It's 7 am and you wake up to the sound of your neighbor's rooster. You wanna go back to sleep but you are reminded of your 2500 pesos (51.48 USD) monthly gym subscription. Yes, even if the boxing gym is literally just beside your bedroom, you are not immune to the lazy bug's sting. Good news is: the laziness will wear off over time. Just sprinkle a dash of consistency, a spoonful of discipline and a reminder to get your money's worth - you'll be a gym rat in a month's time.
I got into boxing around November last year when our neighbors decided to turn half of their t-shirt printing warehouse into a boxing gym. Two years before this, I was into pole fitness. With the lockdown restrictions and food delivery apps that were too convenient for our health - our pole studio closed and I gained weight. I wanted to shred off the pounds and I missed the body pains brought about by hours of working out so I didn't hesitate to sign up for the boxing sessions right away.
Initially, I just wanted to build my strength so that when the pole studio finally reopens, I am able to do more advanced tricks. But as I went through boxing classes, I was able to learn more about my body and about myself. I enrolled for 4 more months.
If you've always wanted to give boxing a try but are intimidated by it, I have shared below what you can expect out of a boxing routine session. It's a fun cardio, I promise! At the end of this blog, I will also be adding some tips that will help you get through the lazy times.
Please enjoy my boxing workout routine!
The coach will let you choose between skipping rope or running for warm-up. When I first started, I chose running because I thought it was the least boring option. I get to interact with the people I meet when I run. It was also familiar to me then - I didn't have any skipping rope background. I couldn't be more wrong about the boring part. I was surprised when I realized that running was boring for me. I easily got tired with the 7 laps that coach wanted us to finish before we proceeded to stretching. I grew tired of running past the same strip of land over and over again. It was then that I gave jump ropes a shot. The first gif shows one of the first skips that I was really proud of. When I started, I was still a noob and my skips were slow-paced.
Coach will only require 5 minutes of this warm-up routine. As I got better with the help of practice and my friends, I could do 100 skips smoothly. It was amazing. I did this for 5 minutes everyday. I then challenged myself to do 10 minutes, then 15 minutes and right now my warm-up routine is skipping for 20 minutes long. It still gets boring, but you actually burn more calories skipping than jogging for the same period of time. I wanted to burn more so I stuck with jump ropes. The second gif is one of my best so far. Without even realizing it, I reaped the benefits of consistently skipping everyday. My legs are toned and I can skip smoothly now compared to when I first started. I prefer to skip to the beat of fast-paced music as I find it more enjoyable than counting. I'm currently working on unlocking double-unders.
After the warm-up, the coach will then instruct you to stretch following a stretching chart guide. Stretching usually takes 5-10 minutes but I like to add a few dynamic stretches that I learned from my pole classes that's why I could last up to 20 minutes here. The stretching exercises are divided into 5 targeting the arms, the lower back, the inner thighs, shoulders and hamstrings. My favorite stretches are those that target my lower back and my hamstrings. Urrghhhh, I could feel the stretch right now. Here are a few of my favorite stretches in gifs.
This isn't a photo of me doing such, but essentially, shadow boxing is focused on the getting the form of your punches right. You will be wearing your hand wraps, no boxing gloves yet. You punch the space in front of you - no punching bag, no target just the space in front of you. This is why it's called "shadow box" - punching your shadow. If it's your first time doing this, the coach will assist you in wrapping your hand. The gym also sells hand wraps in case you don't own one yet. We usually face the mirror while inside the boxing ring and we shadow box for 2 minutes per round. The coach requires 2 rounds of shadow boxing for newbies.
After shadow boxing, the coach will then assist you in wearing your boxing gloves. He will wear his punch mitts as well. The coach will teach you the proper form for your jabs, straights and hooks. Aside from the proper form of your punches, you'd also be taught the proper footwork to conserve your movement and to maximize your strength. After you've gotten the hang of your punches and footwork, the coach will be teaching you combinations of the punches which he will challenge you to execute with speed. Each punch mitt round will last 1.5 to 3 minutes long, depending on your ability and request. My rounds usually last up to 6 of 2 minutes long. I used to only last up to 3 rounds and my record high was 8 rounds. Right now, my Goldilocks-zone is 6 rounds - I still throw punches at speed and strength while playing catch with my breath.
