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Kate Middleton should have a boxing session with Pippa, says Olympic gold medalist Nicola Adams

The Virgin Active ambassador reveals why the Duchess of Cambridge should get in the ring with sister Pippa – and why she’s got her heart set on double Olympic gold medal victory

Nicola Adams' Olympic win has increased participation in women's boxing by 50 per cent [Virgin Active]

She single-handedly increased participation in women’s boxing by 50 per cent after her triumphant gold medal win at the London 2012 Olympics.

But there’s still one person that Team GB’s Nicola Adams wants to get involved in the sport – Kate Middleton.

The Duchess’ sister Pippa Middleton recently said she thought Nicola Adams gave the sport ‘a tremendous boost.’

Now, Nicola reckons Kate should get in the ring for a session with her little sister and try women’s boxing out for herself.

“Yeah that would be cool, [Pippa could] give her a session on the pads, give her some tips!” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.

The 30-year-old Olympic champion added that a boxing workout could help the Duchess of Cambridge get back into shape after giving birth to Prince George.

“Yeah definitely, it’s an all body workout, it tones your core and arms and legs, so it would be good [for her],” she said.

The Northern boxer’s profile rocketed overnight after she beat world number one, Chinese Ren Cancan, to make history as the first Olympic gold medalist in women’s boxing as part of Team GB.

Talking about that momentous time in her career, she told us she had aimed for a gold medal but she didn’t realise she would be making history at the same time.

“When I was going into London 2012, I was just thinking ‘I just want to win a gold medal’ and everyone was saying to me ‘You’ve just made history.’ I was like ‘Woah!’ It took a while to sink in,” she said.

She told us the atmosphere at the O2 where she was throwing the punches was ‘amazing’ and that the home crowd boosted her performance.

“It was absolutely amazing!  Every time they cheered, I threw punches, they cheered more, I threw more punches, it was fantastic,” she said.

But rather than getting complacent, the Leeds-born athlete has set her sights on a higher goal – to make history as the first double Olympic gold medalist in women’s boxing.

“We’ve never had one before so it would be really great to achieve that – it’s what I’ve set as my goal,” she said.

At the moment, the flyweight champ is training hard in preparation for a busy season of women’s boxing – first, the European Championships, then the Commonwealth Games, followed by the World Championships, and then of course, Rio in 2016.

“I always aim for gold and hopefully get it. I’m not the kind of person that thinks ‘I just want a medal,’ I always like to aim really high and then hopefully I can get there,” she said of her hopes for the upcoming championships.

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She’s currently training three times a day to prepare for her fights, starting with cardio, then strength and conditioning, followed by a boxing workout.

Morning workout:

“The first session will be the run or on the bike.  If it’s a bike it will be inside and if it’s a run it will be outside on the track,” she said.

Mid-morning workout:

“The session after that is strength and conditioning. So we do weights, press ups and push ups,” she said.

Afternoon workout:


“The last session of the day is boxing, so we do pads, bags, sparring,” she told us.

She admitted that she finds it hard to get out of bed sometimes – but the thought of her competitors working harder than her is what spurs her on.

“It is really hard sometimes. You do get days where you think ‘oh God, I don’t want to get up today’ and then I think my opponent could be out there training and it keeps me going!” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.

Diet wise, she gets her meals delivered in portion-controlled sizes, but admits she’s allowed a cheat day ‘every now and again’ to indulge in sweet treats.
 
“I’d have an iced bun and ice cream - and a strawberry milkshake!” she said.

The professional athlete is also flexible enough to indulge a cheeky Nando’s in her diet plan – without the chips sadly.

“I like a good Nando’s - we’re actually allowed to have that! It’s healthy if you cut out the chips. I order the chicken in pitta or the burger,” she told us.

But despite Nicola's normal lifestyle and down-to-earth persona, she's been mingling with royalty as she met the Queen to receive her MBE for services to boxing earlier this year.

“She was saying she’ll be supporting me through to Rio which was really nice for me to hear,” said the boxing champ.

Despite Nicola’s soaring success, last year was the first time women’s boxing was allowed in the Olympics – and she says she’s seen a shift in sexism in the industry.

“It’s definitely changing now.  Last year was the first time a woman went into the Boxing Writers Awards and actually won an award,” she said.

“I think it’s fantastic that they’re letting women go in there.  They wouldn’t let the women even go into the awards before, even if it was just an agent, it was strictly no women allowed. Everything’s changing and it’s nice to see.”

It certainly seems as though Nicola is spearheading a campaign to get more women involved in boxing, so does she want to start a legacy of her own?

“Yeah I suppose, why not? I’ve made history!”

Will you be taking up boxing? Tell us on Twitter now.

Find out more about Nicola Adams’ Punch workout class and other fitness classes at Virgin Active.

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