The Health Benefits of Boxing

The Benefits of Boxing Workouts

Are you thinking about learning to box and want to know if you should try it? We understand that you might want to know if it’s just about knowing how to throw a punch (it’s not), or something more. Find out how it can benefit you beyond what you learn in the ring. Boxing can be challenging but it comes with enormous mental and physical merits that can change your life.

6 Benefits of Boxing:

Not only is boxing a great physical workout, it is also a great form of exercise for stress and can even help improve bone mineral density. Keep reading to find out more on the rewards of boxing training:

1. Improved General Body Strength – It may be an obvious one if you’ve ever looked at a professional boxer but boxing builds muscle!

Whether you’re doing boxing conditioning, bag work or sparring you will be using a lot of different muscles. You often use a punching bag dozens of times in one session, building your endurance. There are multiple ways and angles to hit the bag and the repeated exercise will give you more muscle across your body.

2. Stress Reliever – Boxing is an extreme cardio workout. That means it can help release hormones that help us feel good like endorphins, serotonin and dopamine. It can also minimise stress, by reducing cortisol. Both these actions together help us to feel more relaxed, calmer, reduce stress, and can help us sleep better.

Boxing requires focus and when you’re heavily focussed on one thing, it forces you to put stressful thoughts aside. This means that your hand eye coordination will be tested, but your brain can relax a little and stop burn out, elping with your mental health.

3. You Can Get Incredible Abs – Many people think that boxing just targets the arms and upper body. Yes, if you aren’t taught properly, your shoulders and arms will get a hardcore workout. However, when you learn to box effectively, your whole core should be involved. It is also a powerful workout for your stomach muscles. To get control and intensity behind your punches when you box, you need to transfer your weight from your feet to your hands via your hips and torso. This uses and strengthens your abdominal muscles.

4. Improved Bone Mineral Density – Weight-bearing exercises are exceptional at helping increase bone strength. Exercises which involve frequent but controlled impact, can help the body to build mineral density. This can be a superb way of reducing the chance of, and sometimes helping treat things like osteoporosis.

5. Better Cardiovascular Health – Boxing is an excellent sport to strengthen your heart health. It is an intense workout and cardio exercise is one of the most important things that we can do to help keep our hearts healthy.

The NHS suggest that adults need to do at least 2.5 hours of modest exercise each week for heart health. This is a minimum, by going to three boxing classes a week you’d go way beyond this. Boxing’s intensity increases your heart rate and pushes your fitness boundaries to new levels. It's also a fantastic way of burning calories.

6. Improved Coordination and Balance – Boxing requires precise movements, agility, and footwork, which all work to improve your hand eye coordination and balance. The act of throwing punches while maintaining a stable stance demands strong hand-eye coordination and rapid response time. This can lead to better reflexes and body control, reducing the risk of falls or injuries in daily life, and helping you become more agile overall.

Try Boxing at 12x3 Boxing Gym London

It might seem obvious that fitness boxing can give you a fantastic full body workout but it also offers a wide range of advantages that you may have never thought of.

If you’d like to try it and find out more about boxing, get in touch with us now. Alternatively, take a look at our schedule to find a class at a day and time that suits you. We also understand that not everyone likes the idea of contact boxing at first, so even if you want to try drills and using a punching bag, enquire today. You can box at the best level for you and your needs.