Boxing workouts are a popular and effective way to get in shape and to stay in shape. You’re not restricted by your gender, your age or your level of ability. Boxing not only enhances your physical fitness but it also boosts your self confidence. You don’t have to compete in the ring to get the benefit from boxing. You can do boxing workouts at home using online on demand coaching or at your neighborhood gym, boxing club or fitness club.
Is Boxing A Good Workout?
Boxing is an effective, all round body conditioning workout.
A boxing workout session uses multiple muscle groups, strengthening and toning them. It improves your body shape by changing your fat to muscle ratio giving you a firmer and more defined body.
Boxing is not just about muscle toning. It also improves your stamina, core strength, balance and hand eye coordination. Both balance and hand eye coordination become increasingly important as we age, so by keeping them in good shape it reduces the risk of falls in later life.
A healthy cardiovascular system is vital for good health. A boxing workout strengthens your heart and lungs. It increases your breathing and heart rate making your cardiovascular system stronger and reduces your risk of heart disease.
Because boxing training includes weight bearing and resistance exercise, such as jump rope and punch bag, it contributes to bone strength at the same time as working your muscles.
A boxing workout is a great way to relieve stress. Taking out your frustration on a punch bag is a healthy way to boost your mood. Your self-confidence will also get a boost and you will be able to defend yourself with more confidence in a threatening situation.
Boxing will also exercise your brain. You will learn to think fast, respond fast and coordinate your movements while working your whole body and increasing your physical fitness.
What Muscles Does Boxing Work Out?
Boxing works out and tones many of your muscle groups and is an effective all body workout.
ARMS – Boxing works out the biceps (muscles that lay on the top of your arms) and your triceps (muscles that lay on the underside of your arms). So, can boxing tone your arms? The simple answer to that is, yes it can. A regular boxing workout or training session will tone, strengthen and define your arm muscles.
SHOULDERS – The deltoids, which are the shoulder muscles, are the area that you will feel the effects of the workout most strongly. The added weight of the gloves and the motion of throwing and retracting punches uses the deltoids. When you throw a punch you activate the front and middle deltoid and when you retract a punch you bring the rear deltoid into play.
BACK – The muscle group in your back is called the teres major. This group of muscles is also exercised when you throw and retract punches. The teres major muscles sit above the latissimus dorsi (muscles at the back of your armpit) which also get a workout during boxing training. The overall effect of boxing on these groups of muscles is that you end up with a great looking and defined back.
CORE – Your core muscles run from your hip to your shoulders and cover the muscles in between such as the abs and most of the back muscles. Working your core muscles is important in any form of fitness training and boxing is a great way to strengthen them. When you throw a punch the power doesn’t come from your arm and shoulder strength alone but also from your core.
ABS – The muscles of your abs are located on the sides of your torso. These muscles, particularly the oblique muscles in this group, are use for twisting movements. The twisting movements you use during a boxing workout will exercise and tone these muscles. Toning your abs firms and slims your waistline.
HIPS – Your hip muscles are called glutes and they are used when you twist your body. When you twist your legs in the direction of a punch your glutes help with the twisting motion and the delivery of power to the punch. Toning your glutes will give you a firm butt.
THIGHS – The main muscles in your thigh are the quadriceps and the hamstrings. Boxing helps to strengthen these muscles making it easier to stand high or sit low into a punch. Toned thigh muscles improve the look of your legs and increase your general agility.
CALVES – Your calf muscles run from the back of your knees down to the back of your ankles. These muscles allow you to lift your heels up when you press your toes into the ground. Even if you don’t take a step when delivering your punch you will still be exercising the muscles in your calves as you move and direct your body.
Can Boxing Burn Fat?
To burn fat you need to burn more calories than you consume, so that your body uses the calories that it has stored as fat in your body.
Boxing is a sure-fire way to burn fat and to change your fat to muscle ratio. The aerobic and anaerobic training that forms part of a boxing workout will help to get you lean and toned. At the same time you will be strengthening your muscles and improving your agility and fitness.
How Many Calories Do You Burn In A Boxing Workout?
