The science behind The Thrill

Jordan Gill

Jordan Gillย made it two dominating wins out of two whilst being on the Boxing Science program with an impressive 2nd round TKO win in Carshalton, Surrey.ย โ€˜The Thrillโ€™ย has been working with the team atย Sheffield Hallam Universityย for the past 6 months, recording massive improvements in strength, speed and fitness.

In his most recent testing, Jordan recordedย 16% improvementsย in jump height, 11% improvement inย P4P hand velocityย andย reduced lactate accumulation.

We take a look at the Science Behind the Thrill: Phase 2!

Punching Harder!

Jordanโ€™s stoppage victoryย didnโ€™t happenย by chance, we knew he was hitting harder thanks to our punch-velocity profiling using the landmine punch throw. The test requires 5 punches on each hand over 5 different loads, starting at 20 kg with incremental 5 kg loads up to 40 kg.

In just 8 weeks, Jordan improved his velocity across the majority of the loads. The biggest improvements were seen at 30 kg for his right hand (14%) and 25 kg for his left (12%).

From these data, we can predict what velocity would be achieved at 0 kg load โ€“ essentially what the hand speed would be in a punch (in this type of movement).ย Pound for pound heย improved 11%ย on the right, and 9% on the left.

Impact:ย Jordan is nowย hitting harderย at a lighter weight.

His predictedย left-hand velocity at 0 kg load is now 5.39 m/sโ€ฆ.ย thatโ€™s 19.4ย km/h!

Fasterโ€ฆ STRONGER!

Jordanโ€™sย first training phase consisted of learning the foundational movements for compound lifts, which he picked up really well and got strong quickly.

This allowed Jordan to train atย higher loads. He adapted well to this, and started to shift some iron.

Jordan performed 5 reps at 80 kg (1.4 x bodyweight) on theย back squat, and 5 reps at 60 kg (1 x bodyweight) on theย dumbbell chest press. These are impressive numbers โ€“ weโ€™d expect a boxer to make this kind of improvement in 8-12 months on the program. Jordan has achieved this in almostย half the time!

This training was aimed to improve maximal force production, however we also neededย this toย transfer to his boxing performance.

We implemented plyometrics, ballistic and speed exercises, as well as starting his Olympic lifting journey by introducing clean pulls.ย This improved Jordanโ€™sย pound for pound jump height by 16%.

Impact:ย Jordan is now more explosive at a lighter weight.

Fitter!

Before joining theย Boxing Scienceย program, Jordan was already physically fit. His firstย program was designed to improve his capability to perform at high intensities. We helped to improve his maximal running speed by 1.5 km/h on the 30-15 intermittent treadmill test. Aย higher standardย than some of theย worldย classย athletes weโ€™ve tested.

Such a standard, however, makes his conditioning programmingย quite complex and variableย to ensure training adaptationsย continue.

We usedย maximal sprints for 30 seconds with a long recovery to promote increases in oxidative enzymes for aerobic fitness.

After this phaseย this, we used 10-20 seconds repeated sprints aimed at developing Jordanโ€™s anaerobicย glycolytic capacity and function.

Comparing Jordanโ€™s lactate profile to October 2014, Jordan has less accumulation of lactate in his blood for the same speed as well as a decrease inย heart rate (10-12 bpm) at each stage.

Lactate begins to accumulate at a faster running speed,ย meaning that Jordan can exercise at higher intensities before he starts to fatigue.

If we translate this to boxing, heโ€™s able to throw more shots at a higher force.

Because of the pressure Jordan is putting him under, his opponent will fatigue and make mistakes. All the while Jordan is cruising and controlling the pace because he finds it easier.

Jordan is a great advocate of ourย program and has made fantastic improvements in a short space of time.

This is not all down toย the Boxing Science program, as heโ€™sย helped massively byย the world class team around him.

He boxes out of the famousย Ingle Gym, with top coachย Dominic Ingle,ย that boasts a stable of World, European and British champions, offering Jordan great coachingย and world-class sparring.

Jordan has a tailored dietย plan from nutritionistย David Stacheย who has worked with a number of boxers at the very top level. Davidโ€™s nutritional support enables Jordan to fuel for performance and recovery during training. This makes sure heโ€™sย getting the most out of his training program.

As well as hard work, commitment and dedication to his career, Jordan makes a lotย sacrifices to make sure he has a world class team around him.

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