Will Boxing Make Me Fit?

Everyone wants to be fit, your reasons may be different, but we all want to know we are doing something which is improving the quality of our life and the way we look. Often, when one has come to the decision they are going to start exercising to improve their health or lose weight, the next question they ask themselves is what exactly should I do?
The most common option amongst men tends to be, I’m going to join the gym and lift weights, or perhaps I will join the gym and try the treadmill, exercise bike, rowing machine and any other piece of cardio equipment they happen to find there.

Whereas these are all worthy choices, what of Boxing? If your main aim is to burn calories and get fit, then few, if anything at all makes a better choice for all round fitness than Boxing.
The supplement brand Forza released a report earlier this year that put Boxing at the top of the tree for calories burned per hour with approximately 800 calories. Of course this depends on the sort of Boxing workout you are performing but whether it is predominantly Boxercise or more technique based, you will be burning a lot of calories when Boxing, due in large part to Boxing being an activity which requires the use of the whole body and involves bouts of high intensity work.

To step it up a notch, if you plan on entering the ring then Boxing forces you to increase your fitness levels because you need to be fit to participate in a Boxing fight, so as well as burning calories from your standard Boxercise or technique based exercises, you will now be burning a tremendous amount of energy sparring, jogging and sprinting as part of your training building up to a fight. Let’s not forget the fear of getting punched in the face will probably burn a number of calories too!
Jogging helps to regulate weight – currently I am jogging 3 times per week and if I am being honest my diet at the moment is horrible(I just had a slice of chocolate cake before writing this, I blame the winter….) but my weight is not going up because of the jogging and Boxing I am performing during the week. Sparring and Sprinting is a form of high intensity interval training which means your body will still be burning calories at a higher rate up to 24hrs after you have completed the workout.

This is the reason Boxing is so great at getting one fit. To perform to the best of your abilities, you need to do accessory work to accompany your Boxing. Boxing is just not putting the gloves on and throwing a few punches. Boxing involves punching, footwork, jogging, sprinting, sparring and also body weight movements such as push ups, squats, and pull ups. The sum is greater than the parts because to improve your Boxing you have to do a lot of things well individually which has a positive effect on improving your fitness levels. To be good at Boxing, you have to be fit, you can’t have one without the other so if you are looking for the best option to totally turn around and transform your health and fitness, Boxing makes the perfect choice.