Learn Boxing at Home During Quarantine

Yes, you are right, being quarantined at home sucks. Before the spread of coronavirus, the idea of just staying in your bed and doing nothing was loved by everyone.

But now as all of us are stuck in our homes, it’s very difficult to kill boredom with something productive. This is where one can mix passion, determination, fitness, and health, all in one go.

Cue, boxing!

Learning boxing at home during quarantine can be a healthy and entertaining activity in these tough times.

Being restricted at home can cause physical and psychological troubles. Being depressed and losing productivity are some common issues that can arise due to this problem.

Boxing is a sport that not only trains your body but also builds mental coordination.

Boxing not only helps to attain a good physical condition but is also effective in relieving stress, channeling your frustration, and building confidence.

Why Should You Learn Boxing During Quarantine?

Boxing is a sport that develops your mind and body effectively. It’s like a magic pill that you can take for building strength, losing fat, developing patience, and learning how you could defend yourself in time of need.

Being quarantined can make you frustrated if you don’t stick with healthy activities. Learning boxing during quarantine can impact your body and mind in a very positive manner.

Develops Your Physical Condition 

Combined Benefits of Cardio and Weight Training

Boxing gives you the combined benefits of cardio and weight training. Guys are often worried that they might get bulky if they start lifting weights. Some also believe that doing cardio can make you lose muscle mass and get skinny.

This is not the case with boxing as it gives you the combined benefits of aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Boxing can work for building muscles.

At the same time, it can also help with cutting down those extra inches of fat from your waist.

Faster Results

Along with athletes, models and actors also engage in boxing to get in shape. The reason behind this is that you can get maximum results from boxing in a minimal time.

As compared to lifting weights or doing cardio exercise, boxing shows faster and better results. Boxing strengthens all the muscles in the body because it comprises full-body compound movements.

Builds Stamina

Boxing will effectively build your stamina and endurance. Boxing training consists of rapid movements and repetitive hitting, this builds stamina and muscle endurance effectively.

Through boxing, you not only build the speed of throwing punches, but you will also improve your footwork and head movement as well.

Develops Reflex Actions

You might have seen on screen how boxers stop an attack from their opponent in a blink of an eye.

The reason behind this is that they have developed instinctive reaction timing through regular training.

Boxing helps in building reflexes. This is not only useful for sparring but also helps in routine activities.

Requires Minimum Equipment and Space

Unlike weight lifting and cardio, boxing is a sport that requires minimal equipment and space. For starting boxing at home, all you will need is a pair of boxing gloves and a punching bag.

To know which pair of gloves you should be using, read this blog.

For boxing, you don’t need as much space as you would for jogging and you don’t need any specialized equipment as well.

You can easily start boxing training in your lounge or on your terrace.

As you can’t leave your house during these times, boxing becomes an effective sport that you can do in the limited space of your house.

Good for Psychological Health

Being stuck at home for months and not having any activity is leaving many people in psychological distress. People have lost the motivation for exercising and taking care of themselves.

Boxing can help in fighting mental illness. It can prove effective in channeling your anger and frustration.

Boxing stimulates endorphin production, which is a stress-relieving hormone. This is why it’s perfect for when you can't stop thinking about other problems that you might be facing.

For boosting confidence and self-esteem, boxing can be an efficient tool. Through boxing, you will develop a shredded body over time which gives an instant boost to your confidence.

Helps in Killing Boredom

When you are restricted at home, all you can do is watch movies and shows. Not long after, you start feeling bored and even these movies won’t kill time.

To kill boredom and time effectively and productively, you need to have a good hobby. That’s where boxing can help you.

Boxing is not only about passing time when you are training, but it also becomes a lifestyle for those who follow the passion.

When you adopt a new hobby, you always try to find new things for it and be up to date with the latest news. That’s how boxing can be effective for killing boredom.

Getting Started for Boxing

To learn boxing at home during quarantine, you will need to go through some fundamentals of boxing and get some equipment.

Equipment for Beginners

When training at home, you won’t need any fancy boxing gear. But if you want to feel active and enjoy your training, you must get comfortable and performing gear.

You will be requiring a pair of boxing gloves though. As a beginner, you should buy lightweight training gloves that weigh about 12-14 oz.

It’s also recommended that you get wrist wraps before hitting punches on the boxing bag. If the wrists are not wrapped properly, they can become twisted and cause severe injury.

A punching bag can act just like your boxing coach. Training on a punching bag helps your muscles develop as the muscle fibers endure damage and heal over time to become stronger.

