Erne Boxing Club The Power of the Punch

Aim: We want to encourage more girls and females into boxing and active participation in our club

Who are we?

Erne Boxing Club was established more than 20 years ago and has been delivering fitness and lifestyle support as well as competitive opportunities for young people across Fermanagh

Our experience in delivering programmes to our local community means we are acutely aware of the numerous barriers to participation, that young people face., particularly girls and young women. This project is about removing as many of these barriers as possible. 

To do this, we have designed a brand new programmed aimed directly at females only. This is a crucial element of the Club's 5 year development plan. However, the inception of a new female-only programme has been inhibited by the need for significant financial and resource investment.

Our 6-week, high-intensity boxing program designed for females will   improve physical fitness, build mental resilience, promote a healthy diet, and foster female empowerment. Boxing offers an excellent combination of cardio, strength training, and mental focus. This program will combine boxing workouts with tips for nutrition and mindset coaching to encourage an all-around healthy lifestyle.

Program Overview:

• Duration: 6 Weeks
• Frequency: 3 evenings of physical training  per week
• Mental Focus: Mental resilience and coping strategies, anger management techniques, overcoming anxiety and dealing with stress), 
• Nutrition,
• Empowerment

Week 1-2: Foundation & Conditioning (Boot camp for beginners) delivered over 4 evenings and 1 weekend morning 

The focus will be on getting comfortable with the basics of boxing and building strength and endurance. It will encorporate fitness and mobility work to lay a strong foundation.

Workout Structure:

• Warm-Up (10 min): Jump rope, dynamic stretches (leg swings, arm circles, hip openers)
• Skill Work (15-20 min):
  • Boxing Basics: Stance, jab, cross, hook, uppercut. Spend time learning technique and building muscle memory. Practice shadow boxing (without gloves) to work on form.
• Conditioning (15 min):
  • Interval Training (Tabata-style):
    • 20 sec work / 10 sec rest for 8 rounds. Alternate between exercises.
    • Round 1: Jump rope
    • Round 2: Push-ups
    • Round 3: Squats
    • Round 4: Boxing combos (jab-cross, hook-cross, uppercut-jab)
• Core & Cool Down (10 min):
  • Planks, mountain climbers, leg raises.
  • Stretch focusing on shoulders, arms, and legs.

Mental Resilience Focus:

• Participants will be encouraged to start each session with a positive affirmation or mantra like “I am strong,” “I am capable,” or “I can handle any challenge.”
• The importance of visualising success and overcoming challenges during the workout is crucial

Nutrition Focus:

• We will prioritise protein-rich meals to fuel muscle repair and recovery (chicken, beans, tofu, eggs).
• Remind the importance of staying hydrated throughout the day. Aim for at least 2-3 litres of water.
• Include healthy fats (avocados, nuts, olive oil) and fibre-rich foods (leafy greens, whole grains) to maintain energy.

Week 3-4: Building Strength & Endurance

In this phase, we'll build on participants boxing technique, ramp up conditioning, and start adding more complex drills to challenge both to body and mind.

Workout Structure:

• Warm-Up (10 min): Jump rope, dynamic stretching
• Skill Work (20 min):
  • Boxing Drills:
    • Focus on footwork and head movement along with combinations. Trying combos like jab-cross-hook, jab-uppercut-cross.
    • Encorporating 1-minute rounds of shadow boxing with emphasis on speed and fluidity.
• Conditioning (20 min):
  • Boxing Circuit (3 rounds of 5 min each):
  • Round 1: 1 min Jump rope, 1 min push-ups, 1 min squat jumps, 1 min jab-cross combo, 1 min rest
  • Round 2: 1 min mountain climbers, 1 min burpees, 1 min plank, 1 min jab-cross-uppercut, 1 min rest
  • Round 3: Repeat round 1.

Core & Stretching (10 min): Focus on abs, obliques, lower back, and flexibility.

Mental Resilience Focus:

• Push through the moments when you feel like quitting. During tough rounds, remind self of your inner strength and how far you’ve come.
• Reflect on your journey and celebrate progress, no matter how small. It's important to acknowledge your achievements for mental empowerment.

Nutrition Focus:

• Focus on balanced meals: lean proteins, complex carbs (sweet potatoes, quinoa), and healthy fats.
• Consider adding anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric, ginger, and berries to aid recovery.
• Minimise processed foods and sugars.

