Boxing workouts at home: skipping, shadow boxing, bag work and conditioning

Before you start

• Warm up for five to ten minutes: marching or jogging on the spot, arm circles, hip rotations and light shadow boxing.
• Clear the space. Check the ceiling height for skipping and keep pets, furniture and lamps out of range.
• Use a timer. Boxing is trained in rounds, so a free interval-timer app or a kitchen timer keeps you honest. Many people use rounds of two or three minutes with a minute's rest.
• Listen to your body. If you have a heart condition, high blood pressure or joint problems, or have not exercised in a long time, check with your doctor first. Stop if you feel chest pain, faintness or unusual breathlessness.

Skipping

• Keep jumps small, just enough to clear the rope, landing softly on the balls of your feet.
• Turn the rope with your wrists, not your arms, and keep your elbows close to your sides.
• Start with short bursts. Thirty seconds on, thirty off is fine at first.
• Once comfortable, try alternating feet, high knees or a boxer's skip, shifting weight from foot to foot.

Shadow boxing

• Use a mirror to check your guard, stance and chin.
• Pick a theme for each round: the jab only; one-two combinations; moving around the room; defence, slipping and rolling under imaginary punches.
• Move your feet. Step in, punch, step out. Circle left and right.
• Return your hands to your face after every punch.
• Do not snap your elbows straight at full force into the air. Extend fully but under control.

Bag work

• Free-standing bags need no fixing and suit flats, though they can slide or tip.
• Hanging bags need a strong beam or a proper bracket. Check the fixing can take the weight and the movement.
• Always wear wraps and gloves. Bare knuckles on a bag damage skin and bones quickly.
• Work at a steady pace: crisp combinations, then move. Hitting flat out for a whole round mostly teaches you to get tired and sloppy.
• Think about the neighbours. Bags are loud, and the thud travels through floors and walls.

Conditioning

• Press-ups, on your knees if needed.
• Squats and lunges for leg drive.
• Plank and side plank for the core.
• Burpees or mountain climbers for short, intense intervals.
• Running or brisk walking for general stamina.

Three sample sessions

1. Warm-up, 5 minutes.
2. Skipping, 3 rounds of 1 minute, 1 minute rest.
3. Shadow boxing, 3 rounds of 2 minutes: jab only, then one-two, then free movement.
4. Conditioning circuit, twice through: 10 press-ups, 15 squats, 30-second plank.
5. Cool down and stretch.

1. Warm-up and skipping, 10 minutes.
2. Shadow boxing, 4 rounds of 3 minutes with a theme each round.
3. Bag work, 4 rounds of 3 minutes, if you have one; otherwise more shadow rounds.
4. Conditioning, 3 rounds of 1 minute of burpees, mountain climbers and plank.
5. Cool down.

Keeping it going