Training with a punching bag gradually improves muscle coordination. In addition to this, it helps develop a good boxer’s stance.

Maintaining balance and stability for staying on your toes can be learned by throwing punches on a punching bag.

Photo credit: menshealth

There are various boxing drills to try on the punching bags. Some of them are rapid-fire; in this, the boxer strikes the bag continuously for 2-3 minutes.

Then there are power punches, in which you hit the bag as hard as you can. Similarly, there is a variety of drills that you can learn for training with a punching bag.

Shadowboxing

Don’t worry if you don’t want to buy any equipment for boxing at the moment, because you can start effectively with shadow boxing.

Shadowboxing is a training method that all professional boxers use. Shadowboxing may be used for warming up before sparring but it has numerous other benefits.

In this type, you just throw punches and kicks in the air. It might sound a little weird but it has tremendous benefits.

It is an excellent opportunity for you to work on your form. The importance of good form in boxing can never be ignored.

When you do shadow boxing, you don’t have the pressure of throwing hard and fast punches on the bag or the opponent. So, all your focus remains on maintaining a perfect boxing stance.

After you have perfected your form, it’s time for you to improve your technique. Shadowboxing can be a good help for you if you want to develop effective boxing techniques and combos.

While doing shadow boxing, your movements are not restricted. You can move freely in the room and throw your combos.

This helps your body burn more calories while increasing your stamina. It also develops your footwork and endurance in the lower body.

Copying Professional Boxers

To learn the basics and enhance your skills, it’s very important to learn from experts. No matter the type of sport, you can always learn from the experience of others.

Learning from professional boxers and coaches is very useful for you as a beginner. There are hundreds of videos on YouTube where you can learn from the life experiences of professional boxers.

Copying the experts can help you in developing a good stance over time. It’s also beneficial for trying out new techniques.

Make sure to follow some world-famous boxers on social media platforms and keep up with the latest news from the world of boxing. Through this, you won’t lose interest in the sport.

Challenging Yourself

After you learn and perfect the basics of boxing, it’s time for you to develop some professional boxing skills.

Professional boxing can be a tough and painful sport; it builds a strong and sturdy person out of you.

But the prize of being strong doesn’t come easy. You have to put yourself out of your comfort zone to achieve something you don’t have right now.

If you want to achieve what you dream then you need to step out of your comfort zone. When you see the positive changes in your body, you will begin to love challenging yourself.

Challenges are the key aspect of building stamina and endurance. Scientifically this concept is known as hypertrophy.

When you train your body under the same conditions for some time, the muscles get used to it. They won’t grow and the fat cells don’t burn after some time of following the same training.

To push your muscles to grow more, they need to be in a state of hypotrophy. So, it’s very important to challenge yourself in being a better version of what you are today.

Things to Avoid When Learning Boxing

Don’t worry; it’s important to make mistakes when you are trying something new. There are some mistakes that you make to learn, and some you have to unlearn.

If you are a beginner in boxing then you should avoid some of these common mistakes while training.

· Not Using Gloves

It’s a common mistake most beginners make. Hitting the punching bag with bare hands can be very harmful.

You can damage the bones and muscles of your hands by hitting the punching bag without gloves.

If you don’t wish to run the risk of ruining your wrist or sustaining a heavy injury, make sure to buy a good pair of boxing gloves

· Not Focusing on Stance

Boxing is not only about how hard you can throw punches. You should always keep an eye on your boxing stance, otherwise, you can suffer injuries.

To improve your form, you can do shadow boxing in front of a mirror.

 

Breathing Technique

Most beginners get carried away by their emotions while training and do not breathe properly.

It’s very important to maintain breathing while boxing. Practice inhaling from the mouth and exhaling from the nose.

 You should always exhale when punching and inhale when pulling back.

Starting Without Warm-up

Warming up is very important before training if you don’t wish to suffer injuries.

To warm up your body you can try doing some calisthenic exercises such as push-ups and squats.

Shadowboxing is also a good option for warming up. It engages upper and lowers body muscles easily and in less time.

Conclusion:

Being quarantined at home is tough for everyone. Being restricted at home for months can be physically and mentally exhausting.

If you used to work out at the gym or were into cross fitness, it would be very hard for you to stay home and not be able to exercise.

Learning boxing during quarantine could become the hobby you never thought you needed to turn over a healthy new chapter of your life.

So, utilize this time productively to learn boxing to stay fit mentally and physically.

Photo credit: muscleandstrength