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Welcome to Train Like A Champion 2.0
The Boxing Science program has helped you to get fitter, faster and strong over the past 10 weeks
– the results have been great and now it’s time to step up your game….

A famous Boxing Science quote is “It doesn’t get easier, we get faster”

Here is the next stage of your journey to world level fitness!

Progressive overload and training variation is needed to stimulate new physiological adaptations.
TLAC 2.0 will progress you on to more advanced training methods to help you keep pushing your
body to get better results.

In this handbook…

We provide you with a new 10-week strength and conditioning program. We

progress you to more complex exercises and shorter rep ranges to help
you unlock your strength.

We manipulate the intensity and volume of your runs during the 10-
week conditioning program to push your body to the limit in the
pursuit for world-level fitness.

Also, we provide speed sessions that you can modify and implement
into your training week, warm-ups and tapering phase.

Contents
What’s New? 3
Planning Your Program 4
Tapering Strategies for Boxing 6
Boxing Science Tapering Phase 7
Goal Setting for Boxing 9
Strength Program 11
Core Training 14
Speed Training 17
Conditioning 18
The Programs 21

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What’s New?
Train Like A Champion 2.0 was made for YOU!
The progress you’ve made from the first program has led you to this moment, now it’s time to
step it up a level. Lift more weights, move faster and push your body to new limits.

Strength
Boxing Science provide you with a new 10-week strength and conditioning program. You will
progress to more complex exercises and shorter rep ranges, this will build strength for that
devastating punch you've always craved.
• Progression to the big lifts
• Shorter rep ranges to develop maximal strength
• Tapering strategies to be firing on fight night.

Core
Our new core circuits will build you fantastic core strength, helping you to deliver thudding shots
and protect your mid-section from body shots. The Boxing Science core circuits will challenge your
core muscles in various planes - this can aid your training performance and reduce the likelihood
of injury. Also, we introduce explosive core supersets to improve rotational speed.
• Core circuits
• New exercises – including isometric core holds
• ‘Explosive Core Supersets’ to develop core speed

Conditioning
A brand new 10-week conditioning program manipulate the intensity and volume of your runs
during the 10-week conditioning program to push your body to the limit in the pursuit for world-
level fitness.
• Sprint clusters – Experience the advanced Boxing Science conditioning
methods
• High intensity red zone runs

Speed
We program explosive speed and movement sessions into your
training week, warm-ups and tapering phase. This will equip
you with dynamic movement and blistering speed to get your
firing for fight night.
• Weekly speed sessions to keep you firing all camp
• General and specific exercises to transfer to blistering hand
speed
• Two-week speed block for your tapering phase, to get you
fired up for fight night.
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Train Like A Champion – Coaching Videos
Squat Mastery
Deadlift Mastery
Bench Press Mastery
How to use a Bluetooth heart rate
monitor
Performance Profiling

Planning Your Program

At Boxing Science, we normally discuss the plan with the individual and their coach to
build and optimal program.

An optimal program includes training variation of methods, intensity and loads. This
helps push the body to the limit and lets it recover, helping a boxer optimise physical
performance and reduce fatigue/overtraining.

Below outlines the periodised plan for ‘Train Like A Champion 2.0’.

The first block highlights the different stages of the program, and what areas you will be
working on. The second block show variation in loadings. Making sure you progressively
load and take de-load weeks, ensuring overload and reduces fatigue for optimal results.

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Your Weekly Plan
Effective training distribution is important to make sure you are getting the most out of
each session.

The weekly plan below distributes your running, strength and

recovery training across the week.

Please note that this is only an example as we do not know when

your boxing sessions are likely to take place, as well as your
work/study/social schedules.

The plan can be flexible, as long as you don’t have too

many hard or too many light days on the trot.

If you need any advice on this, please get in touch via

the Facebook Training Page.

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Tapering Strategies for Boxing
The taper is a reduction in an athletes training load in the final days and weeks before a
fight, with the aim of optimising performance.
An old school training method would be to train hard, have one last hard spar one week
before and then rest up when making weight.

