Latest news with #SonnyCannon
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Top strength and conditioning coach reveals the three exercises no boxer should be without
Building a boxer is a balancing act. Yes, you need muscle, but not so much that it hampers mobility or means an athlete misses weight. Yes, you need endurance, but not so much that an athlete neglects the fast-twitch muscle fibres behind their knockout power. Instead, coaches must craft a multifaceted training programme capable of balancing the many attributes required by a successful fighter. Sonny Cannon knows this only too well. The experienced strength and conditioning coach specialises in boxing, with athletes such as Johnny Fisher and Skye Nicolson among his client roster. He says there are 'still a lot of bad habits in boxing, in terms of training methods', with some athletes wasting time on exercises that offer poor return on investment. By contrast, there are three exercises that Cannon says should be non-negotiables in pretty much any boxer's training plan, offering impressive bang for your buck. Trap bar deadlift for developing absolute strength View this post on Instagram A post shared by Origin gym performance Vo2max & Metabolic Testing. (@theoriginperformance) Absolute strength is the maximum amount of weight a person can lift for a single repetition – e.g., a one-rep max. 'Absolute strength underpins all power and speed, so developing this is a must for me,' Cannon says. 'In the same way we understand that a good aerobic base is the foundation for the cardio-respiratory system, the same principles apply with absolute strength for our anaerobic energy system and the strength continuum.' The strength continuum describes the various ways muscles can produce force. It comprises absolute strength, strength speed (the ability to move a relatively heavy load quickly), speed strength (the ability to move a relatively light load quickly and explosively) and absolute speed (the ability to move at maximum speed). As a boxer, it is imperative to be able to express force across all of these areas. Without a good level of absolute strength, the relative weights you move during more-explosive exercises will feel heavier, leaving you less able to generate speed and power. For this reason, absolute strength lays the foundation for all strength training. Cannon says the trap bar deadlift, performed with a hex bar, is his go-to method for developing absolute strength. It is a compound exercise that allows you to engage large muscle groups across the upper and lower body while lifting heavy loads. It also puts less stress on the spine than a conventional deadlift, reducing injury risk. During Jonny Fisher's preparations to take on Dave Allen, his goal was to work up to lifting 2.2 times his body weight. Cannon says this is a solid general target to shoot for. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sonny The Cannon (@sonny_cannon_) Plyometric press-up for developing explosive punching speed and power Plyometric training involves eccentric loading (the lowering phase of an exercise) followed by an explosive concentric phase (the lifting portion of an exercise), utilising a muscular process called the stretch-shortening cycle. It is used to develop power by challenging athletes to perform explosive exercises such as jumping and bounding. It should also, says Cannon, be used to target the upper body through exercises like plyometric press-ups. 'This is not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination, but plyometrics can bridge the gap between gains made in the weight room and the ability to generate power and speed,' he explains. For example, he adds, incorporating plyometric press-ups into your training can carry over to improved punching power. A 2022 study published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health set out to see whether 12 weeks of speed strength training (largely plyometric exercises including plyometric press-ups) could improve the punching speed, punching power and punching effectiveness of members of the Chinese women's boxing team. After a series of pre- and post-study tests on an experimental group and a control group of athletes, researchers reported that the former saw improvements in speed strength. 'With the improvement of the athletes' speed level, the athletes' punching power and punching speed were directly improved so that the athletes could better play the technical characteristics when attacking with straight punch, swinging punch and hook technique,' the study concludes. '[ It also ] improved the athletes' striking effect, thus increasing the possibility of winning the match.' Fan bike intervals for developing maximum power output and repeat power ability There are three energy systems; the phosphagen system (prioritised during high-effort, very low-duration activities), the glycolytic system (prioritised during short, intense efforts) and the oxidative system (which uses oxygen to create fuel indefinitely during longer efforts at a moderate intensity or below). 'Boxers generally do some form of strength training and have a good aerobic base,' says Cannon. This latter point means they are capable of taking in and using plenty of oxygen during exercise, allowing them to sustain moderate-intensity, steady-state activities for long periods. ' However, he says that anaerobic training is often a missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to boxing. He explains: 'Breaking down and understanding the ATP-PC [ or phosphagen ] system, then specifically training this energy system for maximum power output and repeat power ability, is a must for boxing.' The phosphagen system is the primary energy system used during short (10 seconds or less) explosive efforts such as sprinting, attempting a one-rep max lift or, critically, punching. A 2023 narrative review of energy system contributions during combat sports, published in the Metabolites journal, states that the phosphagen system accounts for 10 per cent of energy during boxing matches, with the oxidative (or aerobic) system contributing 86 per cent. However, it is explosive movements that often decide a boxing match, so it pays to practise accessing them at any given moment. The research explains: 'The ATP-PC system has a higher metabolic power (i.e. rate of energy transfer per unit of time) due to a low number of reactions needed to resynthesise ATP, but a low capacity (i.e. total amount of energy that can be released) due to limited substrate stores.' In other words, it is an immediately available, yet incredibly limited, fuel source. To develop this system, allowing you to generate power quickly and repeatedly, Cannon prescribes intervals on a fan bike. 'I would typically start with a 10-second max effort, followed by 50 seconds of rest, then repeat between 12 and 15 times,' he says.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Don't underestimate Johnny Fisher – the detail-oriented athlete behind the viral social media videos
