Too many men waste their time in the gym curling their hair and other exercises to look beautiful while never challenging their bodies to be all that they can be. Boxing is one of the best exercises that can help you reach the next level.
Get ripped
Boxing may be one of the best ways to get rid of body fat and fatigue while maintaining muscle mass. Research has shown that interval training like boxing is good for losing fat and speeding up your metabolism. Exercising like traditional aerobic cardio only creates an increase in calories burned during the actual workout which decreases quickly when you finish your training session.
But due to a phenomenon known as EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption) you have a significant increase in the amount of calories you burn for hours after you finish your boxing workout. Because boxing uses fast-twitch muscle fibers to perform fast, powerful punches over and over again, it encourages your body to hold on and can increase the size of your muscles resulting in a ripped broad shoulder look and not the skinny look that many athletes have. So, if you only have limited time to work out, try to attend a good boxing gym near you that will give you better results for your time then traditional cardio workouts, like going for a run.
Speed, strength and endurance
A few styles of training can give you the full range of physical improvements that boxing can provide. ESPN has rated boxing as the hardest sport in the world because of all the ingredients that are prepared. The basic qualities needed to be a great boxer are speed, strength, and stamina. Here are some of the ways you can acquire these qualities through boxing training.
Speed: By hitting the bag or doing the action of the gauntlet, you are asking your muscles to fire faster than they are used to. Every time you punch, you must quickly twist your body, shoot your arm, and bring it straight back. You must move your feet quickly to get in, out, and around a bag or opponent. Into a good boxing workout, a variety of plyometric and other exercises are also mixed in that require your body to move as fast as it can, pushing you to new levels of speed production that you may not have thought possible.
Power: Boxing teaches you to use your entire body to produce maximum force in a punch while delivering it with precision, speed, and balance. The lock and squeeze at the end of the shot represents a massive contraction of the muscle fibers in your arms and shoulders that occur the moment you first make contact with your target. This contact places an enormous load on your muscles all the way from your chest muscles to your back muscles that must bear hundreds of pounds of force when you land a powerful punch. When the punches are delivered correctly, you’ll feel the work being put on these muscle groups the next day.
Endurance: Much research has been done over the past two decades on the benefits of high-intensity interval training on VO2 max (a measure of your body’s ability to use oxygen). Interval training like boxing has been shown to increase your VO2 max faster and in shorter workouts than steady-state cardio. Boxing is a great cross training for people who play a variety of sports seriously or just for fun as it greatly helps in enhancing your stamina. At the end of the day, boxing is a much more exciting and time-efficient way to get a cardio workout than running on a treadmill or spending time on a stationary bike.
Fun and exciting
We all know that working out can be fun, but boxing for exercise can be even more fun! When you exercise, you get a release of endorphins that make you feel accomplished and satisfied after a hard workout. With boxing, you get the same feelings, but more. After a hard boxing workout, you will have a sense of accomplishment as well as progress as you learn new techniques. The excitement of throwing punches, moving, swaying, weaving and blocking punches is a massive thrill that is extremely addictive and will leave you wanting more after every workout!
Stress relief
Have you ever had a very stressful day and just wished you had punched something? Energy like that, if held on for too long, can be detrimental to your interactions with the people around you and the people closest to you, leaving you easily frustrated and ready to go off the handle. People who have made boxing a part of their daily routine get out of this frustration all the time! If you spend 30 minutes to an hour throwing hundreds of punches as hard as you can, as fast as you can, you better believe that you will feel a great sense of relief. When you boxing, you are using that energy of aggression and turning it into a positive outlet that will not only make you feel good, but look great too!
Final bell
I highly encourage you to try a boxing workout either in class or in an in-person session. To get the most out of your workouts, you need to go to a quality boxing gym and experience what boxing really means!