Not bad for a 240 lb guy
Footage has emerged of boxer Daniel Dubois handling gymnastic rings like a pro. You might think 'so what?' until you realise he's a heavyweight typically fighting at 240 lbs.
That's just under 110 kilograms, or 17 stone.
Gymnastic rings are usually the preserve of athletes half - or a third - of his size.
Cuong Hua, Dubois' trainer at the
Commando Temple in Deptford, says that while it may be a surprising level of strength, gymnastic ring work will actually improve his performance in the boxing arena.
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"The ring work is there to improve mobility and strengthen the shoulders. It's a great exercise to bulletproof Dubois' shoulders as it's a common injury area for boxers.
"It's also a fantastic core exercise, which will transfer well to most other exercises."
This particular exercise is called 'skin the cat', and Hua says it's evidence of how effective calisthenics training can be for fighters. Even ones at the heavyweight level.
Skin the cat
"Pretty impressive for a heavyweight to be doing a full skin the cat on rings, especially for reps," Hua says.
"It's not an exercise you see heavyweights commonly do.
"Daniel has definitely improved on mobility and strength using calisthenics. Calisthenics helps improve ligament and tendon strength. All the mobility and strength training helps the integrity of his joints, reducing risk of injury which will help prolong his career."
In addition to the gymnastics and calisthenics work, Hua integrates plyometrics into Dubois' training programme. This includes depth push-ups.
Hua says: "The push ups were explosive ones. Working on power. Push ups utilise all the same muscles involved in pushing and punching."
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Daniel Dubois knocks out Kyotaro Fujimoto at Copper Box Arena on December 21, 2019 in London. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)[/caption]
Dubois is widely believed to be the best young heavyweight boxer on the planet.
He is set to fight Joe Joyce on October 24th, in a bout that had to be rearranged due to the Coronavirus pandemic. As a warm up, Dubois is set to go up against German Erik Pfeifer on 29th August at the BT Sport studios in Stratford.
