Train like a Machine

BRITAIN’S top middleweight, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Antony Fowler may have had to take a break from the GB programme over Christmas but still maintained a tough regimen at home in Liverpool to prepare for his January 15 outing with the British Lionhearts at London’s York Hall.

Fowler talked us through his own training routine: “I was going straight to the gym doing an S&C circuit with my coach Paul Oโ€™Donnell. That would take an hour and a half. It was more power and endurance he called it. Iโ€™d have one power exercise, like burpees, which is explosive, then endurance, like the rope or the rowing machine to build endurance. Heโ€™d mix them both. Iโ€™d have 10 minutes non-stop [on each exercise] to do as many reps of each as I could. That was tough.

“At night Iโ€™d do my pads, 10 rounds on the pads, three shadow, maybe a few on the bag and core work. If I was sparring, Iโ€™d be sparring in the morning first, when Iโ€™m fresh. I wouldnโ€™t spar after a weights session. Iโ€™d do my spar in the morning, eight rounds, a few pads, stretch off then at night do my run or whatever else was on my schedule.

“I always do interval running, I never do sustained runs. I think sustained runs are just for losing weight. If you want to get fit youโ€™ve got to go up and down the gears. You canโ€™t do one pace. Interval, sprints, three minutes on, one minute off. Same as a fight, three minutes on, one minute off.”

*For training information and workouts from some of the biggest names in combat sport donโ€™t miss the Fighting Fit: Train like the Stars special*

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