By Joel Pinaroc
Fitness boxing has gained immense popularity in the Philippines, promising boxing aficionados and exercise buffs the chance to train and fight like a boxer, minus the danger of actually being punched in the face.
Ever dreamed of lacing up a pair of boxing gloves and duking it out with an opponent at the opposite end of the ‘square circle?’ Ever wondered how it is to live the Spartan life of a boxer, including the training? If your answer is “yes,” then fitness boxing is the exercise for you.
Thanks largely to the success of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, boxing is enjoying an unprecedented boom in the Philippines, not only from boxers wanting to be the next ‘PacMan,” but exercise and fitness buffs wanting to try out a new way to shave off excess pounds and let off some steam.
Fitness professionals have long cited the cardiovascular benefits of boxing and related exercises such as skip rope, jogging, and stretching.
These professionals also say boxing is also a great way to “de-stress,” particularly when you’re hitting the mitts, the speedball, and the heavy bags, with both fists.
You are actually letting off “negative” energy and channeling this energy to an object that won’t talk, or strike back, professionals say.
The popularity of fitness boxing also got a tremendous boost from celebrities and TV personalities who have endorsed the health benefits of fitness boxing as an alternative to other popular sports such as badminton, which has been enjoying popularity particularly from the “yuppie” set.
Fighting vs. Boxing
While professional boxing, also called “prize-fighting,” is an internationally popular sports, fitness boxing is a relatively new sport.
The idea of training and boxing like the pros, or even the amateurs, without actually “fighting” and risking injury like a bruised nose and a black eye, took off after fitness buffs realized that boxing essentially trains all of the major muscles of the body, particularly the heart.
While sparring, or squaring off with a fellow individual, is encouraged in fitness boxing, the risk of injury is further narrowed down by using headgears and protracted minutes spent on every “round.”
Similar to earlier combat-sports-inspired workouts such aero boxing (inspired by taebo and kick boxing) proponents of fitness boxing say the sport is one fun way to get that much-needed workout.
Gearing Up
Tom Noda, writer for MediaG8Way, a publisher of various technology-related magazines and an avid fitness boxing participant, shares that fitness boxing is a post for almost everyone.
The basic requirement, Tom says, is that you must have a normal pulse. You don’t even have to be really fit, because your trainer can customized your boxing training depending on your fitness level.
Tom says buying the right equipment is also important, adding that an individual does not need the expensive boxing gloves or boxing shoes that professionals usually use.
For example, you do not need to buy the Cleto Reyes boxing gloves that Pacquiao uses, and that you can settle with a reasonably prized pair of gloves. Just be sure you get the right fit.
Tom, who regularly trains at the Tiger City gym in Mandaluyong City, says individuals also do not need to go to expensive gyms to get the maximum benefits of fitness boxing.
He says an individual just needs to find a nice and clean facility and an excellent trainer to start off in fitness boxing. And fitness boxing gyms have sprouted like mushrooms over the metropolis, such that even small, neighborhood gyms now have a tiny corner dedicated to boxing. If you are squeamish about the quality of the gym and if you have the dough to spare, however, you can always try out the facilities of the more high-end gyms and fitness clubs.
Aside from Tiger City gym, Tom says one can go in any of the Elorde or Red Corner gyms. Tom stresses however that these gyms offer much higher rates than Tiger City.
Related Story: Smashing Women at Manila’s Boxing Gyms
Tags: Fitness Boxing, Manny Pacquiao, Manila Boxing Gyms
