Are Punching Bags Good for Weight Loss?

When you look at professional fighters and martial art experts, you would think that punching a bag will melt the extra pounds in your body. But are punching bags good for weight loss?

Here are some things to consider.

Are Punching Bags Good for Weight Loss?

Hitting a heavy bag is indeed a high-intensity workout. Therefore, it can help you lose weight. If you do it properly, it can sculpt your body too.

How Does Punching a Bag Help You Lose Weight? 

Serious Calorie Burner

Punching a heavy can be a high-impact cardio workout. With that in mind, it can offer you a significant calorie burn.

A typical session can help you burn 1000 calories. Other cardio workouts, like walking, will only lead to burning 243 calories.

Thus, if you wish to lose weight fast, this boxing workout might do the trick. Then again, you still need to be mindful of your calorie intake.

Even if you do this workout for one hour but you over-consume your calories, then you won’t lose weight.

How many calories you need to eat every day will depend on your body weight. To determine your recommended calorie intake, you may use this calculator.

Burn Belly Fat 

One of the attractive features of this workout is that it can help you burn not just calories but also belly fat.

This workout can be very efficient in burning fat, especially visceral fat.

Not all fats are the same. The fat in the midsection is associated with toxins. If it’s not removed, it can increase your risk of various diseases.

Belly fat is also a precursor of diabetes and certain cancers.

To reduce your visceral fat, you can start hitting a heavy bag to reduce your risk of developing those life-threatening diseases. Then again, no matter how many hours you work out every week, you still won’t lose the fat if you don’t eat the right food.

Keep in mind that weight loss requires eating fewer calories than what your body burns. You can go on a diet but the best way to reduce your calorie intake is to just eat small portions.

Aim to eat 200 calories per meal.

Make sure that the food you eat is satiating. Thus, you should eat healthy fats and moderate protein. Lower your carb intake.

If you don’t eat junk foods or processed foods, you’ll be losing weight.

Works Your Entire Body 

You might think that you’re only working your upper body when hitting a heavy bag. But the reality is that this workout engages your entire body.

What’s great about it is that you can have a variety. It’s not like hopping on the treadmill. It becomes boring if you do it every day.

Other exercises don’t give you a full-body workout for optimal weight loss. But if you hit a heavy bag for an hour, you can lose weight faster.

As you constantly punch a speed bag, jump rope, shadowbox, and resistance train, you’ll be losing weight in no time.

Hit It the Right Way 

However, even though hitting a heavy bag is a good workout to lose weight, you need to hit it the right way to get its benefits. You may play around on a bag. Strike a few times. If you’re doing it for fun, then you won’t lose weight. The reason for this is that your body isn’t burning calories.

Instead, you should hit the bag constantly for rounds of five minutes. As you hit the bag this way, you can elevate your heart rate, which is necessary to burn calories more effectively.

The longer time you do this workout, the more you burn calories.

However, you should not do it for a few hours straight. If you do so, you’ll only end up exhausted. It won’t do you good.

Instead, you need to mix it up. Do other cardio exercises, besides punching heavy bags.

And make sure that you eat the right amount of food. That is, if you really wish to lose weight and build muscles.

Heavy Bag vs Speed Bag

Both bags are great for weight loss. Heavy bags, however, can resist your strikes. As a result, they can force you to work harder with every punch.

Speed bags and other bags will build your speed, timing, and rhythm. However, they might not force you to work harder to burn your calories.

But still, if you work with a trainer, you will know the right workout that involves speed bags and heavy bags.

What to Eat After an Intense Workout? 

It’s vital to eat the right nutrients to replenish your body. You need to eat protein for starters.

During an intense workout, your muscles break down. By eating protein before and after a boxing session, you’re rebuilding your muscles.

Eat beans, eggs, red meats, poultry, and cheese before and after a workout. As much as possible, you must only eat clean protein. It means that the source is sustainable.

Since working out uses a lot of energy, you will have to consume carbs. However, if you’re on a keto diet, your source of energy is a healthy fat.

But if you’re on a regular diet, you can eat a moderate amount of carbs before working out. Carbs can replenish sugar stores that tend to be depleted during exercise.

Opt to eat complex carbs, though, and not junk foods. As you provide your body with the right amount of carbs, you can keep your sugar levels stable.

Complex carbs will include fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Avoid simple carbs if you wish to lose weight. It means donut is a no-no.

For your pre-workout, you may eat greek yogurt with fruits and nuts. Or opt for peanut butter with banana class.

After a workout, make sure that your plate consists of healthy fats, protein, and carbs. Don’t fill up on junk foods.

As you eat right and stay fit, you can be sure you will lose weight.

Summary 

Are punching bags good for weight loss? Yes, they are. However, you must still be mindful of what you’re eating and how much. Otherwise, you’ll be gaining weight.

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