Last Updated on by Eat Better Move More
How Many Calories Does Shadow Boxing Burn
In the world of many fighting sports, shadow boxing is a staple exercise. Mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, and of course, boxing. As the name implies, it is a form of boxing that requires no opposing force to box with, hence the shadow.
Shadow boxing is often considered as nothing more than a warm-up exercise to get the heart up for the real heavy exercises. While the exercise really does get your heart rate up, it does more than that. It also serves as a cardio exercise. And like a lot of cardio exercises do, it burns quite a bit of calories.
So how many calories does shadow boxing burn?
Shadow Boxing Gets You Lean
Shadow boxing skyrockets your heart rate. It also contributes a lot towards fat loss. The exercise burns an upward of 400 calories per hour! I don’t know about you, but that is a lot of calories for a simple exercise which you can do almost anywhere.
In comparison, running burns 400-1000 calories per hour, depending on the weight of the runner. And according to Harvard University, a 155-pound person cycling at an average speed of 12 to 14 miles per hour will burn close to 600 calories in an hour. At a faster speed of 14 to 16 miles per hour, the same person will burn almost 750 calories in an hour.
In comparison, shadow boxing doesn’t seem to be as good as those two other cardio (or aerobic) exercises. But shadow boxing gives you a lot of other benefits no other cardio exercises can.
Shadow Boxing Makes You Stronger
Even if you’re not a professional fighter, even if you just want to become healthier and more fit, shadow boxing is still a superb choice of a workout. Although it doesn’t burn as many calories as running or cycling, shadow boxing is a more well-rounded exercise.
Doing shadow boxing right challenges your power. It’s a full body workout. It engages more than just your arms. It challenges your legs, core, chest, shoulders, and back muscles. It tones the body.
It is known to result in muscle gain. And it increases your strength drastically.
Shadow Boxing Develops Your Speed
Another great benefit of shadow boxing is how it develops your speed. When it comes to speed training, it all comes down to repetition. And if you’ve seen someone shadow boxing, they repeat a lot of actions a lot of times.
Speed might not seem to matter much to you if you just want to burn calories and become leaner. But if you want to become more fit and achieve your body’s potential, speed should be a priority.
Speed is developed with strength. Plus, the lighter you become, the faster you can also become. Since shadow boxing burns fat and develops your strength, you have a high chance of becoming faster with every shadow boxing session.
Shadow Boxing Works on Balance
As someone who strives to live healthier, did you consider balance as an important aspect? If not, you should. Did you know that loss of balance is a serious medical condition that may lead to more detrimental problems? You can prevent that through balance training.
However, training fully dedicated to just balance seems unproductive. Why not achieve balance training while burning calories, developing strength, and maximizing your speed?
In shadow boxing, you’re just punching the air. There’s a high chance that you’ll lose your balance if you punch too hard. But with enough practice, you can develop your lower and upper body to work together. This leads us to the next point.
Shadow Boxing Improves Coordination
As was already mentioned a number of times, shadow boxing is a full-body workout. It works your muscles evenly. With this exercise, you are training the different parts of your body to work together. You’re developing synchronization among all your muscle groups.
The movements involved in shadow boxing, the punching, ducking, footwork, weight shifting, head movements, and all the body twists and turns gives your body a more proportionate exercise.
This allows you to feel more at home in your body. It boosts confidence because you have absolute control over your body. You become more graceful. And the benefits extend even to your elder years.
Shadow Boxing Increases Agility
Google defines agility as the “ability to move quickly and easily.” From that definition, we can derive that you need speed to be agile. However, you also need control over your body. Since these factors can be obtained through shadow boxing, we can conclude that shadow boxing increases agility.
Shadow boxing helps you get more used to moving quickly without losing control of your body. It trains you to move with extreme accuracy. You don’t lose your balance. And your motions are always precise.
Shadow Boxing Burns Calories, and Does a Whole Lot More
Shadow boxing burns fat, but not as much as other cardio exercises. But shadow boxing does a whole lot more than just burn calories. It is an overall body exercise that will help you become generally healthier and more fit. It doesn’t discriminate.
Looking at only one aspect of shadow boxing it may not be much. It doesn’t burn as much calories as other well known cardio workouts. It doesn’t strengthen you as much as lifting weights. It doesn’t develop speed like sprinting. It doesn’t improve balance and coordination as much as yoga workouts.
But take all of the benefits shadow boxing does, and you have yourself an exercise that combines the best of a lot of other exercises.
How Many Calories Does Shadow Boxing Burn – Should you start?
It’s so easy to start incorporating shadow boxing into your daily workouts. There’s no equipment needed. You don’t need to visit the gym. You just need ample space to move around. Even your living room will do, if it’s spacious enough.
So learn how to shadow box today! You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
