Summer Workout: Beat the Heat and Train Like a Boxer

With summer finally here, the heat can make exercising feel like a chore, but it’s best not to forego your workouts just because of some warm weather. When it comes to boxing, it’s important to keep your muscles in peak condition for optimal performance.

That doesn’t just mean training common strikes such as jabs, crosses, and others. Effective bodyweight workouts can help you build key boxing muscles and improve your skills. However, with the warmer weather now arriving it’s also important to stay safe while exercising. Here are some tips for staying cool and a fun summer workout for you to stay in fighting shape.

Tips For Working Out In The Summer

• Schedule workouts in the morning prior to 10am or late afternoon/evening after 3pm
• Keep exercises quick and efficient
• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water

What To Watch For:

When working out in the sun, heat, and/or humidity, be sure to drink plenty of water between rounds--have at least 32 ounces of water throughout your routine. Be mindful of your body and stop if you find yourself overheating. Common signs of heatstroke include:

• Rapid breathing
• Flushed skin
• Racing heart
• Nausea and vomiting

If you exhibit any of these symptoms, stop working out immediately and find somewhere to cool down. Try to hydrate your body and contact a doctor if your symptoms do not subside.

The Workout

This 15-minute workout includes a quick warm-up, a 3-round bodyweight circuit, and a cool down. No equipment is needed for these exercises.

Warm-Up (3 minutes)

Warming up is important because it raises your body's temperature, primes your muscles for a workout, and initiates your body's cooling process. However, when it’s warm outside this process has already begun, so it’s alright to perform a shorter warm-up than normal.

Jumping Jacks (30 seconds)

• Stand upright with your legs together, arms at your sides
• Bend your knees slightly, and jump into the air
• As you jump, spread your legs to be about shoulder-width apart
• Stretch your arms out and over your head
• Jump back to starting position
• Repeat for 30 seconds

Side to Side Swings (30 seconds)

• Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and your arms down by your sides
• Twist your right foot slightly outwards while pivoting in the same direction with your left
• As you do so, swing your arms gently using momentum, rather than forcing your arms to swing
• Gently rotate the other direction and continue swinging back and forth for 30 seconds

Forward/Backward Arm Circles (30 seconds each)

• Stand up straight and reach both your arms straight out to the sides horizontally at shoulder height
• Slowly rotate your arms in small forward circles
• Continue for 30 seconds before reversing the direction of the circles

Jog in Place (1 minute)

To emphasis the stretching of your leg muscles, try to kick your legs back as close to your glutes as possible while jogging

Bodyweight Circuit (9 minutes)

With your warm-up done, it’s time to dive into the main exercises. This will be a 3-round circuit of bodyweight movements with one minute rests between rounds.

Round 1 (3 minutes)

Squat Hold (1 minute)

• Stand with your feet a little further than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed forward
• Lower yourself into a squat position as far as you can go and hold
• Remain in this position while maintaining a proud chest for 1 minute

Lunges in Place (1 minute)

• Start in a standing position
• Step forward with one leg and bend your knee forward until it is almost directly above your foot
• At the same time, while keeping your rear foot in place, lower your rear knee until it almost touches the ground
• Return to a standing position and repeat with the other leg
• Continue alternating legs for 1 minute

Flutter Kicks (30 seconds)

• Lay flat on the ground with your hands down by your sides
• Keep your legs straight and lift them off the ground, making sure to keep your back on the ground
• Gently kick your legs up and down as if you were in a swimming pool
• Continue for 30 seconds

Reverse Crunches (30 seconds)

• Lay flat on the ground and place your hands below your bottom
• Bend your legs and hoover your feet off the ground
• Pull your legs up towards your chest while slightly lifting your bottom
• Return your feet to hovering off the ground and repeat these crunches for 30 seconds

Rest (1 minute)

Round 2 (3 minutes)

Push-Up/Sit-Up (30 second intervals)

• Start in a standard push-up position with your hands planted underneath your shoulders
• Gently lower yourself down until your chest and legs almost make contact with the ground
• Push yourself back up to the starting position and continue for 30 seconds

Push-Up Modification: If you cannot perform a push-up on your toes, you can rest your knees on the ground instead

• After 30 seconds of push-ups, switch to a sit-up position by laying on your back with your feet planted on the ground
• Keeping your feet firmly planted the entire time, lift your upper body and sit up
• Lower yourself back down and repeat for 30 seconds

Sit-Up Modification: If you cannot perform a full sit-up, you can do crunches instead

Shadowboxing (1 minute)

