The common beliefs and ideologies have projected and presented the idea of working out and being in discipline as something that is very harsh on your body, something that requires you pushing yourself even when you feel down in the dumps about working out just to lose that extra weight, get the gains or whatever your fitness goal might be.
Talk about failed attempts
I have probably joined the gym and failed at least four to five times in my nineteen years of life. I have always been that chubby little girl whether I ate or not and I struggled hard with body image issues and constant striving to lose the extra pounds that hang around, even more, when you are comparatively short.But as of now, my go-to workout is boxing. I have had a very painful journey finding that comfort spot in pursuing a goal that put me in mental ease combined with helping me achieve my fitness goal. And believe me, not one day I felt like I was pushing myself onto something, each day I just looked forward to it.
The Crux of Boxing
Boxing is one of the oldest combat sports, played inside a ring with two members wearing special protective gloves and trying to hit each and it goes on till a time limit.It is great cardio, helps in strength boosting & increases balance, reflexes, and coordination due to the beautiful combination of martial arts moves. Even the need to remember a couple of combinations in moves helps to keep the brain in focus during practice which releases a huge amount of endorphins when you’re able to hold a grasp on the moves and properly perform them.
For a long time, before I could actually start pursuing boxing as a workout or learning it as a sport, I was deeply interested and intrigued by the sport. Having read quotes and stories of Muhammed Ali, I always wondered what the sport has to offer, and the mystery behind it kept me intrigued until I could finally start doing it and could not help falling in love with it.
Personally, my workout is inclusive of combinations of mobility, followed by ladder drills, practicing the pendulum movements, the punch intensity, the heavy bag workouts mainly comprising of pyramid drills and speed punching followed by more ladder drills and some core exercise. Mind you, core strength is very necessary when boxing, that’s where the strength is really generated.
Here’s how to start
If you are looking to begin with boxing yourself, make a thorough research about the clubs near to you offering the workout and take a couple of trial classes with them to understand the trainer style and kind of boxing style workout being pursued for example there is Tabata style boxing, ladder style workout, etc. After you are done selecting the club, put on the hand wraps and gloves and get into the arena.Now make sure boxing also works on your pursued areas of fitness which you hope to achieve. For example- Boxing might not be a great option if you look to work out on your lower body specifically but on the other hand, it works wonder on your arms, core, back, and overall cardio strength.
People around, hopes & expectations
Once joined the club make sure your trainer knows about your injuries or any other physical restriction and even your own goals.Just in general, talk a lot and ask a lot. Talk to the people working out with you. It helped me a lot to talk to several people whenever I was unable to do a certain kind of circuit as being vulnerable and honest about my capabilities and limits helped people around me understand my difficult areas and I got a lot of help whenever some of those difficult workouts or areas were worked upon.
Personally, my main fitness goals are to get a minimum level body fat percentage, to increase my stamina or endurance and to increase my skeletal muscle mass.
Boxing works well with the first two of those, and regarding increasing muscle mass I do prefer combining my boxing workout with a little bit of strength training now and then.
Now if you look at the burnout aspect with boxing, in a combination of the heavy bag and other moves like ladder drill or crunches you can burn up to 500-600 calories in an hour given you perform at your full intensity. And if you go for an all heavy bag workout, you might even end up burning 700-800 calories an hour. These figures can vary heavily on basis of your intensity, duration, and other physical aspects.
With great new workouts come great soreness, yes if you are beginning new you can expect a good amount of muscle soreness in your back, arms, shoulders and even sometimes in your core. Unless any ache is severe, there is nothing to worry about and it is a good sign as it shows how much more it is there for your body to learn. Stay hydrated and sleep well.