Too old to start boxing?

[ThrottleBod]

I'm 25, only started going to the gym about 6 months ago. Made some good gains so far as I wanted to put on some weight. Gone from 11.5 stone to just over 12.5 stone but some of this is fat around my stomach.

I'm getting back into cardio now as I wasn't doing any at all before to try and increase size a bit. I just get bored of the cardio side of it a bit.

There's a boxing gym about 15 minutes from me so just wondered if it would be worth trying as I guess it's good cardio and it also interests me. Anyone have any opinion on it?

[Ordinary_Chap]

Don't be silly chap, you're 25 and could be boxing at 50 if you so wished.

I've trained on and off with guys in their late fifties who can easily put a lot of folk in their 20's to shame.

If boxing works for you and you enjoy it, I've got one question; whats stopping you?

Get too it!

[mikebradford]

Boxing is brilliant for cardio
jump and and if you enjoy it stick with it
worse case is you try something else

i found that boxing training was harder than thai boxing training, from my own perspective it was probably due to not being able to spread the load over more body parts

i find boxing very cardio heavy. you definatley shouldnt ever leave without being knackered and covered in sweat lol

[Fozziebear]

There is no reason you couldn't train at the club, it'll show you how unfit you are and get you really fit. The only time age comes into it is amateur fights, you should be ok to spar some light rounds. I found boxing a real leveller and it helped to calm me down. It's good cardio, get yourself down there

[Tiggsy]

25?????? fk right off!!!

Bloody kids! At 25 there is NO SPORT you cant start and get good at - you might not be world class but at 35 you'll still be a young man with 10 years under your belt.

[Haggleburyfinius]

mikebradford said:

i found that boxing training was harder than thai boxing training,

Oh yeah, absolutely; MT has its own strange rhythms and is generally a much lower paced activity than Boxing or even Western Kickboxing.

IMHO boxing is the king of cardio when it comes to ringsports; nothing seems to get close to me.

[Liokault]

My only advice would be to watch getting hit in the head.

Remember, any concussion (seeing stars) IS brain damage and can/will be a long term problem.

Different boxing gyms will have different standards around this, but if you are only into fitness and don't feel a need to compete, don't spar with anyone who you do not trust and if you do take a head shot (anything that makes you see stars or worse) take a break from anything which can risk jolting your head for at least a week, maybe a month or more in some cases.

[The Beaver King]

I didn't start kickboxing until I was 25 years old and I've had no issues.

I don't compete as it is purely a fitness thing for me, but there are things I can do now that I wouldn't have imagined 12 months ago. For example, I can now get my foot above my head quite easily during kicks and have my tornado kick down to a fine art.

Boxing is an excellent cardio tool, we have 3 x 3 minute sparring sessions at the end of each training session (punches only, kicks break bones) and it is very intensive. It is definitely worth pursuing and tends to be an easier form of cardio to stick at due to the variety.

[Haggleburyfinius]

The Beaver King said:

Boxing is an excellent cardio tool, we have 3 x 3 minute sparring sessions at the end of each training session (punches only, kicks break bones) and it is very intensive. It is definitely worth pursuing and tends to be an easier form of cardio to stick at due to the variety.

"Kicks break bones"

Are you saying that during sparring at your kickboxing club you don't do any kicking?

[dave_s13]

I started Muay Thai at 24 and ended up in the UK rankings for a bit. Did it for nearly 9-10 years in total. I'm 36 now and don't have time to fit it in but the years of training has given me a base fitness for the other things I do now.

I don't agree that MT training is less intense that western boxing but I suppose it depends entirely on the gym you are at and at what level.

With regard to sparring, you have to spar pretty hard in order to get ready for a proper fight otherwise the first time you get a full in wack in the chops you would cack your pants and fall over.

It's as easy/hard as you want to make it really. Amatuer boxing gyms are a great as they are generally very cheap. The one I went to a couple of times just expected a donation on the way out and that was it. Muay Thai gyms tends to be much more expensive.

[The Beaver King]

Haggleburyfinius said:

The Beaver King said:

Boxing is an excellent cardio tool, we have 3 x 3 minute sparring sessions at the end of each training session (punches only, kicks break bones) and it is very intensive. It is definitely worth pursuing and tends to be an easier form of cardio to stick at due to the variety.

"Kicks break bones"

Are you saying that during sparring at your kickboxing club you don't do any kicking?

Not as standard. It's a casual class and, while some of us do kicks in after-class sessions, the majority of kicking is done during pad and paddle work. As I mentioned earlier in the post, no-one in the group is looking to go professional, it's more of a fitness thing.

[Haggleburyfinius]

The Beaver King said:

Haggleburyfinius said:

The Beaver King said:

Boxing is an excellent cardio tool, we have 3 x 3 minute sparring sessions at the end of each training session (punches only, kicks break bones) and it is very intensive. It is definitely worth pursuing and tends to be an easier form of cardio to stick at due to the variety.

"Kicks break bones"

Are you saying that during sparring at your kickboxing club you don't do any kicking?

Not as standard. It's a casual class and, while some of us do kicks in after-class sessions, the majority of kicking is done during pad and paddle work. As I mentioned earlier in the post, no-one in the group is looking to go professional, it's more of a fitness thing.

