If you have been following me for quite some time now, you know that I’m extremely regular about Tuesdays & Sundays being my boxing days (No, not the day where I go shopping & empty the stores because I can’t control myself around sales. I’m talking, the day I punch & kick away at a bag for an hour long & get one of the best workouts ever!)
I started taking boxing this past summer, hoping that it would be a good way to help me cope with my anxiety & I haven’t looked back since. I’d heard a lot about how boxing could help release frustration, anger & negative emotions (& it definitely made sense to me), but I was always skeptical about trying because I didn’t think I’d be strong enough to get through an hour-long class. So I held back.
But, after a month of being really committed to exercise & beginning to realize what an impact it was having on helping improve my mental stability & energy levels, I took my chances & tried boxing.
I won’t lie, it definitely requires strength, speed & agility, hand-eye coordination & cardiovascular endurance. And it’s safe to say that I didn’t start out with all (let alone, any!) of those skills. I built them over time. I always say: YOU GOTTA START SOMEWHERE!
Boxing is great for so many reasons & plays a huge role in WHY working out has really changed my life for the better.
- It builds cardiovascular health & endurance, without feeling boring or burdensome. Boxing is actually so much fun that you hardly find yourself staring at the clock & before you know it, time is up!
- It’s a full-body workout! It engages your upper body, lower body & core! It’s the perfect mix of muscle-building, strength straining & cardio. To get the most bang for your punch, you need to put your whole weight behind it, engaging the legs, hips, abs, back, shoulders & arms, making sure they work together in one controlled & smooth motion. This helps support & stabilize posture in the body.
- It improves hand-eye coordination, which is crucial to reflex & reaction times in all walks of life. It teaches the body & brain to act as one & in turn, your brain teaches your body to move more efficiently.
- It’s a great way to blow off steam, reduce stress, sweat out frustration & cope with anxiety. The adrenaline rush & endorphins released help boost mood & energy. This is one of the primary reasons why I can’t get enough of it. As you guys know, anxiety is something that I deal with daily. Although it has gotten better in the past few months, it’s still a part of my life that I promised myself I would NEVER deny or repress, especially after years of internalizing so many of my emotions & refusing to face my realities. Boxing has really helped keep me grounded, improve my mental stability, taught me to find alternative ways to face & deal with my emotions & encouraged me to continue pursuing my fitness goals not for physical reasons, but more so, for my mental health.
- It helps tone & define the muscles because the exercises are done at high repetitions.
- It feels empowering & boosts self-esteem & confidence.
- Since you’re using so many muscle groups, you generate greater energy consumption, which boosts metabolism.
- It’s a guaranteed SWEAT SESH!
Shoutout to Mindie Salonin for giving the best boxing classes out there! Legit don’t know what I would do without that woman! <3
I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO BEGIN BOXING!!!!! especially because even though i do not love this body at all in the slightest, i want to be able to one day begins to first love what this body can DO. and i think boxing is a phenomenal place to begin. 💙💙 thank you for sharing. it’s motivated me immensely.