This can leave a boxer having itchy knuckles as they anticipate getting in the ring.

The Boxing Science tapering strategies can help a boxer get through fight week to be
physically and psychologically firing come fight night.

Science Behind the Taper

The difficulty for athletes, coaches, and sports
scientists consists in finding the strategy that
will find the optimal balance between enough
training, and enough rest. This is called the
fitness-fatigue model (left).

The aim is to maximise the decrease in

accumulated fatigue, whilst retaining or further
enhancing physical fitness.

This leads to peak performance.

To achieve this balance is really important. Performance can be affected if

the taper is too short and the training load is too high, likewise for tapers
that are too long and low training loads.

This reduction of the training load can be achieved through the

alteration of several components, including the training
volume, intensity, and frequency. Also, training load can be
manipulated with the pattern of training loads and the taper
duration.

The most common and effective way to maintain fitness is

keeping the intensity high and the training load reduces.
This taper can be 7-10 days, however a longer / more
effective training camp can look to start their taper 14 days
from competition.
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Boxing Science Tapering Phase
Strength
Our taper starts with reducing the load on the key strength exercises. We use 60-75%
loads on squat, deadlift and pressing exercises from 14 days out. We then progress to
lighter-load general and punch specific exercises, this can start 7-10 days out from fight
night.

The load drops even more on fight week, using mostly bodyweight, light-loaded and
exercises. We shift the emphasis from generic to sport specific exercises – we love to use
banded shadow box to get the hips and core firing in boxing actions.

Conditioning

Due to being more demanding on the body, the conditioning taper is slightly longer as
training load is gradually reduced with three weeks to go. Intensity is kept high whilst the
load is reduced. This is dependent on the conditioning methods used previously.

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Testing Profile
Use this form to log your testing results before and after the 10-week block.

The testing battery is outlined in the ‘Train Like a Champion’ introduction guide.

Not sure how to use this? We explain more in our demonstration videos
Click here to access your videos

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Goal Setting for Boxing
Most athletes who’ve achieved anything approaching success will have set goals along
the way. There are a couple of theories as to how and why goal setting works.
The Direct Mechanistic view, explains that goals direct your attention onto the task at
hand, encourage persistence and motivation, and can even help you to develop new
strategies for achieving what you’ve set out to achieve.
The Indirect Thought Process view suggests that setting and achieving goals can help
performance by improving confidence, motivation, and overall satisfaction with what
you’re doing. It’s likely a combination of both theories, but there are many different
acronyms that are supposed to help people set “good” goals.

Set SMART goals! SMARTER goals! SMARTS GOALS!

Whatever your acronym of choice, (if you’re into that sort of thing) there are a few things
that you should keep in mind to make goal setting effective.
The gist of the acronyms described above is that goals should be:

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Use this table to structure your goals.

Goal Measure Date Achieved?

Improve lower Improve 20th YES!!!

body strength Countermovement November
jump by 2 cm 2017

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Strength Program
In the original Train Like a Champion, the strength program was designed to help build
strength and movement foundations. The reason was to help prepare you for bigger,
stronger lifts.

In TLAC 2.0, we progress to the big lifts that can really benefit whole-body strength,
speed and explosiveness.

These will be performed for 3-5 reps x 3-5 sets, aiming to develop maximal strength of
the lower- and upper-body.

Visual demonstrations of these exercises are provided in the Strength Handbook and in
the TLAC coaching videos.

The Squat
The squat will now progress from a box squat to a full on back
squat. You will still need time to learn and become accustomed
to this movement before you maximally load it, so we have
thrown in a few exercises / techniques that can help.

Pause Squats

When back squatting, it can take time to get used to the

pattern, the correct depth and an appropriate load for
adaptation. Pause squats will help you become comfortable in the bottom of a squat, and
increase the difficulty that will help you improve your leg and core strength.

These are used in phase 1 of the 2.0 program. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO DEMO

Back Squat

You will move onto full back squats – this is an awesome exercise as long as its performed
correctly.

