5 MINUTE DYNAMIC BOXING WARM-UP

It’s time to get even more from your workout and maximise your boxing session with this five-minute boxing warm-up.

If you’re someone who normally swerves a warm-up, intent on cracking on with the workout at hand you could be missing a trick! This easy five-minute dynamic boxing warm-up is the ideal way to kick off your boxing workout.

A dynamic warm-up (one with movement, rather that static stretches like the cool-down you perform after a session) helps to warm the muscles up and prepare them for the workout that's to come. It should start with small repetitive movements, which gradually increase into larger ones.

Improve your workout
Warming up like this not only reduces your risk of injury; a dynamic warm-up increases the blood supply to your muscles, joints and soft tissues and it increases the lubrication of your joints, making the soft tissues more elastic and increasing the ability of the muscles to contract swiftly on demand, which means your speedy punches and quick, tight footwork will be even sharper.

Five-minute fix
It only takes a few minutes to get the blood flowing to your muscles and your body prepared for the session. Jumping straight into the deep end without warming up will mean your muscles aren’t ready to reach their full potential and will be more prone to an injury.

Perform 3-4 dynamic stretches and some body weight exercises, such as alternate lunges, to get yourself warmed up and raring to go. Try these dynamic stretches below for a quick boxing warm-up.

YOUR BOXING WARM-UP:

Clockface
This is a great hip and shoulder mobiliser.

Start by imagining you’re in the centre of a clock face. With your hands on your hips, lunge forward with your right foot to 12 o’clock, keeping your body upright and your tummy tight, and then coming back to the centre.

Now lunge to your side, to 3 o’clock, then 9 o’clock in a sort of ‘curtsey’ fashion, where your right foot lunges behind your stationary left foot. Finally, lunge backwards to 6 o’clock, before swapping to move the left foot around the clock.

After completing this set, progress with the next sets by:
Raising the opposite arm into the air above your head as you lunge around the clock.
Raising both arms into the air as you lunge around the clock.

Inchworm
This helps to mobilise the entire back of the body and fires up your core too.

Start standing, feet shoulder-width apart. Roll down towards your feet and place your hands on the floor by your feet. Walk your hands forward until you’re in a press-up position, shoulders over hands and back in a straight line from head to feet. Slowly walk your hands back to your hands and roll back up to standing. Repeat this slowly 10 times.

Reverse lunge with twist
Help improve your jabs and crosses by activating your core and legs with this move.

Start standing, feet hip-width apart. Step back into a lunge with your right leg, both knees at 90 degrees. Ensure your front knee doesn’t go over your front toes. When in the lunge twist back and over towards your left hand side with your arms above your head. Repeat lunging back on the left leg. Repeat 10 times on each side.

Mountain climber
This is a good full-body move that can be done to gradually warm up your arms, abs, back and legs.

Start in a high plank position, shoulders directly over hands, body in a straight line from shoulders to feet. Bend one knee and bring it in towards your chest then repeat with the other leg. Perform for 10 seconds, then 20 seconds and then 30 with 10-second rests between them.

If you would like some more guidance on your boxing warm up, why not give our online boxing classes a try?