• Start in a fighting stance with your legs spread about shoulder-width apart, making sure there is a slight bend in your knees
• Keep your hands in a guard position and throw freestyle strikes while moving around for 1 minute
• Sample strikes can include: Jab (1), Cross (2), Hooks (3,4), and Uppercuts (5,6)

Side Plank Holds (30 seconds per side)

• Start in a push-up position, then lower to your forearms
• Rotate sideways until only one forearm is on the ground
• Reach your other arm up towards the sky to ensure you are fully rotated sideways
• Hold for 30 seconds
• Switch sides and repeat

Rest (1 minute)

Round 3 (3 minutes)

Burpees (30 seconds)

• Start in a standing position, and drop down into a push-up position with your hands planted underneath your shoulders
• Lower yourself into a push-up until your chest and legs almost touch the ground
• Push back up and quickly hop to your feet
• Jump slightly into the air so that both of your feet leave the ground, and reach up towards the sky with your arms
• Repeat for 30 seconds

Mountain Climbers (30 seconds)

• Lower yourself into a push-up position with your arms a little further than shoulder-width apart
• Keep one leg planted, while bending your other leg bringing it up towards your chest
• Return your bent leg to an extended position and repeat with the other leg
• When done correctly, mountain climbers will almost look as if you are running in place on the ground

Spider Push-Ups (30 seconds)

• Drop into a push-up position and spread your arms about double shoulder-width apart
• Lower yourself towards the ground, while lifting one leg up horizontally to the side, bending it upwards towards your arm. Keep your leg parallel to the ground (about 3-4 inches off the ground)
• Perform push-ups for 30 seconds while continuing to hold your knee up towards your arm
• Repeat on the other side

Incline Push-Up (30 seconds)

• Find an elevated surface such as a bench or staircase and place your hands shoulder-width apart on the surface
• Walk your legs backwards until you are in an elevated push-up position
• Lower your body towards the surface until your chest and legs almost make contact before returning to the starting position
• Repeat for 30 seconds

Decline Push-Up (30 seconds)

• Using the same incline surface as before, place your feet on top of the surface and your hands down below so that your body is angled down
• Lower yourself until your chest almost makes contact with the ground before returning to the starting position
• Repeat for 30 seconds

Bridge Kick (30 seconds)

• Start by sitting on the ground with your feet planted and your hands touching the ground behind you
• Gently lift yourself off the ground slightly so that your glutes are slightly off the ground
• Extend your elbows and use your hips to lift your glutes until your body is just about parallel to the ground
• Kick one leg upwards before lowering that leg and dropping back down to your start position (but do not let your glutes make contact with the ground)
• Alternate sides for 30 seconds

Rest (1 minute)

Cool Down (3 minutes)

Let’s finish off this workout with a relaxing cool down that will stretch out your muscles and give your body a chance to come back to a normal temperature:

Shoulder Stretch (30 seconds)

• Take your right arm and cross it over your body along your chest line
• Bend your left arm and draw your right arm tight to your body, feeling the stretch in your right shoulder
• Hold for 15 seconds
• Switch arms and repeat

Tricep Stretch (30 seconds)

• Extend your right arm up over your head
• Bend your right elbow and place your right hand on your back
• Take your left hand and push down on your right elbow until you feel the triceps stretch
• Hold for 15 seconds
• Switch arms and repeat

Chest Opener (30 seconds)

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart
• Interlock your fingers together behind your lower back
• Slowly pull both arms down and then drive the shoulders up a little bit
• Hold for 30 seconds, feeling the stretch through your shoulders and chest
• Release and shake out arms

Hands to the Floor (1 minute)

• From a standing position, spread both your legs wide, about 2-3x shoulder-width apart
• Bend at your waist until your hands are planted firmly on the floor
• Lean towards your right leg, grabbing your calf or foot
• Hold for 30 seconds before leaning towards your left side and repeating the hold

Hands to the Sky (30 seconds)

• Start in a standing position and reach your hands up towards the sky as high as you can, focusing on stretching your back muscles
• Hold this extended reach for 30 seconds before relaxing

There you go! A quick summer workout to keep your training on-point during the hot season. Your boxing skills are more than just throwing powerful punches and other strikes. Boxing uses a wide variety of muscles in your body, so incorporating exercises such as the ones above - burpees, shadowboxing, and even jumping jacks into your boxing regimen will help you build your endurance and fight harder!

For additional workouts and boxing tips, visit our blog and subscribe to the FightCamp YouTube channel to get the latest boxing and kickboxing content for all skill levels.

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The Author: Trevor Mahoney is an avid fighter who has been training for the last 15 years of his life. He has experience in boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, and kenpo karate, which has developed into a passion for overall fitness. He is a regular contributor to Quizlet, BetterHumans, and various other online publications.