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Exercises

Apple Watch boxing workout: strength and rounds from your wrist

Published November 7, 2026

Apple's Workout app has Boxing and Kickboxing workout types. In RIRLift you log the strength work set by set on the Watch: a session with lifts in it is saved to Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training, and one made only of shadow boxing rounds is saved as Boxing. Copy one of the three sessions below: two lifting days around bag nights, a garage session with dumbbells and a bag, or a rounds-only day.

  1. Trap Bar Deadlift Quads, Glutes
  2. Med Ball Rotational Throw Abs
  3. Bulgarian Split Squat Quads, Glutes
  4. Neutral-Grip Pull-Up Lats
  5. Explosive Push-Up Chest
  6. Landmine Press Shoulders
  7. Shadow Boxing Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps

Legs and hips

Punches start from the floor. A heavy hinge and a split squat build the legs that drive them.

Whole lower body, trap bar

Trap Bar Deadlift

Quads, Glutes

The heaviest lift of the week. Strong hips and legs are where a hard punch starts.

How to do it

  1. Step into the middle of the bar with your feet about hip-width apart.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees and grab the handles with your palms facing in, arms straight.
  3. Brace, then push the floor away and stand up tall, hips and knees straightening together.
  4. Lower the bar by sending your hips back first, then bending your knees, and set it down before the next rep.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Chest proud, arms long
  • Stand tall, don't lean back

Common mistakes

  • Squatting it with hips too low and chest folded over. Start with your shoulders a little ahead of the handles.
  • Leaning back at the top. Finish by squeezing your glutes with your ribs stacked over your hips.

Swap for: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Trap Bar Deadlift
Log it in RIRLift

Single-leg strength, dumbbells

Bulgarian Split Squat

Quads, Glutes

Boxing happens in a staggered stance. This trains each leg on its own, with dumbbells you can use in a garage.

How to do it

  1. Stand two to three feet in front of a bench, a dumbbell in each hand, and reach one foot back so its laces rest on the bench.
  2. Lower straight down until your back knee is just above the floor and your front thigh is about level.
  3. Push through your whole front foot to stand back up, keeping your torso steady.
  4. Finish all reps on one leg, then switch.

Cues

  • Straight down, straight up
  • Front foot flat
  • Back leg just rests

Common mistakes

  • Standing too close to the bench so your front heel lifts. Step out until your shin can stay fairly upright.
  • Pushing off the back foot. Keep it relaxed; the front leg does the work.

Swap for: Dumbbell Split Squat, Dumbbell Reverse Lunge, Step-Up

Build a session with Bulgarian Split Squat
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Rotation and speed

A throw, a chop and a fast push-up train you to turn strength into speed.

Rotational power, med ball

Med Ball Rotational Throw

Abs

The hips turn first and the ball leaves last, the same order as a hook. Every throw as fast as you can.

How to do it

  1. Stand side-on to a solid wall, about an arm's length plus a step away, feet a little wider than your hips.
  2. Hold the ball at hip height and turn away from the wall, shifting your weight into your back hip.
  3. Drive off your back foot, turn your hips first, then your chest, and throw the ball into the wall at waist height.
  4. Catch it off the bounce, reset your stance and repeat. Finish all reps on one side, then switch.

Cues

  • Hips before hands
  • Throw through the wall
  • Reset every rep

Common mistakes

  • Throwing with your arms while your hips stay square. Let your back knee and hip turn toward the wall first.
  • Using a ball so heavy the throw turns into a slow push. Pick one light enough to throw hard every rep.

Swap for: Med Ball Woodchop, Landmine Rotational Press, Cable Woodchop

Build a session with Med Ball Rotational Throw
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Trunk rotation, cable

Cable Woodchop

Abs

Strengthens the turn between hips and shoulders with a load you can raise in small steps.

How to do it

  1. Put the pulley at chest height or above, clip on one handle, and stand sideways to the machine with a shoulder-width stance.
  2. Grip with both hands, arms almost straight, the handle beside the shoulder closest to the stack.
  3. Sweep the handle diagonally down to the opposite hip, rotating your chest and letting your rear heel turn.
  4. Bring it back along the same path with control. Do all reps facing one way, then turn around.

