Want proof that boxing gets you a knockout body? Just take a look at Jake Gyllenhaal in his new movie ‘Southpaw’.
Yep, that’s one seriously impressive collection of muscles – and we’re more than just a little bit smug. We’ve got living, breathing proof that our sport really does pack a serious aesthetic punch....
5 months of intense boxing training and 1000 sit-ups a day transformed Mr Gyllenhaal into a lean, mean fighting machine, in order to play fictional boxer Billy Hope.
‘My concern was to look like a boxer’ Jake said – well, we think he definitely looks the part (and we’ve looked…a lot.) I did ‘A lot of training. Hard training. Training like a boxer, existing like a boxer, or at least how one can to play a boxer in a movie.’
With no previous boxing experience, Jake teamed up with professional trainer Terry Claybon, who said he ‘started from the ground up’ with the actor. ‘We started with great footwork, great defence and then we went into sharp direct punches’.
But boxing training certainly isn’t all about having an impressive left-hook; it consists of fitness drills, weights, cardio and a hell of a lot of core work. Claybon reveals exactly how his combination of training sculpted Jake’s body in just 5 months, and how working out with one of our professional trainers could do the same for you.
Jump Rope – Gyllenhaal warmed up every day buy skipping for 15 minutes straight – phew…
Footwork – It’s all in the stance – Claybon worked on Jake’s footwork for three rounds of footwork defence drills (A total of 9 minutes each – that’s 27 minutes of serious sweating)
Punching – Well, duh. Jake worked on his jabs, hooks and uppercuts in many different combinations of drills – six rounds for 18 minutes.
Bag drills – To perfect his punches, Jake would work on punching the bag strap. ‘He would also go into double-end bags, which move back and forth, and speed bag drills – three rounds each,’ Claybon says.
Sit-ups, pull-ups and dips – The actor started off with an, ehem, ‘humble’ 500 sit ups a day, gradually building up to a rather impressive 1000 – no wonder you could grate cheese on those abs. He also worked 100 pull ups and tricep dips into his hard-core regime.
Strength training – Jake worked with a 300 lb tyre, which he had to flip over 20 times a session. He also channelled his inner horror movie star with a ‘Sledgehammer Drill’ – Claybon had Jake hitting the tyre non-stop for 3 minutes, ‘that was a really intense drill’ he said. And of course, squats. ‘We had squat drills where he was doing speed squats for two sets of 100’.
Running – Boxers generally run 5 miles every other day to keep their stamina up, but because Mr Gyllenhaal was already a practiced runner, Claybon had him doing 8 miles 5 days a week. Talk about pounding the pavement...
We don’t know about you, but we’re tired just thinking about it… and also a little inspired.
Book a session today to train like a fighter and who knows, in 5 months’ time you could be sporting the body of a Hollywood star - what are you waiting for?!