Former football player getting into boxing, what should I do outside training?
26M, former football player getting into boxing – what should I do outside training?
Hey guys,
I’m 26 and started boxing about 4–5 months ago. Before that I played football basically my whole life (from childhood into my early 20s, plus some futsal later), so I’m not new to sports at all. I’ve always been active, have good movement, coordination and reaction time, and I’m used to training regularly.
Since starting boxing I feel like I’m progressing pretty well. I remember combinations from previous sessions, my reactions are good, I can keep up in sparring and I don’t freeze under pressure. I’ve even gone rounds with more experienced guys and didn’t feel completely out of place. Overall I enjoy it a lot and I feel like I have some natural carryover from football.
What I’m trying to figure out now is what I should be doing outside of boxing sessions to improve faster.
What kind of at-home work actually translates well to boxing performance? Is it worth doing daily core work (planks, etc.), or is that overkill? What about conditioning – what type of conditioning work carries over best to boxing (short intense circuits, running, intervals)?
Also, are there specific drills I can do alone (without a partner) that really help with timing, distance control or punching technique?
One more thing – I don’t know if you’ve seen football players transition into boxing, but I can feel that my movement is still “football-like” sometimes and not fully boxing-specific yet. Any advice on how to fix that and develop more proper boxing movement?
Basically I’m trying to avoid just doing random workouts and instead focus on things that actually make me a better boxer.
Any advice appreciated 👊