I appreciate it's not a fight class you're partaking in (less than 5% of my students ever spar at all); it just seems strange as boxing and kickboxing are so different when sparring.

[The Beaver King]

Haggleburyfinius said:

I appreciate it's not a fight class you're partaking in (less than 5% of my students ever spar at all); it just seems strange as boxing and kickboxing are so different when sparring.

A lot of our pad work is kickboxing based (using punching and kicking combinations), but our sparring is a lot more akin to boxing I would say. A lot of the focus in our sparring is put on upper body blocking, parrying, throwing combinations and footwork rather than defending or throwing kicks; so you're right, our sparring is more like boxing than kickboxing.

It is a casual/unoffical class, so I doubt it bears much resemblance to a IKF syllabus.

[Haggleburyfinius]

The Beaver King said:

Haggleburyfinius said:

I appreciate it's not a fight class you're partaking in (less than 5% of my students ever spar at all); it just seems strange as boxing and kickboxing are so different when sparring.

A lot of our pad work is kickboxing based (using punching and kicking combinations), but our sparring is a lot more akin to boxing I would say. A lot of the focus in our sparring is put on upper body blocking, parrying, throwing combinations and footwork rather than defending or throwing kicks; so you're right, our sparring is more like boxing than kickboxing.

It is a casual/unoffical class, so I doubt it bears much resemblance to a IKF syllabus.

Well, each to their own I guess!

Is it an IKF school you're training in? (no reason for this question-just wondering given you mentioned it).

[The Beaver King]

Haggleburyfinius said:

Well, each to their own I guess!

Is it an IKF school you're training in? (no reason for this question-just wondering given you mentioned it).

No. The guy who teaches trained in a IFK school for years, but jacked it due to work commitments. Now he just holds casual sessions for a small group of people he knows, including his old KB teacher. He does it for his own enjoyment really, we only pay to cover the hall each week. I would guess this is the main reason to avoid kicks in sparring (insurance).

I've been trying to convince him to go offical as he's really good at teaching (generally, he also does some personal training in the gym), but he can't make the time and won't change his career.

[Haggleburyfinius]

The Beaver King said:

Haggleburyfinius said:

Well, each to their own I guess!

Is it an IKF school you're training in? (no reason for this question-just wondering given you mentioned it).

No. The guy who teaches trained in a IFK school for years, but jacked it due to work commitments. Now he just holds casual sessions for a small group of people he knows, including his old KB teacher. He does it for his own enjoyment really, we only pay to cover the hall each week. I would guess this is the main reason to avoid kicks in sparring (insurance).

I've been trying to convince him to go offical as he's really good at teaching (generally, he also does some personal training in the gym), but he can't make the time and won't change his career.

Fair enough; sounds fun.

Your instructor needs to be very careful though if he's operating without insurance (it's really cheap). Friends can quickly become litigious enemies if things go wrong.

You don't need different insurance for hands/hands and feet insurance anyway; just insurance to cover contact work in general (with protective equipment). this is supplementary to normal teaching/public liability cover.

If your mate doesn't have this I'd be happy to point you guys in the right direction to get something sorted; it;s just too inexpensive to be without really.

[didelydoo]

If you join a decent boxing club, you'll be expected to box- if you don't want to compete, then I'd think twice. It's hard, and you will get punched in the face, a lot. Great fun, but you have to be committed or you'll suffer for it. I'd not really say it's a good idea to join one if cardio is the main aim- you have to want to be a boxer.

This isn't true for a lot of MA clubs, but is for most boxing clubs IME.

[Liokault]

didelydoo said:

If you join a decent boxing club, you'll be expected to box- if you don't want to compete, then I'd think twice. It's hard, and you will get punched in the face, a lot. Great fun, but you have to be committed or you'll suffer for it. I'd not really say it's a good idea to join one if cardio is the main aim- you have to want to be a boxer.

This isn't true for a lot of MA clubs, but is for most boxing clubs IME.

But theres different types of boxing clubs.

A friend of mine recently (a few years ago) wanted to take up boxing. None of the local clubs would touch him because he was too old to compete, and that was all they wanted. Entry and training was free, but you had to be at least potentially a fighter.

On the other hand, the boxing club closest to me

[Haggleburyfinius]

didelydoo said:

If you join a decent boxing club, you'll be expected to box- if you don't want to compete, then I'd think twice. It's hard, and you will get punched in the face, a lot. Great fun, but you have to be committed or you'll suffer for it. I'd not really say it's a good idea to join one if cardio is the main aim- you have to want to be a boxer.

This isn't true for a lot of MA clubs, but is for most boxing clubs IME.

One day boxing clubs will wake up to the fact that they are missing out on £100,00s per year on lost revenue and cause us in the MA game a serious headache.

Hopefully it won't be a day anytime soon...

[Mastodon2]

I couldn't imagine not kicking in sparring, when I was doing Muay Thai we wore shinpads to protect both parties from injury, but kicks were very much on the menu. Working the pads and the bag is one thing but trying to land a good kick on an opponent who is looking to do the same to you is a very different prospect.