1.) Change Your Style - There are many different ways you can approach boxing from an aerobic/anaerobic standpoint. Some people are more steady state, non-stop punching with the occasional break. Others go for more power punches, with more rest and more time in between punches in a combo. There are many more permutations but what will be the most effective and efficient, from a workout perspective (as well as more authentic to boxing), are what I like to call explosive bursts. You explode into a combo, with speed, suddenness and power. Power in terms of maximal force in a minimal amount of time. Every punch has a snapping/whipping effect, not a tap or a push. If you execute combos like this, you can take plenty of time in between and you still are going to burn more calories and push your cardio than just going non-stop at a less explosive clip. I know some people think they must constantly keep punching to get the best workout but it is not necessarily true. Explosiveness is what makes a punch something entirely different than just moving your body. And even if you still don't believe me, try it anyway. Mix it up. See what happens.
2.) Add Footwork, Feints and Head Movement - Just because you aren't punching the bag does not mean you are resting or not boxing. Boxing is far more than just throwing punches. Not just the sport, the workout part of it too. What I see a lot is that someone throws the last punch of a combo and then everything stops. Even if you're one of those grinders that never stops punching, I still see this, even for split seconds and split seconds matter. Imagine you are fighting a person, not hitting a heavy bag. As soon as the last punch in a combo lands, that person is firing right back at you so either need to move your heard, your feet, your hands or all three! This doesn’t have to be anything crazy either. Keep it small at first. If the combo is jab-cross-lead hook-cross, as soon as you throw that last cross, step out or roll out. Can you rest then? No! Again, you are not fighting a bag. You are fighting a person and there is no real resting until the referee says so. Keep moving, throw the combo again so long as you can do it with explosiveness mentioned in Tip #1, do something. Try adding this in to your next class and see how tired you get. Even just staying on your toes and never going into a relaxation mindset makes a huge difference.
3.) Use Your Entire Body to Throw Punches - I could go on and on about form - better form equals a better workout for sure - but this particular thing is huge. Almost all of us could engage our lower body more to throw punches. Sometimes I will walk around class and see everybody's lower half totally static. Don't get me wrong though, this isn't easy. I can give you a million tips on how to push off of the ground, how to turn hips, shift your weight from one foot to the other, etc. but the number one best way to start engaging your lower body to throw punches is to be mindful of it the entire time. As the goal is to throw a punch with more explosiveness, ask yourself how your lower half can help and conversely, don't look to your upper half to increase the force. Why do this at all? Because your legs are always going to be stronger than your arms. Ever tried walking on your hands before? It's not easy but most us manage to walk around on our legs just fine all day. More explosive power equals more exertion, which means more cardio. Plus, you're using so many more muscles. Not just the ones in your legs either but the core and glutes as well to coordinate the movement. More muscles used equals more more muscles strengthened as well as more cardio again. You are also building more base level skills too. Balance, agility, and coordination. Don't forget about skills when working out. Most folks are looking to get tone, lose weight, feel stronger, not get tired so easily but trainable skills like the ones I just mentioned will not only help facilitate those goals but also come in handy for any other physical activity that you do, exercise or otherwise.
4.) Get Out of Your Comfort Zone - This will likely need to be your very first step, if you want to make Tips 1-3 happen. You have to be willing to try something new, even if it's just an upped intensity level. It's not easy. And for something like #2, you may even feel silly at first or worry that you are not doing it right, other people think it's weird, etc. I'm here to tell you a couple of things about that: First is that you won't look silly, doing it wrong is okay and how you learn to do it right, no one's really looking at you on the bag and second, who cares anyway? This is about you getting better and taking the next step that I would bet dollars to donuts that you are ready for. Maybe you've been boxing for a while and gotten to a certain level and haven't had to break out of your comfort zone yet so why rock the boat now? Because what got you here won’t necessarily get you there. This is why people tend to plateau in just about any workout. They improve to a certain point and get comfortable. Or maybe they were comfortable to begin with. Doesn't mean they have to do something entirely different. It's often just a tweak in their training style. And it often means hard work! Using Tip #2 as an example again, if you try moving constantly after your last punch, you are going to get far more tired and you're body will want to settle down and recover. That's where the challenge comes in. But if you are up for the challenge, that is also where the positive change will happen too.
I used to worry about gassing out in group classes. Working so hard and looking strong at first but then getting so tired, I was weak at the end. I knew I shouldn't care about what other people thought of me, if they even did think of me, but I did and couldn't help it. Then I asked myself why. Why did I want to look good in front of them and never look weak or tired? Really because I wanted to just generally be awesome and doing it front of people generally cemented that awesomeness. Silly maybe, but still true. Then I asked myself how I was going to get to that level of awesomeness without pushing myself to that point where I was too tired and couldn't feel as strong and comfortable as I would normally like. You may have different questions and feelings than I do but I think talking to yourself like this is a good exercise if you're looking for motivation. Maybe even ask them out loud and answer them yourself in a public setting, like Gollum/Smeagol kind of thing. Again, out of the comfort zone!
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