Making Progress Towards Making Weight
Healthier Ways To Cut Weight
Weight-loss or cutting weight has long been a part of boxing. It is oftentimes the topic of conversation among fighters, trainers and coaches and plays an integral part of most fighter’s general health and diet plan. Whether it's a challenge in the weeks leading up to the bout or right before a fighter gets on the scales, it plays a definitive role in every boxers pre-fight preparation. Some fighters result to drastic measures in order to make way, while others take a more sensible approach to diet. Regardless, there are good ways to make weight and unhealthy ways. A few of the more healthy ways are:
Jumping rope. Studies have shown that skipping rope for five rounds (three minutes each) can burn up to as much as 20,000 calories and also helps suppress your appetite. The unusual demands and intensity that skipping rope requires also increases your metabolism so that your body keeps burning calories after you've stopped. So, as you’re strengthening your legs, improving your foot speed and movement, you’re basically losing weight and increasing your ability to keep it off.
Avoid energy drinks. Nearly all energy drinks are full of unnecessary chemicals, sugars and substitute sweeteners. Go natural. If you want flavor and the most benefits, coconut water is a fantastic alternative. It is low in calories, all natural and replenishes the electrolytes in your system that were lost through sweating. If you get the right brand and acquire a taste for it, you’ll quickly find that it can be more satisfying than your common energy drink, because you're giving your system what it needs and your mind and body both know that.
Get more sleep. One of the best ways to achieve this is to turn off electronics and all artificial light at least two hours before going to bed. These artificial lights throw off your natural body clock, by making it think it is still daytime and disrupts your ability to go to sleep.Sleeping in a room that is also not completely dark, upsets your normal sleep patterns and makes your metabolism less efficient. Shut down and shut off so your body can work while you're sleeping.
Do some light, intermittent fasting followed immediately by a rigorous workout. Try to avoid eating after 6:00 the night before, then don’t eat until you get your first workout in the following day. Preferably, that would be around noon or 1:00. When you first wake up your body has been depleted overnight of carbohydrates so you have nothing to draw from for energy. That means when you kick it into high gear with a short fast, followed by an intense workout, your body taps into your fat stores. Done periodically, this can knock out a few of those hard-to-lose LB's.
Mix up your routine. Your body, your muscles and your mind adapt to repetitiveness. When you do the same workout over and over, and over, your body adapts and stops being challenged. As a result, it doesn't burn fat as effectively and fails to produce the same high level fitness results. Changing-up your routine could be as simple as the length of minutes per round you go, what time of day you work out, what your workout consists of in terms of bag work, versus mitt work, versus cardio...or it could be a complete diversion from your typical boxing routine. Anything that shocks your physical body and cardiovascular system could help jump-start your metabolism and burn additional calories/fat stores.
The options you have for cutting weight and becoming a more efficient fat-burning machine are virtually endless. The few examples above are approaches that are proven to be highly effective. In some cases they may require more effort than just putting on a sauna suit, but they will also produce more long-lasting, beneficial results. Results that payoff in the ring, not just on the scales.