The amount of calories you will burn will depend on the length and intensity of your workout and how much energy you expend on each exercise. Overall, boxing is a great calorie burner and can burn 100’s of calories within each of the individual training exercises that make up a complete session. Boxing also has the added bonus of variety. Because a boxing workout is made up of several different disciplines you will never be bored by the repetition of doing the same thing.
So, is boxing a good way to lose weight? Yes it is. Boxing training and boxing workouts are a great way to burn calories and burn fat. Regular boxing exercises will help you to lose pounds and to keep them off for good. There are boxing workout sessions that are especially designed to target weight loss. There may be some in your neighborhood so it’s worth checking it out. You can also target weight loss through boxing at home using online on demand coaching.
Can You Build Muscle Hitting A Heavy Bag?
Punching a heavy bag helps to build your upper body muscle groups and also works out your lower body muscles.
The upper body muscles that benefit from hitting a heavy bag include:
- Pectorals – chest
- Deltoids – shoulders
- Triceps – back/underside of arms
- Latissimus dorsi – back of armpit
Heavy body strikes and uppercuts can also target your biceps (top of arm) and the trapezius muscle which is one of the major muscles in your back.
The lower body muscles that also get a workout when you hit a heavy bag include:
- Glutes – thigh and butt
- Hamstrings – back of thigh
- Quadriceps – front of thigh
Can A Punching Bag Help Your Abs?
The twisting motion that is used when punching a bag engages the muscles in your abdomen. Strengthening and toning them. Because the abs are engaged when punching a bag it can help to flatten and define your stomach muscles. This trims and improves the look of your abdomen. Punching a bag is often used for abdominal workouts as it engages your core muscles.
What Muscles Do You Need To Punch Harder?
It would be easy to assume that the arm muscles are the main muscle group used when delivering a hard punch. But delivering a hard punch uses the whole body. There is no single muscle or muscle group that is responsible for the punch. When you throw a punch in boxing you engage all of your main muscle groups, and some of the smaller ones, to deliver the power to the punch.
This explains why a boxing workout is an all round body conditioning workout. Your body and brain need to work in unison to deliver a hard and accurate punch, whether the punch is aimed at an opponent in the ring or a punch bag in the gym.
The energy to deliver a hard punch starts from the floor and a strong stance. The energy is then transferred up through your body. Up through your legs, into your glutes, up through your core and your back, then through your shoulders and triceps. It’s then delivered to your fist and knuckles. The punching technique you use is crucial in transferring the power to allow you to land a hard and accurate punch.
The majority of the power comes from your back muscles, glutes and hamstrings, your chest muscles also play an important part. It’s important to remember that your whole body contributes to the energy and power of a punch.
Is Boxing High Intensity?
HIIT (high intensity interval training) is a training technique which involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by a short rest periods or a short lower intensity exercises. HIIT increases your heart rate and breathing rate while burning fat efficiently.
A boxing workout incorporates both HIIT and some lower intensity exercises. Weight bearing and resistance exercise are also part of a boxing workout. Below is a list of some of the exercises that can be part of a boxing workout or training session.
- Jump rope
- Squats and burpees
- Sit ups and push ups
- Jumping jacks
- Heavy bag and speed bag
- Shadow boxing
- Weight training
- Running and sprinting
- Lunges and shoulder presses
These are just a few examples of the exercises that could be included in your boxing workout. Your routine will depend on your gym instructor, coach or online trainer.
What Is Boxercise Training?
Boxercise is a workout based on the concepts of boxing training. It uses the concepts and disciplines that boxers use to keep fit and toned. Boxercise training can be done in an exercise class/gym environment, but you can also do boxercise at home using DVDs or online on demand coaching.
The exercises that are used in a boxercise session can vary but typically include: shadow boxing, hitting pads/bags, jump rope, kicking bags, push ups, shuttle runs, sit ups plus various other boxing disciplines.
Boxercise is suitable for both sexes, all ages and all fitness levels. You are not restricted by your size or shape. It is a non-contact form of boxing training which means that you don’t have to compete in the boxing ring to get the benefit.
