Tired of running that same three mile loop every morning? Sick of facing the same wall on a spin bike each afternoon? We feel you. Sometimes, you just need to change up your cardiovascular activities to keep them fun, exciting, and to regain some semblance of motivation in your workouts. If you feel tapped out (pun intended) we recommend giving boxing cardio a try. A boxing training workout can provide you with a higher level of cardiovascular activity that is actually better for your heart and lungs, burns more calories and fat overall, and engages your mind a whole lot more than the treadmill.
Cardiovascular exercise is important. Defined as any exercise that raises your normal resting heart rate, it’s important for your heart and lung health, improves mood, removes toxins from the body, and makes you feel better overall. It is recommended that we get at least thirty minutes of cardio activity a day, three to five times a week.
It’s one thing to simply “raise” your heart rate, but it’s quite another to keep it fluctuating during a workout. Any exercise that raises your heart rate for short periods of intense work and then lowers it during a brief rest period is referred to as high intensity interval training, or “HIIT.” Unlike static cardio (aerobic exercise that keeps the heart rate at a steady, continuous rate), HIIT workouts burn fat faster and are better for your heart and lungs. Boxing training workouts are excellent ways to incorporate HIIT training into your fitness routine. To find out why you should give a boxing workout a shot, read on.
Boxing Cardio is Engaging
How many times have you thought “I hate this” while running on a treadmill? If you’re like us, the answer is quite a few. While we appreciate static cardio for what it is, what it is not is incredibly engaging and exciting.
Conversely, boxing training workouts are fresh and new each class. You’ll engage in new movements, like jabs, crosses, uppercuts, and hooks. You’ll learn defense postures, kicking, and shadowboxing. You’ll also engage in some basic bodyweight cardio movements like burpees, pushups, and squats. Taking a boxing class is far from just beating a bag. You’ll be surprised with the amount of movement your coach packs into one class.
Because of the wide range of activities in which you will engage in a boxing training class, you’ll likely never find it boring or mundane. In fact, you may find you were motivated to cultivate your physical fitness all along, you were just pursuing the wrong avenue to get there.
Boxing Cardio is Total Body
If you could get a total body weight workout at the same time you perform your cardio, would you be interested? Boxing cardio can deliver both simultaneously in one class. Instead of spending two hours at the gym for separate strength training and cardio work, why not get them both in at the exact same time. It’s better for your schedule, and better for your body. Moving weight quickly like you will do during a boxing cardio class helps your body burn calories faster than just static cardio alone.
Additionally, building muscle will help you burn calories more efficiently after you’ve completed your workout. Boxing cardio provides you with an excellent caloric “after burn” which means your body will burn more calories for hours after your class than it would after a static cardio or weightlifting workout. Combining aerobic activity and muscle training truly delivers the one-two punch for fat burn.
Boxing Makes You Feel Accomplished
When you decide to join a boxing gym, you’re not just signing up for fitness classes, you’re signing up to become a member of a supportive and fun community of like-minded people. Unlike taking a class at your local big box gym, you’ll get to know your fellow boxers personally, and take pride in seeing them accomplish things in the gym and hit new personal records. You’ll enjoy a healthy level of competition as you crush workouts together and tackle difficult movements side by side. In learning a new activity, you’ll forge relationships with people that can last a lifetime, inside and outside the gym.
Because boxing classes are new and engaging each day, you’ll feel challenged more than you do hopping on that spin bike or treadmill. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment when you finally master a movement you’ve been practicing, destroy a cardiovascular plateau, or notice your strength is increasing.
Boxing cardio is a fresh and new way to approach cardiovascular activity. It keeps you engaged, utilizes the entire body during each workout, and is fun yet challenging at any level. Boxing is an exciting way to try out high intensity interval training, which helps you burn more fat and is more effective for your heart and lung health. Boxing training workouts can be enjoyed by practically anyone with any level of prior fitness.