Does Shadowboxing Really Help with Weight Loss?

To be a successful boxer, it is essential to attain the best physical fitness. A lot of boxers face trouble in the ring due to a lack of it. The major reason that is revealed through studies is that they get overweight. Increasing body fat is the basic reason behind the increase in weight among such people.

Once people get fatty, they look for ways to lose weight to get in boxing shape. If you are facing this trouble too, finding its remedy at an early stage is the right thing to do. Shadowboxing is one of the key workouts that you can use for weight loss and attaining a perfectly composed body.

Before going into depth to find out how shadowboxing can help with weight loss, understanding what shadowboxing is, why it is important. It is a form of training in which a person spar with an imaginary opponent. 

From beginners to professional boxers, everyone uses this training to practice their moves, tackle problems, and avoid direct engagements with opponents. Most people do it for warmups, but it is a comprehensive workout that benefits them in multiple ways, including weight loss, finding balance, and building muscles.

The answer to this question is “yes.” Shadowboxing is an extensive workout that challenges your power and speed. As a result, it skyrockets your heart rate and spurs fat loss. In a shadowboxing workout, a 140 lbs. person can burn almost 382 calories (this amount depends on weight) in an hour.

Shadowboxing involves abdominal muscles, the chest, shoulders, calves, quadriceps, and back prominently. This makes it comprehensive and one of the most effective cardio workouts. Working on this intense exercise helps you burn fat in all parts of your body. So, as a result, you lose weight and build muscles to get in shape.

Though boxers use this workout more than other people, you can go for it even if you do not have to prepare yourself for a fight.

There are many benefits to shadowboxing, and a few of them are listed below.

Shadowboxing is a full-body workout that involves most of the muscles. The more you put effort into this workout, the more you can build muscles and tone your body entirely. This workout specifically improves abdominal muscles, the chest, and the shoulders.

Since shadowboxing does not require any equipment like punching bags, and you have to stop your punches on your own and get in balance, it uses your abs and back muscles more.

In comparison to other cardio exercises like running and jogging, shadowboxing is more joint-friendly. It involves only moving, for which you need to use the balls of your feet. This sort of forefoot running has been proven to minimize the occurrence of runner-related injuries.

Shadowboxing weight loss workouts are also incredible cardio. It helps you by improving your cholesterol level, reducing stroke risk, and controlling blood pressure. This aerobic exercise helps you get your heart pumping in the right way.

Boxers use this workout to improve their balance, which is required for effective footwork, punching, and slipping opponents’ punches. You also need high quality boxing gloves. If you lack it, you cannot throw impactful punches. Your opponent can easily block or slip your punches. Using shadowboxing workouts for weight loss, you can also improve your body balance to stay firm during fights.

The best thing about shadowboxing is that there is no need for any sort of equipment. You can shadowbox wherever and whenever you want. You just have to have enough space for easy movement and to perform different punching combinations.

Shadowboxing workouts for weight loss have proven effective for burning calories and fat. The imbalance between the number of calories we consume and burn causes an increase in our overall weight. By performing shadowboxing with high intensity, you can burn more calories in a short time period.

For weight loss, you can do the following shadowboxing workouts.

For effective footwork, you cannot ignore the role of a perfect stance or foot position. The right foot position is keeping a foot in front of the other. Most boxers go for the left foot to keep it in front of their right foot. It depends on you whether you stick to that stance or keep the right foot in front of the left one.

To burn extra calories and train both sides of your body equally, you can change your foot position while doing a shadowboxing workout. You can also add backward, forward, and sideways movements to increase the intensity of your workout.

For the entire course of your shadowboxing workout, you will keep your elbows bent and close to your ribs, as if you're securing your sides from strikes. Keep both hands in front of your face at chin height with closed fists. While making fists, your thumb must be over the front of the fingers instead of the hitch-hike thumb position.

Throwing punches is a key component of shadowboxing workouts. Specifically, when you aim to lose weight with the help of these workouts, punching is the most helpful aspect in accomplishing your weight loss goals. The following punches can help you burn maximum calories and fat as they involve most of the muscles in your body contains.

A jab is one of the basic and important types of punches in the boxing sport, and with it, you can earn the respect of experienced boxers if you land it properly. Jabbing in the air can be a perfect shadowboxing exercise for activating the metabolism and burning calories.

To execute perfect jabs for the maximum benefit, stand in front of a mirror and start with your dominant hand with a relaxed fist. Stretch your shoulder while moving your arm until it reaches its full extension. Your knuckles should be flat and horizontal. Keep performing jabs until your speed has increased and your punches seem effortless and natural. You can switch hands if you want to train them equally.

The hook is one of the most powerful and hard to defend punches in boxing. It is thrown from a side angle in the horizontal motion of the arm. Shadowing this punch requires more strength and balance as there is no opponent to hit and you have to stop it on your own. This aspect of this shadowboxing workout makes it intense enough to make you sweat.

When you go for this punch, your upper body must move with your elbows in the same motion. You must target the torso of your opponent. Your body movement and footwork makes this punch powerful. Practicing this punch will not only make it feel natural for you but also burn fat and a good number of calories.

An uppercut involves the whole body and comes from the waist. Giving your opponent a lifting kick, this punch is effective for getting the best outcome. During fights, using it with a combination of other punches helps boxers leave their opponents on the skids.

To shadow box uppercut, start with your lead hand while keeping your feet shoulder-width apart. Also, keep your biceps somewhat flexed, relax your shoulders, and turn on your toes to bring the fist up beneath the opponent's chin. Similarly, like jabs and hooks, keep on practicing uppercuts with both hands.

Shadowboxing may seem awkward or unnatural at the start. And may also require a lot of practice. However, as time passes and you get used to it, you can feel the difference. You can make it as challenging as you want for stimulating your metabolism and burning maximum calories to lose weight.