There is a good reason why boxing has become enormously popular in fitness circles. A one hour boxing workout has the potential to burn upwards of 700 calories. That is an absolutely enormous amount and someone that attends class three times a week can end up getting ripped in no time. However, there are still those a little leery about venturing into a boxing workout. After all, are not all boxers tough guys and do you not risk getting hurt when taking part in a boxing class?
The answer here is that you do need to be tough when training for boxing competitions. When you train to get in great shape, there is no “toughness or resiliency scale” required as a prerequisite for training. A hobbyist exercise based boxing class will center on equipment training designed to promote fat burn and lean muscle mass development. It is not about getting hit.
The bulk of a cardio class involves using traditional boxing equipment for the purpose of resistance. You cannot just punch in the air like so many cardio kickboxing classes and hope to see the great results you would experience with equipment. Hitting a heavy bag, for example, is designed to help greatly expand your endurance and cardio vascular conditioning. It requires more effort to hit a bag hard than it would when you merely wave your arms in the air. Hitting a heavy bag will burn a lot more calories than just shadow boxing or performing boxing aerobics. The same can be said of focus mitt training, speed bag training, and double end bag training.
When you opt to enter a fitness boxing program, there will are no mandatory requirements to spar so you can completely avoid this phase if you wish. In short, you can take part in a high intensity exercise program that delivers results with no risk of injury. So, no, you do not have to be a proverbial tough guy or gal to take part in a boxing fitness program.