Back Squat Rules

1. Do not sacrifice quality for load

2. 2-3 warm-up sets before working sets
3. RPE of each set should be 8-9 out of 10
4. Aim to lift the weight as fast as possible
5. Aim to increase load by a maximum 5 kg each week

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The Deadlift
The deadlift will develop your posterior chain. This is
important to improve the function of your glutes and
hamstrings, as well as strengthening your lower back and
core. This is important for boxers as the posterior chain isn't
strengthened through traditional boxing training methods.
Although the deadlift has many benefits, you should be
cautious when performing deadlifts as technique can be
affected due to limited coaching, understanding or mobility.
In this program, we will be progressing from the RDL’s and Deadlifts from blocks to
eventually lifting from the floor.
The Deadlift from the floor requires good mobility, back and core strength. Boxers that
are not accustomed to strength training may struggle to perform Deadlifts safely and
effectively. Here are some filler exercises to use between your warm-up and working sets
to make sure your body is prepared to deadlift.
Deadlift filler exercises – Exercises in the strength handbook
Hip Hinge with Stick
This will groove your body into a hip-hinge without breaking neutral posture.
Suspension Row
The main deadlift issues we see for boxers is the inability to retract their shoulders. The
suspension row could be a great exercise to help fire up you lats and the upper posterior
chain in preparation for the deadlift.
Prisoner Split Squats
Most boxers will have some sort of hip flexor tightness / hip mobility issue due to the
demands of the sport. Prisoner Split Squats can help loosen off the hips and activate the
glutes to prepare the lower body for deadlifts.
Deadlift Rules

1. Use video feedback to check whether your back is straight, if you cannot keep a
straight back, reduce the load or regress to deadlift from blocks
2. 2-3 warm-up sets before working sets
3. RPE of each set should be 8-9 out of 10
4. Push through the floor explosively to lift the weight as fast as possible
5. Aim to increase load by a maximum 10 kg each week

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Upper Body
Due to the high-volume demands of the sport, almost every boxer will suffer from some
form of shoulder dysfunction. This meant that the first TLAC program was cautious in its
approach to upper-body exercises.

We had to use exercises that reduced muscular imbalances and that optimally loaded the
muscles without compromising the shoulder joint.

Now, we are able to progress to exercises that increase the load and complexity for
better strength gains.

Vertical Push
Overhead pressing can be a struggle for boxers due to shoulder
mobility issues. Therefore, the first program looked to gradually
build overhead strength by breaking the movement down.

Now we have become accustomed to these movements, we can

now look to load through the Dumbbell Push Press.

Horizontal Push
This is potentially the strongest area for a boxer, as most of their upper-body actions
happen in this plane of motion. However, shoulder mobility issues mean that boxers have
to start from scratch to eliminate compensatory patterns and bad habits build from years
of training.

Press-ups and floor press have helped you engage your posterior chain, tricep and core
recruitment to have the horizontal push more than just a chest exercise.

Now we can progress to the Dumbbell Chest Press, where we can load up the upper
body with shorter rep ranges for a stronger performance.

Pressing Rules

1. You may start to flare the ribcage and arch your back when pressing – use video
feedback to make sure you’re bracing the core to keep the ribcage locked.
2. 1-2 warm-up sets before working sets
3. RPE of each set should be 8-9 out of 10
4. Start with dumbbells parallel, then twist when locking out. On descent, act like
you are pulling the dumbbells in to engage posterior chain
5. Aim to increase load by a maximum 2.5kg each week

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Vertical Pull
Vertical pulls, more famously known as pull-ups, are often
performed really well by our boxers. This meant that we were
able to push you on to weighted pull ups in the first program.

We have added two progressions for 2.0 to build unbelievable

back strength.

Phase 1 – Drop Sets – Drop the weight and keep busting out the reps.

Phase 2 – Cluster Sets – Drop the weight, have a rest of 10-20 seconds, then complete a
second set on the same weight load.

