What does boxing do for your body?
Are you a professional boxer? What does boxing do for your body? Most people are skeptical about this sport because of the painful blows. However, today we want to shed some light on the positives of this sport: Especially if a professional trains you.
So What Does Boxing Do For Your Body?
Muscle Growth
Boxing specifically develops the serratus anterior muscle (also referred to as “boxer’s muscle” or “big swing muscle”). It is the muscle located on your first 8 ribs. This muscle pulls the scapula forward as you throw a punch. It also moves the scapula around the rib cage as you swing your arms to retract them.
As a result, boxing transforms your upper-body and leg muscles. Punching and swinging your arms develop the shoulder and biceps muscles while boxer crouch moves develop your calf muscles.
Similarly, a boxer has to move his fist and elbow in a position to block the face. You also bend the knees and position your leg to hit your target. Continuous muscle movement is what builds them over time.
In addition, boxing stimulates the production of human growth hormone (HGH). HGH is the body hormone responsible for extreme muscle mass and endurance.
Energy and Stamina Build Up
Boxing gives you aerobic and muscle power. In a boxing session, you are constantly swinging your arms. This moves your arm and shoulder muscles repeatedly and consequently increasing your upper-body strength.
Similarly, in the boxer crouch, you bend your knees slightly with a wide stance. This strengthens your core muscles, legs, and back. With stronger muscles, you can easily carry a bag of groceries or get up out of a chair. You also climb a flight of stairs effortlessly, and you can walk further.
Fat burning
Have you ever heard of Fitness Boxing? Unlike other sports, fitness boxing gives you anaerobic fitness. This means you enjoy the benefits of the traditional boxing workout, but you don’t have to take the risks of suffering head trauma and enduring severe punches.
According to research, a single boxing session burns up to 816 calories per hour (for a 150-pound person). The figure is higher if you punch sandbags.
In fitness boxing, you don’t take up a rival partner. Instead, you throw punches at a punching bag or in the air. In a professional fitness boxing class, you follow a leader who guides you on several choreographed boxing moves.
These include; sweeping punches (hooks, crosses, and uppercuts), squats (ducks), smaller punches (jabs), and quick steps back and forward.
These are the same moves professional boxers make, right?
Moreover, in fitness boxing, you have additional strength training moves such as hitting a punching bag and stretching. You can make these moves while standing or seated.
Improved Concentration
With boxing comes better concentration and balance. As you keep changing your position, you challenge your balance. The more you practice that, the better your balance and reaction time improve.
In a real professional boxing scenario, you have to maintain focus and protect yourself to avoid taking painful punches. Your brain then becomes accustomed to concentration even outside the boxing ring. And sometimes, you anticipate trouble, like a crack in the sidewalk, and deal with it early.
Improved Hand to Eye Coordination
You realize after a few boxing sessions that your arms are more flexible. They move with speed and agility. And this gets better with more practice. In addition, for people who practice shadow boxing, punching bags, or hitting padded targets, research shows that you engage the part of your brain that is responsible for eye-hand coordination.
Therefore, you feel more alert and of course attentive. This translates to an easier time when picking up stuff as tiny as a pill or pen.
Improved Health
Fitness boxing gets your heart pumping and your skin sweating. Therefore, you improve blood circulation and skin perspiration, which lowers high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
The exercises also strengthen your muscles and bones and burns more calories.
Finally, since you are now able to manage your anger and stress, you get rid of stress-related illnesses and depression.
Stress Relief
People handle stress differently. Boxing is one of the few sports that allow you to release stress on an object (the punching bag) or a person (your opponent). This means that boxers have an upper hand at handling stressful environments than any other person.
In addition, just like runners experience ‘runner’s high’ phenomenon, boxers produce more endorphins as they engage the punching bag. These neurotransmitters are responsible for creating feel-good thoughts.
Boxing also makes you concentrate 100%: Especially in a real opponent match. This means your brain doesn’t have room for any more negative thoughts and you momentarily forget the issues stressing you.
You Develop Self Confidence and Increased Self-Esteem
If you win a boxing match, you might as well forget your worries completely. This will eventually help you manage anger and overcome it. And the better you get at the sport, the more confident you become. In other words, competence breeds confidence. And confidence is all you need to increase self-esteem.
Tip
Make sure you grab professional boxing gloves for the best performance. We have a detailed article on the best boxing gloves just for you.
Boxing FAQs
Q. Is Boxing Bad For My Body?
A. Yes and no. Professional boxers suffer seriously damaging blows. However, fitness boxers don’t. Because in fitness boxing, you don’t fight with human opponents. You fight objects as you swing your muscles in a way similar to professional boxers.
