When it comes to health, there are many different aspects that need to be addressed to achieve great overall health. Physical, mental, psychological, social, spiritual, internal, external…the list goes on and on and on. As soon as you are old enough to understand these words, the ideas and philosophies on how to achieve perfect overall health is constantly drilled into our heads with each idea contradicting the last. As I am sure you can relate, after a while the constant pressure of health gets so irritating and frustrating it makes you want to punch something!! What if I told you that there was a way to release that frustration, get multiple health benefits, AND do it while punching something as hard as you can!
Boxing has been around for hundreds of years. Those who wanted to prove their strength against another in the ring would duke it out mano-a-mano. Lately, however, it has gained a new surge of popularity with those who want to hit something but not necessarily get hit back. This popularity is for good reason! The health benefits from boxing are numerous while negative effects are extremely little (unless you do plan on getting in the ring against another person!).
Boxing gyms have been popping up all around the world allowing people to duke it out with a punching bag, build muscle, get a cardio workout, strengthen their bones, burn calories, and relieve stress. How exactly are these benefits happening? Here are details to these 5 health benefits gained from attending a boxing class.
- Building Muscle
When it comes to conventional strength training, there is generally a lot of lifting dumbbells and working with heavy bars. Not only can that be dangerous if the bar or weight is dropped, but it also gets BORING. Standing still, doing the same motion repeatedly gets old fast and can discourage working out altogether.
Boxing, however, if very dynamic and active, switching up punches and throwing different combinations keeps it interesting. Also, the act of hitting the bag not only builds strength while swinging towards the bag, but reacting to the force of hitting the bag gives you a double-dose of strength work for your core and upper body.
- Cardio Workout
Boxing is an explosive, high-tempo workout. Even just a couple minutes of hitting the bag will get your heart rate up and blood pumping through your veins like nothing else can. A 30-minute workout will keep your heart rate high which gives numerous cardiovascular benefits all without touching the treadmill.
- Bone Strengthening
Keeping your bones strong, or keeping high bone density, is based on a use-it-or-lose-it principle. The more you put forces into your bones, the stronger they become. You need to be careful, though. Too much force and you can damage the bone. Boxing is particularly effective because punching a bag will put forces in to your bones to increase their strength, but overall is a fairly low-impact exercise. Between the cushion of boxing gloves and the forgiving punching bag, a lot of force is absorbed leaving you injury free. As far as bone health is concerned, boxing is a win-win!
- Burning Calories
Between the strength benefits and the cardio benefits described above, your body will be burning calories at an extraordinary rate. Depending on your weight and gender, you will average 700-900 calories burned per hour. Not only will you be burning calories during the workout itself, but because of muscle building and recovery, you will continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours after the workout!
- Stress Relief
Have you ever been completely fed-up with a boss, co-worker, or even a
significant other? With boxing, you can take out all the frustration on the bag
(whether you picture their face or not is up to you!). The best part of it? The bag won’t ever complain or talk back! Not only that, with intense exercise your body will release endorphins. These endorphins are what make you feel good after the workout. After 30 minutes in the gym, you’ll be feeling so good you won’t remember what you were upset about in the first place!
As with any exercise regimen, speak with a physician before beginning to ensure it is a safe regimen for you. Anybody with arthritis in the wrists and hands should be especially careful. Be sure to let the boxing instructors know of any health concerns before beginning.
So there you have it. If you are looking for a new workout routine, try a round of boxing. Places like Title Boxing have multiple classes every day, open boxing sessions, and trained personnel to answer all your questions and show you how to throw the perfect punch!