2

Welcome to the Track Running Program

Your conditioning is a key aspect of boxing performance. Boxers and coaches have known this for
years. Traditionally boxers use 1) long duration, low intensity, slow plodding road runs -
sometimes lasting up to 3 hours; or 2) runs designed to make you feel like you’re working hard
but not too hard, and easy but not too easy - known in the endurance community as threshold or
sweet spot running.
Both work in their unique way - but they’re not optimal for boxing conditioning. The key to
successful training is knowing when and where to train physical components that contribute to
performance. The trouble is, it’s difficult to know without having the full scientific understanding
of how your body works.
To take the guesswork out of your programme we’ve designed a unique training programme
unlike any other in the boxing world. It’s based on the science of high-intensity, short-duration
efforts, our data from the responses of professional and amateur boxers, and, importantly
structured to get optimal fitness adaptations.
In our track running program, we give you the blueprint to elite performance by explaining the
science behind building world-level fitness and providing a structured 12-week program for you.
Here's the blueprint, all you need now is to give your best effort

Contents

Why the track? 3

Physical demands of boxing 4
Principles of HIIT 5
Considerations for the track 7
The Program 9

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 3
Why the Track?
When considering a place to perform your conditioning sessions you might have a few options.
Typically, a motorised treadmill at a gym, on the road, in the park etc. but an ideal location is
your local running track.

A running track has several advantages over the other locations and most simply because you’ll
be able to get a high-intensity training session done with little interference or limitation.
Although the surface is a little hard, it’s more forgiving than a tarmac road and less risky than
running on a trail or in a park.

You know what’s coming too, there are no tight corners, people, or pets to negotiate like in a
park. In the UK the weather can be quite unpredictable and scupper your well-made training
plan, especially if that plan is to run on grass. Running on a track means your session won’t turn
into a plodding mudbath.

Plus you’re not limited by the speed of a treadmill either, you set your own pace; and speed up
and slow down as you need. Most importantly you can be consistent with each training session
and know that you’re making real progress.

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 4

Physical demands of boxing

In traditional boxing training methods, athletes perform long, steady road runs to build up
endurance to ‘go the distance’.

What about if we told you that boxing is not an endurance sport? And that you don't need to
spend hours pounding the pavements?

Scientific research shows that boxers experience high heart-rates and lactate levels, as well as
high punch frequency, volume and force output during competition.

Boxers can throw hundreds of punches throughout a fight; these are high-velocity actions
requiring a lot of force. The aim of the game is to perform attacking and defensive moves at a
superior intensity to control and dominate your opponent.

What does this mean?

Boxing is a high-intensity intermittent-impact sport and boxers should look to develop the
ability to perform at high intensities.

In the image below ‘Athlete B’ has the capability to perform at higher intensities than ‘Athlete A’.
This allows ‘Athlete B’ to control the contest at an intensity that is greater than the opponents.

We want to make you 'Athlete B'.

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 5
Principles of HIIT
The Red Zone
Sparring and competition will push you into what we call ‘the red zone’.

You know the feeling, your breathing is heavy and your heart is pumping hard.

It’s easy to make mistakes in this zone, thinking is harder, footwork slower and maybe your
punch force is a little less.

These are all normal physiological responses,

what we need to do is train the physiological
mechanisms that are responsible for all these
responses.

We want you to become red zone dominant.

We want you to be able to work in the red

zone with clarity, using rapid footwork and
forceful punches.

Avoid No Man’s Land

We call running at a steady pace for a relatively long time, running in no man’s land. In terms of
preparing you for performance, it’s suboptimal. Research has demonstrated that to get fitter the
best way is to either train very slowly or very fast.

Not only that but spending time in no man’s land

puts a lot strain on your muscles and joints.

Because of the volume of running you need to

get consistent long-term adaptations this puts
you at significant injury risk.

Our training programme is designed to limit this

strain, but also reduce monotony which also
increases the risk of injury.

