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When I was in my teens I was sent to a local boxing gym run by a police sargeant and a former boxing champ. The program was for juvenile kids who got into a lot of trouble with the law. It was designed to teach us discipline, goal setting, and the difference between right and wrong. The best thing of all was it taught us how to defend ourselves and to realize what a negative impact physical force can have when used wrongly. In the training process we also gained strength, speed, and self confidence that we took into our everyday lives.
Boxing is a negative sport for those who are in it professionally. After all, the goal is to knock out your opponent but, as a training regimen, it is a sport that has many positive benefits for both men and women when used as a physical fitness tool to burn body fat.
So, what can you expect from signing up to a boxing fitness training plan?
The most visible benefits you gain would be both upper and lower body strength, speed, and muscle tone. Your resting heart rate is lower which benefits overall heart health. The not-so-visible benefits include greater self confidence and higher levels of self esteem. All these benefits give us an advantage in relationships and in our career. I mean, who does not want greater confidence and self esteem in our career and in our relationships?
Combining pro boxing training and aerobics was a unique idea that was adapted and successfully promoted by a guy from my home town of Erie, Pennsylvania. Billy Blanks brought his unique style of physical fitness training to America. He made Tae Bo a favorite of Hollywood stars and it quickly spread into american homes and gyms across the country. Billy has made millions and even appeared in some Hollywood movies. The classic “local kid makes good” story. But, his program is just one way to go.
Any good boxing training system is designed for cardiovascular fitness and toning of the muscles and there are many versions of this training that can be used as a fat burning tool to lose weight fairly fast while not endangering overall health.
Look for boxing training classes which encompass bag punching, jumping rope, footwork, kicking, jabbing, and even some time in the ring using regulation protective gear. It should be fairly strenuous so that you work up a sweat as you practice how to effectively shadow punch and kick an invisible opponent. The harder you train, the more fat you will burn and the more you will tone your muscles and build self esteeem. There is nothing quite like the feeling of being at your best and being someone who is no longer vulnerable.
As you work through the routines you may even mentally picture that high school bully who victimized you. This is your chance to even the score and cleanse that old anger and resentment. It’s a great way to put the past behind you and clean out those negative memories. The new you will never be bullied again. Now, you should not try to find that high school bully and actually beat them up! You will have a new responsibility to only use your new skill in self defense.
You have likely seen the TV infomercials about this type of training. In fact, you might even find videos at your local library that you can check out for free to see if this is something that fits you. But, as a former boxer I can say this training offers the best overall positive results when it comes to fat burning, body tone, and mental conditioning.
It is a fact that burning calories is super fast when compared to other forms of exercise. Combination kick-boxing programs can actually burn up to 500 fat-laden calories in about an hour. When you consider that the average person consumes about 2,000 calories in food and drink a day, kick-boxing is a pretty impressive fat burning plan. And, let’s not forget the benefits on cardio fitness. A supervised program will maintain the optimal exercise heart rate which will translate into the optimal resting heart rate.
When you finally get to your “fighting weight”, that is the correct weight for your height, age, and bone structure, you should maintain your training regimen to stay sharp and not slide back into old habits. Just like the pro boxer or the jogger, you need to keep training if you want to keep your new body free of excess fat and keep your speed, agility, and sharpness.
If you are a senior citizen, kick-boxing is ideal for improving the flexibility of those cranky bone joints we suffer with. Some seniors even report getting off arthritis medications. Not only do you gain better joint health, you gain greater balance and agility thus reducing the chances of injury from falls.
Perhaps one of the major benefits, for me at least, is the knowledge that I can handle myself in any physical encounter. These are dangerous times in which we live where physical assaults are on the rise. This is especially true for women who daily face the prospect of assault. The physical prowess you learn in kick-boxing makes us a predators worst nightmare. Our self defense skills make us someone not to be trifled with but, again let me stress, these skills are strictly for self defense! Never abuse your new power over an opponent and never become a bully yourself.
The mental benefits will aid you in your daily life. It is like you will have a secret. That secret gives you an inner edge in career and in relationships. You will have greater self esteem and confidence now that you know you are physically capable and are at your best weight. You look good now that you have lost weight and you feel good about the new person you have become.
Kick-boxing training is one of many ways to burn body fat and get that body you are happy with. Many weight loss systems do offer the same mental and physical results as kick-boxing, except for the self defense aspects. Your goal should be to find what fits you and get serious about a fat burning program. To help you choose the right fat burning and exercise plan, you can see Star Ratings of the top fat burning plans and get more free articles like this by visiting Weightloss Star Ratings.