When it comes to boxing, most people think it’s all about self-defense. To some extent this is true but boxing has a very diverse scope. From the basic upper body training that can help you defend yourself to detailed exercises that can help you stay fit, boxing has more to offer than some of the most complex exercises. Most beginners think that if you are good at shadow boxing and punching combinations, this will be enough for you. However, you need to know that boxing is more than a few powerful punches. For your workout for boxing, you need to select exercises that are functional and that can help you stay active and healthy throughout. Functional exercises are a very hot topic among athletes and martial arts instructors. This is because they want the players to make the most out of their limited practice time.
What Are Functional Exercises?
For the function exercises, the main concept is that your body has bones and muscles that help you perform daily functions. This can include daily house chores or even simple movement. The way your body moves when you lift weight or when you walk or sit is very important. With other exercises, you work on the quality of these muscles and you might see improvement in their strength or ability to lift weight but with functional exercises, you will see improvement in your posture, the way you walk, or the ease of movement. Some functional exercises even help you improve the degree of body movement or angle of movement simply. Functional exercises use the same functional movement that we perform every day and use that to the benefit of the athletes. Even if we look at fitness boxing, it actually fits well in the functional movement box.
With the help of this article, you will be able to know in detail about the concept of functional exercises and some of the best functional exercises that you can add to your boxing workout. Another important thing is that we will also address some of the benefits of these functional exercises.
Tops five Functional Exercises That Can Help You with Boxing
With so many different functional exercises, we will only mention the top five that will help you in real life as well as boxing. These exercises will also help you with fitness training.
Shadowboxing
Shadow Boxing is one of the best and most functional exercises. For boxing, it helps with mind-body coordination that is also very vital in real life. It helps to channel out the negative energy in a positive way that will eventually help the body with a better defense and staying in control of all kinds of situations.
Rope Skipping
Rope skipping is great for boxing because it helps in improving the footwork but most people do not know that with the help of rope skipping you will also learn how to balance your own body weight. This means that eventually if you are cooking, cleaning, or doing anything for a longer time period. Especially if it involves the use of your leg muscles, rope skipping will really help you to work for longer hours.
Running
Running is a great exercise that is not only good for cardiac health, it is also good for overall body health and mental fitness. It increases strength and endurance which eventually helps in keeping up with fast-paced life without getting tired. If you have kids, running will help you keep up with their pace as well. With the help of just a 15 minutes morning run, you will be able to maintain your blood pressure as well as blood sugar level. Overall, you will be able to notice an improvement in your daily activity and digestion.
Squats
Squats are great functional exercises that help you work on your lower body. With the help of a squat, your main focus will be on the leg and buttock muscles. In daily life as well as boxing, your core area works as the center. It helps you generate energy and it also helps you work for longer hours. All these simple tasks can be improved with the help of squats. Your daily movement will become effortless and you will be able to sit and stand in the same posture for a longer time period.
Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks is a great exercise where you will start with spreading your full legs and arms as you jump and then you will come back to a straight standing position. With the help of a jumping jack, you will be able to involve your whole body so it is great for boxing however, for fitness you will see improvement in your posture. You will also be able to burn more calories and maintain healthy body weight.
Bottom Line
To sum it all up, functional exercises are not just hype, they are the real deal. These exercises are somehow an exaggerated form of our daily routine which is the reason we see an improvement in our movement. Maybe most of these exercises are just focused on the improvement of muscle movement or the degree of movement but these things actually work. Some of the functional exercises will not only help you improve your daily work but also help you with boxing.