What is your fitness regime like?
I train four hours a day, six days a week. I do a lot of running, I do lots of strength and conditioning, lots of contact sparring. I do ground work, lots of lifting my own body weight – it’s pretty hard and pretty intense but you have to go through it.
What’s your workout like on an average day?
I wake up at 6am and have a recovery run in Epping forest, probably around eight or nine miles. I go back to my coach’s house, sleep, have something to eat, then I go back to the gym at 1pm. I do various things in the gym, like strength and conditioning, sparring, pads, and then I have a shower and go home, relax and recover for the next day’s hard training. Keeping physically fit helps keep me mentally in the zone as well.
Is cardiovascular training just as important as building muscle?
It is; obviously we have to make weight [for a fight]. I do a lot of running: I run four or five times a week. I probably do 25-30 miles in a week. The majority of fighters are not big and bulky and muscly, they’re lean athletes.
How do you lose weight for a fight?
I have to make 12 stone. I walk around at about 13.5 stone, so I have to get down and watch what I eat. Losing weight for me is about eating healthy and training hard and the weight falls off me.
Do you always keep an eye on what you eat?
Of course. I’ve got the “fat gene” in my family, so I’ve always got to watch what I eat. Prior to a fight when I have to make weight, obviously I can’t eat all the rubbish – chocolate and stuff like that. Straight after I can relax and eat what I want.
Are boxing classes a good way for regular people to lose weight and stay fit?
It’s a fantastic way [to get fit]. What’s that thing my coach says? “Get fighting fit without getting hit”. There’s lots of cardio and it’s a great way to get weight off and keep fit. You don’t have to be interested in fighting.
What are your methods for building muscle and strength?
We do a lot of strength and conditioning work. We don’t lift heavy, heavy weight; it’s light weights but lots of repetitions. We lift our own body weight a lot, so pull-ups, lots of dips, lots of push-ups.
How do you recover from injury?
I’ve been lucky, I haven’t been injured too much … the last injury I had was runner’s knee. That drove me mad because I couldn’t run past 10 minutes without it hurting. But with good physio and good people around you, you get it sorted.
How do you relax away from the gym?
When I’m not preparing for a fight, I like to chill, go to the cinema and socialise with my mates.
• James DeGale was speaking at a training session incorporating the boxing game on Kinect Sports for Xbox 360. For more information, visit xbox.com/kinectsports.
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