Why boxing
1.Boxing is the ultimate full body workout
Most people know that the upper body is trained during boxing training. The shoulders, trapezius, biceps, triceps, chest, back and abdominal muscles are involved in each good punch. In addition, the leg muscles are trained during a session. Your quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles work together to let you step in and out/lunge and they help you cover distance and ensure your bodyweight can be moved in the punch. The turning in of the hip and the rotation of the upper body give you a firm core.
In a nutshell:
The force you generate during a punch starts at your feet and follows the entire kinetic chain from your ankle to the upper part of your body and eventually lands on the target. It’s of the utmost importance that the entire body is capable to move and translate the built-up power to the next body part. A huge amount of force will be lost from the punch if you have weak abdominal muscles. That’s why your punch is as strong as the weakest link in your body. Muscular arms alone will not yield forceful punches. Boxing training stimulates all muscle groups and provides the combination of aerobic (stamina, aided by oxygen) and anaerobic (short efforts without the use of oxygen). All joints and muscles are involved in boxing training which makes it the ultimate full body workout. Read more about Generating force when boxing.
2. Boxing is both mentally and physically challenging.
Boxing helps to improve your mobility, stability and coordination – resulting in a more functional body. This is even more beneficial for people with a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. Many people believe that boxing is challenging because a blow to the face is definitely going to be painful. They think that boxing is all about sparring, matches and physical suffering. However, there are many more aspects when it comes to boxing: responsiveness, motor skills, reflexes, speed and balance. In addition, you need to keep your head in the game to process all the information coming your way. Boxing is highly technical and requires as much from your cognitive, as well as your physical skills. When you start boxing, everything feels very unnatural. Simultaneous anticipation to boxing combinations and maintaining the right basic stance requires quite a lot from your brain. When you start improving, you focus on your foot work, body position and defense. You really need to use your head during these techniques. After the training you’ll often feel that you’ve trained mentally, as well as physically. Read how PTBoxing uses strength training in addition to boxing.
3. Boxing and psychological benefits.
Now we know that boxing is an amazing physical activity that can help you get back into shape, but it has psychological benefits as well. MCKenzie and Lissenden (2013) described how punching a sand bag and focusing on boxing combinations on the pads can be an outlet for frustration, fear and aggression. They also described how the technical aspects can contribute to discipline and concentration.
Boxing requires a lot from your ability to concentrate. Each second is important because you never know when to attack or defend. It’s a fantastic confidence booster. It gives you a lot of self-confidence when you have the skills to defend yourself. Boxers rather avoid confrontation – contrary to what most people think. Their skills and self-confidence give them a feeling they have nothing to prove. If you don’t have anything to prove, you’ll be less tempted to try. According to MCKenie and Lissenden, the confidence and possibility to defend oneself physically, translates to psychological benefits of self-contentment and ease of mind.
4. Boxing is for everyone
Boxing training has a low entry level. Anyone can start boxing. The intensity can be increased and decreased depending on the level of training. Differentiation is endless, allowing all clients to train at their own level. Whether you’re 85-years-old or only 9-years-old, boxing is suitable for all ages and for all levels. You won’t have to get into the ring to spar or box a match if you don’t want to but being able to defend yourself is a fantastic quality that affects many aspects of your life. Want to start boxing? Read the boxing in Amsterdam beginners’ guide.
5. Boxing is fun!
At the end of the day, the best sport is the sport you’re able to keep doing. The fun factor is a major influence here. I’ve never seen a client get bored the moment they had their boxing gloves on. It’s a sport with a tremendously high experience level. Enjoying the sport is the number one reason why someone can keep up with it and eventually become really good at something. If not, it’ll feel like work, become boring quickly and make you quit before you get the hang of it. This is the problem with most conventional fitness programs: you get bored easily. Boxing training, however, is always something to look forward to: focusing on your objective to lose weight, developing different skills or winning your first match. Boxing keeps your body and mind active.
Are you motivated and 100% convinced to aim for your objective? Then take a look at our programs and meet one of the professional self-employed trainers we hire.