Shadow boxing is a full-body aerobic exercise, mainly related to boxing, but it is also used in other fighting sports. Shadow boxing has many benefits and is very popular among boxers because it can give players good boxing skills, muscle strength and endurance. In fitness exercises, shadow boxing is also very useful for obese people because it helps burn calories and fat quickly.
Athletes participating in fighting are generally thin and muscular, but their bodies are not the only result of fighting in the ring. They spend most of their time in different trainings, and one of their training is shadow boxing.
Shadow boxing is not limited to boxing or fighting sports, it is also adopted and practiced by other people related to various fields. Because this kind of exercise can bring you positive results and bring happiness to your lifestyle.
If you are a boxing beginner, fitness enthusiast, or someone who wants to improve your health and physical fitness, then you must practice shadow boxing because it has unimaginable benefits.
Let’s learn in detail about the Shadow boxing benefits through explanation and most commonly asked questions.
What Is Shadow Boxing? – A Brief Answer
Shadow boxing is a kind of sparring exercise with oneself mostly related to boxing and other combat sports. It is not limited to boxing, but can also be practiced for fitness purposes by anyone. This exercise can be done using your shadows or reflections and through visualization methods.
By using visualization, you can imagine an opponent and act like in a real battle. In Shadow boxing, there is no opponent or other person to respond to you. You can get a good whole-body aerobic exercise, focusing on the arms, but also exercise the legs and abdomen.
You can do better exercises when fighting with other people or sparring, but in my experience, this may hurt you. For this reason, you will have to hire someone, receive training from a coach, or need someone with similar ideas. However, in the end it may be difficult for both parties, or at least for you, to follow a fixed timetable.
Another way to improve muscle strength, endurance or just for fitness exercises to burn fat and calories may be to use some fitness equipment. For example, some good quality punching bags, whether they are free-standing punching bags or heavy-duty, are also excellent tools for improvement of boxing, kicking or just to improve fitness. Punching bags are a well-known source of exercise for boxers and others who want to improve their health, but they are also an expensive method for many people.
Because high-quality punching bags are often expensive, they may not be affordable for everyone, and they need a separate space to be fully used.
But shadow boxing is different from the above methods or approaches. Because, in shadow boxing, you don’t need anyone, scheduled training, specific time or specific equipment. You only need to learn simple methods and practice in your own time and space.
To make the most of your Shadow boxing exercises, try using leg exercises more.
To perform shadow boxing training, just select a separate space and start punching in the air. Slightly harder when punching. Some people punched as they were punching the air. But during this exercise make sure your arms are not overstretched.
It does not require special equipment, but you can use a pair of boxing gloves. By using a pair of gloves, your arms and fists will get used to bearing weight and a little pressure.
Does Shadow Boxing Build Muscle?
Yes, Shadow boxing can exercise muscles because it is not limited to a specific organ, and it is a whole-body exercise when you practice. Therefore, most of your body muscles are mobilized in Shadow boxing. Although your main focus is on your arms, in reality, you may be surprised by the number of muscles used.
Regularly practicing Shadow boxing can exercise your abdominal muscles, arms, shoulders, chest, back, legs and quadriceps. In fact, the punch or kick impact you produce is always related to your feet and other muscles.
Since the muscles of the whole body are interconnected, the same is true for the movement of a single muscle in shadow boxing. Therefore, in this exercise, the primary as well as secondary muscles also participate and gain strength. Whether you use different punches, footwork or dodging, it will help promote the development of body muscles.
In shadow boxing, back and abdominal muscles more used because there is no resistance, like, there is no punching bag or partner. Therefore, controlling your fist strength is more important for maintaining balance during this exercise.
For boxing purposes or fitness, it can enhance your endurance, strength, and responsiveness. The important point here is that these exercises do not mean building large muscles or replacing aerobic exercises such as weightlifting or running.
There is obvious difference between aerobic exercise and shadow boxing. The former is related to high-intensity exercises, while the other is only related to fitness, agility and endurance.
For more details Read :- What Muscles Does Boxing Work
How Many Calories Does Shadow Boxing Burn?
Shadow boxing is an important source of burning calories. You can compare it to running or similar exercises. You can easily burn about 300 to 400 calories in one hour of Shadow boxing exercise, because if you do it correctly, all the movements will help burn calories.
Usually simple boxing exercises or fights with opponents can burn more calories. Whenever I compare my one hour of boxing with running, after some difficult combinations, I burned nearly 700 calories. Although my comparison is not only jogging, but it runs at a very fast speed and only burns 400 calories.
In addition, when boxing with my opponent, I found it more intense and quickly exhausted. However, you can only do this for a specific or short period of time, and you definitely need some recovery period. if you are dealing with opponents just for fitness exercises or burning calories, that way the risk of injury may be higher.