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 6
Training Variation
Training variation is important, especially when you’re training hard, it means you can put your
body under strain in different physiological and physical components whilst keeping the risk of
injury under control and importantly continuing training adaptation.

There are a few ways you can achieve training variation for your conditioning

• Type – Running (preferred), cycling, swimming, circuits

• Volume – Total minutes, rep time, amount of reps/sets
• Intensity – running speed, load
• Training Load
You need training variation daily, weekly and during a training phase. This program plans out
your training loads for you.

Progress and Recover

Planning your training in a 3:1 load:recovery ratio is the simplest way that we’ve found to
increase training load safely.

This means you’ll build training load for 3 weeks, before having a recovery or de-load for another
week.

We try and fit in as many of these cycles as possible within a training camp. Examples of 8 and 10
week camps can be seen below.

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 7
Considerations for the track
You’ll notice there are a few things in the programme around recording your distance. This is
important, recording the distance you run rep-by-rep will enable you to track your progress
throughout the programme. To help you gauge the distance we’ve provided you with 3 distance
guides:

• Level 1: For young amateurs and those just starting out on a high-intensity interval
training program
• Level 2: Those with a good level of fitness, this would include senior amateurs and most
professionals.
• Boxing Science Standard: This is what we expect boxer's on our training system to hit.

Rather than use these as targets for the session, just think of them as a guide, use your data as
targets for the session and try to squeeze out a few more meters each time you perform another
session.

You’ll also notice another indicator that suggests how hard you should run. We rank it out of 10,
with 1 being very, very easy and 10 being maximal exertion. You should push yourself hard
enough so that you’d rank the session exactly how we suggest it should be. Usually, that’s either
an 8.5 or a 9 out of 10. That corresponds to very hard and near maximal.

In practice that means each rep you perform should just be a little slower than your maximum
exertion for that rep. Remember, we want you to leave a little left in the tank for the remaining
reps so pace it. You’ll have to spend a little time getting to know how to pace it but it shouldn’t
take you long to figure out.

There’s something else other than your fitness that can change how you perform in these
sessions and that’s your body mass. Rarely do boxers maintain a weight throughout a training
camp, usually it comes down but adding this information to your training log can put your data in
perspective, especially if you’ve come off a camp and are just starting back maybe a little heavier.

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 8
Preparation

Before you start the session you’ll need to plan ahead. Print out this handbook or write down the
session in your training diary. Make your pre-training and post-training nutrition. Get your kit
ready. If you’re training in the winter make sure you have plenty of layers of clothing, you can
add them or take them off as you need to. Get a good pair of running shoes. Not fashion shoes.
Not boxing shoes/boots. Not tennis shoes. Not racing flats either. Something with a good
amount of support and cushioning. The goal here isn’t to turn you into Mo Farah; it’s to work
your cardiovascular system while gradually adding more force and speed to your training.

Warm-up

Start with a steady 10 min jog and begin very slowly. The kind of
pace you could keep up for hours on end. Then each minute
gradually increase your pace. By the end of the 10 min, you should
be running hard, but it should be comfortable.

Then use the mobility work we set out in our movement handbook.
If you’re restricted to time, or it’s cold focus on the exercise that
will help you mobilise your hips, knees and ankle and try not to do
them on a cold surface. Good exercises here are squat and lunge
variations.

After 5 to 10 minutes of mobility work, it’s time to pick up the pace. Acceleration drills are great
for working on your ability to produce force in a short time-frame. Mark a distance that’s 30 m
long. Perform 3 reps at 50% maximum effort, 3 reps at 75% maximum effort and 2 reps at 90%
effort.

Take this generic advice and make it your own. We always encourage our boxers to make their
warm-up individually specific.

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 9
The Program
Our conditioning programme is built around 3 main blocks of training. They are designed to
improve the way your heart functions. We know from research that a limiter to performance is
the amount of oxygen-rich blood athletes can deliver to their muscles.
These sessions aim to push you into what we call ‘the red zone’. We define it as a 9/10 effort or a
heart rate around 90% of your maximum. The main physiological focus of this type of training is
to improve the way oxygen is delivered to your muscles.

