Boxing and Its Impact on Posture – Complete Guide


A woman doing Yoga

Sometimes, when boxers fight, they enter a position where their chins are tucked in. That happens, so they’ll be able to absorb the hit they receive better. However, it creates bad posture in the long-term. In the short-term, however, it feels good, so you do it. But, it can have severe consequences.

While boxing improves posture as a whole by strengthening and stretching your shoulders, back, neck, and spine, it can have harmful consequences if you don’t emphasize good posture. When you punch, your shoulders immediately stretch. In the long-term, that’s beneficial to your muscles remaining active.

Likewise, you also work your core while boxing. A strong core can be the difference between someone with a good or bad posture. For that reason, you can also add in regular stretching activities and ab workouts to ensure your body is stronger than ever.

Some boxers, however, have their natural fighting stance as they’re slouched over. As we’ll soon see, slouching or hunching won’t cause discomfort in the present moment. Rather, it’ll cause discomfort and pain in the neck, spine, back, and shoulder, in the long-term.

This can be key in fixing your posture; notice when you’re slouching and immediately fix it. If you don’t, you’ll cause more harm to your spine than good, even when punching.

Before we dive in, if you want to read more about protecting your head and brain through protective gear, follow the link; protecting your head should be your top priority, before your posture.

How to fix bad posture through boxing

Remaining active is sometimes all you need to fix your slouching. You might be so used to hunching, especially when working on your computer, that it has become your natural state. To fix that, you must deliberately fix your body-position.

To fix bad posture while boxing, you must first ensure you’re not slouched in the training itself. Moreover, add regular ab and stretching sessions at the end of each workout. When you punch, your spine and shoulder stretch; that will be highly beneficial to your long-term posture, so keep punching.

Posture can indeed be a habit. You might be slouching over because that’s what you know. Although you might think it’s bad that it can be a habit, it also is good news. Yes, you can fix your slouching by deliberately fixing your body position.

Boxing pads
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

This can mean that you sit straight whenever possible; yes, even while working on your computer. Likewise, if you have time alone or around people—you can stretch for a bit. Of course, if you don’t want to be seen as the weird individual, you can do so at your home or after boxing.

Boxing can cause more harm than good, if you’re not deliberately fixing slouching. However, if you do, you’ll notice how you’re much more stretched after training. If you decide to add a stretching session or an ab workout after boxing, your posture will be much better in the long-term.

Does boxing help with posture?

Boxing, and other sports, can easily fix your posture. However, some claim that it can cause more harm than good in such positions. I’ll completely disagree with this claim, as you’ll see in this section.

Boxing does help with posture because it strengthens your shoulders and back while working your core and stretching your spine and neck. That will happen, assuming you avoid bad posture throughout your boxing sessions. If you add stretching exercises at the end of each workout, your pose will improve.

Boxing match
Photo by christopher lemercier on Unsplash

Many people who have desk jobs—also have bad posture. Sitting in front of your computer for more than an hour a day—can harm your body position; likewise, it can turn slouching to be your natural state, which will cause pain in the future.

Boxing, as you can imagine, stretches your limbs. When you try to reach your opponent, you’re stretching your shoulders, neck, and back. As a result, you’re less likely to experience the symptoms of tight muscles, which can be bad posture and neck pain.

Regardless, you can also add stretching exercises at the end of each boxing session to ensure your posture is solid. If you listen to people who claim that the art of punching can cause you to slouch, you’ll miss out on the countless mental and physical benefits it provides. If you want to know what they are, follow the link.

Why does bad posture happen?

Some people may have additional posture issues due to an illness or genetics, which we don’t control. Fixing these may be more problematic than for others. And still, you can try your best to ensure your spine is as stretched out as possible. That may resolve various issues.

Bad posture can come about by things like the day-to-day effects of gravity on our bodies. 1 Bad posture may also occur due to an injury, an illness, or because of genetics—issues that, for the most part, you can’t control. A combination of these factors is also quite common

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If you sit in front of your computer for 8 hours a day, you will have bad posture. That’s just the way it works. However, if you sit in front of your computer for 8 hours a day while constantly breaking personal records in your running career, you’ll stretch your body more than other people, which will resolve said issues.

If you box, you’ll be stretching your neck, back, and shoulders, reducing your chances of having bad posture. Being active is key to fixing your slouching.

You can, if you want, fix your posture issues by involving yourself in boxing. Make sure that you don’t slouch in your training as well. Force your body to straighten; that will require conscious decisions—so be alert for that.

Is boxing good for the spine?

Solving slouching issues can be difficult, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. You might have been working in front of a computer all day long, for numerous years. As a result, you’ll slouch naturally, which will lead you to having neck, spine, and back issues.

Boxing is good for the spine because it stretches your neck, shoulders, and upper and lower back. If you have neck pain and bad posture, which come together, your upper back is likely tight. As a result, stretching it through constant punching—is key to solving your spine and back tightness and thus improve posture.

Slouching doesn’t always cause discomfort, but over time this position can place strain on already sensitised muscles and soft tissues. This strain may increase tension in the muscles, which may in turn cause pain. Get into the habit of sitting correctly.

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As you can see from the study above, when you’re slouching, you might not feel discomfort. However, with time, constantly being in this position will place strain on soft tissues and muscles. As a result, you’ll feel pain in these spots in the long-term. Now, you can fix it through sports like boxing. Here’s how.

If you have neck pain, it’s likely because of bad posture. Now, if that’s the case, you more than likely have a tight upper back. Boxing is a fantastic way of solving that issue by allowing you to throw punches, which stretches these limbs, including the neck, spine, and upper and lower back.

Concluding, sitting straight outside boxing—is key to having good posture in your life. Likewise, by constantly involving yourself in boxing, you’ll be punching plenty of times. This will stretch your muscles and work your core; these are key in working on your spine.

Is good posture required for boxing?

Having good posture isn’t required for boxing. The opposite is true. You can fix your slouching issues when you try to reach a specific target, as you do in boxing. You’ll be stretching your neck, shoulders, and spine by punching.

Good posture isn’t required for boxing. However, it can prevent pain in various spots, such as your neck, spine, upper back, lower back, and shoulders. With consistent practice and fixing slouching and hunching, you’ll be capable of improving your posture by punching, which strengthens the core and spine.

There are numerous ways to fix your slouching, such as forcing yourself to fix your slouching. Also, adding stretching exercises and core workouts at the end of each boxing session—will help you straighten your body composition.

I encourage you to keep researching this topic, and find more and more exercises that’ll promote good posture. You can go about in various ways. I recommend combining many ways that’ll promote that result. By doing so, you’ll be capable of fixing these issues sooner and with ease.

Final words

Good posture is key to your long-term health. You might not even know that you’re slouching, and thus, making it a habit. This will lead to pain in the future, not necessarily now. As a result, you might be slouching right now and not even know it.

Boxing stretches your shoulders, neck, and other muscles—which will promote good posture. Likewise, I recommend adding stretching exercises and ab workouts at the end of each boxing session. By doing so, you’ll be capable of strengthening your core and muscles to a point where you’re much more likely to have a solid pose.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you’ll also enjoy reading about the 9 reasons to learn boxing. If you want to learn about the benefits it provides, do read this article by following the link.

Levi

I've served in the military as a special forces operator for 4-years. In that period, I've trained in many martial arts, including karate, MMA, BJJ, boxing, and even Krav Maga. I want to share my passion with you, so here it is!

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