This is a drill I have taught for many years. It works for any combat sport, and it works just as well if you simply want to get fit. In this video lesson I take you through the pyramid striking drill and what it takes to do it properly. It is for fighters, coaches and anyone who wants their conditioning to look like real fighting fitness.

What Makes A Pyramid Drill Hard

A pyramid drill builds up and comes back down. The work rises, peaks, and then descends, so you are constantly changing pace and never quite settling. It is very different from steady cardio. Fights are not steady. They come in bursts, and this kind of drill trains you to work hard, recover a little, and go again.

The other thing that makes it hard is that you keep striking the whole way through. Your arms, shoulders and core fatigue at the same time as your lungs.

Form Is Everything

The key for combat athletes is to keep great form throughout. That is the whole point. Anyone can flail at a bag for ten rounds. Very few can keep their hands up, their chin down and their punches straight when they are exhausted.

If you are coaching, your job is to constantly monitor and correct. Watch for:

  • Hands dropping between strikes
  • The chin coming up as the breathing gets heavy
  • Feet getting flat and the stance getting wide
  • Punches turning into pushes

If the form goes, stop the rep. Bad repetitions under fatigue are exactly the habits that get you hit in a real fight.

The Standard

Here is the benchmark I use. If you can keep great form, hit really hard and complete ten rounds, then you are super fit. Most people will not get there at first, and that is fine. Build up a round at a time and keep the quality high. It is better to do five excellent rounds than ten sloppy ones.

Take It Further

If you want to train with me in person and be pushed properly, look at my Training Camps. For the boxing technique to make every round count, the Learn To Box Online Course is the place to start.