Boxing is one of the most strenuous cardio workouts that you can perform. No matter your fitness goals, boxing can fit into your exercise regimen and help you improve your cardiovascular health, burn fat, and increase muscle mass in your upper body. Even beyond the physical benefits, boxing can relieve stress and improve mental clarity.
But you don’t need to be like Mike Tyson to get a great workout in. By tailoring the workout’s intensity to your fitness level and goals, you can get the benefits of boxing, like an increased heart rate and muscle fiber stimulation, without risking injury.
You don’t even need a sparring partner: a heavy bag and 30 minutes a few days a week is more than enough to improve your fitness level. Discover four great reasons why boxing is the best workout for improving your overall well-being.
1. It helps You Lose Weight and Improves Cardiovascular Health
Boxing is one of the most effective cardio workouts available. This is primarily due to its nature as high-intensity interval training (HIIT). This means that relatively short periods of high-intensity work will be interspersed by rest periods.
For example, if you work the heavy bag with high intensity for one minute and then rest for two minutes between rounds, you are performing high-intensity interval training.
Studies have shown that HIIT is among the most effective forms of exercise for fat loss, with regular HIIT exercise increasing both aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels while decreasing insulin resistance and improving the muscles’ ability to oxidize fatty acids.
Other studies have shown that HIIT improves the rate of fat loss due to a decrease in perceived effort among participants. A study of overweight adults found that many of the study’s participants chose HIIT over other forms of cardiovascular training and that those who adhered to the training protocols saw improvements in muscle mass and fat loss.
For an effective boxing cardio workout, try doing rounds of sparring with a heavy bag. Strike the bag with maximum intensity for 60 seconds, then completely rest for 2 minutes. Complete ten rounds of effort a few times a week for a 30-minute total workout, including rest times, and you will improve your cardiovascular conditioning.
2. Offers a Full-Body Workout
Boxing is a great way to increase the conditioning of your entire body. A standard boxing workout stimulates nearly every muscle group in the body, including:
- Deltoids
- Trapezius
- Pectorals
- Biceps
- Triceps
- Abdominals
- Glutes
- Quadriceps
- Hamstrings
- Calves
- Latissimus Dorsi
Boxing workouts increase the muscular endurance of most of your upper body muscles while increasing your lower body’s ability to generate force. Over time, your body can build muscle and lose fat as your metabolism increases to accommodate your increased muscle mass.
3. Relieves Stress and Improves Mental Health
Boxing also benefits your mental health. Intense workouts cause your brain to release feel-good chemicals, including serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, endorphins, and BDNF. As a result, boxing improves mood in the short-term.
Over the long term, boxing can relieve stress and improve mental health by inducing a meditative state. Since boxing is an individual sport, it allows you to temporarily tune out external stressors. This gives you a reprieve from the everyday stressors of life and a healthy outlet for your stress.
Boxing also improves self-confidence. You will become more confident in handling unfamiliar tasks as you improve your skills and fitness level. This can improve your stress response and ability to handle negative feelings, reducing feelings of anxiety and depression.
4. Improves Hand-Eye Coordination
Many standard boxing workouts, including hitting pads or shadow boxing, can improve hand-eye coordination. Boxing has been shown to increase hand-eye coordination due to the need to cross your body’s midline.
For example, if you are hitting pads, you may need to throw a punch with your right hand to the left of your body. This cross-body action improves coordination and athleticism, which can lead to greater results in other exercise-related activities.
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