Anthony Joshua fitness secrets – DITCHING weights, infrared saunas, brownies and ice cream

He’s estimated to be worth an astonishing £115million, so it’s not surprise that Anthony Joshua can afford a few luxuries you won’t find down the local gym.

But while most of us won’t be able to shell out for an infrared sauna or lug a weight plate around a swimming pool, a look at the boxer’s incredible fitness regime still reveals some invaluable tips.

This week, the unified heavyweight world champion agreed to a ‘lifetime contract’ with promoter Eddie Hearn until he hangs up his gloves.

It comes ahead of his clash with Oleksandr Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night, where he will defend his three belts and potentially line up a superstar clash with Tyson Fury.

Joshua, 31, signed with Hearn after winning Olympic gold in 2012 and has become one of sport’s biggest – and richest – stars.

But it’s not come without some serious work outside of the ring. Here, we reveal his amazing fitness secrets.

Five hour gym sessions… twice a day
While he used to get up at the crack of dawn, Joshua now sets his alarm clock a little later, waking up between 6.30am and 7am.

“Some fighters get up at 5.00am, which is all good but sometimes I don’t leave the gym until late at night so I need rest,” he told Mr Porter.

“I’m training hard so I need rest to attack the day properly.”

His training schedule can vary, but in an average week he works out twice a day – though each session can last for up to five hours.

Joshua likes to mix up his routines, focusing on a balanced regime of cardio, bodyweight exercises, strength and core work – as well as sparring, of course.

On Saturdays, he has a lighter day based around mobility work, while on Sunday he takes a rest day.

Unusually for a superstar, the boxer trains in a public gym – and has admitted he’s constantly flooded by fans asking for selfies.

“You want to be nice, but you’ve got to be serious,” he told Insider, explaining how he also has to be strict about meeting up with pals after work.

“You’re always in a mental battle trying to keep your mind in the right place.”

Like the rest of us, Joshua had to rip up his routine over lockdown, but still founds ways to make it work.

He focused on skipping and shadow boxing while the gyms were closed, while also continuing his coaching over Zoom.

To recover, the star can sweat it out in his infrared sauna at home, while he also takes the odd dip in an ice bath.

Ditching weights, sandpit sessions and underwater challenge
When it comes to specific exercises, Joshua needs to pack on a lot of muscle.

Weight training has been a staple over the years, with deadlifts, squats and bench presses crucial parts of his routine.

However, one key to his success has been adapting his body for each fight.

Ahead of his tie against Usyk, team physio Rob Madden told the Sun he wanted to have a more slimline figure, which he’s achieved by ditching most of his weight training.

“The weight is always a team decision and effort but I think it has been more of a training adjustment than anything else,” said Madden.

“There is a lot less weight lifting and strength work, he actually gets a lot of his bulk just from boxing itself.

“If you look at his biceps and shoulders, a lot of that comes from the heavy bag and the amount of boxing he does.

“Going into the Usyk fight, you can see now that he is leaner than how heavy he was from Klitschko because he learned how heavy that feels and he personally prefers to hover a bit lower than that.”

As he’s progressed throughout his career, the champion hasn’t been afraid to mix it up – and even takes inspiration from other sports.

Occasionally, he goes down to a sandpit to practise his movements in the sand, inspired by iconic footballers like Pele and Ronaldinho.

“I think Brazilian footballers are much better in the world because they probably play football in the sand, so, they tend to build up strength on an uneven surface,” he told Men’s Health.

“So, if you make things difficult in practice, it becomes easier in the ring. That is really difficult when your feet are in the sand. It’s making things difficult, but learning how to adapt.”

Another quirky routine involves pushing a weight plate across the bottom of the pool.

He explained how he refuses to come up for breath until he’s completed the challenge, which builds up his mental strength in seeing a challenge through in strenuous moments.

“I’m making it difficult to keep under water,” he said. “So it’s building up a mentality that even when it gets tough, you have to stay underwater and I’m going to push that weight across.”

5,000 calories a day – with the odd chocolate brownie
Like any good bodybuilder, Joshua consumes a ridiculous amount of food to give him the fuel to power through training.

Over the course of a day, he revealed to GQ that he regularly wolfs down up to 5,000 calories a day – but avoids cheese and gluten.

When he first gets up, he necks a litre of water to get his metabolism going. He’ll then have a light snack of fruit before heading off to training.

“I’ll then have a proper breakfast, which is what most people have for lunch, because I’m eating at around 11am,” he said.

“Rice, chicken, vegetables, and sweet potatoes. Sometimes I’ll switch it up and have pork instead. If I want a snack, it’ll be either yogurt and honey or meringues.”

After his workouts are done for the day, he gets back for a big dinner, where he’ll have steak or salmon with pasta with grains quinoa and vegetables.

“I do allow myself to indulge every once in a while, even when I’m training,” he said.