People often use dumbbells for boxing, but this may not be the right way to burn calories. Weight-bearing boxing is useful, but for other reasons, such as speed, agility, muscle capacity, and gaining explosive power as a boxer.
Therefore, if you want to box with some weight, wear a pair of gloves for boxing. Boxing gloves are not that heavy, but they can give you a little weight. For beginners, half an hour of shadow boxing with glove is enough. However, if you want to increase the intensity, add some additional exercises, such as skipping rope, push-ups, and planks.
In short, if you want to burn calories through shadow boxing, this is a great exercise method. If you exercise and weigh consistently, you will find yourself completely different.
My Shadow Boxing Experience
I approve and suggest shadow boxing because it helps me. A few years ago, I was busy with some housework and didn’t have time to exercise. The busy schedule finally led me to obesity and disease. I became a procrastinator, especially for my exercise.
I have been trying to overcome procrastination in my heart, but in fact, I was trapped by various excuses. These are common excuses that all of us do every day. But, in fact, my small home gym has the quality free-standing punching bags, treadmills, high-quality suits of different weights, and so on. All in all, I have no pattern to start regular exercise at all, and my health was getting worse day by day.
However, one day my health deteriorated and realized that I wanted to start something new wholeheartedly, I chose to start with shadow boxing. The reason for choosing this type of exercise is to allow yourself to do daily exercise without causing any health problems, usually after a long period.
Compared with aerobic exercise, I gradually started to do Shadow boxing to make my heart beat a little faster. My arm muscles are stretched, not as painful as lifting weights.
Through shadow boxing, I feel the energy expansion caused by the increase in temperature. Although my body is shrinking in winter, I still sweat a lot with a simple combination of exercises.
I started from simple shadow boxing exercises and gradually converted to complex routine and intensity exercises. Initially it included random stamping, dodge and weaving, but I was able to add more. This is what I have been looking for and gradually got.
Although I didn’t feel the effect at the beginning, after keeping a good rhythm through regular exercise every day for a period of time, I got good results. I also added some intense exercises to warm up and burn calories. Then my abdominal muscles began to tighten, and all the other muscles of my arms and legs were in good condition.
After playing Shadow boxing for two consecutive weeks, I was feeling the complete change in my whole body. The chubby lower abdomen stretched to its normal position through weight loss, and my life became very happy because of the new wave of energetic feeling.
One thing I should mention is that as I exercise, I also avoid some junk foods and eat almost natural foods with a balanced method.
How Long Should I Shadow Box?
A typical training session should last at least 15 minutes without interruption. This is because Shadow boxing is much easier than regular boxing. However, you can extend the exercise time beyond 15 minutes depending on your endurance.
Shadow boxing training shouldn’t be a major part of your training because after a while you may get bored and you will lose interest. These types of solo workouts require a lot of consistency and determination. For this, you should buy a punching bag, or in the best-case train with a partner.
To perform shadows, just start jumping in and out from all directions, taking a variety of different poses and hitting (pushing into the air) like a boxer fighting in the ring.
Shadow boxing itself is a complete discipline but not limited. It also has a few other uses that you can perform based on your training requirements.
Warm-up – As mentioned earlier, Shadow boxing is great for warm-up training. You can relax your arms and legs by imagining your opponent and start punching into the air.
Enhancing Techniques – Have you been using a certain action sequence for a while, or have you just been using a certain hitting technique? You can practice them in the air in front of a mirror.
Coordination: In addition to improving the resistance of the hand and wrist. You can improve your hand coordination by shadowing, only if you aim well on every shot.
Physical Strength: Shadow boxing is great for improving physical strength. This especially applies to the same repetitive movements. These can be repeated in the air at any time, continuously increasing your resistance.
Stretching – In addition to warming up, you can use Shadow boxing to complete your workout. The advantage of this is that even if you’re not training, you can continue to practice boxing anywhere, without tools.
Steps to Follow
- Adopt a tight core position and keep your eyes straight ahead.
- Place your hands at shoulder level.
- Make a fist with your thumb on the outside of your hand.
- Do not wrap your fingers around your thumb.
- Start from the leading position on the left.
- Left foot forward and right foot back.
- Pass the left lead punch by extending the left hand forward and retracting immediately.
- Follow the left punch by quickly performing a right cross.
- Turn your foot and push your right hip forward as you hit the back straight with your right hand. Alternate these two strokes.
- Change sides after completing the required number of times.
- Perform the above steps similarly starting from the right.
- Finally, repeat alternately for 15 minutes or more.
In Conclusion
Shadow boxing is a great way to exercise, and you should practice it. It can burn your calories, reduce your fat, and make your muscles fit. If you come from any area of life, you should try shadow boxing, because it is free of cost and can brings you more value.
Your feedback and experience on the benefits of Shadow boxing will be highly appreciated.
Stay in shape and be healthy!
Learn Easy Beginner Shadow Boxing Workout by watching the following video:-