We do this by training your cardiovascular system to work at near maximum capacity, give it a
short break to recover and repeat it several times.

Doing this type of training changes:

• The amount of blood you can pump out of your heart

• The elasticity of your blood vessels
• The quality of your capillary network around your muscle
• The ability to return de-oxygenated blood back to your
heart and lungs

This type of training also takes you to a very dark place and pushes you to the limit mentally. It’s
why our boxer's often say this type of training is harder than fighting.

Our track running programme has been carefully designed to progressively increase your fitness
over 12 weeks using a unique combination of scientific research and our applied experience.

Remember: Use the distance targets as a guide only. As long as you're running at the intensity
required (usually 9/10) then you're putting your body in the right place to get the most out of
the session. Track your distances and use those to set yourself your own targets.

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 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name .......................................................... Week 1 Week Commencing

Body mass (kg):
...... /...... / .......
..........

Run 3 minutes, have 90 s recovery and repeat 3 times in session number 1 and 2. Perform 4 intervals in session 3.
Record the distance you covered in meters.
Target intensity Distance Covered (m)

Recovery
Interval Intensity Intensity
Session Date Sets between Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5
duration (s) (RPE) (%HRmax)
reps (s)

1 3 180 90 8.5 85

2 3 180 90 8.5 85

3 4 180 90 8.5 85

Target Adaptations Distance targets per rep (m)

This session targets your heart and lungs

Level 1 Level 2 Boxing Science Standard

Central Peripheral
650 750 850

90 % 10 %
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 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name .......................................................... Week 2 Week Commencing

Body mass (kg):
...... /...... / .......
..........

Run 4 minutes, have 2 min recovery and repeat 4 times in session number 1 and 2. Perform 5 intervals in session 3.
Record the distance you covered in meters.
Target intensity Distance Covered (m)

Recovery
Interval Intensity Intensity
Session Date Sets between Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5
duration (s) (RPE) (%HRmax)
reps (s)

1 4 240 120 9 90

2 4 240 120 9 90

3 5 240 120 9 90

Target Adaptations Distance targets per rep (m)

This session targets your heart and lungs

Level 1 Level 2 Boxing Science Standard

Central Peripheral
850 1000 1150

90 % 10 %
_
 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name .......................................................... Week 3 Week Commencing

Body mass (kg):
...... /...... / .......
..........

Run 4 minutes, have 2 min recovery and repeat 4 times in session number 1. Perform 5 intervals in session 2 and 6 in
session 3. Record the distance you covered in meters.

Target intensity Distance Covered (m)

Recovery
Interval Intensity Intensity
Session Date Sets between Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6
duration (s) (RPE) (%HRmax)
reps (s)

1 4 240 120 9 90

2 5 240 120 9 90

3 6 240 120 9 90

Target Adaptations Distance targets per rep (m)

This session targets your heart and lungs

Level 1 Level 2 Boxing Science Standard

Central Peripheral
850 1000 1150

90 % 10 %
_
 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name .......................................................... Week 4 Week Commencing

Body mass (kg):
...... /...... / .......
..........

Run 3 minutes, have 90 s recovery and repeat 3 times in session number 1, four times in session 2. Perform 5 intervals in
session 3. Record the distance you covered in meters.

Target intensity Distance Covered (m)

Recovery
Interval Intensity Intensity
Session Date Sets between Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6
duration (s) (RPE) (%HRmax)
reps (s)

1 3 180 90 8.5 85

2 4 180 90 8.5 85

3 5 180 90 8.5 85

Target Adaptations Distance targets per rep (m)

This session targets your heart and lungs

Level 1 Level 2 Boxing Science Standard

Central Peripheral
650 750 850

90 % 10 %
_
 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name .......................................................... Week 5 Week Commencing

Body mass (kg):
...... /...... / .......
..........

