Both. (Actually, I box and do Pilates, but am thinking of adding yoga.) Boxing has built my endurance (in different ways than running has); Pilates and yoga have toned my middle and given me much greater flexibility. If I had to pick just one, I’d stay with Pilates — or yoga.
Boxing. Someone once told me that when you do fighting types of exercise, your instincts are tricked into being on alert and somehow you end up burning more calories. I have no idea if this is true or not and if it is, how, but it sounded good to me. And… added benefit… visualizing kicking someone’s ass can be better than therapy. Besides, I don’t have the grace to do yoga in public.
Boxing is a much more intense aerobic workout (but then I don’t do that crazy-ass 100-degree-room yoga), and it has the virtue of letting you work your agressions out in a socially acceptable way 🙂 (Never did get to that whole inner-peace thing with yoga.)
Just another vote for boxing. I never expected to like it, pacifist weakling that I am, but I ended up loving it. Working out in three-minute rounds with one-minute breaks is perfect for me, because I feel like I can handle anything for three minutes. And I love the ethos of building my body to be strong, rather than attractive. In fact, training in a boxing gym made me feel physically strong for the first time in my life, and I was amazed what an impact this had on my general outlook.
Well, I can’t say I’ve done boxing, but four years of Jiu Jitsu has left me more inclined to vote for combat over stretching, so boxing! I do Yoga too, though.
Any questions? Yeah. Why do you think I’d be stupid enough to let myself get pummeled like that? Guess. No.
There are two ways to answer this. The first is to say that I think it depends on two things. First of all, what are your fitness goals? If you’re more concerned about your cardiovascular health, go for boxing. If you’d like to improve your strength, balance and flexibility, go for yoga. Second, are you more motivated by the prospect of something exciting or something difficult but mellow? And the second way to answer this is to say that you should go with boxing, because it is fun to hit things.
Of all those links, only Calzaghe was post-fight, and despite getting tagged a few times, I think he’s rather a fetching guy. When he has not just finished a fight, he looks like this. Oscar’s so beautiful my wife would watch him read a phone book; Mayweather is great if he shuts up (but deep down, he’s a Mayweather), etc. I was really pointing out the great bodies fighters have (unfortunately, my Roy Jones link does not work, probably because it’s from somebody’s proprietary poster site — but we’ve all seen Roy’s abs, right? No? here.) I figured you’d appreciate the eye candy at a boxing gym.
Oh, okay. I thought you were making a comment about faces beaten in. If you were out to show me the bodily benefits, you coulda put up some photos of female boxers. Sheesh.
Yoga. You’d be amazed at how quickly you can build up strength, in addition to the well-known benefits of flexibility and relaxation.
I think it depends on what you want to get. I’ve never done boxing, but it seems to be an awesome cardio calorie burning intense kinda thing, probably great if you want to exercise to be more active. Yoga is a much more total wellness thing. I’ve found it to be extremely relaxing and de-stressing, and it stretches and strengthens the muscles gently. It’s been great for my chronic back and neck pain.
I mix things up a bit: Winter: Swimming 3 days a week, yoga 2-3 days Summer: Swim 2 days/week, Rollerblade or Bike 1-2 days, Yoga 1 day
Zuzu, three months of boxing and you’ll have arms like Angela Bassett. It’s great stress relief, too.
Yoga places you in a altered state of consciousness where you are susceptible to demonic influences. Whereas boxing is a good traditional family values sport where, with pugilistic skills, you slosh each others brains around in your skulls. I have to go with yoga just on the principle of the thing.
I was focused on the eye-candy benefits, partly because what boxing will make you look like is highly personal and YMMV. But if you want pics of women fighters, ask and ye shall recieve.
I have done both for years. If calorie burning, stamina strength and quickness are what you are going for then boxing; Yoga does help your strength and flexibility but burns very little in the calorie department unless it is very advanced yoga and quickly done power yoga. I joined a gym so that I could do both, along with run an obstacle course and swim every once in a while. For what the cost of a boxing class or yoga class per month cost you may just want to take that money and join a health club. But it all depends on your priorities.
#1 – The first rule of Yoga Club is, you do not talk about Yoga Club. #2 – The second rule of Yoga Club is, you DO NOT talk about Yoga Club. #3 – If someone says stop, goes limp, taps out, they have reached nirvana. #6 – No shirts, no shoes. #7 – Reincarnation will go on as long as it has to. Etc., etc. JSwift: #21 is going in my quotes list.
#1 – The first rule of Yoga Club is, you do not talk about Yoga Club. #2 – The second rule of Yoga Club is, you DO NOT talk about Yoga Club. #3 – If someone says stop, goes limp, taps out, they have reached nirvana. #6 – No shirts, no shoes. #7 – Reincarnation will go on as long as it has to. Etc., etc. JSwift: #21 is going in my quotes list.
