Complete home boxing training programme: 8 weeks
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This 8-week programme is built to progress at home with a punching bag, a skipping rope and your gloves. Three sessions a week, 40 to 60 minutes. Expected result after eight weeks: solid conditioning, fluid combinations, a boxer's posture established.
The technical detail of every punch used in this programme — jab, cross, hook, uppercut — is broken down movement by movement in our boxing punches guide.
What you need
- Boxing gloves — 12 or 14 oz depending on your build
- Hand wraps — 4 m (13 ft), essential under the gloves
- Punching bag — 30 to 40 kg (66-88 lb), free standing or hanging
- Skipping rope — for conditioning
The structure of every session
| Phase | Duration | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 8-10 min | Skipping, light shadow boxing, joint rotations |
| Technical work | 20-25 min | The day's exercises: shadow, bag, circuits |
| Conditioning | 8-10 min | Press-ups, sit-ups, squats |
| Cool down | 5 min | Upper and lower body stretching |
The programme week by week
Goal: establish the guard, master the jab and the cross, build basic footwork.
- Session A: shadow boxing — guard and movement (3 rounds of 3 min) | bag — jab only (3 rounds) | basic conditioning
- Session B: skipping 10 min | shadow — jab and cross (3 rounds) | bag — jab and cross (4 rounds)
- Session C: shadow — movement focus (4 rounds) | bag — free combinations on jab and cross (4 rounds) | extended conditioning
Goal: add the hook, work the 1-2-3 rhythm, bring in body shots.
- Session A: extended warm-up | shadow — 1-2-3 (4 rounds) | bag — 1-2 then 1-2-3 (5 rounds)
- Session B: skipping 12 min | bag — body shots (3 rounds) and head shots (3 rounds) | cardio circuit
- Session C: shadow — all combinations (5 rounds) | bag — intense 2 min rounds with 30 sec rest (6 rounds)
Goal: maximise power on combinations, add the uppercut.
- Session A: shadow — uppercut and integration (4 rounds) | bag — heavy punching (5 rounds at 80%)
- Session B: full circuit 30 sec on, 30 sec off × 8 (rope, bag, press-ups, shadow) | bag — 4 free rounds
- Session C: intense shadow (6 rounds) | bag — 6 rounds with active movement
Goal: simulate conditions close to a fight, work continuously at high intensity.
- Session A: full 12 min warm-up | shadow — imagined fight (6 rounds of 3 min) | bag — 6 intense rounds
- Session B: rope HIIT 15 min | bag — 4 rounds at 90% | maximum conditioning
- Session C: full assessment — shadow, bag and conditioning at 100%. Measure your progress.
Progression: increase intensity by no more than 10% a week. If you feel pain — not fatigue — in the wrists or shoulders, reduce the intensity and check your technique.
The golden rules of the programme
- Respect the rest. Muscle is built during rest, not during effort. Allow at least 48 hours between two sessions.
- Technique before intensity. One slow, perfect punch beats a fast, approximate combination.
- Always wrap. Never work the bag without wraps and gloves.
- Film yourself. Watching your shadow boxing back reveals guard faults invisible in real time.
The equipment for this programme
Frequently asked questions
Can you follow this programme without a punching bag?
Yes, by replacing the bag rounds with intense shadow boxing. You lose the power development but keep all the technical and conditioning benefits of the programme.
Is this programme suitable for complete beginners?
Yes — weeks 1 and 2 are designed specifically for beginners. If you have never hit a bag, start with 20-minute shadow boxing sessions for a week before officially beginning the programme.
What should you do after the 8 weeks?
Run the programme again at higher intensity, add pad work with a partner, or join a club for supervised sparring.
How long before you see results?
The first changes in conditioning appear from week 3, with three sessions a week held consistently. Technique — guard, footwork, fluid combinations — settles in over weeks 5 to 8. Filming yourself in week 1 and again in week 8 is the clearest way to measure it.
On kit, our boxing, MMA and Muay Thai shorts cover all three cuts, and the 2-in-1 short with a built-in liner suits strength and running sessions.
On kit: our boxing, MMA and Muay Thai shorts cover all three cuts, and the 2-in-1 short with built-in base layer suits conditioning and running sessions.
