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Introduction | What you can get from this boxing training regimen | Boxing training regimen benefits | 4-Week Boxing Training Regimen
If you want to improve your boxing fitness and skill set, you need to start a boxing training regimen. This is the advice of the legendary hard-hitting heavyweight Jack Dempsey. In his book, Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defence, Dempsey places emphasis on the importance of maintaining consistency in your boxing training. If you want to improve, you’ve got to work for it.
That’s why all boxers from amateurs to seasoned professionals use training regimens. A boxing training regimen is the best way to achieve a desired standard of ability and reach peak physical performance.
When I competed in a military boxing tournament the first thing my coach did was establish a training regimen. The objective of this regimen was to improve all aspects of my boxing skills and to develop the fitness to fight for 3 X 2-minute rounds – the standard amateur length contest.
After two professionals sign a contract and set a fight date, they start training. But their regimen outcomes are far more ambitious. Not only are they striving for pugilistic perfection but also an advanced level of fitness that will enable them to sustain high output for as many as 12 three-minute rounds.
If designed well and enthusiastically implemented, a boxing training regime can support both objectives.
What you can get from this boxing training regimen
The reasons why boxers use boxing training regimens are explained below. However, before we venture any further, it’s worth pointing out that you don’t have to be a competing boxer to start a training regimen. You can enjoy the benefits of a boxing training regimen without the end goal of facing an opponent.
In fact, you don’t even have to be a boxer or have any previous boxing experience to start a boxing training regimen. The process of a training regimen can be adapted to support any fitness goal or training ambition.
Below you will find an all-purpose four-week boxing training regimen. The training regimen can be modified and tailored to your training goals and fitness aspirations. In addition, it can be adjusted to include more or less boxing training.
As well as providing opportunities to enhance your skill set, the boxing training regimen has been designed to develop whole-body aerobic fitness and muscular endurance. If you can implement the regimen, it will help you to:
Improve aerobic fitness levels
Increase muscular endurance
Lose weight
Develop boxing skill set
Boxing training regimen benefits
Before we get stuck into the training regimen, it might be worth briefly reviewing the benefits it confers. That way, if you feel motivation starting to waver, you can remind yourself of the reasons why you have decided to undertake it.
However, if you’re eager to get started, follow the quick link: Boxing Training Programme
Training programs are structured
The main benefit of implementing a boxing training regimen is that it brings structure to your training. For many people, a structured regimen can fuel exercise motivation. Knowing what workout you’ve got to do and when you’ve got to do it, alleviates the pressure of having to keep creating new workout plans.
Another benefit of a boxing training regimen is that they help to form the habit of exercise consistency. A routine removes the burden of remembering to workout. Quickly glancing at your regimen or setting a reminder on your phone will keep you informed of your boxing schedule.
Habituating exercise can have a huge impact on training consistency. Following a regimen is one of the best ways to achieve this outcome.
boxing training program improves motivation
A boxing training regimen is an effective and recognised way to boost exercise motivation. Much like a to-do list, there’s something gratifying about ticking off completed workouts.
Moreover, a boxing training regime makes charting and tracking progress much easier. You’re able to calculate how many hours you’ve dedicated to training. This affords you the opportunity to assess physical development as you can reflect on how easy those past sessions now seem when compared to your improved fitness levels.
This is a tactic we use in the Hungry4Fitness Book of Circuits Volume 1. After every 10 completed the reader is provided with a summary of how much physical training they’ve completed.
For more tried and tested methods to improve training motivation, see our article Have You Lost Your Exercise Mo-Vo?
But what is a boxing training regimen?
For those unfamiliar with the concept of a boxing training regimen, it is prudent to outline what it is. Also, in addition to a brief outline, a concise list of the key characteristics and features of a boxing training regimen has been included.
If you decide to design your own boxing training programme or want to modify the one below, this information will enable you to understand how it should be structured.
Key features of a boxing training regime
At its essence, a boxing training regimen is a structured plan of workouts and training sessions. The duration of a boxing training regimen ranges from four to 12-weeks. But they can be longer or shorter depending on the boxer’s training demands and competition time frame.
For example, the first proper boxing training regimen that I undertook was when I competed in a military boxing tournament. As a squad, we trained twice a day six times a week for two months. Though the training was tough and the demands of the coaches severe, it was by far the most effective regime I’ve ever completed.
By way of comparison, a while after the above boxing training regimen, I was requested to compete in an inter-military boxing championship. (This is where different military groups – Army, Navy, Air Force – compete against each other.)
However, unlike the first boxing squad, where we had plenty of time to prepare, the inter-military championship was rushed and we only had two weeks to train. Consequently, we trained for over six hours a day right up until the fights.