Cues

  • Arms stay long
  • Turn your chest, not just your arms
  • Pivot the back foot

Common mistakes

  • Bending your elbows to pull the handle in. Keep your arms long so your trunk moves the weight.
  • Letting the stack snap you back. Take about two seconds on the way back.

Swap for: Dumbbell Woodchop, Med Ball Woodchop, Plate Woodchop

Build a session with Cable Woodchop
Log it in RIRLift

Pushing speed, bodyweight

Explosive Push-Up

Chest

Trains a fast push off the floor. Stop the set when the push slows down.

How to do it

  1. Get into a high plank with hands just wider than your shoulders.
  2. Lower your chest close to the floor.
  3. Push the floor away as hard as you can so your hands come off it.
  4. Land with soft elbows and lower straight into the next rep.

Cues

  • Push the floor away hard
  • Soft landing
  • Body rigid

Common mistakes

  • Doing them slowly when tired: stop when you cannot leave the floor.
  • Landing on locked elbows: bend to absorb.

Swap for: Clap Push-Up, Push-Up, Med Ball Chest Throw

Build a session with Explosive Push-Up
Log it in RIRLift

Press and pull

A press that follows the path of a straight punch, and two pulls to keep the shoulders balanced.

Shoulders, landmine press

Landmine Press

Shoulders

Presses up and forward on an angle close to a straight punch, and is easy on the shoulders.

How to do it

  1. Wedge one end of a barbell in a landmine or corner and stand square to the free end, feet about shoulder width.
  2. Hold the end of the bar at your upper chest with both hands, elbows under it.
  3. Brace and press the bar up and forward until your arms are straight, letting your shoulder blades reach forward at the end.
  4. Lower it back to your chest and repeat.

Cues

  • Press up and forward
  • Reach at the end
  • Stand square

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to push it up: stay tall.
  • Shrugging at the top: keep the shoulders down as they reach.

Swap for: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Push-Up, Landmine Rotational Press

Build a session with Landmine Press
Log it in RIRLift

Lats and upper back, bodyweight

Neutral-Grip Pull-Up

Lats

The pull that balances all the punching. Log the reps; add weight only once every set is at the top of the range.

How to do it

  1. Hang from parallel handles with your palms facing each other.
  2. Draw your shoulders down, then pull your chest toward the handles.
  3. Get your chin above your hands.
  4. Lower to a full hang.

Cues

  • Shoulders down first
  • Chest to the handles
  • Full hang

Common mistakes

  • Kicking up the last reps: stop when the strict rep goes.
  • Half reps: straighten your arms every time.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Lat Pulldown, Chin-Up

Build a session with Neutral-Grip Pull-Up
Log it in RIRLift

Upper back, one arm

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Lats, Upper Back

A pull you can do in a garage with one dumbbell and a bench or chair.

How to do it

  1. Put one hand and knee on a bench, the other foot on the floor, with a dumbbell in the free hand.
  2. Let the dumbbell hang straight below your shoulder with your back flat.
  3. Pull the dumbbell toward your hip, driving your elbow back past your torso.
  4. Lower until your arm is straight and your shoulder blade stretches forward. Finish all reps, then switch.

Cues

  • Elbow to hip
  • Chest stays square to the floor
  • Full stretch at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Twisting your torso open to heave the weight up. Use a weight you can row with your chest facing the floor.
  • Shrugging toward your ear. Pull toward your back pocket instead.

Swap for: Single-Arm Cable Row, Chest-Supported Row

Build a session with One-Arm Dumbbell Row
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Rounds

Three-minute rounds on the bag or in the air, timed on the Watch.

Rounds, bag or shadow

Shadow Boxing

Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps

Three-minute rounds with a minute's rest. Tap Start on the Watch when the round begins.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with your feet planted and your hands up by your chin.
  2. Throw straight punches, alternating hands, at an imaginary target in front of you.
  3. Snap each hand back to your guard as the other one goes out.
  4. Keep a steady pace for the whole round.

Cues

  • Hands back to guard
  • Steady rhythm
  • Breathe out on each punch

Common mistakes

  • Dropping your hands as you tire: slow the pace and keep the guard.
  • Locking your elbows hard: snap each punch back before full lockout.

