How do boxers get so lean, and what lessons can us average folk take from their regimens?
I know this point is redundantly made but it's true:
People spend too much time training with cardio equipment. I have seen people train on cardio equipment, and their body's still look the same months later!
When the average person has had enough of walking around in their body they are in they usually think of hitting the pavement running. Or people will train with the typical cardio circuit of elliptical and treadmills etc. training for long and very casual intensities, raising cortisol levels, preserving fat, etc.
People who perform a boxing workout get lean from the intense anaerobic way they train. Boxers fight and train in rounds lasting from 2 minutes to 3 minutes in duration. The training done for that duration is generally at a higher intensity. The training equipment also demands you get lean by the way the bags have to be worked.
Put it this way to maximally work and move the heavy bag in the right manner burns allot of calories and takes a lot of effort to do. Your body then takes the lean shape from the aftermath of this demand of it to put forth the work. Same thing for the punch mitts when used correctly your whole body is moving and working and in a more anaerobic and intense manner than aerobic training.
Many times people who cross train or want to learn boxing for self-defense are amazed at how sore they are in different areas of their body from the workout. They are waking and working muscles that have been dormant for some time in a unison intense manner.
Metabolically speaking, as stated several times above since the training is predominantly anaerobic and because we use a lot of intervals our metabolic rates are greatly increased.
Unlike the aerobic way people train where they only burn calories for the duration of their aerobic activity or training. With anaerobic interval work your metabolic rate is increased for hours even after training is complete as you obviously know.. * Boxing
* Judo
* Kickboxing
* MMA
* Personal Training