Strength in boxing doesn’t count for anything if you don’t have any stamina to back it up. That’s where a training technique such as circuit training can come into play. When used correctly, circuit training for boxers can provide an ideal combination of both strength and cardiovascular endurance, which will enable you to battle it out in the ring with the best of them.
What is Circuit Training?
Circuit training is a rapid fire style training technique, focusing on both resistance and cardio training, where the exerciser moves from one station to the next in rapid succession. Each station is utilized for a set amount of time – typically 30 seconds to one minute – and there’s no rest in between stations.
Completing one “circuit” means completing every different station or exercise for the prescribed time. You can stop there – although typically several complete circuits are done at once, with a minute or several minutes of rest in between them.
Benefits of Circuit Training for Boxing
There are many different benefits to using circuit training for boxing. Here are some of the main points to remember:
- Trains Strength & Endurance: As mentioned right at the top, circuit training is a fantastic way to add strength while still focusing on your cardio and your conditioning. It doesn’t bulk you up and slow you down like traditional weight training, but it will help you improve your overall fitness level.
- Timesaver: Circuit training is a great way to save time in the gym, and make sure you can fit in everything that you’re trying to accomplish. Since you’re knocking out two birds with one stone – strength and cardio – you can do more in less time. Additionally, with the pace of circuit training, you can fit in an entire, comprehensive workout session in less than 30 minutes without any problem.
- Cheap & Easy: Circuit training is cheap and easy. You can utilize circuit training all on your own, from a home gym, and you don’t really need much equipment, if anything, to do it. You could set up an entire circuit training session with nothing but bodyweight exercises and cardio drills.
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Exercises to Utilize for Boxing Circuit Training
Basically, you can incorporate any type of exercise or technique into circuit training that you’d like. With a few simple tools – like medicine balls and kettlebells – you can quickly set up a dozen or so different exercises without too much hassle or brainstorming.
You can also perform standard exercises for different stations, including push-ups, various sit-ups and abs exercises for boxers, and so forth. Working in cardio stations such as jumping jacks, jumping rope, jogging in place, and so forth, is also common for boxers utilizing circuit training.
In the gym, different stations are often strength training machines. That’s because it’s so easy to move from one to the next without wasting any time. But you don’t need any fancy equipment or a huge gym in order to do some circuit training.
You can also work in actual boxing training techniques into your circuit training, which adds a new challenge to everything. It also will help you hone your skills in more realistic ring conditions – meaning when you’re tired and have some muscle fatigue.
So, after completing a few different strength training stations, you can quickly strap on some gloves, and use the heavy bag to complete the next station. Or, if you have a training partner, you can work on punching mitts for a station.
Beginners Tips
Circuits don’t have to be of any set number of stations. Depending on the equipment and space you have, a circuit could be anywhere from six to a dozen different stations. Each station is typically allotted 30-60 seconds.
Before you get started with a boxing circuit training session, make sure that you have a clear plan on which stations you’re incorporating, in what order, and for how long.
The whole purpose of circuit training is to move rapidly, so you don’t want to be standing around wondering what comes next. Jot it all down on a piece of paper and tape it up to a wall or leave it on the floor near your gear to help you keep track of it all.
It can also be helpful to have a boxing round timer or stopwatch on hand, so you can instantly know when to switch from one station to the next.
At this point you should be ready to get out there and try some boxing circuit training, and you’ll see the dividends in terms of strength, and overall fitness and conditioning, very quickly.
