Build Muscle, Strength, and Power With a Boxing Weight Training Program

To be an expert in a sport, there is a certain level of specificity required. How you train, how you eat, and how you treat your general wellness all impact the progressions you're able to make in your sport of choice. Boxers, like other athletes, fall into these same needs, with specific training modules that help increase certain skills and help individuals "box their best."

Successful boxing requires a combination of speed, power, strength, and endurance. Bulk can also be an advantage, depending on weight classification. Weight training, or resistance training, used intelligently, can promote and enhance these athletic characteristics. Because all athletes have individual needs, a generic program like the one included on this page will need to be modified for specific styles, ages, goals, and available facilities.

General Preparation

The general preparation phase should provide all-around muscle and strength conditioning. If you prepare on a seasonal basis, this phase should take place in the early preseason. If you do not have "seasons," then just progress through the training phases in sequence.

As a general rule, and for all the following programs, don't do the workouts prior to a fight training session. Do them later in the day after ring work, well before, or on a separate day altogether. You need to be fresh for ring work. Nothing you do should limit your ability to practice technical boxing skills in the environment in which you would normally compete.

Specific Preparation

In this phase, you will focus on the development of skills you need to succeed in the ring.

Strength and Power

Speed and Agility

Competition Phase

The aim of this phase is the maintenance of strength and power. Ring training and competition should dominate. Prior to the start of the competition, take 7 to 10 days off from heavy-weight work while maintaining your ring work. Weight training in the competition phase should play essentially a maintenance role.

Aerobic Conditioning

Boxing over the course of 12 rounds requires stamina and aerobic fitness. Most boxers use jump ropes and run for this type of fitness. A regular "roadwork" run is a crucial training element for increasing aerobic fitness and endurance, especially for those who fight over 12 rounds.

Distance runs should be between 6 and 8 kilometers at a moderate pace for four or five days each week. Longer training should be avoided to minimize muscle loss and conversion of fiber type from fast to slow. Circuit training in the gym will also provide aerobic conditioning.