One of the Best 20-Minute Boxing Strength Workouts

Channel your inner champion with a quick 20-minute boxing strength workout that’s designed not just to improve your punches but to build real, functional strength.

“This workout is half strength training with light to moderate weights and half shadowboxing,” says Bobbie Jo Davis, CPT, trainer for Rumble Boxing, who designed the workout below for our Movement of the Month Club.

Adding strength training to your boxing workouts is essential because boxing itself is part cardio and part strength. You’re not just trying to bounce and duck as you deliver fast-flying punches, you want to be able to hit hard, too.

“Think stronger, faster, and more powerful punches,” Davis says. “Force in boxing is driven from the ground up. We need a strong lower body to be able transfer this energy from our hips, to our core, to land a good punch.”

So get ready for a full-body boxing strength workout that helps you break a sweat and build muscle at the same time.

Join the movement

If you’re following along with our August 2024 Movement of the Month Club, these are the moves for week 2. You’ll do one boxing combo or exercise each day, Monday through Saturday. (But you can do this workout anytime!)

Then on Sunday, you’ll put all of the moves together to do the full boxing strength workout. Perform each combo for 45 seconds, then do some active recovery (boxer’s bounce, step or walk around, shake it out) for 15 seconds. Repeat with the second and third move or combo.

Here’s your boxing strength workout

1. Boxing warmup

Let’s get ready to rumble! This sequence opens the hips, chest, and shoulders, Davis says. Plus, it loosens up hip flexors and fires up the core.

World’s greatest stretch

1. From standing, lower your hands to the floor and walk out to a high plank, with your hands under your shoulders and your body straight from head to heels.
2. Place your right foot outside your right hand, landing in a low lunge.
3. Lift your right arm toward the sky, rotating your torso and looking toward your raised hand.
4. Place your right hand back on the ground and step back to a plank.
5. Perform the same sequence on the left side. Continue alternating for 45 seconds, then take 15 seconds before moving on.

Overhead knee drive

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, holding one dumbbell in each hand at your hips. Extend your arms overhead.
2. Keeping your arms overhead, lift your right knee up toward your chest without leaning back.
3. Lower your right knee, then repeat on your left side.
4. Alternate lifting each knee toward your chest, keeping arms overhead and core engaged. Continue for 45 seconds, then take 15 seconds before moving on.

Squat

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointed outward.
2. Push your hips back as if you are sitting in an invisible chair and squat as low as you can go with good form.
3. Press through your heels to straighten your legs and return to standing. Continue for 45 seconds.

2. Punch, bounce, duck

It’s time to move on the punching portion of the workout. Need a refresher on the boxing bunches? We’ve got you covered in week 1. 

1. Jab (1), cross (2), then bounce. Stay with this rhythm for about 45 seconds.

2. Then, try this combo: Lead-hand hook (3), rear-hand hook (4), then duck. Continue this hit, hit, duck for 45 seconds.

3. Finish with four punches: Jab (1), cross (2), lead-hand hook (3), rear-hand hook (4), continuing for 45 seconds.

3. HIIT punches

For this move, you’re combining two combos.

1. Jab (1), cross (2), lead-hand hook (3). Continue for 45 seconds.

2. Lead-hand uppercut (5), rear-hand uppercut (6), lead-hand hook (3). Continue for 45 seconds.

4. Squat to alternating press

Time to take a strength break to work on your legs, core, and shoulders.

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height with elbows bent.
2. Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a squat.
3. As you stand up from the squat, extend one arm overhead, pressing the dumbbell towards the ceiling.
4. Lower the dumbbell back to your shoulder as you drop into squat again.
5. Perform another squat, this time pressing the dumbbell in the opposite hand overhead.
6. Continue alternating for 45 seconds, and repeat for three total rounds with 15 seconds of rest in between each round.

5. Row to hammer curl

Sure, the best way to get better at throwing punches is to, well, throw punches, but this combo dumbbell exercise gives your punch more power.

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells in each hand, palms facing your body.
2. Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back flat.
3. Engage your core and row the dumbbells toward your waist, keeping your elbows close to your body and squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top.
4. Extend your arms back down.
5. Stand up, maintaining a slight bend in your knees.
6. With your palms still facing each other, curl the dumbbells toward your shoulders, keeping your elbows at your sides.
7. Slowly lower them back down and repeat for 45 seconds. Take a 15-second breather, then repeat twice, for a total of 3 rounds.

6. Reverse lunge + punches

Hit the glutes for faster footwork.

1. Reverse lunge: Hold one dumbbell in each hand. From standing, step one foot back a few feet and bend both knees to 90 degrees, keeping your hands by your sides. Return to standing. Continue alternating legs for 15 seconds.

2. Get into boxing stance, then combine a lead-hand uppercut (5), lead-hand hook (3), and cross (2). Continue for 45 seconds.

3. Return to doing alternating reverse lunges for 45 seconds.