Boxing and running are popular cardiovascular sports that can improve endurance, boost metabolism and mental well-being, tone muscles, and burn calories. And you don’t have to be an expert in either. But does one burn more calories than the other?
Boxing has stormed the charts as one of the most popular sports and exercise classes in recent years. Once considered a professional combat sport, the benefits of boxing can now reach almost anyone. Boxing workouts are currently in over 50 billion hits #boxing (Opens in a new tab)on TikTok.
You don’t need to master boxing skills to rival AJ, though learning how to box safely will protect your knuckles when you’re wearing gloves to hit pads or punching bags (or a person). Even trying it can offer profound health benefits for the mind and body, whether you’re snuggling or shadowboxing. We turned to Ben Amneh, a passionate boxer and founder and CEO of Boxrao (Opens in a new tab)the glove provider for the new Creed III movie, to see which one is the heavy-duty calorie-burner.
Get your hands on the best fitness trackers, and read on.
Boxing vs. Running: The Benefits
According to Amana, the benefits of boxing cover the mind, body and spirit and instill discipline and alertness. “The idea of colliding with a moving object, moving your feet, and protecting yourself requires concentration like no other,” he says. “Awareness of your thoughts, emotions, and surroundings is essential. It doesn’t matter if you’re sparring, punching bags or pads, or shadowboxing—boxing keeps you alert.”
You can expect to work your core, upper and lower body, Amana says, and test your hand-eye coordination, footwork, flexibility, speed, and muscular strength. “The intense nature of this sport provides a total body workout that burns more calories in a shorter amount of time than any other traditional workout.” Research seems to back it up – Journal of Strength and Conditioning (Opens in a new tab) I found boxing to be one of the most mentally and physically demanding sports in the world.
Moreover, the empowering nature of boxing teaches you to relax under pressure and maintain your confidence. “You have to shift the mentality of limitations into a mentality of possibilities. Tackling, or repositioning and attacking,” he says. “Boxing allows you to tune in to noise and execution in the flow.”
Running can develop muscle, strength and power, depending on whether you prefer jogging or jogging, and is a powerful mood booster. Exercise can strengthen your leg and core muscles, build stronger bones, improve well-being, and increase your endurance (how well your heart and lungs work).
Depending on your boxing or running style, both can benefit from either aerobic or anaerobic power systems (which we cover below), with the potential to release calories and boost your metabolism. If you are wondering, does running build muscle? Or how to lose weight by running, find out here.
Boxing or running: which burns more calories?
It’s tough. Calorie burn depends on exercise intensity and biological factors such as weight, gender, and age. And if you gain weight, you tend to burn more calories. Learn how to calculate your body fat percentage and why it matters.
Running is an umbrella term for sprinting, middle-distance running, endurance running, sprinting, and anything in between. Boxing also varies in intensity. Different energy systems come into play depending on the intensity of your workout. Although both are considered high-calorie fuels that support weight loss, the numbers will vary depending on the intensity, time periods, and length of exercise.
“Boxing is a high-intensity exercise that uses the aerobic and anaerobic systems,” Amanah explains. “During a boxing session, the body undergoes metabolic conditioning, which involves pushing the body to its limits and challenging the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The exact number of calories burned during a boxing session varies based on the individual’s weight, fitness level, and intensity. But a rough estimate is that boxing can You burn between 500-800 calories per hour.
After exercise (not exclusive to boxing), the body experiences the phenomenon of EPOC – excess oxygen consumption after exercise. “This means that the body continues to burn calories at a high rate even after the workout is over,” he says. This happens because the body needs to replenish oxygen levels, remove lactic acid build-up, and restore the body’s energy reserves. It can lead to an additional calorie burn of up to 200-300 calories in the hours following a boxing session.”
according to Calorie counter (Opens in a new tab) Using MET values, a person who weighs 150 pounds will burn about 394 calories punching a punching bag, 558 sparring, and 916 punching in a ring for one hour. Running is more complex and depends on distance, weight, incline, and speed. You can burn more downhill runs, farther distances, increase speed, or increase weight. But using the same metrics based on 150 pounds of running for one hour, you can burn between 358 calories at a 13-minute mile pace (4 mph) and 787 calories at an 8.5-minute mile pace (7 mph).
For context, a “good” pace is between 5 and 7 mph, and University of Wisconsin (Opens in a new tab) It found the “optimal” running speed to be between 8.3 mph for men and 6.5 mph for women. Not a boxing KO, but she can do it Just win points.
How to burn more calories
Try incline running, interval running, or outdoor jogging, and add bodyweight moves (like this gymnastic exercise) to help your muscles work harder. For boxers, high-intensity workouts will add more resistance. You can add heavy bags or bodyweight exercises to make pads, which helps burn more calories.
Whether you prefer boxing or running, training your body to efficiently switch between aerobic and anaerobic energy systems taps into a method called metabolic conditioning. MetCon can improve your overall fitness and boost your metabolism by switching from high to low intensity, which helps the body use energy better. Aerobic exercises use oxygen (think long static exercises), while anaerobic exercises are short-lived and don’t use oxygen — such as sprinting.
If fat loss is your goal, go for it (Opens in a new tab) It is suggested that morning cardio can encourage fat metabolism. During this time, your body may prefer to store fat as an energy source!
Boxing workout for beginners
This 4-round boxing workout at home is beginner-friendly and requires no equipment to land punches – although you can add better ankle weights. During the rounds, you will deal with basic boxing punches like jab, cross, lead hook, backhook, uppercut and uppercut.
More Tom’s guide
[ad_2]