It is easy to be fooled by Johnny Fisher. His social media videos are a promoter's dream, regularly reaching enormous audiences by showcasing his winning personality, penchant for Chinese takeaways and internet famous father 'Big John'. But behind it all is a conscientious athlete. The former factor is a major reason why 'The Romford Bull' has a legion of loyal fans; the latter explains why the boxing world has its eye on the 26-year-old. As a fitness writer, it was the second subject that caught my attention. In a recent video with DAZN, Fisher has a check-in with performance nutritionist Lee Rickards. He also recently told Men's Health that he has become more aware of his carbohydrate timing, and the need to source protein from leaner cuts of meat – even if there is still room for chicken balls and crispy aromatic duck in his diet pre-training camp. With strength and conditioning coach Sonny Cannon, he uses an array of training techniques to improve his performance across three weekly conditioning sessions, two to three strength sessions and two to three active recovery sessions. 'The main aim as the strength and conditioning coach is injury prevention, training load management and athlete development,' Cannon says. '[ We want to be ] improving our athletic ability for boxing and becoming fitter, faster and stronger.' Everything the pair does is underpinned by the SAID principle, short for specific adaptations to imposed demands. Each exercise and drill is prescribed with a set adaptation in mind. Energy system development via running A boxer needs to be able to draw on all three energy systems over the course of a fight: aerobic to keep moving, anaerobic for short bursts of intense effort, and the ATP-PC system for explosive movements. Cannon uses something called the Norwegian protocol to send Fisher's VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen you can take in and use during exercise) skywards. 'It's four minutes at the fastest pace you can maintain, three minutes off, then repeat this four times,' Cannon explains. 'This method can be used on a treadmill, track or Assault Bike, and it's easily tracked and monitored for progression.' With boxing rounds lasting three minutes, acclimating Fisher's heart and lungs to slightly longer intense efforts is a smart way to make sure that they stand up to the rigours of fight night. And the benefits do not end there. 'This is something we'd class as the hurt level,' Cannon adds. 'You can get a little bit panicky, a little bit jittery, but even though we are pushing our body, our mind is calm.' To train the anaerobic system, Fisher again hops on the Assault Bike for intervals of two minutes on, 90 seconds off, for six rounds, a protocol Cannon calls lactate tolerance training. Then to develop the ATP-PC system, Fisher performs 12 rounds of 10-second all-out sprints on the Assault Bike, with 50 seconds to recover between each one. 'This is very easy to monitor over the course of a camp, so we can see peak power adaptations from combined training methods,' Cannon explains. Eccentric overload training If you thought the weights you use in the gym are always limited by the amount of weight you can lift, you are not 100 per cent correct. In a 2023 training video, ahead of his technical knockout win over Alfonso Damiani, Fisher uses something called eccentric overload training to build serious shoulder strength and muscle. With a barbell in a landmine set-up, two 20kg plates loaded on one end, he uses both hands to press it overhead. Then, he removes his right hand and slowly controls the barbell back down to his shoulder over the course of three seconds. This technique relies on the rule of thumb that you can lower more weight than you can lift. Most lifts can be broken down into three phases, and these are categorised by the type of muscular contraction occurring in the target muscle or muscles. - The concentric or lifting phase, where the working muscle is contracting and becoming shorter – standing up from the bottom of a squat. - The isometric phase, where the working muscle is under tension but remaining the same length – the bottom position of a squat. - The eccentric or lowering phase, where the target muscle is stretching or lengthening – moving from standing to squatting. Broadly speaking, you can lower more than you can hold, and you can hold more than you can lift. So, by isolating and overloading the eccentric portion of a lift, you have the chance to train with heavier loads. While the jury is still out, researchers have also suggested that eccentric overload training may provide 'a potential preferential growth of type IIX [ fast contraction speed ] muscle fibres' and enhance muscle hypertrophy (or growth), helping Fisher build and maintain a powerful heavyweight physique. Twinned with isometric training, Cannon says it can also '[…] build strong and robust joints, which is a must for injury prevention in a tough training camp.' 'These training methods are great for boxers who have to contend with shock absorption and heavy impact,' he adds. Absolute strength work and contrast training View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sonny The Cannon (@sonny_cannon_) It should come as no surprise to anyone that Fisher lifts heavy to achieve his imposing physique and enviable strength levels. The trap bar deadlift is a favourite exercise of Cannon's to include in their sessions, representing 'the safest method for developing absolute strength and rate of force development when factoring in risk over reward'. Lifting 2.2 times his body weight is the target they're building towards. Then, nearer the end of a training cycle, Cannon uses something called contrast training to develop Fisher's strength and power simultaneously. Contrast training involves pairing a heavy compound (multi-muscle) exercise with a biomechanically similar explosive exercise. For example, a barbell back squat with a max-height squat jump, or a bench press with a clapping press-up. Perform the exercises back-to-back, with no more than five repetitions of each per set. 'Contrast training uses something known as post-potentiation activation (PAP),' Cannon says. 'We're trying to get him to use as much force as he can through his quads, then we're switching to an explosive movement.' An article by the National Strength and Conditioning Association suggests that '[…] inducing PAP through heavy resistance exercise can increase muscle force capabilities in subsequent high-velocity activities by one to five per cent'. Or in layman's terms, your muscles will be more explosive immediately after a heavy lift, so performing them can lead to potentially greater training adaptations such as improved muscle force potential. Anti-rotational core work If you ask the average person to strengthen their midline, they will say something about a six-pack, then crank out some sit-ups. But for a boxer, these mid-body muscles do so much more than simply crunching the rib cage towards the hips. As well as initiating movement around the torso, the core also resists movement, which is vital if you might be on the receiving end of a haymaker or two in your day job. For this, Fisher performs an exercise called the Pallof press. He attaches a thick resistance band to an upright anchor point at roughly chest height, stands adjacent to it with plenty of tension on the band, then presses the band straight out from his chest with both arms until they are extended in front of him. Throughout this movement, his core muscles are resisting the band's best effort to pull them sideways. The core musculature is also responsible for the transfer of power from the ground, through the lower body and torso, then into the extremities when performing an action such as throwing a punch. For this reason, strengthening it is a must for any combat sport.