Reps will be represented for the first and second set interspersed with a decimal point.
For example – 4 . 6 = Drop set of 4 reps followed by 6 reps

The same to be applied to horizontal pulling exercises

Core Training
Increase the tension with Core Circuits

In the original TLAC program, we challenged the core during filler exercises and a core
superset.

For this program, your key lifts will require different / less challenging movement fillers
to help improve the effectiveness of each set. Furthermore, a great progression for core
conditioning is increasing the time under tension. So, we have added some core circuits
to help increase the TUT on the core muscles during your sessions.

There are four circuits to choose from, choose one circuit to perform for 3-4 sets. These
exercises are included in the TLAC strength handbook.

Adding isometric holds

This isn’t just a great way to condition your core, but this
exercise can help add snap to your punches.

During the punch, there is a double-activation pattern that

requires a whole-body stiffening upon impact. This can be
improved through isometric training.

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Your New Core Exercises
Here are a few new core exercises to add to your circuits.

Barbell Rollout
Hold bar shoulder width apart, arms locked out level
with shoulders. Push hips forward so trunk and thighs
are aligned
Slowly roll out the bar until head is nearly in line with
the bar – squeeze glutes and brace core to maintain
neutral posture

Uni-lateral Farmer Walks

Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell by your side whilst in an
upright posture
Walk forwards at a steady pace, maintaining an
upright posture
Have hand on stomach to feel the core tension, or
have arm out for balance

Leg Lowers
Arms extended level with shoulders, legs tucked at 90
degrees
Lower arms and legs at the same time – brace the
core so the lower back stays on the floor
Return to the start position without tucking

Core ISO Hold

Start by sitting towards the end of a bench, with upper
body off the bench
Sit back at approximately 45 degrees to the bench,
maintain this position for 30-45 seconds
Start by having arms crossed, then increase the difficulty
by elevating arms in front or above your head, then you
can add weight.

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Speed supersets
In the second phase of the program, we will implement ‘Speed Supersets’ for your core
training.

This is where you pair a core stability exercise with a speed exercise. We do this with our
boxers to activate and fire-up the core muscles to assist a powerful and effective stretch-
shortening cycle.

We pair exercises to work in the same plane of motion e.g. Anti-rotation with rotational
speed exercise.

The exercises below will be used in phase 2 of your program

Extension Superset

Kneeling MB Slams
Rotational Superset 1

Paloff Press Kneeling MB Rotational Throws

Rotational Superset 2

Rotational Plank Standing MB Rotational Throw

Click here to watch how to perform the medicine ball throw

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Speed Training
Speed and dynamic effort training has been used across many sports for various benefits.
These sessions can help an athlete transfer force is fast, explosive actions needed for
their sport, to help train strength adaptations without excessive weight load and to
maintain the intensity during tapering for competition.

Below are the new exercises that will be used in your speed sessions, warm-ups and
during the tapering phase.

Weighted CMJ
Start in an upright position with dumbbells in either
hand, with accumulated load approximately 15-20%
of body mass.
Quick dip of the hips and knees to a quarter squat
position, drop the dumbbells at the bottom of the
movement
Click here to find out more
Drive through the floor to rapidly extend the hips to
about weighted
jump as high as possible
countermovement jumps

Banded Sprints
Band wrapped around the waist, athlete leans forward
whilst the coach leans back to provide tension
Ensure good sprinting mechanics, high knees, straight
posture and powerful strides

Prowler Push
Arms extended and lean forward into the prowler
Take large, powerful steps fully flexing and extending
your legs.
Click here to see the prowler in action
Banded Shadow Box
Start in a stance where the medicine ball is held with
your back hand.
Hold ball close to chin, with hips open.
Click here to see how our boxers use them

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Conditioning
By purchasing this product, you have opened yourself to
our world-class conditioning methods

These are the methods that we have developed through

clever programming and innovative ideas to help get the
extra 1%’s out of our athletes.

This will be targeting the same adaptations as before, but

these Boxing Science methods will help increase the
intensity and volume to boost your performance!

