How Many Calories Do You Burn in Boxfit?
Boxfit is a popular fitness programme that involves intense cardiovascular exercise as well as strength training and boxing techniques over a session of 45 to 60 minutes, so it can be a great way to help someone lose weight. It’s a non-contact activity so the focus is entirely on the type of fitness training that boxers require to perform well and learning how to punch, although only on punching bags and focus mitts.
But to lose weight, it’s not always enough to just increase the amount you exercise. You also need to eat a balanced diet, and crucially, consume fewer calories than you expend, so knowing how many calories are in your food and drink and how many calories you burn during different activities can be very helpful for people who are struggling to lose weight or aren’t sure where to start.
So, How Many Calories Do You Burn in Boxfit?
Although calorie intake should be adjusted slightly according to your height and shape, generally, the recommended calorie intake for men and women is:
- 2000 calories a day for women
- 2500 calories a day for men
As of April 2022, menus as well as food in the supermarket are required to display the number of calories in the product in an effort to help people in the UK remain a healthy weight and reduce instances of obesity. So, if you’re not sure how many calories you’re consuming each day, although calorie counting can be boring and depressing, it’s useful to note down the calories you consume on a typical day in a diary or on an app, so you can see how many calories you need to burn through exercise.
A 30-minute session of vigorous cardiovascular activity can burn around 350 to 450 calories, while a 60-minute Boxfit session will burn between 500 and 600 calories. Obviously, if you want to get rid of a lot of excess fat, this isn’t close to the number of calories you should be consuming, however, it’s important to remember that even the smallest activities do still burn calories. So, you don’t need to do 4 – 5 hours of Boxfit a day to lose weight.
On average, on a day with no activity whatsoever, we still burn between 1300 and 2000 calories, depending on how old we are and whether we’re male or female, as our bodies need to use the fuel to keep us running. Think of it like a car; you’ll use up fuel as you drive around, but even if you leave the car in the driveway with the engine running, you’ll still be using up some fuel.
Is Boxfit Good for Weight Loss?
So, if you’re a woman eating 2000 calories a day and burning 1500 when sitting idle, and burning a further 500 in a Boxfit session, you won’t be losing weight but you will be getting stronger. However, these are general and average figures, so if you decrease the number of calories you consume and increase the amount of time you spend exercising – or simply moving around – you’ll start to see the pounds drop off in no time. Even just standing rather than sitting can double the number of calories you burn per hour.
The reason that Boxfit is so good for weight loss is that it’s predominantly vigorous cardiovascular exercise. This means it raises your heart rate and pumps oxygen around your body, helping you to burn calories, as your body’s fat stores are converted to energy which is used up and exhaled. According to NHS guidelines, we should be performing 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week or 150 minutes of moderate activity, as well as 2 days of strength training exercises. So, Boxfit being an hour of intense exercise and strength training exercises, just 2 – 3 sessions per week will greatly help you on your weight loss journey.
Is Boxing Good for Weight Loss?
If Boxfit is great for weight loss, how does boxing compare? Well, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that boxing is also a great way to lose weight! Boxfit uses the same training methods that boxers use, albeit without making contact with an opponent. So if you go to a boxing gym, or practice boxing from the comfort of your own home, you can also lose weight or stay in shape through your training.
An hour of boxing training mixing up sparring and hitting a heavy punching bag can burn up to 800 calories, as this aspect of boxing is very intense cardio. So, you can easily lose your belly fat through frequent punching bag sessions.
What Do You Need for a Boxfit Class?
Some Boxfit classes have equipment for public use, but since the Covid-19 pandemic, some classes require you to bring your own equipment to avoid spreading germs. Other people simply prefer to have their own boxing equipment as they know it fits them well and they can take it home to practise sparring with friends or training in their home gym.
The most important pieces of equipment you can have for boxing or Boxfit are:
- Boxing gloves
- Focus pads
- Heavy punching bags
Of course, you won’t be asked to bring a punching bag to a Boxfit class, but they’re an important aspect of all types of boxing training, so they’re useful to have in your home gym too. Hitting heavy punching bags is a great way to lose weight as it’s a cardiovascular activity so you burn calories while doing it.
What’s more, while hitting a punching bag doesn’t build muscle – you need strength training exercises for that – it does allow you to maximise your punching power which is integral for successful boxers. It’s also a great way to relieve stress as you can get rid of your aggression and get a dopamine release at the same time, without hurting anyone.
Why Boxing Gloves?
Even if you’re not making contact with another person, you should still wear boxing gloves when your closed fist makes contact with anything to protect your hands. Although you should also note that you shouldn’t be punching anything except boxing equipment such as punching bags and focus pads to avoid injury.
Our hands and wrists have the highest concentration of bones in the body, so there is a possibility that by striking an object with great power you can damage the ligaments or muscles in your hands, or break a bone. Punching with boxing gloves on greatly reduces the risk of harm as they keep your fingers close together to prevent any twisting or harmful movement, as well as absorbing the shock from the punch in the cushioned exterior.
How Should You Prepare for a Boxfit Class?
Preparing for a Boxfit or boxing class is much easier than most people anticipate. Everybody in the class is either there to stay fit or get fit, so there’s no need to feel embarrassed about your fitness level and think you need to get in shape before you start going to boxing fitness classes. That’s the whole point of the class. Classes are also a mixture of age groups so it’s never too late to get started.
However, you should make sure you have comfortable, breathable clothing so you can be comfortable while you work out – that includes a good sports bra, ladies – and make sure you bring at least a litre bottle of water with you so you can stay hydrated through your session.
Eating before a workout is useful to have the energy to perform well. However, you shouldn’t eat within 2 – 3 hours before a workout as you want to give your body time to digest the food so you don’t get a stitch or stomach ache when you’re exercising. A banana or low-fat yoghurt can be a great option to give you an energy boost without making you feel sick. You can then eat a high-protein meal or snack within an hour after your workout to help your muscles rebuild.
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