Boxing is a great way to keep both your body and mind healthy. It helps your heart stay strong and can lower the risk of illnesses like diabetes. Regular boxing can also help you maintain a healthy weight, build muscle tone, and improve your balance, coordination, and overall fitness. On top of that, boxing is good for your mental health. Focusing on the movements can feel like a type of ‘moving meditation,’ helping you feel calmer, more focused, and less stressed.
You don’t have to spar with another person. Many people do boxing for fitness, which combines boxing moves with an exercise routine, or simply practise punching a bag.
Boxing is great for cardio because moving your feet and throwing punches makes your heart beat faster and harder.
Boxing builds strength because your arms, shoulders, legs and core work hard each time you punch.
Boxing is excellent for balance because you have to try to stay light on your feet and keep your body steady as you move.
Yes! Boxing works your whole body, improving strength, endurance, and heart health.
Absolutely. Boxing doesn’t have to include sparring. You can do boxing for fitness or practise hitting a punching bag to enjoy all the benefits without competing against anyone.
It can be hard to know where to start when trying to move more. Everyone begins at a different point, depending on how active they are, how easily they move, and how strong they feel.
To get started, choose the option that best matches what you usually do on an average day in each column below. Look at your daily activities, mobility, and strength to find a sensible place to begin. Then click on the ‘see results’ button to reveal where you should start.
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Love watching boxing? Great! Even small movements help. Try bicep curls, marching on the spot, or a few sit-to-stand exercises during breaks. For more ideas, try these chair-based exercises. If you feel up to it, you can start seated or even in bed. Practise light punches, focusing on technique rather than power. There are lots of online videos to help you learn basic moves.
If boxing isn’t possible right now, you can still get moving while you watch. Try some strength or balance exercises during breaks.
Work on standing in a boxing stance and trying simple punch combinations (3–4 punches). Focus on footwork and breathing — breathe out when you punch and in between punches. Take breaks if you need to.
As you get stronger, practise longer punch combinations and work on speed, balance, and footwork. Core exercises can also help with stability.
As you continue to improve your technique, and put together longer combinations of moves, you can also concentrate on broadening your training to improve your strength and fitness for boxing. Include core exercises for balance and stability. Concentrate on the correct stance and work on increasing the technique and speed of your footwork. You might want to consider joining a boxing club or getting a coach.
Yes. Many boxing clubs now offer sessions designed for people with disabilities or health conditions. You can find more information here:
Discover how England Boxing supports inclusive opportunities for disabled people to participate, train, and thrive in boxing.
The British Martial Arts and Boxing Association is a leading independent martial arts body championing safer, more inclusive, and professionally-led martial arts across the UK.
This site has been put together by specialists in exercise medicine and supported and funded by Nuffield Health Charity. In collaboration with academic experts, specialists in behavioural change, medics across a wide spectrum of specialties, physiotherapists, nurses and most importantly, people living with the symptoms of long term conditions. Through our rigorous academic process we have carefully ensured that all the information on this website is trustworthy and evidence based.
The following organisations have contributed to and endorsed the content of this website.