Phase 1 – Extraction and Utilisation

In TLAC, we introduced our infamous 30s maximal effort sprints with 3-4 minute
recovery. These sprints are designed to push your body to the XXX

Due to these being so intense and demanding, we were limited to how many repetitions
we can perform for progressive overload.

Therefore, we came up with ‘Cluster Sprints’. This involves targeting the same
adaptations with shorter intervals doubled or tripled up interspersed with a short
recovery.

20 secs on – 20 secs off – 20 secs on. 3 minutes recovery

10 secs on – 10 off x 3 reps. 3 minutes recovery

What does this do to the outcome of our sessions?

30s = 21.5 km/h 20s clusters = 23 km/h 10s clusters = 24.2 km/h

According to our database, a meaningful change

in mean speed was 0.1 km/h. This meant that
cluster sprints had massive impact on mean
speed.

Targeting the same physiological adaptation but

overloading mechanical output and intensity

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Phase 2 – Delivery
The discovery of cluster sets for the extraction and utilisation phase inspired us to find
ways to increase the intensity for our red zone conditioning sessions.

Due to minimal research, we opted for trial and error….

45 secs on – 15 secs off

This is great for the red zone, however the reps are too long to maintain a higher speed
therefore the intensity isn’t sufficient.

10 secs on – 10 secs off

This is a good way to improve intensity, however, you will struggle to get in the red zone
due to the short duration.

30 secs on - 30 secs off

Perfect! Known as euro-fit method in its own right, but performing this loading within a
4-6-minute working set is optimal duration to increase the intensity and time in the red
zone.

Phase 3 - Taper
On the appropriate training session, attempt to spend the majority of the working time
(example 4 minutes) in the red zone (90-100% Max Heart Rate).

Aim to complete this session on a treadmill so you can control and quantify the speed for
the session.

These sessions can also be performed on the track, just put out some cones to calculate
the distance covered each rep.

This program is designed to achieve optimal fitness to compete at the end of week 10. If
you are not doing this program to compete, repeat Week 8 during week 10.

Re-test – 30-15 Treadmill Test

Perform the 30-15 treadmill test to evaluate the effectiveness of this training block.

Perform the test between 8-12 days from fight night. It is not advised that you perform
the test during fight week as this is physically demanding and may impair performance.

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Boxing Science Training Group
By purchasing this product, we would like to welcome you as part of our Facebook
training group.

This training group is set up for everybody that is on a Boxing Science program. This is
open to share progress and reflections, whilst the coaches can pass on knowledge 24/7.

This adds a more personal touch to your program, improving your Boxing Science
experience to boost your performance.

Click here to join the Facebook group

What you can use the Facebook group for….
• Post testing and workout reports, share your progress
and we will keep you on the right track.
• Any exercise videos so our S&C coaches can help you
master your technique
• Be first to find out about new products and promotions
• Be up to date with the progress of other boxers on the
program, this will help you keep motivated.
• Any other questions or queries, we are here to help!
The Editor – Danny Wilson
Danny is a UKSCA accredited Strength and Conditioning coach
and has an Undergraduate and Master's degree in Sport and
Exercise Science from Sheffield Hallam University. Danny co-
founded Boxing Science in 2014 following building the successful
Boxing program at Sheffield Hallam University where he has
coached over 100 boxers as a strength and conditioning coach.

Danny has prepared many boxers competitive bouts, including

IBF welterweight world champion Kell Brook, rising professional boxers from Ingle Gym,
and amateurs from Sheffield City ABC, and Yorkshire boxing. He is currently leading the
first ever sport science program for England Boxing, providing testing, training and
education services to over 150 international athletes.

Danny is also currently the Yorkshire regional strength and conditioning coach for
England Golf and has experiences in youth and professional standards across a range of
sports.

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DISCLAIMER: Boxing Science provide a guide to help educate better training practices in Boxing. Methods used in this
guide is supported by scientific research that has been granted ethical approval. Therefore, Boxing Science, or any of the
authors, do not take responsibility of any injuries or illness any user may experience whilst on the program.