Boxing for fitness

Boxing training is one of the most complete forms of exercise, combining cardiovascular effort, strength, coordination and footwork. It can be done without ever being hit: fitness classes and most beginners' sessions involve punching bags and pads, not opponents.

Forms of training

• Boxing fitness classes: circuits of punching, skipping and body-weight exercises set to music, with no contact. Often called boxercise.
• Pad work: punching combinations into padded mitts held by a coach or partner.
• Bag work: rounds on a heavy bag, building power and stamina.
• Shadow boxing: practising punches and movement without a target.
• Sparring and competition: controlled practice against a partner and formal bouts, in clubs affiliated to the sport's governing bodies.

Benefits

A session alternates short, intense rounds with brief rests, which makes it a form of interval training. It works the shoulders, arms, trunk and legs, improves balance and reaction time, and uses a great deal of energy. Many people also value it as an outlet for stress and a source of confidence.

Women and boxing

Women's boxing has grown rapidly since it entered the Olympic Games in London in 2012. Most gyms and clubs run mixed classes, and many offer women-only sessions. The training and its benefits are the same for both sexes.

Equipment

• Hand wraps: cloth strips wound around the wrist and knuckles to support the small bones of the hand.
• Gloves: padded bag or training gloves, sized by weight. Clubs usually lend them to beginners.
• Skipping rope and trainers with a flat, grippy sole.
• For sparring: a gumshield, a head guard and heavier gloves, as the club requires.

Starting

• A beginners' or fitness class at a boxing club or gym teaches the stance and the basic punches: the jab, cross, hook and uppercut.
• Good technique protects the wrists, elbows and shoulders. Punches are thrown from the legs and hips with the wrist straight.
• Sessions begin with a warm-up of at least six minutes and skipping.
• Coaches at affiliated amateur clubs hold governing-body qualifications and safeguarding checks.

Risks

Non-contact training carries the ordinary risks of vigorous exercise: strains of the wrist, shoulder and elbow, and sore knuckles when hands are poorly wrapped. Sparring and competitive boxing add the risk of blows to the head. Concussion, and the long-term effects of repeated head impacts, are well documented, and medical bodies including the British Medical Association have long opposed competitive boxing for that reason. Anyone with a suspected concussion stops at once and follows medical advice before returning.

People with heart conditions, high blood pressure, eye conditions or a history of head injury take medical advice before starting, and pregnant women avoid contact training.

Interval training is described under cardiovascular exercise.