Boxing is arguably among the most difficult sports to train for. Fighters need to be healthy, strong, quick, agile, powerful, adept and brave. This indicates that their training is extremely specialised as well as helps to explain why fighters are amongst the fittest athletes in sport.

So what do boxers do to get so in good condition? In some ways this is a hard question to answer because, like boxing styles, there are numerous ways that a fighter can get in shape. A lot of instructors keep their approaches secret as well as vehemently disagree with the approaches used by their fellow coaches. As an example, where some trainers instruct to hit the weights, others say that lifting weights will make fighters slow and "muscle bound". As both camps of instructors have created champs, it's clear that there is no straightforward answer to the question "how do boxers train".

There are, however, a variety of typical approaches that most fight trainers agree on.

Road work - long runs made to increase fundamental fitness and aid the boxer to lose weight and typically performed in the early morning and before breakfast to make the most of weight loss.

Abdominal work - tough abdominals are crucial for throwing huge blows as well as shielding the boxer against blows to the stomach.

Heavy bag work - to increase punching power and practice throwing various punch combos. Working the heavy bag is also an efficient type of conditioning training.

Speed bag - as the name suggests, this tool is used to develop punching speed and reflexes.

Calisthenics - another way of saying high repetition bodyweight exercises. Press ups, squat thrusts, sit ups and lunges are all examples of this type of exercise. Calisthenics develop muscle endurance.

Sparring - controlled fighting for the purpose of developing speed, capability and fitness.

Pad work - one on one training that involves punching and dodging pads held by the coach. And also developing a boxer's skills, this exercise additionally raises fitness.

Jumping rope - a keystone of any boxing exercise, there isn't a single champ, past or present, who didn't spend great deals of time jumping rope.

Jump rope is really worth more than a passing mention simply due to the fact that it offers a lot of advantages to a boxer. Jumping rope is great for developing fitness, weight control, foot speed, eye-hand coordination, upper body endurance and agility. You just have to look at videos of boxing greats like Mohammed Ali, Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran and Marvin Haggler jumping rope to see just exactly how effective utilizing a speed rope can be. If it was good enough for those legendary fighters, it'll be good enough for you!

Jumping rope is probably the worst kept secret in boxing as practically every boxer that has actually ever before entered the squared circle has actually done it and while it's not a new exercise method, jumping rope is probably among the most effective.