I have played virtually every sport at some point in my life. I have done dozens of different workout routines. One of my favorite workouts was boxing. It was probably the hardest. And it produced the best fitness and most weight loss as well. I actually lost more weight than I wanted to doing this simple workout.
I began boxing at about 24 years old for a charity event called Battle of the Badges when I was a police officer. I was in decent shape at the time. I weight trained about an hour a day and did about 20 minutes of cardio five days a week. I weighed about 176 at the time. My weight really did not fluctuate much. I was still young so I could eat what I wanted and not gain a pound. Even when I did extra cardio my weight would not drop more than a pound or two.
But when I started boxing, I found myself getting tired by the second round. After six weeks of training, I dropped all the way down to 162 pounds. I still ate the same. In fact I was forcing myself to eat more because I did not want to lose anymore weight.
I did a lot of sparing, but it is not required. You can just hit the heavy bag instead of sparing. But sparing is great if you are competitive like me as it forces you to work harder. I can't spare anymore due to neck and back injuries, but it is a blast and really does not hurt it you use protective equipment.
First thing is getting the right equipment. Make sure you get hand wraps. If you hit the bag enough, your hands will begin to hurt after a while. Sure you can probably go a while without them if you are not hitting hard, but that is a waste of time.
Second is the gloves. Do not use the cool looking UFC style gloves for sparing even if you are a mixed martial artist unless you are working grappling. I see people in the gym all the time using these and it is a mistake.
First of all they do not offer the padding a protection of a full glove. Secondly, to get more out of your workout, you want the extra weight of a full boxing glove. Do not select the lightest weight glove either. For training you want a big heavy glove. Sure your punches will be slower, but the added weight will make your shoulders stronger and will help you to burn more calories while working out.
Now you are ready to hit the bag. When you hit the bag you want to go at it hard. The guy I ended up boxing looked like a beast. He was cut and muscular and everyone thought he was going to kill me. We worked out in the same gym and I had the opportunity to watch him work out.
He would hit the bag for 30 minutes straight. I won't lie I was intimidated. Boxing in front of a few thousand people with a guy who looked like he was in way better shape than me, is a scary idea.
My workouts on the other hand were made up by a boxer who made it to the Olympic Trials the following year, so I put some faith in him.
I would hit the bag for three minutes then rest for one. Depending on you fitness level when you start, you may have to start at one or two minutes and build your way up. But it is important you rest for only one minute, and you go hard for the two or three minutes you hit the bag.
Work your way up until you can hit the bag for 8-10 rounds. It may take a few weeks to get there.
Toss some jump roping, ab work and find some stairs you can go up and down as well after you hit the bag. A single stair you can step up and back down is sufficient. Do the stairs and jump rope for three minutes with one minute rest as well.
The key here is not to just put in the time doing the exercise, but do it hard. To the point you feel like you can not take another step or throw another punch by the end of the round.
By the night of the fight, I was confident. The people I had began sparring with, who pounded me six weeks prior could no longer last into the second round with me. Not because I was a better boxer, I actually suck at boxing. But I was in such good shape they would get tired.
The night of the fight it was the same thing. The first round was pretty even. But the second and third round I took over. My opponent was so tired I ended up winning by TKO because he simply could not go anymore.
The reason is simple. He was in great shape, but not for a fight. If we wrestled for 30 minutes no doubt he would win. But in a fight your heart rate soars. Your body is starved for energy and oxygen as you do everything you can during that adrenaline rush to survive. He had not trained to getting his heart rate up as high as he could for short periods of time. He worked out hard. But his workout were paced. 30 minute intervals which only allows your heart rate to get so high and maintain it.
Mine were short burst like a sprint. I got my heart to beat as fast as I could, to a one minute break to allow it to slow down and did it again.
In just six weeks I lost so much weight people literally though I was sick. I did not want to lose all that weight. But I did not want to lose either.
Boxing is low impact and helps you to develop your core and upper body strength. Try it and I am sure in just a few weeks you will be happy with what you see.
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