19-Minute Boxing Conditioning Workout

Enjoy today’s 19-minute boxing conditioning workout!

Scroll down for drill and exercise demonstrations.

Warm-up – 3×3-minute footwork drills (3-minutes work, 45-seconds rest) as follows:
- Round 1: Figure-8s
- Round 2: Lateral Weldon shuffle
- Round 3: Locche loops
10-minute challenge – record total score:
- Squats (1 point)
- Push-ups (2 points)
- Burpees (3 points)
Cool-down and stretch (maximum time available)

This boxing conditioning workout maximizes warm-up time with skill development work, then blasts your whole body with a fun, free-form conditioning challenge.

If you struggle finding time for a boxing conditioning workout or simply can’t make it to the gym, this is a great option you can do from home. It’s only 19 minutes of work, but you’ll need another 3-15 minutes of time to cool-down and rest between sets, depending on your work rate and fitness level.

Alternately, if you have extra time, double-down on your skill development by adding extra drills before and after your boxing conditioning workout. Double the warm-up (6 rounds total, 2x per drill), and complete 4 rounds of hard shadowboxing after the 10-minute challenge as a finisher.

10-minute Challenge: How to Play

This boxing conditioning workout was originally published by RossTraining as part of the Inside the Ring reader.

The goal is to score as many “points” as possible. This routine consists of the following three exercises, each with their own point value assigned:

Squats (1 point)

Assume a stance with your feet shoulder-width apart (or slightly wider)and toes pointing forward.
Break at the hips (hinging) and keep the weight over the mid-foot.
Lower your butt down (flat footed) as you maintain an upright posture.
Drive back to an upright position. Continue at a brisk pace.

Push-ups (2 points)

Begin with a traditional pushup. As your strength improves, you can addmore difficult variations such as the Diamond Push-up.
Remember to keep the belly tucked slightly, elbows in, and allow for the body to track forward slightly on the descent.

Burpees (3 points)

Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you.
Kick your feet back to a pushup position.
Immediately return your feet to the squat position.
Leap up as high as possible from the squat position
Repeat, moving as fast as possible.

Keep track of the exercises you complete and record your score after 10 minutes. Each Bodyweight Squat that you perform counts for 1 point. Each pushup counts for 2 points. Each Burpee counts for 3 points.

This routine requires 10 consecutive minutes of exercise. You can perform the exercises in any order that you choose. Burpees provide the most points, but are also the most strenuous. You will need to balance exercise selection to allow for maximum points, without burning out too quickly.

There are no rest periods allowed during the 10 minutes. You must continue with one of the exercises or your score is reset to zero.

Footwork Drills

Round 1: Figure 8s

Quite simply, this drill involves moving around the ring or floor space while maintaining your fighting stance. As the name of the drill suggests, your movement will trace the shape of a figure-8 around your training area.Starting at the back left corner of your floor space, you will assume a proper fighting stance: knees slightly bent, with your non-dominant foot, hip, and shoulder held forward, chin tucked, and elbows resting on the ribs.From here, you will move forward with proper footwork mechanics: drive off your back foot, step with your lead leg, then recover the rear foot to reestablish your stance. Advance 3-6 steps (depending on the size of your training area), emphasizing fluid motion, good posture, and correct shoulder/hip positioning.Once you’ve advanced 3-6 steps forward, you will move right using proper mechanics: orthodox fighters will drive right off of their lead foot, step with the rear foot, then recover their stance with the lead. Move right until you’re about to hit the opposite wall, then advance forward again as you did before. Be sure to maintain your shoulder/hip position, and focus on a fluid transition as you change directions.Next, you will move left. Transition to lateral movement using proper mechanics: orthodox fighters will drive off of the back foot to step left with the lead, then move the back foot to recover their stance. Move left until you’ve nearly hit the left side of your training space.Continue to advance forward, left, and right down the length of your training area until you’ve run out of room, then reverse it, replacing all forward steps with backwards movement.Barry Robinson provides a FUNdamental footwork tutorial for his figure-8 drill here:

Round 2: Lateral Weldon Rhythm

This rhythm, which we broke down in detail on the Warrior Punch Podcast, keeps boxers mobile and light on their toes, trains them to coordinate their hands and feet, and works as a constant “feinting” motion to confuse the opponent.The Lateral Weldon Rhythm is named after Kenny Weldon, who emphasizes this shuffle as the foundation of all movement in his amateur boxing system. All you need is a line, real or imaginary, to move laterally across.

To perform this drill, stand so you’re facing your reference line horizontally.

Starting at the left end, mimic what Weldon’s fighter is doing in the video above, moving laterally down the line you’ve drawn, then reversing directions once you reach the end. Your rear foot will not move forward at all, but does move laterally to recover your stance as you work across the line.

As you advance, add the jab, throwing it so that it lands right as your lead foot “rhythms” onto the line.

Round 3: Locche Loops

Nicolino Locche was famous for his defensive acumen, much of which was owed to his ability to constantly circle opponents without ever compromising his fighting stance. Accordingly, the Locche drill is all about improving your ability to box while moving in a circle, and will help you whether you’re trying to control the outside of the ring or occupy the center. Rather than literally stepping to the left or right and running into the ropes, this drill teaches you how to circle your opponent while maintaining your fighting stance.To perform this drill, square up with your target in good fighting stance, and begin to circle to the left or right. Your goal is to keep your lead foot, hip, and shoulder in front at all times, and to always stay locked onto your target as you circle. Start slowly and make sure that you are maintaining your fighting stance at all times. As you advance, you can start to add punches, until you’re freestyling an entire round while circling responsibility to the left or right.I recommend buying a hula-hoop for this drill, but anything you can use as a focal point will do; here, Barry Robinson demonstrates a creative option at a local park: