Boxing training is an option to add to home workouts. It is an intense activity that can provide a total body workout and requires minimal equipment. Training for boxing at home will require learning proper boxing stance, footwork and technique, as well as learning some basic punches and combinations. Strength and conditioning also plays a significant role in training for boxing and can easily be implemented at home.
Boxing Stance and Footwork
It is critical to have a good understanding of a correct boxing stance to maintain good footwork and optimize punching power. Stand with your left foot forward and right foot back (this stance is based on a right-handed fighter. All factors are reversed for a left-handed fighter.) Feet should be a bit wider than shoulder width apart. Knees are slightly bent with your weight balanced. Feet should be turned in on a small angle with slightly more weight balanced over the back foot. The left shoulder should be facing toward your target or opponent. This puts your torso in a powerful punching position as well as limits your body as a target. From this balanced position, it should feel easy to bounce front to back from your left foot to your right foot. It should also allow for comfortable shuffling from side to side and front to back all while remaining in your boxing stance. The feet should not cross over each other during movement. Once proper stance and footwork are practiced enough, punches and movement will feel much more effective.
Shadow Boxing
Shadow boxing involves working on your punching technique and combinations as if you are boxing an imaginary opponent. This is a chance to perfect certain specific punches such as the left jab. Practicing first on single punches like jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts and then variations of these punches to the body. Next, putting these different punches together into various punching combinations. For example, you could practice a three-punch combination such as the jab-cross-hook combination. Adding defensive movement like slipping (side to side head movement to avoid straight punches) and bobbing and weaving (ducking under hooks or wide punches) will make shadow boxing much more realistic and add to the effectiveness of the workout.
Warm-up and Jump Rope
A proper warm-up should be implemented to get the body ready for the intense demands of a boxing workout. Warming up for five to 10 minutes is ideal. Jumping rope is a great drill to warm up as well as shadow boxing. It is optimal to have a workout timer to train to a specific duration and number of rounds. Setting a round timer for two to three minutes with a one-minute break period is a good option. During the warm-up, it is also reasonable to skip the break period to keep a consistent pace.
Perform at least three to rounds during the warm-up. Footwork and agility drills are also a nice option to add into the warm-up. The body will then be prepared for more intense drills and activity.
Boxing Drills
Taking the next three to six rounds to work on intense punching drills will kick up the workout a notch. Training on a heavy bag is a great option here. Working on power and speed during punches and combinations is effective when working the heavy bag. The shoulders can easily get fatigued during these rounds, but it is optimal to keep the hands up by the face in the guard position. Proper boxing gloves and hand wraps should be worn for hand and wrist protection when hitting the heavy bag. Other options include training on the speed bag and double-end bag if these equipment options are available. Often, these pieces of equipment can easily be integrated into a basement or garage home boxing setup. The goal during these working rounds is to train with maximum intensity and maintain technique as much as possible.
Strength and Conditioning
Body weight exercises are simple to add into a home program but can be extremely effective for strength and conditioning when done correctly. Choosing exercises such as squats and lunges as well as plyometric versions of these are great for working the lower body. Push-ups, pull-ups, planks and sit-ups are fantastic for working the upper body and abdominals. Interval training with body weight exercises is a way to boost the intensity of these workouts. For example, you could do squats for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, then repeat for desired number of intervals. Integrating medicine balls, small dumbbells and resistance bands would also be appropriate at this point if those options are available and more resistance is desired for a specified training effect.
Putting It All Together
Overall, an excellent boxing workout can be achieved at home. All that is required is a bit of open space such as a basement, garage, or extra room and a few pieces of equipment such as a heavy bag, boxing gloves and jump rope. A duration of 20 minutes or more can be super effective for improving your boxing skills and burning off some additional calories.
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