5 Boxing Workouts That’ll Get You in Fighting Shape

Training like a boxer is all about intensity—you go hard. Aside from technique, that means lots of fast and varied movement, with active rest—you're rarely not moving in a fight unless, well, let's not go there.  

Boxing workouts are often long—at least an hour—to fit in a warmup, conditioning, and drills. And when preparing for a match, sessions are five or six days a week. Rest is essential, but you need to be able to perform under pressure, The training gets your mind prepared for it, too.

Think you've got what it takes? See if you can go five rounds with these tough sessions.

First, take this punch primer 

If you don't know your jab from your cross or haven't a clue how to even stand properly, start here.

The boxing stance is crucial to your success—it sets you up to both throw and dodge punches, and puts you in the best position to take a punch should your opponent land one. If you’re right-handed, your left leg will be in front, so your more powerful arm is further back to maximize the force it can generate. “Southpaw” or lefty stance is the opposite.

To find your stance, start with your feet shoulder-width apart, with your feet standing on the same imaginary line. To get a proper stagger, righties should move the left foot forward, so your heel is now touching that imaginary line, and shift the left foot back, so the toe is on the line. (Lefties do the opposite.) Bring your weight onto the balls of your feet and soften your knees. Bring your dominant fist up, so you're just touching the side of your chin with your index finger, and bring the nondominant fist up to about cheek height. Keep your elbows in close, feeling your ribs. If you let your elbows flare out, it leaves your body exposed. Keeping your elbows tucked also increases the power of your punches.

Now, onto the punches. The three basic ones are the jab, the cross, and the hook.

Jab: This is the lead hand punch thrown straight ahead with your nondominant hand. It's not a power punch but instead is used to set up other punches. When in your boxing stance, it's the closest hand to your opponent, so you will use it the most. Need an example? Boxers with a good jab include Larry Holmes, Ike Quartey, Muhammad Ali, and Gennady Golovkin. Cue up YouTube and start studying.

Cross: The cross is thrown with the rear, dominant hand, which is farthest away from your target. It’s also thrown straight but much more powerfully, using your legs and torso to generate force. You rarely lead with the cross unless you’re countering an opponent’s punch. Boxers with a good cross include Thomas Hearns, Sergey Kovalev, Deontay Wilder, and Manny Pacquiao.

Hook: These can be done with either hand, but you should focus more on the hook done with the lead (nondominant) hand (hooks done with the other hand can leave you more vulnerable). Unlike the others, this isn't a straight punch: Its aim is to come at your target from the side, using your hips and legs for power. The hook travels out from your shoulder and turns in toward your target halfway through the punch. Don't let your elbow travel out wider than your shoulder, nice and compact, and return it the same way you throw it. Boxers with good hooks include Joe Frazier, Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, and Mike Tyson.

Once you’ve got the individual punches, you need to put them together. Common combinations include:

• Jab-cross

• Jab-cross-hook

• Jab-jab-cross

• Jab-hook-cross

• Cross-hook-cross

• Hook-cross-hook

• Jab-cross-hook-cross

• Jab-cross-jab-cross-hook-hook

Workout 1 

Warmup:

10 minutes jump rope

20 squats

20 pushups

40 crunches

Shadow boxing:

3-minute round: Basic jab, cross, and hook punches

Rest 30 seconds

x5

Heavy bag workout: Basic combinations

3-minute round

Rest 30 seconds

x5

If you're new to this kind of intensity, do three rounds, not five, and give yourself a minute rest between them. Pace yourself, Don't go all out in the first 20 seconds, then stop: Keep punching the bag even if you're just touching it.

Finisher:

100 pushups

100 squats

200 sit-ups

Rest as little as possible

Workout 2

Warmup:

50 jumping jacks

50 jump lunges

1 minute run in place

10 pushups

10 squats

10 lunges

5 minutes shadow boxing

Rest as little as possible

Rest 30 seconds

Footwork drills:

2 minutes side steps: Start In your boxing stance, take 10 quick steps to the left, then 10 steps right, side to side. When moving to the right, push off the left foot, and when moving left, push off the right foot.

Rest 30 seconds

2 minutes forward and back steps: In boxing stance, take 10 quick steps forward and 10 steps back, back and forth. When moving forward, push off the back foot, and when moving backward, push off the front foot.

Rest 30 seconds

2 minutes box steps: In boxing stance, move 6 steps forward, 6 steps right, 6 steps back, 6 steps left. Switch direction after four squares. Focus on pushing off the correct leg.

Rest 30 seconds

2 minutes circle drill A: Put something on the floor to use as your center point. In boxing stance, step using your technique to make a complete circle around the object, then reverse the circle. Always make sure you stay in your stance, and your lead leg is pointing in the direction of the center. This is to train you on moving away from an opponent.

Rest 30 seconds

2 minutes circle drill B: Using the same center point, face away from it, keeping your back to it the whole time. Start in your stance and complete full circles in each direction. This trains you on stalking a moving opponent.

Finisher:

10 minutes jump rope as cooldown

Workout 3

Warmup:

Jog 20 minutes

Shadow boxing:

3-minute round

Rest 30 seconds

x5

Bag workout:3-minute round on the heavy bag

x3

3-minute round on speed bag

x3

Conditioning:

For 3 minutes, do:

10 pushups

10 jump squats

Rest 1 minute

x3

Finisher:

200 sit-ups

Workout 4

Warmup:

20 minutes jump rope, varying speed

Shadow boxing/conditioning:

1-minute round shadow boxing, focusing on speed

Rest 30 seconds

x8

20-yard sprint OR 10 burpees

20 seconds shadow boxing

x10

Conditioning:

10 minutes jump rope

Finisher:

5 pushups, focusing on speed

Rest 30 seconds

x10

Workout 5

Warmup:

3 minutes fast jump rope

Rest 30 seconds

x4

Shadow boxing:

3-minute round: Work basic jab, cross, and hook punches

30 pushups as “rest”

x4

Heavy bag workout:

3-minute rounds, as follows

Round 1: jabs only

Rest 30 seconds

Round 2: double jab-cross

Rest 30 seconds

Round 3: jab-cross-hook

Rest 30 seconds

Round 4: any four punches

Rest 30 seconds

Round 5: any punch combination, with 180-degree semi-circles around bag between combos

Rest 30 seconds

Round 6: non-stop punching at 60% of full power. Focus on the rotation of the body and using the legs.

Rest 30 seconds

Then:

20 hard hooks, lead hand

20 hard crosses

40 quality jabs

FInisher:

200 sit-ups

20 pullups

40 lunges