Men, unleash your potential in boxing

Men, unleash your potential in boxing

Too many guys waste their time in the gym doing curls and other exercises to look pretty while never truly challenging their bodies to be all they could be. Boxing is one of the best workouts that can take you to the next level.

GET TORN

Boxing can be one of the best ways to lose body fat and slim down while maintaining muscle mass. Research has shown that interval training like boxing is great for losing fat and speeding up your metabolism. Exercises like traditional aerobic cardio workouts only result in an increase in calorie burn during the actual workout, which quickly drops off when you finish your workout session. But due to a phenomenon known as EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption), you'll have a significant increase in the amount of calories you burn hours after you finish a boxing workout. Because boxing uses your fast-twitch muscle fibers to repeatedly deliver quick and powerful punches, it encourages your body to hold on to the muscles and can even increase your muscle size, resulting in a ripped, broad-shouldered look rather than the skinny look that so many endurance athletes have. So if you have limited time to workout, try visiting a quality boxing gym near you that will give you better results for your time than a traditional cardio workout, such as:

SPEED, STRENGTH, ENDURANCE

Few training styles can give you the full range of physical improvements that boxing can offer. ESPN ranked boxing as the toughest sport in the world because all the ingredients go into the preparation. The most important qualities needed to be a great boxer are speed, strength and endurance. Here are just a few ways you can acquire these qualities through boxing training.

SPEED: By hitting a bag or working with your gloves on, you're asking your muscles to fire faster than you're used to. Every time you hit, you have to quickly turn your body, shoot your arm out, and bring it back immediately. You must move your feet quickly to get in, out and around a pocket or opponent. A good boxing workout will also mix in a variety of plyometric exercises and other exercises that move your body as quickly as possible, forcing you to new levels of speed production that you may not have thought possible.

POWER: Boxing teaches you to use your entire body to generate maximum force in a punch while delivering it accurately, quickly and in a balanced manner. The lock and squeeze at the end of a punch is a massive contraction of the muscle fibers in your arms and shoulders that occurs the moment you first make contact with your target. This contact puts enormous strain on your muscles, from your chest muscles to your back muscles, which must bear the strain of hundreds of pounds of force when you land a hard punch. If the punches are performed correctly, the next day you will feel the work done to these muscle groups. ENDURANCE: Over the past few decades, there has been a lot of research into the benefits of high-intensity interval training on VO2 max (a measure of your body's ability to utilize oxygen). Interval training like boxing has been shown to increase VO2 max faster and in shorter workouts than steady state cardio. Boxing is a great cross-training exercise for people who participate in a variety of sports seriously or for recreation as it helps tremendously in increasing endurance. At the end of the day, boxing is a much more exciting and time-efficient way to get your cardio in than running on a treadmill or spending time on a stationary bike.

FUN & EXCITING

We all know that sports can be fun, but boxing for sports can be even more fun! Every time you exercise, endorphins are released, making you feel accomplished and satisfied after a hard workout. In boxing you get the same feelings but more. After a hard boxing workout, you feel a sense of success and progress as you learn new techniques. The excitement of throwing punches, moving, bobbing, weaving and blocking punches is a huge thrill that is extremely addictive and leaves you wanting more after every workout!

STRESS RELIEF

Have you ever been through a super stressful day and just wished you could beat something? Energy like this, if held for a long time, can be detrimental to your interactions with people around you and the people close to you, leaving you easily frustrated and ready to fly off the handle. People who have made boxing a part of their daily routine can let go of this frustration all the time! If you spend 30 minutes to an hour throwing hundreds of punches as hard and as fast as you can, you better believe you'll feel a huge sense of relief. When you train boxing, you're harnessing that energy of aggression and transferring it into a positive outlet that not only makes you feel great, but looks good too!

THE LAST BELL

I highly recommend you try boxing training either in a class or in-person session. To get the most out of your workout, you need to go to a quality boxing gym and experience what boxing is really all about!

Inspired by Keith Keppner