Boxing is such an incredible martial art. Not only is it a great self-defense methodology, but it’s also an amazing way to get in shape. People turn to boxing to lose weight, gain lean muscle, and ultimately look and feel better about themselves.
Have you ever dreamed of having the physique of a seasoned athlete? Boxers have a unique body composition that not only looks absolutely fantastic, but also improves your flexibility, strength, power, and athleticism.
Training is intense and varied. It’s engaging and never boring. Every session is unique and you’re constantly learning along the way. Practitioners spend years mastering the techniques, and still, they learn something new every day.
From the outside, you may think that boxing only deals with punching. And while it does have you move your hands a lot, there is no doubt it is a full-body workout with emphasis on specific areas. You may not realize it, but boxing strengthens specific muscle groups in your body as you train.
To shed more light on this, here is a quick breakdown of the different areas of your body that you fortify through training in this discipline. Today, Evolve Daily shares three muscle groups you strengthen with boxing training.
1) Rotator Cuff, Trapezius – Shoulder Muscles
Boxing trains and engages every part of your upper body muscles, providing maximum strength to your punches.
Boxing no doubt deals greatly with the science of punching. Practitioners learn how to deliver textbook punches, and how to generate power and transfer it to their fists. But there’s a common misconception that power comes from the arms.
Power is generated from the base of the legs, transferred through the core, and eventually to the fists. But it also courses through the shoulders.
In essence, the rotator cuff — which consists of muscles such as the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis — paired with the trapezius, are constantly trained and strengthened. They stabilize the shoulder blades and allow rapid and smooth delivery of punches with maximum power.
They act like pistons firing punches from the holt, which is the upper torso. The stronger your shoulder muscles are, the more technically sound you can execute your punches. This results in fast, effective, and accurate punching.
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To become adept in boxing, hours upon hours of training is a prerequisite. You have to be willing to put in the time and the work. It’s not easy. But once you start to see the improvements in your physical body and athleticism, it’s definitely worth it. There is no better feeling than making progress in your workouts.
Even more so, boxing is a tremendous martial art for self-defense. Learn how to punch properly, strengthen your muscles, and you’ll become a true fighter.
2) Quadriceps – Leg Muscles
Your leg muscles play a crucial role in boxing, constantly engaged to support footwork and head movement, enhancing your precision and agility during training.
On the surface, boxing may seem like it just focuses on developing arm strength and power in the hands. But not known to many, boxing actually trains the entire lower body, strengthening your legs, and developing that entire muscle group.
Punching power doesn’t come from just the hands, it actually starts in the base, generated from the legs. Naturally, the stronger your legs are, the more power you can generate.
A huge part of boxing is footwork and head movement. Being able to smoothly glide across the ring with grace and purpose, it takes a ton of training and practice. Moving in the boxing stance is an art form, and even advanced practitioners experience problems with movement.
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The majority of the muscles in the legs are long and stretch great distances. All muscles work together to allow you a wide range of motion. The largest muscle masses in the leg include the thigh and the calf. Boxing trains these two the most, targeting specifically the quadriceps.
You strengthen the leg muscles as you move forward and backward, from side to side, and in compound motion.
During training and in actual competition, you are constantly moving. It’s important to have strong legs. Movement in the legs also expends the most energy and burns the most calories, so you have to make sure they are running efficiently.
3) Abdomen, Obliques, Hip Flexors – Core Muscles
Boxing not only activates the core muscles, hip flexors, and abductors for stability and power generation but also sculpts them to defend against body shots effectively.
Last but not least, boxing trains the core muscles extensively. Think of the core as your body’s fuel tank. This is where you draw your energy and stamina from. When performing any sort of athletic movement, the core is always engaged. If you have a weak core, you won’t last very long in any physical activity.
Thankfully, boxing trains the core directly, engaging stabilizers, namely the abdomen, internal obliques, and diaphragm, as well as the movers which are the external obliques, hamstrings, and hip flexors.
Punching, for instance, involves twisting the torso and contracting the abdomen. This strengthens your obliques, which in turn provides a layer of protective muscle around your vital organs. Taking body shots from an opponent is normal in boxing, so having strong core muscles is important.
On the other side of the spectrum, moving across the ring involves engaging the hamstrings and hip flexors, and all surrounding muscle fibers.
Conclusion
Simply put, boxing is a total body workout that trains all the major muscle groups in your entire anatomy.
If you want to get in shape, train your body to achieve your ideal physique, and boost your self-confidence, boxing may be just for you. Sign up for a trial class today and experience the amazing workout that is boxing!
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