Most people immediately think of boxing as a combat sport where two people wearing boxing gloves throw punches at each other. It’s a tough sport, but did you also know boxing can be used as a fitness activity?
More and more folks are turning to boxing to get in shape using equipment such as the ones from Power Punch Pro and improve their athletic skills. Boxing as a fitness activity allows you to gain the same benefits of a boxing workout without having to take punches. There are different classes of various intensity offered at most gyms. Some martial art schools also offer boxing training. Check out what classes are in your area to see if any of them meet your needs.
Whether you’re looking to be a pro boxer in the ring or are using boxing to get fit, boxing has some great health benefits. Check them out below!
Improved cardiovascular health
Cardio exercises are when you perform a rhythmic activity, such as jogging or punching, in order to raise your heart rate. As your heart rate increases, you breathe faster and maximize the amount of oxygen in your blood.
Cardio workouts strengthen your heart and muscles, burn calories, and improve your joint movements. Having a healthy heart lowers your chances of high blood pressure and heart disease. You’ll also be able to lose weight or maintain your current weight.
While there are a number of ways to improve your cardiovascular health, boxing also allows you to have a fun workout. Why jog in place for an hour when you can kick, jump, and punch?
Toned Muscles
From punching and kicking, boxing provides a total body workout that will allow you to tone your muscles. If you’re using a punching bag, you’ll engage your upper body, lower body, and core. Check out the reviews at mmawarfare.com to find a bag that meets your needs.
Beyond standard boxing moves, you’ll also go through strength training such as weightlifting, squats, and pushups to further your strength.
Since boxing is so repetitive, you’ll also get the chance to develop toned muscles instead of bulky muscles. Bulking your muscles means you focus on increasing your muscle mass and overall size of your muscles, but toning tightens up muscles and gives them shape.
Overall, toned muscles have a much leaner appearance.
Better Coordination
You might not realize it, but boxing is an excellent way to improve your hand-eye coordination. You need to be able to aim your hands at your target and throw a punch while also bouncing around, which requires quite a bit of coordination.
The more you challenge yourself, the better your hand-eye coordination will become. You’ll develop better gross and fine motor skills as a result. Individuals with good hand-eye coordination tend to have faster reflexes and better physical coordination.
Some ways to improve your hand-eye coordination are with drills. One common drill used in many sports to improve coordination is the tennis ball catch. All you need is a tennis ball and a wall. Train one hand at a time by throwing the ball at the wall and catching it with the same hand. You’ll want to keep your eyes on the ball at all times. Once you improve, you can make the task harder by targeting different spots on the wall.
Less stressed
Boxing is a great way to destress. You get to mentally detach from the outside world and focus on the present. During workouts, you’ll typically rotate between periods of high-intensity exercise and moderate-intensity recoveries, which will leave you little time to worry about everything that is going wrong in your life.
You also get to take your stress out on the punching bag! You can relieve anger and aggression without hurting anyone.
Exercising also causes your brain to release several chemicals. Endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine are all released while you’re exercising, and the combination helps to relieve stress and tension. Individuals that exercise are less anxious and less depressed as a result.
Boxing allows you to kick and punch your way to happiness!
Better Weight Control
The number of calories you burn will depend on the intensity of the training you’re completing, but boxing, in general, provides a high-intensity workout that allows you to burn belly fat.
However, your goal shouldn’t be focused on weight loss. Losing weight too fast can be bad for your health. You want to focus on improving your body composition. Boxing allows you to decrease your fat mass and improve your muscle mass. You’ll see changes to your figure and may lose weight, but what you want your overall focus to be on turning your fat into muscle.
