Your Very Own Rocky Balboa Story

Unless under the influence of post-Rocky euphoria, or a “big-fight” is taking place, most people never consider boxing as an alternative to their usual health routine. That’s reasonable. Most of us would rather get fit than bruised, and although boxing is one of the best ways to burn fat and stay healthy – it has a tough guy reputation that it’s struggling to throw. But many boxing-gyms are now accommodating “keep-fitters” and box-fit classes to encourage people to engage without fear of being pressured into the ring. Because of this, activities like blue collar boxing have been a great success and raised money for charity while keeping inactive city workers fit and healthy. Let’s jump into the ring and explain how boxing can help you fight a number of health issues and provide a kick-start to a new health campaign.

Boxing is an exercise performed for 15 minutes or longer between (approximately) 60-80% of your heart rate. This means it is aerobic. The longer your exercise and the higher your heart, the higher the capacity you are building for aerobic exercise. This kind of exercise trains your heart and lungs – and, the better shape your lungs are heart are in, the healthier your general health tends to be. If your heart is stronger, it better pumps blood around your body and the more oxygen you can take in –this is experienced in all facets of life from walking up the stairs to running for the train. More importantly, aerobic exercise puts people at less risk for heart attacks and strokes, reduces the chances of type 2 diabetes, joint pain – and improves overall life expectancy. Sure, boxing is tough, but it’s more than worth it.

During boxing training, boxers can burn up to 30 calories per minute. That means that within 30mins of intense boxing training, you could burn up to 900 calories (that’s already over half a woman’s daily calorie intake). That’s why despite boxer’s best efforts, it’s often really hard to put on weight. Training at this level is of course highly demanding and will take time to achieve - but it will allow you to keep your heart and lungs healthy whilst reducing your body weight.

This form of aerobic training has also been shown to help participants sleep at night by exhausting their body and relaxing their mind. Boxing has begun to be seen by people as a stress reliever (as opposed to a stress inducer – no one wants to get beaten up like the Italian Stallion). On the one hand, boxing is therapeutic as it allows people to punch away pent up aggression, but it also triggers dopamine to be released after training. That means less stress and more happiness.

Boxing has always been on the periphery of the fitness industry. Although it has it’s rough and ready back-street reputation that will never go away you won’t find yourself greasy and sliding around a ring getting your lights punched out. Unless of course that’s what you want to do – there’s still ample scope for that.

If you are interested in beginning a boxing programme but are worried about your current physical condition or are unsure whether such a plan would suit your situation, please contact our switchboard at (212) 241-6321