These anecdotes illustrate that the duration of a boxing training routine isn’t fixed and that they can be tailored to suit the boxer’s needs.
But the shorter the duration of the boxing training program the less improvement the boxer will be able to make. Developing boxing skills and increasing general fitness requires considerable time and consistent commitment. Using a boxing training regimen can certainly improve those essential aspects of development.
Key characteristics of a boxing training regime
Organised over a specific duration – between four to 12-weeks.
Comprised of workouts and boxing training sessions fixed to specific days.
Feature a range of training methods.
Include a means of tracking progress and fitness development.
Equipment needed to start boxing
Surprisingly, you don’t need a lot of equipment to start a boxing training regime. Engaging in the four-week plan below requires little more than a skipping rope and some basic resistance equipment. But then, because all of the workouts are completely customisable, you can easily alter them to suit your training facility – even if that’s your bedroom or your back garden.
In saying that, if you want to take the regimen more seriously, perhaps you are preparing for a contest, then you will need a skipping rope, a durable pair of boxing gloves, and a heavy boxing bag.
These essential items of boxing equipment will enable you to develop your skills while also building punching power and stamina.
How to start a boxing program
Before implementing a boxing training program, the first thing you should do is assess your current commitments. This is a crucial step that must be taken before you advance any further. Why?
If you are currently juggling lots of commitments and have little time to spare, you will likely struggle to accommodate a boxing training regimen. By assessing your lifestyle you’ll be able to determine whether a boxing training regimen will be the final commitment that broke the camel’s back.
But arriving at this conclusion does not mean you cannot start a boxing training regime. It merely means that you will have to adapt the regimen to suit your lifestyle. The boxing training regimen below is fully customisable and it can easily be modified to accommodate even the most hectic of lifestyles.
Once you’ve taken the first step and have made space for a boxing training regime, you now need to decide on which days of the week you can dedicate to boxing training. Ideally, a minimum of three days should be allocated to boxing training. Remember, each boxing workout need only last an hour.
When you have taken these two important and decisive steps, you are ready to start the regimen.
4 Week Boxing Training Regimen
The following four-week boxing training regimen has been designed to provide you with a generic framework. Its simplicity of design makes the regimen more accessible to a wider audience. As previously stated, it is fully customisable and can be amended to accommodate any level of ability.
Furthermore, the workouts that feature throughout the boxing training program can also be adapted to suit your level of fitness and exercise preference.
Moreover, the regimen can be used by those who just want a training program to follow for general fitness purposes. Remember, you do not need to be or aspire to be a boxer to implement the regimen. It can be used for the purpose of improving training participation and developing whole-body fitness.
Boxing training FAQ
Below we’ve answered four frequently asked boxing training questions. The questions are concerned with the benefits of boxing and what fitness gains can be made from boxing training.
If you have a boxing training-related question that doesn’t feature in the following FAQ, post it in the comments box and we’ll get back to you with an answer.
Alternatively, send your question to info@hungry4fitness.co.uk.
How much boxing training per week?
How much boxing training per week you do is dictated by your level of ability and goals. For example, beginners typically train for fewer sessions per week than advanced boxers. This is because beginners haven’t yet developed the fitness required to meet the demands of arduous boxing training.
Boxers who are maintaining their fitness levels and polishing their skills might only train two to three timers per week. Whereas boxers preparing for a competition may train multiple times a day five to six days per week.
Related: 4 Tips to Improve Your Punch Bag Workouts
Why is boxing training good for you?
Boxing training is good for you because it combines multiple components of fitness. If you take up boxing training you will increase your aerobic fitness and muscle endurance, while also learning a valuable skill.
In addition, because boxing training is physically demanding, it promotes weight loss. A boxing training regimen can help you lose weight and improve muscle definition.
Furthermore, boxing is a great stressbuster. If you’ve had a frustrating day at work, or you’re struggling through a stressful time, boxing can offer relief. Few other activities dispel stress like an intense boxing session.
Related: How to Improve Fitness for Boxing
Can you train boxing on your own?
Yes, absolutely. I only ever train boxing on my own. While club training has its benefits, such as being coached and sparring with other boxers, you can still enjoy a rewarding training session on your own.
To help you get the most out of your boxing training we’ve created loads of helpful resources. For example, to improve training consistency, you can use the 4-Week Boxing Training Program above.
For boxing workouts and training ideas, see our dedicated Boxing Page. And to learn how to use a punchbag effectively, watch this tutorial.
Related: Try this Boxing Conditioning Workout
Will boxing training make me fit?
Our article The 10 Benefits of Boxing Training will answer this question.