Week 5-6: Peak Intensity & Empowerment

Having built a solid foundation, the last two weeks will push participants to their  limits. We'll integrate mental toughness exercises, advanced boxing drills, and high-intensity workouts.

Workout Structure:

• Warm-Up (10 min): Jump rope, shadow boxing with footwork
• Skill Work (20 min):
  • Boxing Combo Drills: Combine all punches into fluid combos. Use a heavy bag or shadow box if you don't have access to equipment.
    • Round 1: Jab-cross-hook-uppercut.
    • Round 2: Slip-left hook-cross.
    • Round 3: Jab-uppercut-hook-cross.
  • Footwork: Practice lateral movement, pivots, and closing the distance quickly.
• Conditioning (30 min):
  • High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT):
    • Perform 40 seconds of work, 20 seconds rest for 5 rounds of the following circuit:
    • Round 1: Jump rope
    • Round 2: Burpees
    • Round 3: Squat jumps
    • Round 4: Jab-cross combinations (if you have a bag, hit it)
    • Round 5: Plank to push-up

Core & Cool Down (10 min): Include leg raises, flutter kicks, and a long stretch focusing on all major muscle groups.

Mental Resilience Focus:

• This phase will really test your limits. When the workout feels tough, tell yourself: "I am unstoppable" or "Pain is temporary, strength is forever."
• Reflect on your journey of growth and embrace the discomfort. The stronger you get mentally, the easier the challenges will feel.
• End each workout with a gratitude practice: reflect on how your body feels and the strength you’ve gained.

Nutrition Focus:

• Prioritise post-workout nutrition: protein and carbs to help your body recover (smoothie with protein powder, banana, and almond milk).
• Focus on anti-inflammatory foods (like turmeric, berries, and green leafy vegetables) to reduce muscle soreness.
• Aim for a balance of macronutrients in every meal, and maintain portion control to ensure steady energy throughout the day.

Weekly Empowerment Theme:

• Week 1: “I’m Building My Foundation”
• Week 2: “Strength Comes From Consistency”
• Week 3: “I Embrace the Challenge”
• Week 4: “I Push My Limits”
• Week 5: “I Am Unstoppable”
• Week 6: “I Own My Power”

This program is designed to help participants grow stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally while feeling empowered as a female. Boxing not only strengthens the body but also builds confidence, discipline, and resilience, making it the perfect tool for fostering empowerment. Keep pushing, stay consistent, and enjoy the journey!

Why are we crowdfunding?

Firstly, we will utilise the experience of a fully qualified female coach. The classes will be for girls only (certainly in the short term), and activities will include dance, Pilates, Yoga, shadowboxing, High-intensity Boot Camps, CrossFit, and so forth.

We will also focus heavily on reducing or removing the barriers girls have told us are of concern to them

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How we’ll spend the money raised

Naturally a new programme with new activities and participants will require investment from the club. To deliver this project we will need to:

Recruit a female coach and a female fitness specialist with experience of and qualifications in female engagements 

Purchase female protection equipment and general boxing items such as gloves, wraps, mouth guards, etc

Engage the services of a female mental health facilitator 

Engage a dietician/food nutritionist

Purchase additional portable heating. (This is essential for all our boxers and will be a huge benefit to all members as higher-intensity training needs to a hot environment

Community impact

We will offer girls and young women living in rural and often isolated areas:

opportunities to develop discipline and responsibility: 

Build their self-confidence and mental resilience: 

Assist with personal growth and techniques to overcome challenges, both physical and mental.

Participants will have access to mentoring positive role models and build lasting friendships

Additionally, our work throughout the years has

Helped to combat social isolation, bridging gaps between different social or ethnic groups, fostering mutual respect and understanding. This helps create a more cohesive community.

Our club has not only established a positive local identity, but translated this into a significant sense of pride amongst our members in their community and their achievements.

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. By donating online through Crowdfunder, we will be able to claim matched funding from Sport NIDon’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Please talk to your friends, family, school and work mates as well as your social media contacts. The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. If you are a business, not only can you make a donation to the club, and you can offer our 'Crowd' discounts or promotional deals to encourage higher donations, and take advantage of the club's social media to promote your business

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!