For a long time, people have used the activity of boxing for fitness. To see the benefits that boxing has for our body shape and overall lean-ness, simply watch a professional boxing bout and observe the competitors lean but defined bodies (with the exception of a few obvious heavyweights).
With the variety of different boxing classes in gyms nowadays, one does not need to become a fighter to train like a fighter. There are many different types of boxing classes now which cater to the different aspects of boxing and the student can decide which aspects suit them the best.
Classes almost always offer more than one advantage, sometimes unintentionally. For instance, a student may attend a sparring class to improve their reflexes and learn to handle a stressful situation, but due to the nature of boxing (throwing lots of punches) they become tired during the class and therefore also improve their overall strength and conditioning.
Another example would be a technical boxing class where the instructor has students developing power in their punches by doing drills where the body rotates quickly. This rotating activity works the abdominal and oblique muscles allowing a boxer to be more explosive through their punches, but the activity is also giving the participants a stronger and more shredded core.
Since boxing is a vigorous activity, weight loss is frequently a by product, especially when the diet is being monitored and improved. At The Boxing Institute, we often provide a four-week beginner program in order to get new students eating and training like a fighter, without the expectation to jump in the ring any time soon.
New students can even opt to take a low or no contact approach to training by simply skipping any sparring session but partake in all other aspects of training. This no sparring approach to training obviously will not create an amateur boxer or professional boxer, but can definitely create the same body as a fighter if applied correctly. Our aim at T.B.I. is to encourage students as much as possible but not force a student to do anything that they are not comfortable with. We are about individual goals through teamwork and not about building one student up at the cost of another’s goals.
There is an endless amount of drills that a trainer can use in the sessions. Some drills are obviously targeted at students that want to learn to box, whereas other drills are more about the conditioning and fitness aspect of boxing. If a student has no interest in fighting, those sparring drills usually take place on a Wednesday, meaning that if a student wants to avoid these drills, they simply show up on any other day.
Pad drills have long been an essential tool for getting a student ready for a fight, but they are also a fantastic drill for Weight loss and burning calories, as the person holding the pads is able to push their partner beyond their usual limits. Often this is exactly what people need, because usually people will stop training due to feeling tired even though they still possess the energy to continue to push. This is where the best gains are made in fitness, when it gets hard!
Unfortunately, no matter how motivated a student is, without an instructor it is very difficult to learn how to fight or box correctly. This is not the case with improving fitness. An instructor is not required in order for a person to get fit or lose weight… BUT IT CAN MAKE THE PROCESS MUCH FASTER AND EASIER!
Group training in boxing can be one of the best ways to stay motivated and is an excellent way to keep students returning to classes to achieve their goals. The energy in a group setting gives classes a much more vibrant and enjoyable atmosphere than hitting the heavy bag in an empty gym, or doing pad work with a partner while no one else is around. The healthy competition between students that happens during training, motivates people to punch harder and faster. This results in the exercise being much more beneficial than the exercise that someone might have when they go to a boring gym or health club, conducting a pointless work out and leaving without ever really exerting much energy.