Boxing Workouts at Home

"Rhythm is everything in boxing. Every move you make starts with your heart, and that's in rhythm or you're in trouble."
 - Sugar Ray Robinson

Boxing is a highly demanding sport that requires optimum levels of fitness, endurance, agility and strength. It is a sport of reflexes which means that you will end up toning not only your muscles but your entire body. What's more is that, you need not enter the ring and compete with another, these workouts alone are sure to give you an enviable physique.

• Jumping rope
• Hand wraps
• Boxing gloves
• Rubber exercise bands
• Round timer
• Pull-up bar
• Medicine Ball
• Speed bag
• Heavy bag
• Long rod
• Mirror

Before you begin with your routine, it is essential that you stretch and warm up your muscles. First and foremost, to ensure your heart is pumping away to glory, start by jogging or rope jumping for a good 15 minutes. While jumping remember not to jump too high or it will simply tire you out.

The different styles that you can attempt include - crosses, leg raises, double jumps and the backward skip. Follow this warm-up session with a set of swift push-ups, squats, and abdominal crunches to keep your heart rate up. You can use the push-up bar and the medicine/exercise ball to stretch your body thoroughly.

Tap your right toe in front of your left toe, followed by tapping your left toe in front of your right, this should keep you in constant motion. At the same time throw alternate punches into the air. While throwing right punches remember to thrust your right hip forward and pivot quickly on the left heel while extending your arm from the shoulder.

Repeat the process for the left punch. Keep throwing alternate left and right punches for four to eight times each session. Slowly increase your speed and throw, quick alternate punches for a session that should last a minimum of two minutes.

For Shadowboxing, slip on weighted gloves and throw in smooth controlled punches moving from the imaginary body to the head and moving back and forth. Your movements have to resemble that of a bobbing pin, bobbing and weaving through, for this you need to constantly do the alternate toe tap.

Remember to punch out and pull your hand back in immediately to guard your face from supposed counter attacks. Use the rubber exercise bands to work on your punches, a light band with large number of punches will help improve endurance, while a stronger band combined with fewer punches will improve strength.

Once you get your punches right, throw assorted punches at the heavy bag. To do that, you need to slip on your hand wraps and gloves and throw straight punches as quickly as you can at the bag. Follow this, with a round of assorted punches and complete the session throwing in a few power shots using all your might.

This time you jump the rope remember to move into the boxers shuffle, shifting your body weight from one toe to another every time you jump. Remember, you do not have to jump too high but just spring high enough to get over the rope without touching it.

Boxing entails strong abdominal muscles, which means your abdominal muscles have to be able to endure punches. V-sits provides the complete workout needed for building strong abdominal muscles.

For the V-sits, you need to lie flat on your back with your arms and legs stretched out straight. Then raise your hands and feet simultaneously off the ground such that your body is balancing on your tail bone. Hold this stance for a couple of seconds before repeating the entire process.

To perform this workout you need to place the rod on your shoulders and drape your hands over the rod. Breathing in keep twist to the left and right, breathe out every time you return to the center or the initial standing position.

To avoid feeling dizzy due to the twists, it is advisable that you stand facing a mirror and concentrate at a single point in front of you rather than turn your head in the direction of the twist. Perform the twist for a maximum of fifteen minutes with a few seconds rest in between each set of twist.

Repeat the entire workout and remember to end the routine with stretches and a few crunches. You can alternate your crunches routine with weights once every three days.

Devote forty five minutes of your daily schedule for this workout and in no time you are sure to transform your body and make yourself agile and flexible.