Run 4 minutes, have 2 min recovery and repeat 4 times in session number 1, 5 times in session 2 and perform 6 intervals
in session 3. Record the distance you covered in meters.

Target intensity Distance Covered (m)

Recovery
Interval Intensity Intensity
Session Date Sets between Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6
duration (s) (RPE) (%HRmax)
reps (s)

1 5 240 120 9 90

2 6 240 120 9 90

3 6 240 120 9 90

Target Adaptations Distance targets per rep (m)

This session targets your heart and lungs

Level 1 Level 2 Boxing Science Standard

Central Peripheral
850 1000 1150

90 % 10 %
_
 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name .......................................................... Week 6 Week Commencing

Body mass (kg):
...... /...... / .......
..........
These intervals are split into 2 parts. You will perfom an interval of 2 min, have 1 min rest, then perform another interval of 2 min. You'll
perform 2 reps to make up 1 set. In session 1 you'll do 5 sets and in session 2 and 3 you'll do 6 sets.

Target intensity Distance Covered (m)

Recovery Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Set 6

Interval Intensity Intensity
Session Date Sets between
duration (s) (RPE) (%HRmax) Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 1 Rep 2
reps (s)

1 5 120 60 9 90

2 6 120 60 9 90

3 6 120 60 9 90
Target Adaptations

Central Peripheral Distance targets per rep (m)

Peripheral
This session targets your heart Level 1 Level 2 Boxing Science Standard
and lungs as well as your

70 % 30 % muscles
450 520 600

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 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name .......................................................... Week 7 Week Commencing

Body Mass (kg)
...... /...... / .......
..........
These intervals are split into 4 parts. You will perfom an interval of 1 min, have 30 seconds rest and repeat this another 3 times, so you'll
do a total of 3 min running in the first set. In all sessions you'll do 4 sets but in session 2 and 3 you'll perform 4 reps.

Target intensity Distance Covered (m)

Recovery Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4

Interval Intensity Intensity
Session Date Reps between
duration (s) (RPE) (%HRmax) Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4
reps (s)

1 4 60 30 9 90

2 4 60 30 9 90

3 4 60 30 9 90
Target Adaptations

Central Peripheral Distance targets per rep (m)

ThisPeripheral
session targets your heart and lungs Level 1 Level 2 Boxing Science Standard
as well as your muscles

60 % 40 % 240 280 320

_
 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name .......................................................... Week 8 Week Commencing

Body mass (kg):
...... /...... / .......
..........

Run 3 minutes, have 90 s recovery and repeat 3 times in session number 1, four times in session 2. Perform 5 intervals in
session 3. Record the distance you covered in meters.

Target intensity Distance Covered (m)

Recovery
Interval Intensity Intensity
Session Date Sets between Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6
duration (s) (RPE) (%HRmax)
reps (s)

1 3 180 90 8.5 85

2 4 180 90 8.5 85

3 5 180 90 8.5 85

Target Adaptations Distance targets per rep (m)

This session targets your heart and lungs

Level 1 Level 2 Boxing Science Standard

Central Peripheral
650 750 850

90 % 10 %
_
 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name: ........................... Body mass (Kg): ........

Week 9 Week Commencing ...... /...... / .......

In these sessions you'll be performing 60 s of running and having 30 s of rest. In session 1 you'll perform this 5 times to complete 1 set. Then you'll have 2
Interval Recovery
Session Date Sets duration between
Intensity Intensity minutes rest and then repeat another 3 times. In session 2 you'll perform 5 reps to complete 1 set and in session 3 you'll do 6 reps to complete 1 set.
(RPE) (%HRmax)

Target Adaptations
(s) sets

targets per rep

1 5 60 30 9 90 Level 1 Level 2 Boxing Science Standard

50 % 50 %

Distance
2 6 60 30 9 90
240 280 320
3 6 60 30 9 90

Set 1 Set 2 These

Set 3 intervals are split into 4 parts.
Set 4 You will perfom an interval
Set 5of 1 min, have 30 secondsSet
rest
6 and repeat

Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6

This session targets your heart and lungs and your muscles

Peripheral
 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name: ........................... Body mass (Kg): ........

