or fit he is at the time. To reach his peak condition and perform at his best possible level in a fight, a boxer needs to be practicing with other boxers beforehand to improve his ability to throw a punch, take a punch and quickly react.