Boxing is an athletic sport that is performed in competition and as a recreational or exercise activity. Boxing's popularity as an exercise largely revolves around the cardiovascular effects that occur while training or taking part in boxing matches. In fact, whether dodging a competitors punch or moving around the ring, your heart play an important role in your overall success.
Heart Rate
As you take part in boxing, whether in training or in an actual match, you increase the amount of energy used by your muscles. For the muscles to continue working, your body needs to substantially increase the ingredients in your bloodstream for making energy, primarily oxygen. For this to occur, your breathing rate must speed up to increase the amount of available oxygen being supplied to the blood, as well as your heart rate must increase to quickly get the oxygen to the cells of your muscles to create energy.
Heart Strength
Like any muscle, your heart muscle grows in strength with exercise. As your heart is forced to work faster and harder to supply oxygen and nutrition to your muscles, as well as remove waste products from the energy supplying process, the muscle tissue grows and strengthens. This allows your heart to pump blood more easily through your body during times of rest, which lowers your overall blood pressure.
Benefits
The aerobic heart benefits from boxing go far beyond just keeping your healthy. Any type of increased aerobic activity benefits the entire body in several ways, including weight loss and weight maintenance, as well as a reduced risk for many chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, and even forms of cancer, according to MayoClinic.com.
Safety
When boxing, it's always important to keep safety in mind. Along with protecting your body through protective gear, you should also pay attention to your body. If you have any signs of dizziness or if you feel light-headed or nauseous, reduce the intensity of your training or stop boxing until the symptoms subside. Before taking part in any intensive aerobic activity such as boxing, it's important to talk to your doctor to ensure there are no physical health limitations you should be aware of.
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