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Looking for a new all-body cardio workout routine? Fitness boxing might be the answer; it incorporates all the movements of regular boxing, but in a non-contact workout known as shadow boxing, it throws punches at punch bags or the air. Boxing workouts can also incorporate free weights and other equipment, with workouts ranging from beginner to advanced. Using boxing as a full-body workout has many benefits for your physical and mental health while keeping it fun and motivating. There are lots of variations of boxing workout classes, so there’s something for everyone! Some are similar to an aerobics class where you perform a combination of punches to music; Others focus on the strength exercises that come with boxing, but whichever you do, you can be sure you’ll get a demanding cardio workout.
Work Every Muscle
One of the key benefits of boxing is that it combines cardio and strength work into one workout; it increases your physical fitness and strength and improves other skills, including balance, coordination, reactivity and agility. Boxing is not just a workout of your upper body; throwing a good punch actually involves your entire body, working every muscle from your arms and legs to your core and back. Most boxing workouts don’t just involve throwing punches; many will incorporate exercises like planks, push-ups, and squats, as well as using equipment such as medicine balls and skipping ropes. This might feel challenging, but with regular commitment, you’ll soon see dramatic improvements in your fitness and strength.
How Boxing Can Enhance Mental Health
We all know exercise is an excellent way to help alleviate stress and improve our mental health, but boxing has some key benefits to help you unwind and reduce. The action of boxing is a healthy and productive way to help relieve tension and let go of the day’s dresses whilst also releasing endorphins to help improve mood. A study found that people who engaged in high-intensity workouts such as boxing for an hour released significantly more endorphins than an hour spent doing moderate exercise. Another benefit of boxing is that it helps boost confidence and self-esteem, which is known to positively impact mental health. To learn more about how boxing can improve mental health, check out our blog, Empowering Mental Health with Boxing.
Improve Hand-Eye Coordination
Hand-eye coordination is a key skill that can be developed from boxing; sparring and punching a bag requires mental and physical agility. Regularly challenging your muscle memory and recall will, over time, help improve your reflexes, reaction times, fine motor skills and coordination. Although the coordination required for boxing may seem challenging initially, with consistency, you will almost certainly start seeing improvements.
Therapeutic Benefits of Boxing
These improvements seen with boxing can hugely benefit disabilities such as Parkinson’s disease, which impacts gait and motor skills and can increase the risk of falls. The effects of boxing can be highly therapeutic for Parkinson’s patients. A study by the BMC Neurology department in 2021 found the average number of self-reported monthly falls decreased by 87% after patients took up boxing twice a week for 16 months.
The coordinated footwork and rapid reactions needed for boxing all help to improve your balance, which again makes it a great workout to help reduce the risk of falls in some people.
Boxing for Weight Loss & Endurance
A big reason many people take up boxing workouts is its ability to burn lots of calories quickly, up to 13 calories a minute, decreasing body fat and improving body composition by working both the upper and lower body simultaneously, making it an extremely effective weight loss tool. Boxing not only works muscles with strength work, it also improves your stamina with the cardio side of boxing. This helps improve your resting heart rate and muscular endurance, which will help with your boxing workouts and other sports or physical activities.
Start Your Journey
Fitness boxing offers a comprehensive and dynamic approach to improving physical and mental well-being. From head to toe, it engages every muscle group, building on your strength, endurance, balance, coordination and reflexes. Whether you’re looking for a way to burn calories quickly, improve your cardiovascular health or have fun while staying active, boxing is a versatile and effective option. Boxing challenges your body and empowers your mind. To start boxing today and begin your fitness journey, contact us at Bronx!
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