How to Punch Your Paunch Away

There are no athletes in better shape than a top caliber boxer ready for a 12-round championship fight. Conditioning for an event like this involves relatively short bouts of incredibly intense stamina tests mixed with upper and lower body power and extreme core engagement. That’s why most fighters have such impressive physiques.

For this workout, it’s ideal to work with three-minute work periods and one minute rest periods, but it’s fine if you don’t have a timer and just want to estimate both. Here’s the workout:

Cardio – (see pictures at right for illustrations on steps 2-5)              

1. Warm up alternating squats (minutes 1, 3 & 5) with triangle bends (minutes 2 & 4).
2. Assume a boxers stance with feet shoulder width. Bring left toe, hip and shoulder 45 degrees forward, soften knees, lean slightly forward and frame your tucked chin with both fists, turned in slightly. From this position, extend a left jab, rotating hips and shoulders, turning on the ball of the left foot as you extend the punch to get full-body leverage on the punch. Repeat on the right side to throw a cross, remembering to rotate the full body for leverage and power. That’s a 1-2 combination.
3. Lean laterally to your right, then left and then return to center.
4. Add a knee-up on both sides, pulling the left knee up to the left elbow, the repeat on the right side.
5. Repeat the 1-2, lean, knee-up sequence for the three minute work period.

Strength

1. Do one set of pull-ups, assisted pull-ups or lat-pulls (10-15 reps) using resistance that exhausts the muscles in the assigned rep range.
2. Do one set of push-ups or modified push-ups to exhaustion.
3. Grab a set of dumbbells (8 – 15 lbs; for women; 12 – 20 lbs. for men). Do one squat, then one biceps curl, then one shoulder press. Then reverse each to return to starting point. Harder version is to combine the squat with the other two movements, curling in the bottom half of the squat and pressing in the top half. Repeat for 10 – 15 reps.

Repeat both Cardio and Strength segments 2- 3 times.

Core

1. Criss-cross (1 min.)
2. Bird Dog (1 min).
3. Repeat each of the above.
4. Full body stretches (rotate some of these)

This is a fun, complete, full-body workout that will wipe you out and get you in fighting shape!

Dan is a nationally certified personal fitness trainer and former continuing education faculty member of the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise. He is the owner and head trainer at Tri Valley Trainer in Pleasanton, which provides personal training, small group fitness and nutrition guidance. He can be reached at Dan@TriValleyTrainer.com