Benefits Of Adding Boxing And Skipping Into Your Cardio Workouts

Gym and Fitness is all about helping people get the most out of their time training by providing the best tools for home workouts!

For anyone out there looking to bring out their inner pro boxer, then this is the place for you. Regular boxing in combination with skipping can rapidly improve your fitness levels, burn an insane amount of calories and strengthen your entire body.

If you’ve always wanted to try boxing but don’t want to visit a boxing studio or gym, then a pair of reasonably priced gloves and focus pads are a great place to start.

Of course, you don’t always need professional gloves or punching bags if you just want to practice boxing. You can add basic shadow boxing with bare hands to any routine, including skipping, strength training, or functional workouts.

Why skipping is so popular with daily workouts

All those famous movie scenes where boxers are skipping during training isn’t just for show. Not only does it improve footwork and coordination, but it could be the best way to hit your fitness goals (while saving you time and money).

More than just a basic warm-up before your main workout, skipping is a simple, effective, and accessible way to transform your overall health and fitness, and a great addition to general boxing training. 

Here are 7 benefits of this fun exercise for anyone looking to propel their home or outdoor workouts.

1. Improves cardiovascular fitness

Skipping, no matter how fast or slow you go, will cause an increase in heart rate and breathing similar to that of jogging or cycling. Even just 3-5 minutes a day can dramatically impact your cardio fitness and vo2 max, overall blood pressure, and resting heart rate.

2. Delivers a full-body workout

Skipping allows you to target a range of muscles for strengthening and toning. It engages your abdominal muscles to stabilise the body, your legs and glutes for jumping, and your shoulders and arms for turning the rope.

3. Increases speed and power

Skipping involves the rapid movement of your feet and arms, so it’s essentially a plyometric exercise - where your muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time. For any athletes out there looking to improve speed and power, you should be skipping regularly.

4. Increases bone mineral density

Even if you jump just a few centimetres off the ground during your skipping, the small repetitive impacts cause your bones to adapt and become stronger, improving overall bone density and making it less likely you’ll develop osteoporosis as you age.

5. Enhances your breathing

The repeated body movements of skipping have a rhythm of their own that will benefit your overall breathing and airflow throughout the body. This helps to promote inner calmness, which can create a sense of mindfulness and relaxation.

6. Incredible time saver

Let’s say you only have 20-30 minutes to get your morning or evening workout in. Skipping is an amazing time saver - delivering all of the benefits above in just a few minutes. There’s almost nothing this versatile exercise can’t do!

7. Affordable workout option

A high-quality, durable skipping rope is an affordable accessory you can easily add to your set-up. There are basically two choices: a speed rope or a weighted rope. A Speed Rope is generally lightweight, making for a frictionless workout experience, while a Weighted Rope adds more resistance to improve muscle strength.

How can you include boxing and skipping in your workouts?

From beginners to advanced, nearly everyone can benefit from boxing and skipping! If you haven’t skipped for several years, then you may want to ease it into your exercise program. The reason why you see so many boxers skip is that not only is it great for cardiovascular exercise when warming up or down, but it emulates the quick movement patterns that boxers need to use when attacking and defending in the ring.

To start combining boxing and skipping together, consider the following:

• Concentrate on technique over speed or duration to begin with. When skipping, maintain a neutral spine, keep your feet close together, and don’t swing your arms or shoulder too much. When boxing, stay relaxed, maintain a strong centre of gravity, and exhale on every punch.

• Try 30 seconds of punching followed by 30 seconds of rest for 10 minutes. This gives you a total of 5 minutes of punching. 

• Try 30 seconds of skipping followed by 30 seconds of rest for 10 minutes. This gives you a total of 5 minutes of skipping.

• You could also follow a Tabata routine for both activities, which involves 8 rounds of 20 seconds, with 10 seconds of rest in between. This gives you nearly 3 minutes of total skipping or boxing (you can thank us later!).

• If you’re feeling creative with your skipping, add alternating foot jumps or side-to-side jumps once you feel comfortable with normal jumps.

• Finally, ensure you have adequate space, an even floor or ground, and shoes to protect your feet from any impact.

Fast track your fitness goals, stay motivated when you exercise, and see why boxing and skipping are so popular with home gym enthusiasts and professional athletes across the world! What’s better is that we’ve recently partnered with the iconic Australian brand Punch Equipment to deliver the best available boxing gear - so you can start channeling Rocky Balboa from the comfort of home.