We are living in a world where people are more aware of the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle with good eating habits and exercising regularly. Added to that, the traditional gym where you spend hours on the treadmill and lifting weights are not very popular options today anymore so new workouts for weight loss and staying fit are coming to surface.
One of these new popular ways for weight loss that is gaining more followers is boxing. The reason? As any martial arts, boxing requires fast and drastic movements, that apart from helping you learn how to defend yourself, will also help you get in shape.
Why can you benefit from boxing workouts for weight loss?
One of the reasons you can get a good workout from boxing is that you will do intense cardio and this is the best way to lose weight.
We know that a treadmill can be very repetitive and boring but boxing will never allow you to get bored simply because training will always vary.
In addition, a boxing training routine will engage both your lower and upper body, you will obtain cardiovascular strength and endurance. Pad work exercises, fast-paced repetitions, striking and punching help develop aerobic and anaerobic respiration.
However, boxing is not only about punching effectively, but there is also head movement and footwork. Special workouts are used to develop power and speed, and defensive techniques, such as bobbing and weaving, are also part of the training.
Boxing will also help you train your heart and in time you will be able to regulate oxygen more efficiently like good cardio helps you achieve. If after an intense boxing workout you feel you are hurting in places you have never hurt before is because there are probably muscles you have begun to use in boxing that traditional workouts do not focus on.
Boxing workouts help burn fat, which you will notice after a few sessions since each one-hour session can burn up to 1,000 calories! Plus, the muscles you will build are lean muscles which will help you look ripped and extra cut.
Finally, boxing is FUN and that is the key ingredient to make you want to stick to this weight loss training!! If you do not have fun with what you are doing, you will most likely eventually quit.
For better results with your workouts for weight loss with boxing, you need to also eat like a boxer. Read more about what things you can include in your diet and how many times a day boxers need to be eating for better results.
Warm-up always before hitting the ring
Don’t ever start working out before warming up. It is essential and important for your health to bring blood into your muscles to avoid getting injured, which make you take time off to heal and then lose all the hard work you’ve been putting in your boxing. You don’t need to spend an hour warming up but you should do it for at least 15 minutes. Here are some ideas:
- Upper body
Draw large circles with your arms in a forward motion, then after 15 repetitions, change to backward motion. Second, swing both arms out to your sides and cross them in front of your chest. Do 20 repetitions.
Move your head as if you were saying yes ten times (up and down), then do as if you were saying no (from side to side), another ten reps and then do like if you were saying “maybe” with your head by trying to touch your shoulders with your ears for another 10 repetitions.
2. Core
Do from 15 to 20 repetitions of abs (any type you like) three times and when you finish, stay in a plank position for 60 seconds. End the core warm up by tucking your chin, dropping your shoulders and bringing your chest slightly forward. Finally, raise your chin, pull your shoulders back and lift your chest while at the same time arch your back slightly. Repeat several times.
3. Lower body
Warm-up your hips by doing large circles with them. First clockwise and then counterclockwise.
Finish your warm-up by doing 30 seconds of: light bouncing on the balls of your feet; jumping jacks; high knees; nonstop punches in a squat position; 150 rope skips with a jump rope.
5 great boxing workouts for weight loss
We have gathered here five great boxing workouts that will help you lose weight. Whether you are a boxer who wants to lose a few pounds or are looking for a cross-training routine that will help you lose weight, here are five options for you. Let us know in the comments section which ones you like best!
1. Shadow boxing
Stand with your right leg back and slightly stagger, bend your knees and keep your chin down. Then start to jab, which is a quick punch using your forward hand. This helps you work on your speed and timing.
Combine the jab with cross. In the same position you were in, punch across your body from the back hand. Your back foot will pivot and your body’s core will enter into this workout. This will help you work on your power.
Now, include an uppercut for more power. This is a punch upward that also uses your hips to strike with either hand. You need to maintain the same stand and tighten your core while doing your punches.
Do the same exercises with 2.5 lb. or 5 lb. dumbbells for muscle building or add them just 30 to 45 minutes at the end of your set.
Do from 3 to 5 rounds and rest for a minute between each.
2. Power circuit
If you want to get in shape ASAP you will need to do more than just punches. When it comes to workouts for weight loss, you have to up your cardio, which will help you create a calorie deficit, meaning you burn more calories than you eat.
It has been proven that the most efficient and healthiest way to lose weight is to combine cardio, strength training and a low-calorie – but healthy – diet.
This power circuit will help you with your boxing weight loss training: Start by jumping rope for 1 minute; then, overhead ball slam for 10 repetitions; third, do ladder drill for 1 minute; follow this with box jumps for 10 reps; finally, shadow boxing for 90 seconds (explained in workout number one above).
Do this set 3 to 5 times and prepare to lose some weight!
3. Power punches
This training is one of the workouts for weight loss that focuses on power punches. The goal is to do each round for 3 minutes and rest for 1 minute in between.
Start by doing a little warm-up (you can do the warm-up we gave you above). After, strike the bag at 50% with a variety of punches, then go to full strength and launch jabs.
This workout will start by doing just one punch, and then, you will be adding one more each time you repeat the sequence. It goes like this:
1. Jab, cross, and repeat for three minutes;
2. Jab, cross, hook, and repeat for three minutes;
3. Jab, cross, hook, uppercut, and repeat for three minutes;
4. Jab, cross, hook, uppercut, body punch, and repeat for three minutes.
So far, which of these three workouts do you like most? Would you add or change anything? Let us know in the comments!
4. Access pull muscles
This boxing workout will help you increase power and also become a more balanced athlete. Here you will work your pull muscles, which are stronger than the punch muscles but often are not properly used.
Grab a resistance band with your left hand and a hand weight with your right hand. Pull the band with your left arm towards your hip and don’t forget to pivot the back foot when doing so. Remember to keep chin down and knees bent as well. Do this for one minute.
Once you are finished, got o the heavy bag or grab two hand weights and do punches for another minute. Finally, repeat on the other side.
Go through six of these cycles, which simulate three rounds of heavy boxing.
5. Squatting under the line
This workout will definitely make you sweat and work your entire body. The idea is to squat from side to side under a slackline or an imaginary line.
You will need 2.5 lb. or 5 lb. weights (one for each hand) and when you are moving under the line to the right, use your right foot. When you are going to the left under the line, use your left foot. Then, add a punch. When on the right side, punch with your right arm, and when you go to the left side, punch with your left arm.
Keep your knees bent at all times and don’t look down, keep your back straight always to avoid getting hurt.
Do this for one minute, then do 30 air squats right away and start over to complete the routine six times.
6. Bonus: Training with the beat
For this bonus workout for weight loss in boxing, you will be following the beat of the music. Create a playlist with five songs with strong rhythms that last between 3 to 4 minutes each (for a total of approximately 20 minutes of music). Count the beat of the song and on every fourth beat unleash a punch combination, then bring your hands back to your starting stance until the next beat.
Here are some combination examples, but feel free to create your own!
- Right cross, left jab, right uppercut.
- Left jab, left jab, right cross.
- Right uppercut, right cross, left hook.
- Right cross, left hook, right hook.
- Left body punch, right body punch, left uppercut.
Mix fast songs with slow songs to get a variety of beats, and if you get lost, you can count out loud to keep on track. This is shadow boxing with a twist that will help you tone your shoulders, back and core, as well as burn calories along the way.
