As we start a new year, for many of us our new year’s resolutions are likely to include something along the lines of becoming more fit. The problem is January is possibly the busiest time of year to join the gym which can only increase the feelings of anxiety and unease if you are new to working out. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way, and there are more ways to get fit that just working out at a standard gym. In recent years, boxing style training has grown in popularity as more and more people see and feel the benefits of it.
The physical benefits of boxing training
When it comes to any form of exercise, one of the greatest rewards is when you begin to see and feel the physical benefits of all the hard work you’ve put in. Being able to lift heavier weights, complete more reps or even being able to see muscle development is great, but do you know exactly just how much boxing training can improve your body?
Cardiovascular health
Even though cardiovascular health is not something we can see, taking care of it is incredibly important to protect ourselves from heart problems, common illnesses and staying healthy overall. In order to keep your cardiovascular health in order, the NHS recommends that adults do a minimum of 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week. Boxing training is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health because it gets your heart pumping and lungs working harder. Cardio exercises place additional stress on your body but in a safe way.
Hand eye coordination
One benefit of boxing training that very often gets overlooked is its ability to dramatically improve your hand eye coordination. This is because when you throw a punch, in order to land it on the target, your hands and eye need to work together in harmony. As you refine your boxing skills through boxing training, you are also refining your hand eye coordination skills helping to build and develop your muscle memory and motor skills which are important in a range of day to day activities.
Body Strength
Another amazing physical benefit of boxing training is that it improves your overall body strength. It doesn’t matter whether you’re sparring, using a punching bag, practising your footwork or running circuits, either way you are pushing your body to its limits to use your strength to complete each exercise. Almost all boxing exercises build up the strength of your entire body including your arms, core and legs.
Stamina and endurance
So now we’ve covered the fact that boxing improves your strength, cardio health and coordination. We wanted to discuss how much boxing helps to improve your stamina and endurance levels. Working out regularly, especially with cardio exercises like boxing is a great way to improve your stamina, meaning things that once felt impossible will become easier and easier to do over time. However, it’s important to note that stamina and endurance will only truly improve with regular activity, commitment and practice so don’t be downhearted if you don’t see immediate improvements.
The mental benefits of boxing training
Often, exercise like boxing training gets overlooked when it comes to the significant mental benefits. Boxing is great because the benefits go beyond physical, it actually has a huge positive impact on your mental wellbeing.
Here are some of the excellent mental benefits of boxing training:
- Stress relief
- Enhanced sleep
- Improved mood
- Better self confidence
Where to go boxing training?
There are a range of boxing gyms all across the country, but if you are looking for specialist boxing training led by the best coaches, our favourite boxing gym is Nowhere 2 Hyde Training located in South Manchester. The gym offers small class boxing sessions, a fight camp and 1-2-1 boxing sessions, as well as a range of HIIT and strength training classes too.
