Boxing can be a real intense workout. You’re more than likely to be sore after your first couple of sessions, a sign that your muscles have worked hard on something new. Well, some people may be unsure whether they can box while also doing other sports, such as running, swimming, or even other martial arts.
Doing boxing and other sports is definitely possible, if you’re not training the same muscles on the same day or the day after. For example, it’ll be best if you avoid boxing and lifting weights on the same day because they essentially work the same muscle groups. Such a case can quickly lead to overtraining.
It’s likely that you have felt the symptoms of overtraining at least once in your lifetime. Eventually, it feels like your muscles are unable to perform at their best. Likewise, you’ll feel fatigued and tired from the constant training.
Overtraining should be your primary concern. If you’re trying to maximize your performance and fitness results, you might end up pushing yourself too hard. This, as you can imagine, cause you to over-work your muscles to a point where it’s no longer effective.
The line between overtraining and maximizing your results—is thin. I’m a big fan of pushing both your physical and mental selves. And still, if you overdo it, you will end up overly-working your body, which isn’t effective. In fact, it can cause permanent damage, so be aware of that.
This article will explain how to do boxing and other sports at the same time. My primary goal is to ensure you avoid overtraining. Before we dive in, however, if you want to learn more about the link between boxing and confidence, follow the link!
Can you do boxing and other sports?
Doing various sports at the same time—can lead to problems, if you don’t know a lot about building a training schedule. There’s a single primary guideline that if you follow, you’ll successfully be avoiding the symptoms of overtraining.
You can do boxing and other sports if you build an appropriate training schedule, to ensure you don’t overtrain your muscles. The primary guideline you should follow is not training the same muscle group in the same 48 hours. For instance, if you do boxing on Sunday, your next session should be on Tuesday.
According to Costal Orthopedics, here’s how you can avoid overtraining:
- Avoid monotonous training activities.
- Avoid sudden increases in training, such as doubling workout times or intensities. Gradual increases allow the body to properly train, adjust, and recover.
- Integrate appropriate rest periods into all training regimens.
I’ll let you know a bit about myself. I currently do various sports, including Muay-Thai, running, weightlifting, boulder-climbing, and also street workout. Furthermore, I’ve been capable of managing them all together without letting them hurt one another. Of course, I have my priorities, and they get most of my attention.
So, yes, the primary rule you should follow is not training the same muscle group on consecutive days or on the same day, of course. For example, if you just did a full-body weightlifting workout, you shouldn’t lift more weights the day after.
However, you can do boxing the day after. That’s because it doesn’t involve resistance. I know it can get rather complicated, but stick with me.
If you box on Sunday, it’ll be best not to box on Monday, as you must let your muscles enough time to recover from the Sunday session. That said, you can go for a run or do any other sport, such as boulder-climbing, swimming, and even lift weights.
Concluding, I encourage you to hire a coach that will be capable of personalizing your training preferences. I don’t know your story, and so I can’t say what’s right or wrong.
What sports do professional boxers do?
There are two sports that most professional boxers do, which helps them better their boxing ability. Of course, there are others; for instance, some professional boxers like swimming, as it’s an enjoyable way of honing your aerobic shape.
The majority of professional boxers participate in running and weightlifting. I still haven’t heard of a pro boxer who doesn’t run or lift weights, but I’m sure there’s one or two. While weightlifting helps them strengthen their body and pack up muscle, running betters their capability of staying in the ring for longer.
For those wanting to become professional boxers, I wrote an article about the best tips you can take today to boost your boxing progress and get your hands on that license faster. Follow the link to read the article.
Eventually, if you don’t run or lift weights, you’ll have a difficult time conditioning your body to become the best it can. You must pack muscle to get a more powerful punch. That’s why boxers have low body fat percentages and high muscle mass.
Now, every professional fight has 12 rounds. Do you think you can last that long in a boxing ring when the opponent is doing his best to punch you as many times as possible? I think you won’t be able to withstand that long in the ring, unless you deliberately better your endurance and aerobic shape; that’s why professional boxers run.
Can you box and lift weights?
Doing both boxing and other sports—is difficult. For instance, most people’s busy schedules won’t be able to fit two sports in their life, so they choose one or none. However, if you can free up time for two type of sports, you’ll find this entire realm becomes much more enjoyable in the long-term.
You can box and lift weights simultaneously, as long as you take precautions to avoid overtraining. While you can do both boxing and weightlifting on the same day, it’ll be best to spread your workouts throughout the week. Hence, if you can do boxing on Sunday and weightlifting on Monday, you’ll perform better.
I would say that all professional boxers lift weights. One of the most basic physics equation is force = mass * acceleration. So, if you can increase your mass, your force will inevitably grow.
Because of that, it’ll be best if you pack up some muscle before going pro. You must be capable of throwing powerful hits to your opponent. By doing so, you’ll reduce the number of hits you have to throw to knock out an opponent.
I would suggest hiring a coach that’ll help you balance both these sports. The way I do it is I treat boxing like cardio. I’m not a professional boxer, so I don’t train every day. However, I involve boxing with weightlifting on consecutive days (weightlifting 5 times a week, and boxing twice a week).
Do hire a coach, though.
If you want to learn more about the training schedule of professional boxers, follow the link to read an article of mine on the topic.
Should boxing be a school sport?
Boxing is one of the most dangerous sports. Numerous studies have proved that 20% of professional boxer will experience some type of brain injury. Likewise, others proved that it has one of the highest rate of injuries in the world.
Boxing should not be a school sport because its rate of injury is extremely high. As such, it’s unsafe to force our youth to involve themselves in such a dangerous doing, although most boys are likely to be satisfied if it were true. Brain and head trauma is the most dangerous injury from boxing, and it’s a common one.
I don’t see a good reason schools should involve such a dangerous sport in their regular schedule. Of course, there are excellent boxing classes for kids, but not in school.
Final words
Doing boxing can be extremely healthy. It will provide countless physical and mental benefits, such as losing body fat, toning the muscles, and higher confidence. For that reason, many individuals who start their fighting journey are also satisfied with the results.
Combining boxing with other sports, such as weightlifting, swimming, or running—can be highly beneficial. In fact, most professional boxers do so, especially with weightlifting and running, as they want to pack muscle and better their endurance.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you’ll also enjoy reading about shadowboxing and why you should do it if you’re interested in bettering your boxing ability.