Any physical activity is better than none. Even just standing instead of sitting is good!

But if you’re serious about improving your health and fitness, then you need to start thinking about how much reward you’re getting for the time you put in.

One of the most beneficial types of exercise you can do is boxing training. Here I’ll highlight just a few of the results that you’ll see if you start boxing!


IMPROVED CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE

There are two main types of energy systems that your body uses to fuel itself:

Aerobic – your body uses oxygen to create energy. This is how your body spends most of it’s time. The aerobic energy system can last a long time during lower intensity exercise but as you start to increase intensity, it will no longer be able to keep up with production.

Anaerobic – there are two ways that your body creates energy without oxygen. The first of these is called the ATP-PC System. If you want to sound nerdy, you can say ‘the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) phosphocreatine (PC)’. But who has the time or energy? This is used in very short, high intensity activities that only last a few seconds. The other anaerobic system in the Lactic Acid System. This is not quite as strong as the ATP-PC System, but it can last a little longer (around 30 to 60 seconds).

Most physical activity will be more focused on improving either aerobic or anaerobic fitness. Boxing is quite rare in that it is a very even split between the two. This means that you can avoid having to train two different ways to improve the different types of fitness!


WHOLE BODY STRENGTH

You might think at first that boxing is only going to exercise your arms, because all you’re doing is punching. But when you box, you’re actually using your entire body. You push through your toes, transfer weight through your legs, twist your torso to generate as much power as possible, and finally extend your arm to throw your punch. That’s a lot of muscles working!

If you start boxing training now, after a few weeks you’ll start to notice your entire body becoming much stronger.


FAT LOSS

In a typical 60-minute non-contact boxing session, you could burn up to 1,000 calories! Part of the reason boxing is so beneficial is because you’re using your entire body. Most exercise will be limited to upper or lower body, but with boxing training your whole body is working and forcing you to burn more calories. More calories burned means less fat stored. Keep it up and you’ll look like Rocky in no time!


MENTAL HEALTH

Boxing training has been shown to improve overall mental health, decrease anxiety and depression, improve mood, relieve stress, and increase confidence and self-esteem. And that’s not even close to the end of the list of benefits!

Various governing bodies within boxing are now starting to recognise these benefits and are hoping to spread the word about the links between boxing training and mental health.


bone density

Bone density is important, because it’s basically how strong your bones are (the stronger they are the less likely they are to break – obviously). As we age, our bone density starts to decrease (this starts at around age 25). It tends to happen a lot more in females, but males need to be aware of it too!

The best way to combat this and increase bone density is to do weight-bearing and high-impact activities. This includes lifting weights, or anything where your body is hitting something. So every time you punch a bag or a pad (not a person), you’re improving the health of your bones!


Boxing workout

Try this:

Punch Bag (Jab – Right Cross): 1-minute

Skipping: 1-minute

Punch Bag (Jab – Right Cross – Left Hook): 1-minute

Sit-ups: 1-minute

Punch Bag (Double Jab – Right Hook): 1-minute

Repeat this circuit 3-4 times, resting 2-minutes between each.

Hopefully this has given you a bit of an idea of how amazing boxing training can be. But most importantly, it’s fun! So get Punching!

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