Swap for: Boxing Jab, Boxing Cross, Jump Rope

Build a session with Shadow Boxing
Log it in RIRLift

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Two lifting days around three bag nights

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets23 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentMedicine Ball, Trap Bar, Landmine, Pull-Up Bar +2

You box three evenings a week at a club and lift twice a week in a full gym.

Day A is the heavy day: throws while you are fresh, then the trap bar, a press and pull-ups. Day B trains single-leg strength and speed. Every lift stops 2 reps short of failure, 12 working sets on Day A and 11 on Day B, so you still have legs for the bag.

Day A: Heavy
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Med Ball Rotational ThrowPer side. Throw hard. 3 × 5–6 3 1 min
Trap Bar Deadlift2 warm-up sets first 3 × 4–6 2 3 min
Landmine Press 3 × 6–10 2 90 s
Neutral-Grip Pull-Up 3 × 5–10 2 2 min

Open Day A: Heavy in the session builder

Day B: Single leg and speed
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Bulgarian Split SquatPer leg. 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Explosive Push-Up 3 × 5–8 3 90 s
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 3 × 8–12 2 75 s
Cable WoodchopPer side. 2 × 10–12 2 1 min

Open Day B: Single leg and speed in the session builder

How to run it
Import it, then switch to it in My Programs: only the active program's routines show on the Watch. Do Day A the morning after a bag night and Day B two days later, never on a sparring day.
How to progress
Double progression, judged on your weakest set. Trap bar at 245 lb with a target of 5: you log 6, 5, 5, the weakest set hit 5, so the bar stays at 245 lb and the target becomes 6. Log 6, 6, 6 and every set is at the top of 4 to 6, so the next session opens at 250 lb with 2.5 lb plates, for 4. Pull-ups count reps: when every set reaches 10, hang a plate from a belt and log the weight you added.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Garage with a heavy bag and dumbbells

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You train at home: a heavy bag, a pair of dumbbells, a bench or chair, and 40 minutes.

The lifts go first while your legs are fresh, then three bag rounds finish the session. It has lifts in it, so it is saved to Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training. That is 9 working sets and 3 rounds.

Bag and dumbbells
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Bulgarian Split SquatPer leg. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 3 × 10–12 2 1 min
Explosive Push-Up 3 × 5–8 3 75 s
Shadow BoxingBag or shadow. 3 × 3 min 3 1 min
How to run it
Twice a week. Start the routine on the Watch before you wrap your hands. For the rounds, move the Watch a few inches up your forearm, clear of the wraps and the glove cuff, and tap Start at the beginning of each round.
How to progress
Bulgarian split squat with 30 lb dumbbells for 12, 12, 12 tops 8 to 12, so the next session opens at 35 lb for 8. The rounds keep the 3 minutes the routine sets; when three rounds feel easy, add a fourth in the routine.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Rounds only: a shadow boxing day

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets6 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

A day between lifting sessions when you want conditioning without a bag or a club.

Six 3-minute rounds with a minute between them. With no lift in the session, it is saved to Apple Health as Boxing, so your rounds count as what they were.

Shadow rounds
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Shadow Boxing 6 × 3 min 3 1 min
How to run it
Start it on the Watch and tap Start at the beginning of each round; the rest timer runs between rounds.
How to progress
There is no weight to progress here. The rounds keep the 3 minutes the routine sets; to make the day harder, add a round or cut the rest from 60 to 45 seconds in the routine.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

Can I wear my Apple Watch while boxing?

For shadow boxing, wear it as usual. On the heavy bag, wear it a few inches up your forearm, clear of the wraps and the glove cuff. For sparring, take it off: a forearm block can land on the Watch and on your partner.

What workout do I choose on Apple Watch for boxing?

In Apple's Workout app, Boxing, or Kickboxing for kicks. In RIRLift you don't choose: shadow boxing rounds alone are saved as Boxing, and a session with lifts in it as Traditional Strength Training.

How do I time rounds on the Watch?

Add shadow boxing to the routine with a 3-minute target and a minute of rest. Tap Start at the beginning of each round, and the rest timer runs between rounds.

Is it free?

Logging, the rest timer, swaps and the next weight on the Watch are free on iPhone and Apple Watch.