Ryan Martin's shoulder circuit is five movements done back to back for one minute each, five minutes total, holding nothing heavier than 2.5-pound weights or two water bottles. It is the endurance work a two-time world champion boxer uses to keep his hands up for an entire fight, because dropped hands get you knocked out. It sounds easy until you try it, 2.5 pounds has never felt so heavy. This Physical Friday walks you through the whole circuit.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
It is a five-minute, five-movement shoulder endurance circuit done with light weights. You do rolls forward, rolls backward, up and downs, shoulders, and climbs, holding each movement for a full minute and moving straight into the next with no rest. Five movements, five continuous minutes, and your shoulders are on fire by the end.
We used 2.5-pound weights, and that is plenty. If you do not have 2.5-pound weights, put a water bottle in each hand or anything that weighs about two pounds. Two pounds is great, five pounds is pretty heavy for this, and doing it with ten pounds would be a real challenge. This is an endurance workout, not a strength workout, so light is right.
Because a boxer has to hold his hands up for the entire fight, and if he drops his hands, he can get knocked out. Ryan trains this circuit so his shoulders never give out in the late rounds. The same bulletproof-shoulder quality carries over to anyone who pushes, pulls, poles a skiff, or casts all day.
Five minutes, total. You do the first exercise for a full minute, and at the top of the minute you move directly to the second, then the third, fourth, and fifth. There is no rest between movements, which is exactly why such a short workout with such light weight gets so hard.
No. You do not need any equipment at all beyond two light objects, and two water bottles work great. That makes this circuit perfect for hotel rooms, boats, docks, and anywhere else you travel, which is exactly why I wanted it on Physical Friday.
Much harder. If five minutes with 2.5 pounds sounds easy, do it along with the video and find out. Keeping the arms moving and elevated for five continuous minutes turns tiny weights into a burner, and by the climbs at the end most people are begging the clock to run out.
After Ryan's full-length episode and his ab routine, I asked him for the workouts boxers actually rely on that the rest of us can use anywhere. This shoulder circuit is the one that surprised me most, because the weights are tiny and the suffering is real. We filmed the whole thing so you can do it with us, and I posted the complete workout video as well. Press play in the player above and try to keep up.
Five movements, one minute each, no rest. Grab 2.5-pound weights or two water bottles.
I walk through each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
Strength and endurance are different qualities, and this circuit attacks the one most of us never train. Holding light weights up and moving them continuously for five minutes recruits the shoulders in a way heavy pressing never does, and the burn arrives shockingly fast. Watching a world champion grind through it tells you everything. See it for yourself, press play in the player above.
Ryan trains this so he can keep his guard up for twelve rounds, and I immediately thought of everyone who poles a skiff, casts a fly rod all day, or pulls on big fish. Shoulder endurance is the difference between finishing the day strong and finishing it sore, and this five-minute circuit is the cheapest insurance I have found. I explain how I am adding it to my week in the episode, so press play in the player above.
We made the audio as easy to follow as possible, five movements in order, one minute each. If you want to see exactly what rolls, up and downs, and climbs look like, the full workout video is posted on my Instagram, tom_rowland, in the video section, and on the Saltwater Experience YouTube page. Cue it up, grab your water bottles, and do the five minutes with a world champion. Press play in the player above.
Want the full breakdown? Press play in the player above and listen to the whole episode.
Five minutes, five movements, two water bottles. There is no excuse not to try this one, and your shoulders will tell you afterward that it counted.
If it sounds easy, do it with us on the video before you judge. Two and a half pounds has never felt quite so heavy, and that is exactly the point.
Ryan Martin · boxing · shoulder circuit · shoulder rolls · up and downs · climbs · endurance training · Instagram tom_rowland · Saltwater Experience YouTube channel · Physical Friday
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the workouts, nutrition, and mindset that keep guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong on the water and in the field, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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