At 54 years old, TV personality and sommelier Fred Sirieix is still pushing himself hard in the gym. In a recent social media post, the First Dates star shared a clip of himself completing 8 x 3-minute boxing rounds after time away from the bag, outlining the strategies he used to stay sharp throughout the session.
‘I did not hit the bag for a while so I challenged myself to 8 x 3-minute rounds (with a minute rest in between),’ Sirieix wrote in the caption. ‘To stay motivated and focused through the rounds I switched styles and played different scenarios in my head. This is the last round, boxing on the inside and going toe to toe with the bag.’
The workout mirrors the structure of a traditional boxing session, with repeated high-intensity efforts followed by short recovery periods. Training in this way can improve cardio fitness and coordination, while also demanding concentration under fatigue. Plus, boxing can be one of the more enjoyable forms of cardio for some.
By varying his approach in the session, Sirieix was also engaging the cognitive side of boxing. The short rest periods between rounds can help develop anaerobic fitness, training the body to repeatedly produce force and recover quickly under high demand. Combined with the upper-body and rotational demands of punching, this makes boxing an effective full-body conditioning tool – something Sirieix will likely benefit from well into his fifties and beyond.
Kate is a fitness writer for Men’s Health UK where she contributes regular workouts, training tips and nutrition guides. She has a post graduate diploma in Sports Performance Nutrition and before joining Men’s Health she was a nutritionist, fitness writer and personal trainer with over 5k hours coaching on the gym floor. Kate has a keen interest in volunteering for animal shelters and when she isn’t lifting weights in her garden, she can be found walking her rescue dog.
