Box Your Way To A Better Body

Don’t just pummel the bag. “A great boxer has to have focus, coordination, power, speed and endurance,” says Michael Olajide Jr, a former championship middleweight boxer. To help you hone your skills, we’ve tapped some top fighters to act as your cornermen. Hit these workouts to improve your staying power.

THE WORKOUTS

1 UFC Power Punches
Whether you’re facing Wanderlei Silva in a cage match or a 35kg heavy bag in your gym, the same rules apply: “Once you’re warmed up, you should be throwing each punch at full blast,” says Frank Mir, a former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ. He uses this demanding six-round routine to build mental and physical tenacity.

Grow your intensity: Clock each round at 3 minutes, resting 1 minute between rounds. With each round, you’ll add one punch
to your sequence.

Punches Per Round
1. Warm up. Strike the bag at 50 per cent with a variety of punches.
2. Up your power to full strength and launch jabs.
3. Jab, throw a cross and repeat.
4. Jab, cross, hook and repeat.
5. Jab, cross, hook, uppercut and repeat.
6. Jab, cross, hook, uppercut, body punch and repeat.

2 Police Precision Punch
The perfect pop is built on posture and bone alignment, not fist strength, according to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Arrest
and Control trainer Tim Collins. Use this routine to refine your form.

1. Set the stance: Leading with your non-dominant leg, position your feet shoulder-width apart, with the toe of your dominant foot in line with the heel of your non-dominant foot. Your head extends over your shoulders and your shoulders over your hips. Your knees are slightly bent.

2. Throw the blow: Step forward with your lead foot and extend your non-dominant arm so that your shoulder, elbow, wrist, and front two knuckles are in alignment. Your punch and your foot should land at the same time. Follow up with a cross, regaining with your rear foot the distance you took in your first step. Then come back to your original stance.

3. Connect the punches: Repeat the sequence, shadow boxing for 3 minutes. Then do another 3-minute round of the same sequence, this time on a heavy bag. That’s 1 set. Complete 3 sets, building speed each time. “When you master the strike, it should feel like you’re snapping your target with a wet towel,” says Collins. Rest 1 minute between each exercise.

3 Middleweight Lightning Hands
Shadow boxing allows you to rack up high reps without the resistance of a bag to slow your punches. “You’ll tone your shoulders, back and core, which will help you throw faster punches,” says Olajide.

Hit on beat: Play five songs that have strong rhythms and last 3 to 4 minutes each. On every fourth beat (count out loud to keep yourself on track), unleash one of the punch combinations below and then bring your hands back to your starting stance before the next beat. The shifting tempo of some tracks may require you to punch continuously until the song slows.

Combos For Each Song
1. Left jab, left jab, right cross.
2. Right cross, left jab, right uppercut.
3. Left body punch, right body punch, left uppercut.
4. Right uppercut, right cross, left hook.
5. Right cross, left hook, right hook.

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