Bettering Yourself Through Boxing

Boxing is a muse for fighters and non-fighters alike, inspiring movies, music, and even our language. We roll with the punches and get saved by the bell, or express our support by being in someone’s corner – until it’s time to throw in the towel, of course. From the soaring popularity of the Rocky franchise that sparked a boxing film genre to the timelessness of songs like “The Boxer”, few other sports have captured our collective imagination quite like boxing.

The best way to understand why boxing sparks so much inspiration is to embark on your own training journey. Most beginner boxers are aware of how transformative boxing can be for the body, but it surprises many just how transformative it can be for the mind and spirit. The cathartic nature of a boxing workout can be therapeutic.

How Does Boxing Help Personal Wellness?

There are a number of ways that boxing can improve your personal wellness. Here are just a few of the benefits of boxing:

• Incredible stress reliever

• Safe outlet for frustration

• Encourages mindfulness

• Improves mental health

• Pushes you to reach goals

• Teaches control and discipline

• Inspires healthier habits

• Boosts confidence

• Empowers you

Facing Your Toughest Opponent: Yourself

Boxing training is all about self-discovery. Before you are ready to face an opponent in the ring, you need to face yourself–even the parts you might try to ignore.

Most of us are our own worst enemies, always inadvertently arguing for our limitations. Whatever limitations you have set in your head are irrelevant when you are committed to finishing a boxing workout. Just like a pro fighter digging deep to make it through the final round, boxing inspires us to find our strength. If the workout is 30 minutes long and you feel spent at the 20-minute mark, you will find a way to get through those last 10 minutes.

The drive to push yourself during a tough workout of any kind is a very personal experience, but many people find that boxing allows them to find strength through accessing a unique resource: their own angst. Boxing is both a means towards greater self-awareness and an outlet to burn frustration as fuel.

Boxing is, after all, a fighting sport. Every human being has a store of frustration, stress, and anger that dwells in some corner of our psyche. Whether these negative feelings arise from deep trauma or daily irritations, we all harbor them to some degree. Those feelings are natural–but holding them in is very unhealthy, even harmful.

Young children instinctively try to release negative emotion through screaming, crying, and through movement. No temper tantrum would be complete without stomping feet and flailing arms. Both children and adults need to learn how to handle their bad feelings in a safe, healthy way.

Punishing a punching bag can help release emotions you didn’t even know you had. It is one of the most effective methods of stress relief and anger management you can use to feel better almost instantly. Even if you don’t have any boxing equipment yet, shadowboxing is another great way to start combatting all that built-up tension.

Punching Through Adversity

You get stronger by pushing yourself past the point when you want to quit. Tapping into sheer willpower rather than giving in to pain and exhaustion forces your muscles to adapt so they can endure future challenges.

This mind-over-body approach will help you deal with other painful or difficult situations in your life. As your body becomes more resilient through boxing training, so does your mind.

The brain is physically altered by exercise, so much so that it is prescribed to help prevent degenerative brain disease due to aging. In the short term, exercise immediately increases circulation to the brain and releases feel-good chemicals called endorphins. Exercise has been proven to drastically improve mental health, with as little as 15 minutes a day shown to alleviate symptoms of depression.

Boxing in particular presents an ideal balance of high-intensity cardio with strength training, plus the added benefits of mental stimulation. Being in the zone when boxing is part of what makes it so cathartic and addicting.

While you may find your mind wandering back to woes and worries as you trudge along on a treadmill, boxing requires you to maintain your focus. It requires you to pay attention to each strike, methodically orchestrating each punch combination as your body becomes fatigued. It becomes a form of meditative movement. For those of us that struggle with rumination, it can serve as a wonderful respite that takes us out of our heads and into our bodies.

From Underdog to Pack Leader

If you have never boxed before, you will surprise yourself with just how capable you are once the gloves are on. You will discover a side of yourself that you may not have even known, one that is far stronger and more badass than you could have imagined.

Committing to boxing training can transform your lifestyle by initiating other healthy habits and routines. Boxing makes it easier to commit to healthy changes in all areas of your life because it teaches control and discipline. Moreover, healthier habits come more naturally to a boxer. It’s a lot easier to choose healthier foods when that is what your body craves after a workout, and it’s a lot easier to get enough sleep when you’ve depleted your energy and stress on the heavy bag.

The sense of accomplishment that comes with reaching personal fitness goals cannot be beat. Shattering those goals while releasing tension and getting in phenomenal physical shape is life-changing. Boxing training gives you a huge confidence boost by allowing you to see and feel the results. With at-home boxing programs like FightCamp, you can track your progress in real-time and set training milestones to keep you motivated. As your confidence grows, you can even compete with others in the FightCamp Community.

Boxing brings out the fighter in you far beyond physical training. You can safely shed layers of negative emotion to uncover a wellspring of inner strength, mindfulness, and resiliency. Boxing training can better prepare you to push forward through whatever adversity life tries to throw your way.

How Do I Start Boxing?

You can start boxing training today at home, even without equipment. At-home boxing is the best option for getting the full benefits of boxing training because it is far easier to commit to your training if you can schedule your workouts on your own time.

Try one of the many free workouts on the FightCamp YouTube Channel, and peruse the FightCamp Blog for more insight on wellness, boxing, kickboxing, and fitness. If you’re ready to set up your own home boxing gym and take your training to the next level, FightCamp can help you get started and provide professional support and training from real pro fighters.

FightCamp trainers know how boxing changes lives for the better, that’s why they are so passionate about what they do. Find out more about the FightCamp team and let them guide you on your own path towards a healthier, happier, more balanced You.