Q. Can Boxing Help Me To Lose Weight?
A. Yes. You can easily burn 1000 calories per session. And since boxing is categorized under high-intensity training, you continue to burn more fat for hours after the boxing session has ended (post-training calorie burning effect). This does not happen with other cardio activities. For this reason, boxing is your ultimate sport for weight loss. You will experience faster result especially if you combine fitness boxing with a healthy weight loss diet.
Q. Does Boxing Help To Manage Illnesses?
A. Research shows that boxing has positive effects on people with Parkison’s disease. In fact, there are several boxing institutions exclusively targeting these patients. Research also proves that boxing can lower your chances of suffering from depression. The latter is obviously due to the anger management benefits that you enjoy as a boxer.
Q. Is Wearing a Protective Boxing Gear Important?
A. Absolutely, yes! A protective boxing gear is the surest way to protect you from injury. The boxing gloves (not bag gloves) and hand wraps, protect your fingers, wrist, and hand muscles from a sprain. The head and mouth guards protect your brain and skull from damaging blows especially when sparring. And the body protectors protect your entire body. Body protectors are especially important for beginners.
The Bottom Line
Boxing is the only sport where you can determine where to start and how to scale. From shadow boxing in your bedroom, to bag punching in the garage, to a real fight in a professional boxing arena. As you enjoy the sport, I hope you can now answer the question: What does boxing do for your body? This sport can be adapted to help improve your endurance, strength, and balance.
February 5, 2019 @ 4:22 pm
I have always associated boxing with boxing ring, this is actually the first time I have heard of fitness boxing.
Boxing used to give me an impression of aggressiveness, violence… but reading your article change my view completely. It has never crossed my mind that there are so many benefits associated with it. That stress relief especially, I really need it lol!
Thank you for setting my perception right about boxing. I am actually looking to pick up a sport, who knows I will probably ended up in fitness boxing!
February 6, 2019 @ 1:51 pm
Hi, Grace and thank you.
Thank you for your kind words.
It is true that bix are a cruel sport. But many forget that the training behind it is one of the best possible training if you have in mind complete body training. So we can say that we move the move worst part but keep the best one.
And the stress relief is great! Putting all your stress, or anger if it is a bad day, in it will help a lot!
If I can help you with anything else, or if you have any questions, don´t hesitate to contact me.
February 5, 2019 @ 4:25 pm
Wow really awesome article. Never knew that boxing is so benefitial to your health. I enjoy boxing as a hobby. There is something so fulfilling to me about this sport. Now that I know it has such a great impact on your body I love it even more. I mostly enjoy boxing for keeping in shape and having good stamina. Also, I enjoy good adrenaline rush whenever I step into ring for sparing.
Thank you.
Strahinja
February 6, 2019 @ 2:08 pm
Hi, Strahinja and thank you.
Thank you for your kind words.
Yes, using boxing to increase stamina and keep in shape is an excellent way to do it. You need to use all your muscles, training hard but most of the time in a short period and it will give you a great result.
Good luck!
If I can help you with anything else, or if you have any questions, don´t hesitate to contact me.
February 5, 2019 @ 4:26 pm
Just finished So what does boxing do for your body? Very interesting, I new it would burn calories, but the amount is amazing. Boxing is a very interesting idea for fitness. Do you have to join a special gym or is it offered in regular fitness centers? I love the fact about building self-esteem. Thanks for sharing. Deanna
February 6, 2019 @ 2:13 pm
Hi, Deanna Martin and thank you.
Thank you for your kind words.
You don´t need to a special gym, a lot of usual regular fitness centers offer the possibilities to train it in many forms. At least in my country and I believe it is in most countries because it is both popular and a huge benefit of training it.
Too, you can train at home also.
Good luck!
If I can help you with anything else, or if you have any questions, don´t hesitate to contact me.
February 5, 2019 @ 4:27 pm
I never knew not until now that boxing stimulates the production of human growth hormone (HGH) in the body. You have really enlightened me and given me more knowledge on boxing. Ever before now i taught the only advantage of professional boxing is because you will be paid from each fights you make. As you have mentioned the various advantages of boxing which includes muscle growth,energy and stamina building , fat burning etc. I would try as much as possible to begin a fitness boxing as i would love to enjoy all these advantages. I would love you to elaborate in your next posts how boxing helps to manage illness. Thanks
February 6, 2019 @ 2:17 pm
Hi, Dapoach and thank you.
Thank you for your kind words.
There is a huge benefit of training fitness boxing. In my opinion, it is one of the best practical ways to keep in shape because you need to use all the body, but at the same time, you are working in to get your stamina better.
Good luck!
If I can help you with anything else, or if you have any questions, don´t hesitate to contact me.
February 5, 2019 @ 4:29 pm
I’m one of those people that needs to have an understanding of WHY. Whatever it is that I’m doing, I want to know the purpose. The familiar saying “you don’t know what you don’t know,” is one of my favorites, and reminds me almost daily to continue to learn!
