Shadow Boxing: Burn Calories, Reduce Fat, Gain Lean Muscle And Have Fun

Boxing is a violent sport that usually results in both participants hurting each other. Like kickboxing and martial art fights the objective is to beat up or incapacitate your opponent. The athletes that participate in these fights are usually lean and muscular but their bodies are not just a result of them fighting in the ring. They spend a lot more time training than they do fighting. You could avoid the injuries and brutality of the fighting and still get most of the benefits with just the training.

Shadow boxing is sparring with your yourself. The term is not limited to boxing but sparring with yourself in general. It can be done using your shadow or your reflection. Another method is to use visualization. Using visualization you would visualize an opponent and go through the moves like you were in a real fight. When you shadow box you go through the motions but there is no one to hit you back. You can get a good full-body cardio workout that mainly focuses on your arms but also works your legs and abs.

While fighting or sparring with someone else will usually give you a better workout it can leave you with injuries. You also need to have someone willing to fight or spar with you at a scheduled time. The injuries can prevent you from exercising for a while making it counterproductive. Shadow boxing can provide a good workout. You do not need to be a fighter to benefit from the training.

To get the most of your shadow boxing workout try to include footwork and dodging. Boxers are constantly moving around. You should be to. When you punch put some power into it. Some people punch like they are punching air. You should punch like you intend to hit something or someone. Just make sure you do not extend your arms out too much. Since you are not going to be hitting anything you need to stop yourself. You should also keep your guard up and block your fictional opponents punches.

It does not require any special equipment but you might want to get a pair of boxing gloves.

Since it is a full body workout most of your muscles are being worked. Your main focus is on your arms but you may be surprised out how many muscles are being used. It works your abdominal muscles, shoulders, chest, back, calves, quadriceps etc. Punching power starts in the legs. Assuming you do a variety of punches, footwork and dodging you are working your toes to your neck. Since shadow boxing does not involve a punching bag or person your abs and back muscles are used more. That is because you stop the force of the punch yourself and maintain your balance.

It can help you improve your strength, endurance and reflexes. However as an exercise it lacks focus. So it is not a good replacement for weight lifting or a cardio exercise like running but goes well with them. As a cardio exercise it probably will not get you breathing heavy or your heart beating fast. As a an exercise to build muscle it is good for toning but not for building big muscles.

Stay on your toes most of the time so you can move quickly and put more power into your punches.

Shadow boxing is a great way to burn calories. It is comparable to jogging. I could burn around 400 calories in an hour long shadow boxing workout. Including kicks can increase the calorie burn. Boxing with an opponent can burn a lot more calories. I could burn around 700 calories while boxing for an hour. It is comparable to running at a good pace. However because boxing an opponent is more intense it can only be done for short periods of time and it requires a longer recover time. There is also a high risk of injury.

You may be tempted do add weight to your hands. Doing boxing punches with weights can be harmful and does not significantly increase the amount of calories burned. So I would suggest that you limit yourself to using boxing gloves for a little extra weight. 20 to 30 minutes of shadow boxing 3 or 4 times a week is a good limit. If it is not enough try to increase the intensity or jump rope afterwards.

In a week you should be able to burn off enough calories to notice a difference if you weigh and measure yourself.

I shadow boxed near a wall facing my shadow. Shadow boxing did not get my heart racing as fast as a normal cardio workout and my arm muscles were not a sore as they would be from weightlifting. It was like a combination of the two. My muscles became a little sore and my heart was beating a bit faster. It did get my temperature up and I felt like I used a lot of energy. By the end of the workout I was always sweating a lot even though I was cold when I started because it is winter.

My routine consisted of me randomly throwing punches, ducking and weaving for 30 minutes every day. I just did what I felt like doing. The first few times I had trouble maintaining a good pace for the whole time. It became a bit easier and I got better at punching. So I was able to increase the intensity of the workout allowing me to burn more calories. I could feel it working my arms, abdominal muscles and calf muscles.

Even though it was only for a week I was able to improve. However I felt like I my muscles needed time off. I would have definitely needed to take a couple days if I wanted to continue. Measuring the circumference of my stomach I lost 1 1/8' in a week. My weight was reduced by just over a pound.

In my opinion one of the best way to learn how to shadow box is to watch other people boxing or shadow boxing. It will help with the punches and foot work. When visualizing an opponent you may want to visualize someone you saw boxing. Another way is to take a class.

Boxers do more than boxing and shadow boxing. They also spar, punch heavy bags and speed bags, jump rope, lift weights and run while maintaining healthy eating habits. Shadow boxing can give you a better body but you may want to combine it with other workouts and a healthy diet for a leaner and firmer body. I recommend jumping rope in addition to shadow boxing.

Working out by yourself requires more willpower. If you have trouble staying focused or want a change you may want to try some exercise DVDs or attend a class. Tae Bo would be a good choice. Recently I lost weight exercising to Tae Bo DVDs. It gave me the idea to try shadow boxing. The main difference between the Tae Bo DVDs and shadow boxing is that I had more control of the workout while shadow boxing and I was more focused on me. The down side was that I was by myself staring at a wall instead of watching attractive people exercising with me.