After feeling the burn from the intense cardio, I prefer to use the next minutes for toning. My favorite toning exercises involve the biceps, triceps and core. The coach will guide you in every exercise to ensure proper form and alignment. Each exercise can have 10-15 reps with 1 minute rest in between. In the gifs, I show you the favorite arm exercises of my coach. I don't mind doing them because I want my arms strong and toned so I can pull myself better during pole dancing. One concern that most women have when doing toning exercises is getting their arms getting too muscular. Once you get into any sport, you'll realize that you'd prefer to have it bulky and functional rather than having it look good but useless. My good friend Rox (aka 
My coach loves to add core exercises with the gym ball. We usually don't dedicate a day for core only because we try to incorporate them in every workout routine. Most exercises require you to tighten your core that's why we only do a good 10 minutes of these every session. Planks, sideplanks, crunches, leg wipers and leg reach are our go-to exercises here. We spend about 16 minutes for toning. As I will share in the last part of my blog, we have found a way to make losing weight fun for us. So while I'm doing my core exercises and minding my own business, my coach does his own business as well and tone up his arms too. The thoughts that I have during toning include "When will this end?" and "What's for breakfast?" 😆
This has got to be one of the most exciting part of the routine for me. We do this when we're off boxing. We alternate boxing and HIIT training to make sure that we do a total body workout. I say that this is the most exciting because I get to look at my fears in the eyes and just do the exercise anyway. It makes me feel empowered. I was especially scared in doing the leg exercises in the lowermost gif, but after a few skips I got hooked and I did it for another 3 rounds. The fear is still very much there but nothing beats overcoming it albeit frighteningly.
I am guilty of missing cool down! In my head I'm thinking "Aw, I'm going to do cool down tomorrow. I'll not miss it tomorrow." But I never get to do it all the time.
Instead, I practice my splits and headstands during my time to cooldown since it makes me feel that I'm making progress. I just unlocked my headstand last month and there were moments of impatience, I tell ya.
Exercising, for me, has also been a journey toward self-discovery. It made me come into terms with my impatience and the limitations of my body. It helped me appreciate building strength and how much time, work and commitment goes into it. It makes me happy and gives me energy to do the things that I love that's why I try to do it everyday.
There really is so much more to a boxing session than the punch mitts. There's also the sparring (if you're really serious about your boxing routine) and there's the enjoying as well. Sooner or later, you'd get bored and you just have to get creative with the boring moments. Here's what I do to deal with the boredom to keep the momentum going:
I make Spotify playlists. Since working out 4 months ago, I have made 4 playlists for every workout gym rat phase I've been in. I have a Happy Workout playlist, Intense playlist, Rich playlist and Chill playlist. Music helps me enjoy the the repetitive exercises.
I work out with friends. Invite some of your friends to work out with you. They may be waiting for you to initiate, so don't be shy. You'd get to catch up with them as you produce endorphins and sweat together.
Work out with athletes. This is something that you can do in case you wanna kick your performance up a notch. When you workout with athletes, you'll be the least performer in the bunch but at least you get a gauge of how things are done with high performance. You get to evaluate your current fitness level.
Always remember that the best exercise for you is the one that is appropriate for your body type (in case you have body restrictions) and the one that you enjoy. If ever you would want to give boxing a try, let me know in the comments below and let's workout together. 🥊
She is on a mission to become better than who she was yesterday. A chemical engineer and a financial advisor, she hopes to give value to this space as a motivated individual. She found the perfect marriage of what she wants to do in life and her mission in financial advising. She balances her work and life at the comforts of her home. She loves to meet like-minded people and watch The Bold Type in her free time. Watch this space for tales of self-improvement and self-acceptance, per Mark Manson, "the philosophical tightrope."
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