Psst…
Can I tell you a secret?
There have been times when I felt like a complete idiot while I shadowbox.
Not feeling confident or just not knowing what to do while I’m doing it!
I didn’t know why it was so important and what I was gaining from it. I was sure all I was doing was making a fool of myself along with just wasting time when I could be doing push-ups or hitting the bag.
In a ring full of endless possibilities I didn’t know where to begin, I didn’t know what was my objective.
For a lot of people I’ve trained, they have hated shadow boxing with a passion, begging to remove it from our workout.
If you are one of these people, let me help guide you through a successful and fun shadow boxing routine.
What Is Shadow Boxing
You ever see that one person in the grocery store looking like they are fighting the air in aisle 3, just randomly throwing punches?
Yeah…
You are sparring with an imaginary opponent as a form of training. You should shadow box as part of your warm up and part of your cool down.
Warm up visualizing a fight situation and you work on form technique, movement, balance, mindfulness of where you are in the ring.
Cool down after your workout by honing in on what you practiced during your session to lock it in.
That’s shadow boxing anytime anywhere and any local grocery store can get it! We get excited when we get to eat a good meal after a workout or just had a good sparring session at the gym.
I’m getting off-topic here but I want you to know you might be catching yourself do this on runs, at family parties, in your room listening to music, and it’s fun.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is shadow boxing a good workout?
- Is shadow boxing good cardio?
- Is shadow boxing effective?
- Is shadow boxing good for weight loss?
- Is shadow boxing with weights good?
- Is shadow boxing bad for joints?
- Is shadow boxing useful?
Is shadow boxing…
A good workout, yes it isn’t just used as a tool for preparation. It can also be used to get a good sweat in. This depends on the intensity and duration.
Good cardio, yes the longer you shadow box the better cardio you get. Start by shadow boxing a couple of rounds then add on to your rounds the easier the workout gets.
Effective, depending on what you are talking about. It is an effective warm-up, cool-down, and concentration endurance.
Good for weight loss, only if you plan on doing this for a good half hour. I would choose jogging or hitting a heavy bag instead, but this is a good substitute if you liked disguised cardio or have hand injuries.
With weights good, very good with weights and builds good endurance with the shoulders and arm.
Bad for joints, this is what is best for your joints there is no impact and you can work at your own pace!
Useful. Why? Well, I just gave you all the reasons above.
Overall this is a safe workout to warm up and cool down with, go light or intense totally up to you. Boxers competing for competition this is a must, average joes I still recommend for you to get in a couple of rounds, no excuses let’s go!
Where Do I Start
Have a plan, don’t overthink it too much if you are getting started. I would start from the bottom up, footwork, and if you need to be specific choose something simple like lateral movement.
Next, choose one defense move to use after you are done throwing punches like a slip.