My Gym Fitness Blog | Boxing Clever, 5 Tips to get you Fighting Fit!
Few athletes are as physically fit as professional boxers — they're in a league of their own.
But reaching the top in the ring requires years of disciplined training as well as buckets of self-belief.
If you want to box competitively, you'll need to stick to a tough regime, but boxing training can also boost your self-esteem and health even if you never enter the amateur or pro ranks.
Either way, if you're boxing clever, here are five tips to get you fighting fit.
Pounding through tracks, streets and parks is crucial for building your boxing engine — the best boxers always embrace running as part of their regime.
In terms of instilling discipline and sharpening your competitive edge, the crack of dawn is optimal. A prime Mike Tyson ran at 4am because he was sure most of his opponents would still be sleeping.
Tip: read this guide on smarter roadwork for boxing from heritage fight brand Everlast.
Skipping isn't just for the school yard — it's one of the best ways for boxers to sweat off excess weight, tone muscles and improve bone density.
Elite Indian amateur boxer Mary Kom revealed that she shed two kilos in two hours to make weight for a recent tournament — this isn't recommended by raw recruits to the sport but evidences the activity's usefulness.
Tip: buy a rope that's medium-weight and appropriately sized, otherwise you'll struggle to maintain good form.
A balanced diet fuels your endeavours and unless you're a heavyweight (or superheavyweight amateur), you'll need to monitor the scales constantly to stay in the appropriate division.
Boxers like Ricky Hatton ballooned between fights — but middle- and light-heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins was winning world title fights in his 40s, thanks in no small part to the strict diet he observed throughout his career.
Tip: top up your diet with grass juice supplements from health and wellbeing store Kijani Living.
Poke your head into any boxing gym and you'll see a bewildering variety of punchbags — they're an excellent way of getting a feel for contact with a live opponent and building up strength in your fists and wrists.
They all serve different purposes — a speed bag teaches timing and the value of a raised guard, a double-end bag sharpens your defence and a heavy bag increases power.
Tip: develop devastating short hooks and uppercuts by working up close with a maize ball punchbag.
There's no practical need to spar unless you plan to fight competitively and there are inherent risks with this practice form of fighting as well as with the real deal.
But nothing will prepare you for an upcoming fight like tough sparring sessions — continuing to compete after you've absorbed an opponent's punches is part in parcel of the fight game.
Tip: check out this thorough guide to sparring from pugilist site Commando Boxing.
Box clever with these five tips to get you fighting fit and you'll feel like a contender in no time at all.
Do you enjoy boxing training? Share your tips in the comments section.