A 20-Minute Boxing Workout to Build Strength and Endurance

Walking into a boxing gym can be an assault on the senses, whether it’s the ringing of a bell, the smell of accumulated sweat or the quick rat-a-tat of the speed bag.

But if you stay for a while, you’ll find that boxing provides one of the most complete workouts available, blending full-body strength training and cardiovascular endurance with exercises designed to improve balance, coordination and reflexes. A boxing workout can help strengthen your back, stabilize your shoulder muscles and even work parts of your legs you didn’t know you had. It will challenge you mentally and physically, while also fortifying your body against injury.

“Boxing workouts will keep you sharp,” said Dwight Pratchett, a boxing coach at Main Street Boxing and Muay Thai in Houston. And you don’t have to actually hit anything (or risk getting hit) to reap the many benefits of boxing — though walloping the heavy bag will certainly release any pent-up stress.

Even without access to a gym, you can still incorporate boxing into your regular workout routine, with minimal equipment required.

Why learn to box?

It’s no secret that boxing workouts can be incredibly challenging. Boxing consistently ranks as one of the toughest sports, requiring a high level of agility, speed, strength, endurance and technical skill. The traditional boxing workout has been crafted over centuries to prepare boxers for the rigors of a fight, with the goal of making them as fast and strong as they can be.

But what many don’t realize is that boxing workouts also help non-boxers improve balance and coordination. Compared with, say, running, boxing is low-impact and requires a greater range of lower body movement, which develops strength and mobility. That makes it a healthy routine to mix into your weekly exercise.

Boxing has been “curative” for Paul Pilibosian, 51, a lawyer based in Houston. Mr. Pilibosian does regular CrossFit workouts and runs half-marathons, both of which have caused aches and pains. After starting boxing last year, “I’ve not really had any injuries,” Mr. Pilibosian said. “It’s a nice complement to running.”

For Rachael McGuinness, a physical therapist at the Method Performance and Physical Therapy in Boston, boxing has helped ease her pelvic floor issues and lower back pain. In boxing, she said, “you have to exhale with every punch, which teaches our body how to coordinate breathing.”

How to get started

A traditional boxing workout typically starts with jump rope and shadowboxing, followed by exercises that use the heavy bag, double-end bag and speed bag; it ends with body-weight exercises. Workouts are often paced in rounds, with three minutes of work followed by one minute of rest, a rhythm that lends itself naturally to high-intensity interval training.

Getting started can be as simple as shadowboxing at home alongside body-weight exercises. There are a number of at-home resources available, including digital classes like…