The Globe and Mail

Following an injury this summer, Colleen Peddie, 44, needed some added punch to her fitness regimen. So the co-owner and CFO of Bensimon Byrnes advertising agency is donning boxing trunks and sparring gloves in preparation for a charity bout airing on The Fight Network on Jan. 26.

My goal:

“To improve my conditioning after a herniated disk. So now I’m cleared to work out, and I want to get back to my pre-injury routine and weight class – I would say I gained about 10 pounds.”

My workout:

“I run and exercise with Scott Rankin at Totum Life Science a few times a week, and now I’m boxing two days a week with Jason Fisher for the Agency Wars benefiting Ronald McDonald House. I do circuit-training stations designed to help me last in the bout, which is three, two-minute rounds. I do 10 different stations, two minutes on, 30 seconds off. Each week he mixes up what the stations are, so I could be jumping hurdles, running through a ladder, doing squats, or throwing punches. And it’s amazing, after you do 14 circuits in 35 minutes, you’re soaking wet.

“One of the things the coaches emphasize is core strength, so I do lots of two-minute planks because balance is one of the most important things you can have in the ring, or you can be down on the mat in no time. I’m trying to improve my speed and right now we’re sparring, where we put it all together.”

My lifestyle:

“As a CFO, the majority of my day is spent at my desk, so I do get problems from being hunched over at my computer. Outside the office, I’m out with my husband [Richard Peddie, CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment] four nights a week at basketball or hockey games. My nutrition has changed since boxing began: more protein, less sugar, less alcohol and eating good carbs such as brown rice versus pasta. I’ve noticed my conditioning is better, but I haven’t noticed weight loss.”

My motivation:

“My husband and I share a love for an active lifestyle and it’s something that we do together.”

My anthem:

“Tupac’s CD Until the End of Time, but right now every time I go out for a run it’s B.o.B. – The Adventures of Bobby Ray.”

My challenge:

“The fight is less than two months away and I still have lots to learn, and then finding time in my day to train.”

The critique:

Keep on so weight comes off

Mary Spencer, three-time World Champion, five-time Pan American Champion and seven-time Canadian Champion, says boxing’s interval strength training improves a woman’s body composition and she encourages Ms. Peddie to persist. “Her body's initial reaction will be to gain fat-burning muscle, especially if she’s increasing the amount of protein in her diet, but it won't be too long before Colleen starts to notice obvious losses in body fat.”

Switch to power phase

Addressing performance concerns, Ms. Spencer, who is a certified coach with Boxing Ontario, suggests adding in a power-training phase a few weeks before competition to ensure strengthened muscles are also explosive. “I recommend throwing a medicine ball against the wall as fast as she can from her boxing position, as if she were throwing a punch. Exercises like these will make it easier to translate her strength and power training into the ring.”