Week 10 Week Commencing ...... /...... / .......

In these sessions you'll be performing 30 s of running and having 30 s of rest. In session 1 you'll perform
Interval Recovery
Intens this 8 times to complete 1 set. Then you'll have 2 minutes rest and then repeat another 3 times. In session
Sessio Intensity ity
n
Date Sets duration between
(RPE) (%HR
2 you'll perform 10 reps to complete 1 set and in session 3 you'll do 12 reps to complete 1 set. Combine
(s) reps (s)
max) the distance covered for 2 repetitions (for example rep 1 + 2 = A; 3 + 4 = B) and record them in the table
Boxing Science

Target Adaptations
1 4 30 30 9 90 Level 1 Level 2

Distance targets
Standard

per rep (m)

2 4 30 30 9 90
50 % 50 % 500 550 650
3 4 30 30 9 90

Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4

A B C D E F A B C D E F A B C D E F A B C D E F This session targets both your heart

and lungs as well your muscles

Peripheral
 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Name: ........................... Body mass (Kg): ........

Week 11 Week Commencing ...... /...... / .......

In these sessions you'll be performing 30 s of running and having 30 s of rest. In session 1 you'll perform
Interval Recovery
Intens this 8 times to complete 1 set. Then you'll have 2 minutes rest and then repeat another 3 times. In session
Sessio Intensity ity
n
Date Sets duration between
(RPE) (%HR
2 you'll perform 6 reps to complete 1 set and in session 3 you'll do 6 reps to complete 1 set. Combine the
(s) reps (s)
max) distance covered for 2 repetitions (for example rep 1 + 2 = A; 3 + 4 = B) and record them in the table
Boxing Science

Target Adaptations
1 4 30 30 9 90 Level 1 Level 2

Distance targets
Standard

per rep (m)

2 4 30 30 9 90
50 % 50 % 500 550 650
3 4 30 30 9 90

Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4

A B C D E F A B C D E F A B C D E F A B C D E F This session targets both your heart

and lungs as well your muscles

Peripheral
 Track Running Program
By Dr Alan Ruddock

Week Commencing ...... /...... / .......

Name: ........................... Body mass (Kg): ........
Week 12
These sessions are are step up in intensity. In each session you'll perform 2 sets of 8 reps. Each rep is 15 s long with 45 s recovery between reps. You'll have 2
minutes recovery between the sets. Record the distance you run in meters.
Target Adaptations

This session targets your muscles and ability to produce force Boxing Science
Level 1 Level 2

Distance targets
Standard

30 %

per rep (m)

70 % 75 80 90

Recovery
Set 1 Set 2
Interval Intensity Intensity
Session Date Reps
duration (s)
between
(RPE) (%HRmax)
reps (s) Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6 Rep 7 Rep 8 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6 Rep 7 Rep 8

1 8 15 45 9 NA

2 8 15 45 9 NA

3 8 15 45 9 NA

Peripheral
Learn More with Boxing Science
We hope you have enjoyed our track running guide, and find the workouts beneficial to your
boxing performance. There are plenty more ways you can stay involved with the program.

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We will be sharing in-depth science and

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The Author – Dr Alan Ruddock

Alan is a physiologist at Sheffield Hallam University with a wealth of
experience in sport science. He has worked with a range of individual
athletes and teams, including FIFA World Cup referee Howard Webb
and Commonwealth games medallists England Table Tennis. Alan has
worked extensively within Boxing at the highest level, having a huge
influence on Kid Galahad’s British, Commonwealth and European Title
wins and with Kell Brook’s IBF welterweight world title victory and his
mega-fight against Gennady Golovkin.

Alan is a BASES accredited sport & exercise scientist, researcher and one of the UK’s first
chartered scientists in sport science.