Boxing Training Ideas

Boxing has become a popular training regimen. Unlike most other martial sports, boxing gyms have the support for fighting and building solid physical condition as a core philosophy. Even those who have no interest in competition or even sparring have come to appreciate the rugged, action-packed virtues of a boxing training regimen, and there are always ways to spice up and improve on that routine. Remember to run in all weather--getting out in the heat, cold or rain is mentally toughening.

  1. Roadwork

    • Anyone who is not engaging in a regular, heavy sparring needs a running program to build up their wind (cardio). It is often neglected by anyone who is not in serious training, and to their general detriment. Roadwork often consists of just straight jogging, but there are ways to build on it to make it a more thorough preparation for boxing. Mixing up normal jogging with wind sprints or running flights of stairs will take this work done outside the gym up a notch.

    The Heavy Bag

    • The heavy bag is the classic, key part of boxing training equipment. Because of that, too many simply stand in front of the bag and hammer it. That is too easy. One way to make bag work much harder is to include a round of pressure drilling. This is where the boxer must throw a continuous barrage of punches, one right after the other, for the full three minutes of the round. Increasing the difficulty on that can be done by requiring those punches be hard enough to keep the bag pushed back. There are also attachable arms and balls for heavy bags that will enable the bag to "hit back," giving a boxer a constant reminder to include defensive movements into their bag work.

    Strength Training

    • Old school boxing trainers hate having their charges lift weights. The often jerky motion of weightlifting tightens the muscles and reduces fluidity, which ultimately inhibits punching effectively. However, these same old salts at the gym also have classic, little heard of recommendations for strength training. One of them is to beat the heavy bag with a heavy length of iron pipe. It is hard on the heavy bag, but an excellent substitute for lifting weights. Another is a George Foreman classic: chopping down a tree and turning it into firewood, all with hand tools.

    Medicine Ball

    • The medicine ball is well known for its use in toughening up a boxer's mid-section. Another use for it is in training to punch explosively. The ball can be thrown using the same motion as a punch. The effect of having an 8, 10 or 12 lbs. weight on the end of the hand truly magnifies the movement involved in throwing the blow, allowing the boxer to focus on perfecting sound technique. At the same time, throwing a heavy medicine ball any distance trains all the muscles involved, getting more weight and power behind the punching motion. Best of all, with the aid of a brick wall to bounce the medicine ball off of, this exercise can be done alone.