AUTHOR: Joe Buckner originally posted in  The Art of Pugilism

Boxing is and has always been one of the best full body workouts that you can do and women around the country are making Boxing Fitness a big part of their fitness regiment.

A big part of the rising popularity is definitely the Victoria Secret models and celebrities like the Kardashians sharing their boxing workouts on social media like Instagram and Snapchat.

When ESPN performed their "Degree of Difficulty Project", they tested 60 + sports based on the necessary athletic skills needed to determine which sport is most difficult and boxing came out on top

In fitness we are seeing a trend in people who don't want to just lift weights or do one type of workout. People are more into mixing it up and adding different aspects of fitness, boxing-yoga-weights-spinning-etc for a more well-rounded fitness journey.

Women (and men) across the country are finding their inner power and moving towards workouts like boxing to work out some of the daily stresses of life. Punching helps with that.

Women have come to realize that boxing fitness is an incredible workout, for cross-training and general fitness.

1. - It improves body strength and burns off fat and increases leanness.
2. - It's challenging and exciting.
3. - It helps with mental toughness.
4. - Boxing fitness is the ultimate workout, the kind that all types of people want.
5. - You can get fit without getting hit.
6. - With Boxing fitness, you will get in the best mental and physical shape of your life.
7. - Train like a fighter, and we all know that fighters are among the best-conditioned athletes anywhere
8. - Strengthen your core, to cross-train for other sports (where core strength is so critical).
9. - Learn self-defense

Women and men have improved self-esteem and self-confidence, have fun, and get away from generic training programs,  and tell their friends that they are doing something "cool" and different.

Boxing is a workout that burns a crazy amount of calories - anywhere from 700-1200 a class! compared to approximately 300 for a whole hour of jogging. Physically it is one of the most demanding full body workouts on the planet.

Mentally and emotionally it helps because we all have a battle to fight, not everybody boxes but everyone fights something; depression, obesity, fear, poverty, loss of loved one. We all fight and hitting a heavy bag is a great source of stress relief. We tell our members that "the bag has no feelings and doesn't care how hard you hit it, so leave all of your stress and any frustrations on the bag today."

I mean, who doesn't want to hit something every now and then??

In any great boxing class, there will be cardio, resistance training and tons of core work.

The benefits are a well-rounded fitness program that allows you to work your whole body in a way that not only improves strength but gives you a crazy cardio workout that burns calories during and after the session is done.

Get into fighting shape by finding a Boxing Studio near you and trying a class.

Joe's IG is: mrjoebuckner

Joe's Twitter:   mrjoebuckner