Boxing is a sport where you need your abs to be strong for many reasons. First of all, it is a high-impact sport, so your abs have to be strong to keep your torso stable. Secondly, having solid abs helps you throw powerful punches. Finally, having a strong core enables you to avoid injuries. So, if you are serious about boxing, it is essential to work your abs in conjunction with your boxing training.
If you decide to take up boxing as a hobby, then you should know that your core muscles, particularly your abs, will be put to the test. Although some of the moves you’ll make, such as throwing jabs and hooks, will seem easy at first, they can quickly become very demanding on your abdominal muscles. If you want to get the most out of your training, you’ll want to try out a solid boxing abs workout routine.
Within this guide, I’ll show you abdominal exercises that are useful for anyone involved in boxing. I’ll show you moves with and without training equipment and at the end some examples.
Boxing abs exercises
Build strong core with medicine ball
Medicine ball training for boxing develops core strength, balance, and flexibility. It is an integral part of a vigorous exercise program and can improve functional capacity and performance. The weight depends on your fitness level, but in most cases, 7-12 pound equipment will do since we do high repetitions.
Standing twist
Standing twists with weight is an excellent ab exercise for your obliques and abdominals. Rotational strength is vital for boxing because it helps you deliver a more powerful punch.
Hold the ball in front of you with extended arms and twist from side to side as if you were passing it to somebody behind you. Keep your core engaged during the entire movement. When you come back to the center, stop for a moment.
Overhead throws
Standing weighted ball overhead throws can help develop your upper body strength. Stand upright and raise the ball above your head. To target your abs, don’t throw it with just the power of your arms. Lean backward and use the power of your core as well. The best is if you have a partner, but you can slam it to a wall as well.
Russian twists
The Russian twist is another powerful rotational core movement.
- Get seated position on the floor, knees bent, feet flat.
- Keep your back straight but not stiff.
- Lean your upper body back 45 degrees and raise your arms until they are extended in front of you.
- Twist your torso to the sides while keeping the starting position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
The Russian twist exercise works the entire core.
Chopping Wood
To do chopping wood exercise, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold the medicine ball with both hands in front of your chest and lean forward. Then, bend your knees and swing the ball into the air as high as possible before bringing it back down and repeating the movement.
With stability ball
The stability ball has many benefits to build the core for boxing. It helps to strengthen the muscles in the body and improve balance. As it is wobbly and wants to move away, it encourages the body to work as a single unit. The fitness ball is great for strengthening those deep-lying core muscles.
Incline and decline push-ups
Based on extensive research, the stability ball push-up is widely considered one of the best exercises for building overall strength. It utilizes several large muscle groups at once while also engaging the core. That’s why push-ups are always included in a core workout for boxers.
Back extensions (hyperextension)
Stability ball back extension is a great workout to help strengthen the back muscles and stretch the muscles in the lower back. It’s among the most crucial boxing core exercises that help avoid lower-back injury.
First, lie with your stomach on top of a stability ball. It’s under your hips. From here, lift your chest, shoulders, and head off the ball.
Wall squat
Boxers often use wall squats to build their legs’ strength, increase their endurance, and increase their overall flexibility in their hips and torso. With a stability ball keeping the balance is more challenging, so the core is engaged even better.
Crunches
Fitness ball crunches are a great way to work the abdominal muscles. They are more effective than regular crunches because they use the entire body to stabilize the ball plus the range of motion is longer. This ab training is also beneficial for beginners.
Without equipment
For ab workouts at home, here are a few bodyweight core exercises without any equipment. These movements are as effective as the previous ones to develop core strength.
Reverse crunch
These are the steps to reverse crunch exercise:
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
- Place your hands behind head or on your chest.
- Raise your upper body.
- While holding this position, bring your knees up to your chest.
- You can also do it by moving your knees and torso at the same time.
Plank
Planks provide many benefits, such as core conditioning, improved balance, and enhanced lower body strength. I like doing planks at the end of my boxing workouts to cool down. With side planks, you can target your internal and external obliques better. Hold the plank position for 30 seconds to 60 seconds. I try to hold the plank position 2-3 seconds longer with every workout. I believe planks should always be in abdominal workouts.
Bicycle crunches
Bicycling crunch exercise is a full-body exercise that uses your hips, legs, and torso to perform bicycling motion to strengthen and tone muscles.
Sit-ups
Doing sit-ups is one of the most common exercises to train your abdominal muscles. You can do this exercise by lying on the floor and raising your torso. With a twisting motion, you can target your external obliques better.
Ab wheel
Ab wheel exercise equipment is a small wheel with handles on each side designed to help you exercise your entire midsection. It is a functional exercise that strengthens your spine and core muscles, improves your balance and stability. It can be used to enhance your boxing abs conditioning.
To use the ab roller safely and effectively, you should be warmed up and have existing core strength.
How to train abs for boxing
For boxing specific ab workouts, you should do the following:
- Focus on compound moves that target multiple muscle groups. These ab exercises allow you to place more stress on your body than isolation movements and can lead to improved strength, stamina and muscle gains.
- Use both weight and bodyweight movements to make your training more versatile. Also, train your midsection from different angles.
- Use functional movements to improve coordination. Functional movements help train your ab muscles to work together in a coordinated motion to produce the most force possible.
- The ab workout for boxing is very important, so it’s maybe better to do it initially, so you won’t skip it.
- Proper technique is critical.
Boxing ab workout examples
If you’re into boxing and wanna get better in the ring, you need an excellent boxing ab routine. For your training, you should have a list of core strength exercises that you can do. We have listed some above, but from the following boxing-inspired core workout videos, you can get even more ideas.
3 min abs Routine for fighters
This is a complete core stability workout you can follow to burn abs, low back, and hips. This 3-minute high-intensity drill is excellent for strength, endurance, and building muscle. This bodyweight core routine doesn’t require any equipment.
Manny Pacquiao boxer”s abs workout
Manny Pacquiao is still considered one of the best boxers in the world despite his advanced age. This is a boxing core workout inspired by Manny Pacquiao for those who wish to get the same kind of abs that Pacquiao has.
Floyd Mayweather’s core strength training
Floyd Mayweather is one of the greatest boxers of all time, and he does a lot of ab work. His abs workout routine may inspire you to create a core workout routine using a variety of his stability exercises, including ab wheels, medicine balls, and a variety of core strengthening equipment to challenge his abs.
How often do boxers train abs?
To develop a stronger core, professional boxers need to train abs and back muscles as often as possible, as they are responsible for keeping your body stable. Typically, all the time, they are at the boxing gym. That is the only way to overcome their opponents.
Can you get abs from boxing?
Boxing training exercises target the entire body and can help improve your overall strength, cardiovascular endurance and lower your body-fat. Hence, it’s perfect to get in shape. However, working your core muscle endurance and your diet is essential if you want to get a six-pack. If you have belly fat, losing body fat is the first step via a healthy diet and cardiovascular workout.
What is explosive core training?
An explosive core training circuit is a method of training used in boxing. It is a form of plyometrics that trains the body to generate power in the form of fast and short bursts of movement. That is why they are included in a boxer’s routine.
To sum up
The core of a boxing player is the center of gravity and stabilization. It keeps the fighter from getting off balance and falling to the ground. A stable core is also the primary source of power generation for various punches. Hence, a well-planned boxing abdominal workout is critical for success and any combat sports.
Related: Does boxing make you strong?