This 8-move routine trains your core and your cardiovascular system.
Take the opponent, or punching bag, out of boxing and you get shadowboxing: a low-impact, high-intensity activity that involves throwing hooks, jabs, crosses, and upper-cuts to challenge both your muscles and your cardiovascular system.
Though it looks upper-body heavy, shadowboxing requires total-body activation. “Throwing an arm in itself doesn’t produce the amount of energy you need to really punch,” explains Gina DiNapoli, instructor and creator of Jabs by Gina at PROJECT by Equinox in New York City. To shadowbox correctly, you need to pivot the back foot and twist the torso, generating power from the hips and core.
That makes the activity an efficient full-body cardio workout. From a vanity perspective, it’s also a way to sculpt obliques. “People who take my class joke that it should be called Abs by Gina,” DiNapoli says.
To really train the core, she created an eight-move workout, which she demonstrates in the slideshow below. Combining jab-focused exercises with traditional abs moves, the routine also improves cardiovascular endurance, builds lean mass, and works muscles that are often ignored.
“Instead of focusing on the quads, which almost everyone does too often, this series trains the muscles that balance them out: the inner thighs, hamstrings, and glutes,” she explains. “It also strengthens the lower back, which is necessary to properly work your core ab muscles, the rectus abdominis.”
Perform this abs and jabs routine once before a strength session for a dose of cardio and core work. For a full workout, complete 3 rounds.
Photography by Coty Tarr. Styling by Jamie Frankel. Art direction by Kathryn Marx.
Jabs: High-Low Jab-Cross
Stand in the orthodox fighting stance, with the left foot in front and right foot behind you, so the left shoulder is slightly in front of the right (if you’re left-handed, do the reverse). Hold a 2- or 3-lb weight in each hand, with elbows by your side, weights by your chin. Throw a jab by extending your front arm, rotating your hand so the palm faces down when it’s fully extended, keeping the weight at eye-level, then quickly returning back to start. Then perform a cross punch with your back arm by simultaneously pivoting on your back foot, twisting through your torso, and using that side of your body to generate power while extending your back arm, rotating your hand so the palm faces down when fully extended, and returning to start. Keeping your weight on your heels, drop down with the front leg bent at 90 degrees and back knee just above the ground, and perform the same jab-cross combo, then return to start. Continue for 1 minute.
Abs: 4 Crosses + 2 Crunches
Lie faceup on a mat with knees bent at a 90-degree angle, shins parallel to the ground, and feet together. Hold a 2- or 3-lb weight in each hand, with elbows bent, weights in front of chest and shoulders lifted off the ground. Perform 4 cross punches back-to-back by punching with the right arm (keeping the weight at eye-level) and then with the left, and repeating once more. Then bring elbows out to the sides, weights near the ears, and perform 2 crunches. That’s one rep. Perform 15 reps, keeping feet and knees together and shins parallel to the ground throughout.
Jabs: Alternating Snap Kicks
Stand with feet close together, arms extended directly overhead, with a 2- or 3-lb weight in each hand and palms facing each other. Simultaneously pull your arms down so elbows are bent by ribs with weights at chin-height and kick with your right leg, pointing your toes at the top and using your hips for power. Return to start and repeat on the right. Continue, completing 20 snap kicks per side.
Abs: Oblique V-Up + Cross
Lie faceup on a mat and shift your weight onto your left glute, reach your left arm straight back behind you, and hold a 2- or 3-lb weight in the right hand next to your chin. Keeping your feet together, and straight if possible, raise legs and torso into “V” position, while still balancing on left glute. Perform a cross punch with your right hand, then lower the torso and legs back down, keeping the legs 1 to 2 inches off the ground. That’s one rep. Complete 20 reps per side in your first round, then 10 per side on your second and third.
Jabs: 4 Hooks + 2 Squat Jumps
Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulders with a soft bend in the knees. Hold a 2- or 3-lb weight in each hand. Perform 4 hooks, alternating left and right, by lifting elbow and hooking into a 90-degree angle with arms. Then perform 2 squat jumps, using your arms for momentum. Continue this sequence for 1 minute.
Abs: Cross V-Sits
Sit on a mat with both legs and torso at 45 degrees. With a 2- or 3-lb weight in each hand, start at chin and perform 2 cross punches, fully extending each arm and quickly returning to start. Then, slip to each side by twisting to left and then to the right, as if you're avoiding a punch. Continue this punch-slip sequence for 1 minute. Find your optimal rhythm that allows you to main both speed and power.
Jabs: 4 Upper-Cuts + Burpee
Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulders, soft bend in knee, core engaged, and hands in fists in front of your chest. Perform 4 upper-cuts back-to-back by lowering and twisting through your hips and torso. Then drop chest to ground into burpee (feet and hands at shoulder-width), and jump back up to start position. That’s one rep. Perform 10 reps.
Abs: Standing Diagonal Crosses
Stand with feet wider than shoulders and knees slightly bent. Hold a 5- or 7.5-lb dumbbell in each hand, with elbows bent and hands on either side of face. Simultaneously punch diagonally upward and left with the right hand and straighten the right leg, tapping your toe on the ground when your arm is fully extended. Alternate left and right, increasing range of motion in obliques on each reach. Continue for 1 minute.