Beautiful burpees
As you get older, it becomes easier to tweak and strain muscles and ligaments. As a fifty-something with lots of mileage on the clock, I have struggled with injuries over the last 4 or 5 years.
When the old joints start creaking, a spell of bodyweight training keeps me ticking over. And when it comes to moving your own bodyweight, burpees are the undisputed champion. Burpees are a great exercise for anyone, but especially boxers.
They provide a full-body workout and develop:
cardiovascular endurance
explosive power
strength
Form
As with any resistance training, it's important to use correct form:
Warm-up to prepare your body for the workout.
Start in a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lower yourself into a squat position with your hands on the ground in front of you, just outside your feet.
Kick your feet back into a push-up position, keeping your spine and neck in a straight line. Concentrate on the connection of your hips and ribs, keeping a tight core. Don’t let your lower back sag towards the floor.
Perform a push-up by lowering your chest to the ground and then pushing back up. Jump forward from the push-up position, moving your feet back towards your hands. Land in a squat position.
Jump up, extending your arms overhead. Land softly and transition to the next rep.
Including burpees into your training routine
One of my favourite go-to routines comes courtesy of renowned coach Ross Enamait. Ross is a ferocious trainer. He leads by example by staying in superb physical condition. His excellent books always offer a healthy dose of burpees.
Ross prescribes mixing burpees with intervals in 30 second blocks with shadow boxing. I often used these routines in my training and also with the amateur boxers I worked with. Said boxers would groan when they realised that burpee intervals were on the menu. I found that the very best workouts usually elicited that response.
The routine is simple:
Perform burpees for 30 seconds.
Shadow box for 30 seconds.
Repeat for 2 or 3 minute rounds.
Rest for 1 minute.
Repeat for 3-6 rounds.
The shadow boxing blocks are not rest periods. Maintain a brisk pace using good punch technique. Keep your feet and head moving. This is an excellent conditioning drill, but also helps to develop mental resilience. It goes some way to replicating the effects of boxing while fatigued.
If you are new to burpees or HIIT training, start at 2 or three rounds of 2 minutes. Increasing to multiple 3 minute rounds provides ample scope for progression.
I can't recommend this drill enough. You can peform it almost anywhere. It will leave you gasping for breath, muscles screaming, in a sweaty (but happy) mess.
