Amazing ARMS
Boxing training is a brilliant way to tone your upper body and trim excess body fat
THE EXPERT:
Shane McGuigan 24, is fast becoming known as one of the best boxing coaches in the UK.Born into the world of boxing, (his dad is former World Boxing Association featherweight champion,Barry McGuigan), Shane went on to compete himself, gaining national titles in England, Northern Ireland and Ireland. He is now coach to the world-renowned boxer, Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton, who is on the brink of a world title and Shane also trained Freddie Flintoff for the Sky 1 series, Flintoff: From Lord’s to the Fing. Since Opening McGuigan’s Gym early in 2013 Shane has had training requests from celebrities to regular women who all want to take advantage of his body transformation programmes and fat-loss knowledge. We can’t help noticing that he has a picture with Mike Tyson on his website, too!
Boxing Training Is A Brilliant Way To Tone Your Upper Body And Trim Excess Body Fat Photo Gallery
WHERE: McGuigan’s Gym is a brand new boxing, strength and conditioning facility in the heart of Battersea, London. Not only does the gym boast a professional boxing ring, and punch bags galore, but there is also an infrared sauna, treadmills and plenty of resistance equipment such as dumbbells and weights.
THE WORKOUT: It’s not al! about hooks and uppercuts for Shane. The boxing champ takes a holistic approach to training, looking after his clients’ nutritional needs as well as training. His sessions are short and intense to keep the body guessing and not stagnating, and he uses mainly compound exercises that work more than one muscle group. Looking at his credentials, we certainly can’t think of anyone better to whip our arms into shape.
COST: Prices start from £100 per hour.
CONTACT: mcguigansgym.com
Arms WORKOUT
To get celeb-worthy, sleek and toned arms, Shane creates workouts based around traditional boxing methods such as skipping and compound arm movements. These increase strength around key muscle groups while raising your heart rate, which allows you to simultaneously shed fat and tone your upper body. Shane also uses plenty of eccentric movements in his training programme, which force you to control the lowering phase of each exercise (usually you concentrate on the lifting movement). This not only increases the amount of time your muscles are under tension, but it also means you have to really focus on your form while challenging your muscles in a new way.
1.CIRCUIT
Do each move for the required amount of reps, then rest for 10 to 20 seconds before moving onto the next exercise. Once you’re done, rest for at least 60 seconds, then repeat the circuit twice more. Tempo states the number of seconds each movement and hold should take.
1) Dumbbell push press
REPS: 12
TEMPO: 1-0-4
O Stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart and hold the dumbbells next to your shoulders, with your elbows bent, palms facing forward.
O Dip your knees and sit back slightly (a).
O Explosively press the dumbbells over your head as you straighten your legs (b).
O Take four seconds to lower the dumbbells back down with control.
2) Barbell bent-over row
REPS: 15
TEMPO: 1-0-1
O Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, bend at your hips and lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor. Let the barbell hang at arm’s length from your shoulders (a).
O Pull the bar up towards your belly button by bending your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades toward your spine (b).
O Pause, then lower down slowly back to the starting position.
3) Reverse crunch on bench
REPS: 12
TEMPO: 2-0-2
0 Lie on a bench, holding on by your head for support. Lift your bent legs (a).
O Roll your pelvis back until your knees pass over your chest (b). This should take two seconds.
O Slowly lower back down to the starting position, taking two seconds.
2.CIRCUIT
Do each move for the required amount of reps, then rest for 10 seconds before moving to the next exercise. Once you’re done, rest for at least 60 seconds then repeat the circuit twice more.
1) Elevated press-ups
REPS: 15
TEMPO: 1-0-1
0 Get into a half press-up position with hands placed slightly wider than your shoulders on a box, bench or step, your knees resting on the floor (
O Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the surface (b).
O Pause at the bottom then push yourself back to the start (a). As you get stronger, lower the elevation until you are doing full press-ups.
2) Reverse dumbbell flyes
REPS: 15
TEMPO: 2-0-2
O Grab a pair of dumbbells and stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees bent.
O Bend forward from your hips and let your arms hang straight down from your shoulders, palms facing (a).
O Raise both arms out to the sides as you squeeze your shoulder blades together (b). Return to start.
3) Cycling sit-ups
REPS: 20
O Lie on your back, with your knees bent to 90° and your legs lifted so your calves are parallel to the floor.
O With your hands behind your head, lift your right shoulder off the floor and curl toward your left knee as you extend your right leg (a).
OThen, curl toward your right knee as you bend it and extend your left leg (b). Imagine leading with your shoulder, not your elbow. Keep alternating legs as you twist from side to side as fast as you can.
4) Fast skipping
TIME: 60 seconds
O Stand tall with your body in front of the rope and a handle in each hand.
O Using a large arm movement, swing the rope up and over your head. As the rope moves towards your feet, jump and let it hit the floor as it passes under.
O After the first jump, try to drive the rope round with small wrist movements, rather than large arm movements. Focus on jumping over the rope as quickly as possible.
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