The benefits of boxercise include:
- Core and muscle strengthening exercise
- Cardio exercise
- Resistance exercise
- Weight bearing exercise
- Muscle toning
- Fat and calorie burning
- Mental and physical agility
- Stamina
- Hand-eye coordination
Boxercise is also a great way to release inner aggression and reduce your stress levels. You can also build up your self-esteem and improve your ability to concentrate.
What Is Boxfit?
Boxfit is an effective form of low impact, high energy cross-training. Based on the type of training used for boxing it provides muscle toning exercise and cardio workout. It can improve your fitness and tone your body while burning calories and fat.
It’s suitable for men and women of all ages and fitness levels and you don’t need to compete in the boxing ring to get the benefits of boxfit.
Boxfit workouts may vary in content but all have an emphasis on boxing training. A workout can include: boxing drills, jump rope, floor and footwork (push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks etc) pad/bag work and weight training. The exact regimen will depend on your gym coach, boxing coach or online/DVD trainer.
What Equipment Do I Need For Boxing?
You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment for a boxing workout, just a few basics. If you’re doing a boxing workout/training class, boxercise or boxfit session then the equipment will probably be provided for you. You will only need some cool, loose and comfortable gym clothing and a good pair of athletic or running shoes. You will need to check out what you need to buy when you sign up, as the equipment you need will depend on the style of boxing workout/training you will be doing.
If you are doing your boxing workout at home you will need to buy some basic equipment. You will need to check out the information on your DVD or your online on demand training information so you know what to buy in advance. You will definitely need some cool, loose and comfortable gym style clothing and a good pair of athletic or running shoes.
There are a few essential items that you will need to buy to do your boxing workout at home. The basics will include: workout floor mat, boxing training gloves, hand wraps, jump rope, medicine ball, and a timer. You will also need a cylindrical heavy punch bag with a swivel fixing. You can buy this with a stand or fix it to a strong beam in your home. Depending on your training style, you may also need to buy a speed bag .
Fortunately, boxing equipment is not expensive and it’s possible to buy the basic equipment in a set, either online, or in sporting goods stores. Get some advice, or do some research, about what weight of punch bag is best for you and make sure to follow the safety advice when working out.
What Are The Benefits Of Boxing?
There are many benefits of boxing and boxing workouts.
Physical – A boxing workout/training session works out multiple muscle groups and is a great all round body conditioning form of exercise. Boxing exercises are a combination of HIIT, muscle toning and building, weight bearing, cardio, and resistance exercises that work together to give you a great looking and strong and healthy body. You will discover muscles you didn’t know you had.
Regular boxing workouts will also increase your stamina, core strength and balance. They will improve your hand-eye coordination and exercise your brain at the same time.
Psychological – Boxing also has positive psychological benefits. Having a toned body improves your body image which increases your self confidence. You will also feel more confident in your ability to defend yourself in a threatening situation.
It’s also a safe and satisfying way to release stress and inner anger. Stress has a negative impact on our lives and can cause psychological issues. Taking your frustration out on a punch bag is a great way to release stress and anger without causing yourself or others harm. Hitting a heavy bag releases the ‘feel good’ endorphins into your system lifting your mood.
Weight loss – A good boxing workout burns 100’s of calories during each of the individual exercises that make up a complete session. So by the end of the session you will have burned several hundred calories, some of which may have been stored as fat in your body. This will depend on your diet of course, but burning off more calories than you eat will lead to weight loss. Boxing also changes your fat to muscle ratio giving you a more toned and pleasing body shape.
Variety – Because boxing workouts are made up of different types of exercises they are full of variety. You won’t get bored with your workout. There are different styles of boxing workout/training methods, but whichever one you choose you will be doing a variety of exercises that will keep up your interest and make you look and feel great.
Equipment – Basic boxing equipment is not expensive. If you’re working out at a gym, club or class the equipment may be provided for you. If you want to buy your own equipment, or you are doing your boxing training at home, you will find that the basic items you need can be bought cheaply online, in sporting goods stores or used.