Benefits of Boxing for Physical and Mental Fitness

You must be training hard for boxing and probably have all the gear you need for your session. Now it’s probably time to take a break and read about how beneficial boxing is for your physical and mental health.

While you are taking a break, you should go and look at our previous posts on challenges of boxing and the gear you need for a refresher. There is also great information available on our DIY section about cleaning your gear and ensuring that it lasts for years.

Getting back to the topic.

The popularity of boxing among celebrities, super models and singers should tell you one thing, the benefits are aplenty. You can take a simple ‘stroll’ through Instagram and see all these extremely fit people during their boxing workouts. Immediately you will feel that you have made the right choice of selecting boxing as a sport.

Yes, physical fitness is one major benefit but benefits of boxing for females and males go beyond the physicality of the person.

Benefits of Boxing on Physical Fitness

If you look at normal exercise routine vs. boxing training routine in terms of physical exertion, boxing wins every time. The amount of physical labor that you have to pour into your training can in no way be compared to your 30 min walking or jogging workout.

Obviously, boxing has incomparable physical fitness benefits as well. The most prominent ones being:

Burning more Calories.

Boxing counts as a high intensity workout. Its high intensity can help you burn 500-1000 calories in a single training session; depending on your involvement with the sport of course. For those who are boxing for the sake of fitness, the calorie burn count is lower.

The initial ‘burn’ as it is, is not the only advantage, thanks to the nature of the training. Your body will be burning calories hours after the session as well.

Building Leaner Muscle

If you look at normal exercise routine vs. boxing training routine in terms of physical exertion, boxing wins every time. The amount of physical labor that you have to pour into your training can in no way be compared to your 30 min walking or jogging workout.

Obviously, boxing has incomparable physical fitness benefits as well. The most prominent ones being:

Burning more Calories

Boxing counts as a high intensity workout. Its high intensity can help you burn 500-1000 calories in a single training session; depending on your involvement with the sport of course. For those who are boxing for the sake of fitness, the calorie burn count is lower.

The initial ‘burn’ as it is, is not the only advantage, thanks to the nature of the training. Your body will be burning calories hours after the session as well.

Building Leaner Muscle

Boxers usually have lean muscles. Their bodies are toned and defined that way because of the repetitive, quick movements. People who are looking to lose the bulk and go for that lean look, boxing is the way forward.

Bones and Ligament Improvement

When you are working with your boxing coach or trainer, they will have you work with focus pads or punching bags. The action of punching them will offer strength to your tendons, ligaments and joints.

Cardiovascular Benefits

All the basic movements in boxing, like throwing a punch, require various groups of muscles to work in unison. The effort it takes to get all these muscles moving makes your heart and lungs work over time. Getting oxygenated blood to these muscles gives them a workout that makes them stronger.

Muscle Endurance

Your muscles get extremely fatigued while boxing. As you continue to raise the intensity level during training, the time it takes for the muscles to fatigue will increase. You will be able to train harder for longer.

Core Stability

You will constantly have to make movements during boxing that make your body unstable. Your core muscles have to go on overdrive to keep your body balanced, resulting in a stronger core.

Increase Strength and Power

As a boxer, you don’t have to look elsewhere to get a full body workout. You will be using your upper body, core, and lower body to throw punches and dodge them. This will build your strength.

Working with heavy bags and focus pads contract your muscles, not to mention the speed and force involved in punching; this builds power.

The stress relief qualities of boxing are unparalleled. Throwing a punch, even at a bag, can take away the stress.

Mental benefits of Boxing

Stress Relief

As alluded to above, boxing is a great stress reliever. Who would have thought that punching things could be good for your mind? But remember that you will be in a controlled environment, under the watchful eye of trainers, learning to throw precise punches. Not only are you punching away all your worries but you’re learning a great new skill too.

More Awareness

The connection of mind with your body is important in every step of life. An activity like boxing gives you discipline and focus. It improves your hand to eye coordination and makes you more aware of how your muscles are moving. After a while your mind and body will be working in unison, that will not only be advantageous in boxing but in every other physical activity you do.

Improved Confidence

Whenever you learn a new skill, you feel better about yourself. If that skill happens to be boxing, then you will feel immensely good. Gradually, your technique will improve and with it your confidence will soar. You will have more self-esteem and that can come handy in every part of your life. Now you see…you are the smartest person in the world for choosing boxing. Once you start training, you will see these benefits first hand and experience the sport that will be the only thing you need for your mental and physical health.

In our next post we will be discussing glove weight size in detail, so don’t miss that one because it will help you with your future glove purchases.