I will admit, that although I love to work out, I’ve never gotten into boxing enough to keep it in my rotation. I always felt like it wasn’t doing enough, despite how tiring it was. Now, having read your article, and understanding the muscle growth and all of the other positive changes that boxing has on the body, I think I may give it another go! Thanks to your website, now I know my WHY!
February 6, 2019 @ 2:23 pm
Hi, Cris and thank you.
Thank you for your kind words.
Good luck!
If I can help you with anything else, or if you have any questions, don´t hesitate to contact me.
February 5, 2019 @ 4:29 pm
Wow…this is a very informative article! I had no idea boxing had so many POSITIVE benefits. Because, you are right, I always thought about the negative side…taking punches that could cause a lot of pain and problems. I’m now very intrigued to learn more about fitness boxing. I’m in my early 50’s now, and though I might have to start slower than someone younger, I could see this type of exercise routine really taking on the whole aging process in a very positive way. Thank you so much for your insights. You’ve definitely got me thinking now!
February 6, 2019 @ 2:28 pm
Hi, Cheri and thank you.
Thank you for your kind words.
You are right that many people, understandable, only think about the negative sides of boxing. And that is not strange because most of the time we just see the competition, and there is significant danger about taking punches that could cause a lot of pain and problems, special in the head and around it.
But the fitness part of it is excellent, and when you only look at it as a great way of training, things usually change.
Good luck!
If I can help you with anything else, or if you have any questions, don´t hesitate to contact me.
February 5, 2019 @ 4:33 pm
This is a nice post. I honestly don’t know that boxing does anything good to the body. This post has done justice to my curiosity.
I will consider getting a punching bag and a good fitness boxing hand gloves to start my journey into fitness boxing. I have always wanted to develop my muscle mass as well as my stamina, I am so glad to know that I can achieve these through boxing.
February 6, 2019 @ 2:29 pm
Hi, AbiodunS and thank you.
Thank you for your kind words.
That is a good idea.
Great to hear about your benefit of reading this article.
Good luck!
If I can help you with anything else, or if you have any questions, don´t hesitate to contact me.
February 5, 2019 @ 4:37 pm
Growing up, to me, boxing was a terrible sport on humans . Seeing Tyson punches life out of his opponents gives me impression that boxing is not good for humans. But now, I have started gyming to grow muscles on my skinny body, enrolled for boxing class for self defense against my bullies. Now, boxing has earned me respect in my community that nobody can take me for a ride anymore. Boxing has huge advantage truly. My Strenght and Stamina are amazing now
February 6, 2019 @ 2:32 pm
Hi, Kehinde Segun and thank you.
Yes, Tyson and what happened to Ali and more great boxers was horrible.
I stress that I am focused on the benefit of people have of using it as a way to get in good shape. For that, boxing is a great way.
If I can help you with anything else, or if you have any questions, don´t hesitate to contact me.
February 5, 2019 @ 4:40 pm
Hey there,
thanks for such informative and inspiring article, I truly enjoyed reading it and found it to be very helpful! As far as boxing goes, well it is truly an amazing martial art that is capable of improving a person’s quality of life in so many unique ways! The thing which stood out for me the most about doing any of the martial art is the fact that it it builds & severely strengthens Your character by implementing strict discipline into one’s daily life. Such discipline can greatly benefit a person in all of the daily activities and tasks by making them priorities over all of the other much less important stuff which often get in the way and prevent us from focusing on things which are much more important. Another fantastic benefit of doing boxing is that it You can teach a person how to defend him, or herself in physical dangers (by saying that I mean things like physical confrontations), which significantly boosts self-esteem and self-confidence. Such benefits later translate into all of the daily tasks and activities, thus person will feel much more confident in doing basically everything, whether that would be working, going out, talking to girls and more. And on top of this, doing boxing will build an amazing physique (right along with good diet of course) and drastically improve the overall person’s physical health, while also enhancing sleep quality and will help sway away all of the negative, anxiety & depression inducing thoughts.
Keep up the great work and best of luck to You 😉
February 6, 2019 @ 2:38 pm
Hi, Evald and thank you.
Thank you for your kind words.
Good luck.
If I can help you with anything else, or if you have any questions, don´t hesitate to contact me.
February 5, 2019 @ 4:45 pm
Thank you for this wonderful post describing the benefits of boxing.
I view boxing, particularly fitness boxing as one of the most effective sports with multiple benefits.
1. full body exercises
2. Losing calories during and after
3. Relieving stress: the disease of diseases of today’s modern society
4. Building up your self-esteem and self-confidence
5. People with terrible Perkinson diseases can get benefit from it.
Many of my work friends go to boxing relieving stress.
February 6, 2019 @ 2:34 pm
Hi, Anusuya and thank you.
Thank you for your kind words.
Good luck.
If I can help you with anything else, or if you have any questions, don´t hesitate to contact me.