Beginner-Friendly Boxing Workout

When you’re feeling tense and frustrated, a good workout can help. Boxing and boxing workouts offer a safe outlet for your emotions — and provide an intense physical fitness regimen that can strengthen your entire body.

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Ready to throw some punches? Physical therapist Jim Edwards, DPT, discusses why boxing can be good for you and how to steer clear of injuries.

Boxing training basics

Boxing covers a lot of ground by getting you ready for the ring or getting your heart pumping with high-intensity interval training (HIIT). That means you’ll be moving hard and fast in short bouts, as well as switch up the kinds of workouts you’re doing to challenge your body and mind.

Boxing starts with building your stance. A strong stance will help you throw strong punches. It’ll also help you weave and dodge quickly and support your muscles and joints for potential impact.

There are different kinds of stances, but a staggered stance is a good starting point for many.

“In a staggered stance, your nondominant hand is out front to help block incoming punches and your dominant hand is behind you so that it can generate enough force as you throw it forward,” says Dr. Edwards. “You want your knees flexed and you want to stay loose.”

Whether you’re taking a boxing class or training on your own, you’ll mimic a lot of the same movements boxers make during an average three-minute round. Typically, these workouts involve throwing combinations of punches, including:

Jabs: A basic starter punch used to measure distance. Throw a short, quick thrust forward with your nondominant hand.
Crosses: A powerful punch that helps break through defenses and close distance. Push off your back leg, rotate your torso and punch forward with your dominant hand.
Hooks: A sideways punch used at close range. Like a cross, it uses your shoulder, torso and legs, but with sharper rotation.
Uppercuts: An explosive, close-range punch thrown upward with your dominant hand. Bend your knees and use your legs and core to drive the punch up toward the target.

“Throwing a punch works your entire body, from your arms and shoulders all the way to your core and legs,” says Dr. Edwards. “It requires intense focus, and the constant movement and HIIT exercises during training leave little time for deep thought.”

Benefits of boxing

As a full-body workout, boxing can:

Improve heart health
Improve balance and coordination
Help muscle memory and muscular development
Better mental health by relieving stress and anger
Boost endurance and stamina
Build full-body strength
Help with weight management
Enhance hand-foot coordination and core engagement
Improve your ability to organize and strategize a sequence of movements

“Boxing almost becomes a brain game, where you’re thinking about what types of punches you’re throwing and what order you’re throwing them,” notes Dr. Edwards. “If we’re thinking while we’re exercising and then coordinating what our brain is telling our body to do, it allows us to positively impact our brain health.”

Beginner boxing workout

In a typical boxing workout, you can usually expect some combination of:

Punching into bags, mitts or the air (known as shadowboxing)
Footwork drills, like jumping rope and using an agility ladder
Jump training, like squat jumps, lateral bounds or burpees
Strength exercises, like crunches, planks or push-ups

“A lot of it is circuit training, where you may do one minute of jabs, 30 seconds of uppercuts and a minute of jump rope for several sets,” illustrates Dr. Edwards. “Piecing together your workout can be a lot of fun because it’s always changing.”

For an exercise goal, he recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week. Spreading it out across 15-, 30- or 45-minute individual training sessions can be helpful for beginners and anyone needing consistency.

“The intensity of your workouts and how often you train will be very personal based on your own health journey and what exercise routine you were doing before you started this training,” he adds.

Boxing routine example

The following boxing workout might be a good place to start for beginners:

Warm up for three to five minutes with walking, dynamic stretching, push-ups or squats.
Throw jabs at a hanging bag, speed bag or in the air for one minute.
Rest for one minute.
Throw alternating jabs and crosses for one minute.
Rest for one minute.
Throw alternating uppercuts for one minute.
Rest for one minute.
Throw crosses for one minute.
Rest for one minute.
Do footwork drills for one minute.
Rest for one minute.
Repeat the entire circuit starting with step two, as needed, until you’ve exercised for 30 minutes.
Cool down for three to five minutes by stretching your focus areas like hamstrings, quads, triceps or shoulders.

“You’re going to get faster and more coordinated the more you do these exercises,” says Dr. Edwards. “As you make progress and get better at these exercises, you can increase each round to 90 seconds and/or reduce your rest to 30 seconds between each round. That’ll continually challenge your endurance and strength as you work on your training.”

Boxing tips

Dr. Edwards offers these additional tips for staying injury-free while boxing:

Ease into it. You may be tempted to push beyond your limits at first, but take it slow to avoid injury or overuse.
Wear the right gear. Wrapping your hands and wrists and donning the right gloves and mitts will help keep you protected.
Use good form. Going rogue can lead to injuries. “A personal trainer will teach you the different types of punches and how to throw them properly,” says Dr. Edwards.
Listen to your body. Pain and swelling are signs that you need rest. For sore muscles or joints, up to 20 minutes of ice can reduce inflammation. Talk to a healthcare provider or physical therapist if the pain continues.
Make time for recovery. You need time to recover from a high-intensity boxing workout, so plan for two to three workouts per week. On off days, stay active and promote recovery with resistance training, light cardio, yoga and stretching.