5 Reasons You Should Try a Boxing Workout- Guest Post
Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed part 2 of our 4 part series of guest posts from Born Tough Affiliates discussing a wide range of ways to begin to get active. In part 3 of this guest series, our guest writers are discussing the benefits of a very specific activity- boxing. I personally connected with this guest post as I have found that adding high intensity interval training (HIIT) shadow boxing workouts has been a great way to improve my strength, endurance, and balance and is something I can do at home! All types of boxing related workouts are great, whether you go to a boxing gym, use boxing equipment at the gym, or train at home, they can provide an awesome full body workout.
**Consult with your doctor and/or a Registered Dietitian before pursuing significant exercise or food changes**
Check out the full guest post below to find out some reasons why you may wanting to give boxing a try as a fun exercise choice.
Many ask the question of why should they try to include one of the most dangerous and physical martial arts sports like boxing in their lifestyle? In one word, Health! Not to throw a wrench in your current routines, every type of physical activity, when done appropriately, is healthy, but taking the risk of practicing a potentially dangerous sport like boxing has its own unique benefits.
You can gain physical health benefits by taking part in almost any sport, but to achieve your personal fitness goals or to get in tip-top shape in a short period of time, there are only a handful of sports or exercises that can yield fast results; luckily, boxing is one of them.
Not only can you achieve a high level of fitness in a short period of time, but you can also gain mental health benefits from practicing this sport. Want to learn more about why should you give boxing workouts a try? Read on to see the top reasons why you should give it a try.
1- Full body workout
Rather than hitting the gym and concentrating on a single body workout routine, practicing boxing can involve working all body parts and muscles, as many exercises in this sport are specifically tailored to condition the whole body. Different exercises like jumping ropes, punching bags, kick-boxing, etc. can help develop lean muscle and improve fitness.
2- For enhanced coordination
This combat art is a focus-centric sport in which, whether you train inside a ring with an opponent or train solo at home, you are required to be attentive and focused at all times. For example, if you are in a training match with a challenger, if you take eyes off of your opponent even for a moment you can get knocked out. Similarly, when training alone you will have to hit the target or maintain your combinations with proper hand-eye coordination.
This attentiveness can help you make a habit of alertness and awareness of your surroundings in real life and can help you perform your daily tasks with better focus.
3- It reduces stress
Mental health conditions like anxiety, stress, and depression are on the rise nowadays and one of the best ways to deal with stress is to practice this sport. You can blow off some built up steam by hitting the punching bag repeatedly (or just punching the air!) and you’d be surprised how good you feel after a session of working out.
Bonus Tip: You will not able to effectively exercise or take part in any type of healthy physical activity unless you wear proper workout attire. Wearing boxing workout gear items like boxing gloves, shorts, mouthpieces, punching mitts, and pads, etc. can keep you comfortable, safe, and agile during your boxing workout sessions.
4- For shifting fat mass to muscle mass
Those heart-siphoning hits and uppercuts can help boost your metabolism. The exact calorie burn during an average class relies upon a few individual elements, yet ladies can burn, on average, 400 calories in an hour and men around 500. Research suggests proficient fighters can burn as much as 800 calories during an hour of working out. While boxing can help with calorie burn and can aid in weight management, do not use the scale as the judge of your boxing success as you will very likely be shifting fat mass to muscle mass, which does not necessarily show up on the scale.
5- Learning Self-Defense
In today’s world, having skills like self-defense could save your life, as you never know what type of situation you are going to face. Occasionally, there are circumstances in which you have to deal with situations that require you to stand up for yourself.
Having self-defense skills does not mean you have to fight every chance you get, rather it also helps boost your self-confidence knowing that you can protect yourself, your friends, and family in any case where fighting may be necessary.
There are many types of martial arts sports that you can practice to develop a healthy lifestyle and also to achieve your fitness goals. Choosing the ‘right’ exercise routine or sport depends on the individual and their goals. The only problem really is when you do not include any type of healthy activity in your life schedule. Therefore, to live a healthy lifestyle, ensure you include at least some type of physical activity or sport in your weekly life routine.
Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback on this fun article.
Thank you to Born Tough Affiliates for providing us with this fun exercise related blog series.
Stay healthy!
–Ricci-Lee Hotz, MS, RDN
Denver’s Dancing Dietitian
A Taste of Health, LLC
“Improving Quality of life one bite at a time”