Assuming that you do not have priorities, it all depends on whether or not you’re an extreme pacifist. Would you rather sit, meditate, and be susceptable to demonic influences, or would you rather beat the living fuck out of some guy (girl?).
zuzu, maybe you are already empowered and already know how much of a bad ass you are. When I first took Judo, I didn’t know I could hold someone down or flip them over my hip. It was amazing. I had never been encouraged to use my body that way before. If that sounds like you, then take the boxing. If you can’t stand it, drop it and join the fruity yogis.
Boxing is a lot, a lot, a LOT of fun. It’s not all about hitting each other in the face, really. When you start sparring, which I wouldn’t recommend for a while, you’re going to wear a lot of protective gear and anyway, it’s not punch-each-other-in-the-face-as-hard-as-you-can-again-and-again-until-someone-dies-or-passes-out, it’s… boxing. It’s jumping around on the balls of your feet and sweating and breathing hard and finally landing an awesome right-jab-left-hook combination. I also love yoga. Tough choice!
Personally, I’d go for boxing, but my recommendation would really have to be yoga. Yoga will tone you and make you more flexible and, yes, stronger, and make you much more able to do pretty much any other physical activity, short of heavy lifting, that you want. I think boxing’s more fun, but especially in the long run, yoga’s just better for you. Boxing is a hell of a release, though, and unless you’re a whole lot of pacifist, there aren’t a lot of better thrills than sparring. It’s a huge rush, will give you great arm, shoulder and chest muscles, and it’s much faster-paced. I guess it comes down to whether or not you’re into, y’know, serenity.
I do karate in a dojo, yoga at home. I would say take the boxing class, because that’s something you can only do elsewhere. Yoga is quite feasible at home. That said – I’ll take my Isshinryu over boxing any day.
Swimming. Works out all sorts of muscles in the body, is easy on the knees and back, is great cardio, and improves lung capacity and oxygen efficiency. But, failing that, and if you have to choose one or the other, I’d say boxing or TKD or something like that. Both sound excellent, but like Tapetum said, it’s easier to do yoga at home.
Boxing. Knowing how to throw a punch is a good basic skill, and you can always pick up yoga once you’re able to deck a marine with a single swing. Also boxing will give you more confidence to deal with assholes.
My daughter’s pretty fit and boxing really tires her out (she’s 20). If you’re already somewhat fit, go for boxing. If not, go for yoga. Yoga does a lot for serenity but doesn’t make you sweat. If you join the YMCA, you can probably do both AND swim. (just a thought).
boxing – builds endurance, uses most all of the muscle groups, even vigorously shadow boxing. Sparring helps your assertive skills as well and self confidence. Competition is healthy for those living in this social environ. Will build upper body strength, agility, speed and reflexes. Like jah says, join your local Y too. They probably have a heavy bag and a speed bag that you can practice your new-found skills on. Swimming is good for the large muscle groups and isn’t harsh on the ole’ bones while getting aerobic benefit too. Biking is good only outside on a mountain bike on a good trail. You can yoga or tai chi usually at a reduced fee with a Y membership. Good for flexibility, balance and concentration/relaxation development. They all have their pluses.
I have an abiding prejudice against yoga, so I’d vote for boxing. Sadly, I have no reasoned or witty analysis, just a deep distrust of the lotus position.
I take kickboxing, and it’s the only exercise regiment I’ve been able to stick with. I like that it is fast and agressive, and more is expected from you than in an individual exercise regiment. My sensei expects nothing less. I also enjoy that a five-foot tall girl like myself gets to beat the crap out of guys.
yoga. for starters, you will get the strength, stamina, and flexibility. if you also want to burn calories, look for an ashtanga or power yoga class. you can work up a heck of a sweat doing yoga, believe me. and i don’t agree that it can be done at home, not to any real great benefit that is. without an instructor working to help you correct your poses, you won’t advance much on your own. which doesn’t mean you can’t do yoga at home, but if you never work with an instructor and only use videos, your practice won’t develop much. plus there’s that inner peace & serenity thing.
I’ve done both, and I think it really depends on your work-out style. If you like a high-energy, fast-paced work-out where you walk away feeling like you got your ass kicked (which is what I tend to like), then definitely go for boxing. But if you want something that’s less high-energy but a great stress-reducer, and leaves you feeling stretched-out, relaxed, but still exhausted and tired, go for yoga. Good luck!
I like boxing. It’s really helped my speed and self-confidence, and it’s great for getting out my daily frustrations. I’ve tried yoga in the past but it seemed to be harder on my back than boxing, so I gave it up. For exercise classes in general, I prefer belly dancing. It’s more fun, at least for me, than either boxing or yoga.
I haven’t ever tried boxing (unless Tae Bo counts). I love yoga for stretching everything out on the days that I run. For cross training/cardio though, I love group fitness classes like step or cardio funk (hip hop dance & aerobics). It has helped my coordination LOADS and the dance class has helped me to build confidence about my body and the way I move in space.
Boxing. Great exercise, physically and mentally. And it doesn’t make your get stuck in your own head and frustrated if you’re not progressing like can happen with yoga. That said, i second others who say do yoga at home/with tapes to get those benefits, too.