The Boxer


The Boxer
A brief introduction: I have a tendency to say ‘I’ve recently become interested in boxing’ however that’s not exactly true. Over the years I’ve drawn boxers, once wrote a song about a boxer (in an early iteration of a now defunct band), wrote/drew a picturebook about an ex-fighter and things like this.

You could say the deepening of this interest began several years ago in my post-first marriage life when I had to change out my cable provider. They wouldn’t give me internet only—no, I had to get internet, basic TV and HBO. I can’t say it made much sense for 40-bucks, but I went with it and found myself watching HBO Boxing (a newly defunct stream of programming).

The fights I was most interested in were and tend to remain the light-, welter- and middleweight classes. The speed, agility and general fitness of the boxers in these weight classes is impressive—the fighters just look dangerous, ready to pounce in that feline way. So that's the connection with this image. I got to thinking on S.E. Hinton's description of the greasers in The Outsiders as "lean and kind of panther-looking."

Now I'm a bit old to start getting into "rumbles" or boxing matches, but that doesn't mean I can't work on my endurance, strength and agility. I developed what I call "The Boxer" workout last summer in an effort to work towards a lean physique, but more importantly as a way to focus on endurance and coordination. While I enjoy weight lifting, my shoulders and knees get a little grumbly with me so I needed a workout with minimal free weight exercises focused on cardio and body weight exercises. This workout is probably my favorite and as a result I do it about 2-3 times a week. It is a circuit workout consisting of 5 cycles. It can be as short as 35 minutes and as long as 55 minutes depending on how many cycle repetitions you feel up to.

Here is the workout:

THE BOXER CIRCUIT
This 5-part circuit is meant to move quickly with little to no downtime between exercises and no more than a minute between sections. One circuit with warm-up is about 35 minutes. Repeat CAL & WEIGHT sections individually or as a group—rep COORD section after CARDIO.

WARM-UP: 5-10min
Foam roller
Stretching
Jumping jacks

BODYWEIGHT 1: UPPER/CORE
Push Ups: 20
Sit Ups: 20
Seated Russian Twist: 20
Ab Roller: 10

WEIGHTS
BB Military Press: 10-15
BB Row: 10-15
DB Side Lateral Raise: 10-15
DB Front Lateral Raise: 10-15

BODYWEIGHT 2: UPPER/LOWER
Pull Ups: 10
Burpees: 10
Knees-to-Elbows: 10
Jab Lunges: 10ea
Squats: 10

CARDIO
Jump Rope: 10min

COORDINATION: 3-5 Rounds
Speed Bag: 3min
Sledgehammer Grabs: 30sec (in-between speed bag rounds)

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