"My muscles feel better than they did before" is not what you expect a boxer to say after a vigorous workout. In this case, Shakeel Phinn, the current IBF and NABF North American middle-weight champion, is talking about his aquatic workout in an Endless Pools® installation.
"Joints that were great before won't hurt after the workout that I do in the pool," Phinn attests. As his trainer, Chris Pommier, puts it, "You're not using weights, but it's kind of powerlifting, especially on certain moves.
"We did plyometrics, jumps in the water, and you can tell he's working hard, because you have to fight against the current. You have to be powerful for one minute, one minute thirty," Pommier explains. "It is challenging, 100 percent."
"We've been training for a little more than two years," Phinn adds. When we spoke, they were counting on their Endless Pools training to help give Phinn the edge for his first international fight.