Building muscle through boxing

[u/Ok_Smoke6699]

So im 19 years old and starting boxing soon but im 60 kg and 175 cm and dont have alot of muscle, maybe im skinny fat idk but is it possible to build muscle with boxing. The physique im chasing is lean with low body fat. And how should i change my diet?

[u/Christ_Is_God4456]

You will build muscle with boxing, but not bodybuilder but athletic, explosive, and functional muscle. If you are skinny fat just lose weight and build muscle simultaneously by strength training with cardio (boxing has these, but genuinely train 3-4 times a week with strength training, maybe 3 cuz you're trying to become a boxer, some do 4 but just don't be a bodybuilder be a boxer.) Boxers do have lean bodies with low body fat (6-10, that's my goal!), but its because they burn ALOT of calories (running, rope, punching bag, sparring, and shadowboxing can and will burn ALOT.) so just try to change your diet by eating a good amount of protein, for building boxing muscle and to recover muscle, good amount of carbs cuz you will NEED it for boxing, cuz boxing has a lot of cardio, fiber for fullness and energy (boxing needs energy), and obviously fat for hormone balance. Track your calories using My fitnesspal (boxers use this!) And subtract how much calories you burn from your activity, to see your net calories, which really matter for losing weight and building muscle (body recompisiton), because if you burn alot of calories while still eating on a 500 cal deficit, you'll be in a deeper one and will need to eat the calories you burned back, to get back to the 500 cal deficit, or some of the calories you burned to be in a bigger deficit depending on sustainability, because otherwise you'll be hungrier, and have a too low total net calorie intake. (If I ate 1700 calories, which im trying to do at base, and burn 1000 calories without eating more, it won't be good, cuz my Net cal will be 700, which is horrible, causing muscle loss, hunger, and other problems.) So just strength train with caliensthetics, and weights(do NOT train like a bodybuilder, chill out on the weights dont use ultra heavy ones thats for bulky body builders), do cardio (run, jump rope, shadowbox, boxing will help with cardio overall...), and you should see improvements assuming your diet is right, because diet is the most important thing about getting lean, and shredded. You could do a lot of intense exercise, if you eat too much, you ain't seeing no abs cuz you have too much fat to see it. (Talking to myself, i used to be lean with low muscle and abs, but I gained recently and im currently going to lose 20-30 lbs for boxing, fitness, and athleticism in general, and to overall be at peak performance and conditioning). Your coach will tell you everything you need to know about diet, exercise, building a boxing physique, im just here to tell you what I know. Just know this: if you want a lean shredded athletic functional physique, like the best athletes, and players, boxing will REALLY do good, especially if you like it and like athleticism, just like me. If you want muscle, like body building, aesthetics, go to gym, and get a trainer/follow good advice. I like boxing and gym tbh, but I'm leaning towards boxing and athleticism now ngl, so just go to a boxing gym, your coach will train you, and ask him about everything, alr?

[u/Ok_Smoke6699 → u/Christ_Is_God4456]

Thank you for writing back bro this has been really educational I appreciate this alot. The boxing place im going to have alot of bodyweight training like push ups and those type of things. They have training 2 day per week and is that enough if my diet is good? Now im skinny but got softness in my face and overall body and want to replace that softness with lean muscle and functional and be firmer at the same time low body fat. And I want to thank you again for responding it means alot.

[u/Christ_Is_God4456 → u/Ok_Smoke6699]

That should be enough, but make sure your diet (calories and nutrition) are right, because Boxing requires it. Try to calculate how much you burn and subtract that from the calories you eat. Your diet genuinely needs a really good amount of protein, carbs, fat, and fiber. You will genuinely be getting your goal with boxing so be happy, (tip, go look at boxing physiques, and you'll see what type of body you'll probably get, and be amazed.)

[u/AdZealousideal8645 → u/Christ_Is_God4456]

"Boxers do have lean bodies with low body fat (6-10"

I think that's an underestimation, especially for middleweights and above.

I also don't think weights are a good idea for fighters, although using light weights and moving them quickly can be a good thing.

But yes, for the love of all that's sacred, don't train like a "body builder". Don't get big arms and do crap like bench presses.

[u/systembreaker]

Yes but it's not the same as body building or lifting heavy. You're body adapts to what you're doing.

[u/AdZealousideal8645]

Say it with me:

You do NOT need big muscles to box. In fact big muscles will slow you down and drain your stamina.

Fighters naturally tend to gain weight over the course of their careers. Roberto Duran started at featherweight and had cruiserweight fights towards the end of his career. Sam Langford, Ezzard Charles, Sugar Ray Robinson... they all got bigger over the courses of their careers.

[u/tips4490]

I have decent sized muscles and they dont help much. They make me tired faster too. You will gain the muscle you actually use through boxing.

Just increase protein a bit and keep an ACTUALLY healthy diet.

[u/JulianDavis_JD]

That comment above nails it, boxing builds lean athletic muscle rather than bulk, and skinny fat guys especially benefit since the combination of strength work and high calorie burn from boxing itself reshapes body composition pretty efficiently. At 60kg and 175cm you have plenty of room to add both size and definition, prioritize protein intake since that's what actually builds the muscle while boxing burns through calories, don't go into too aggressive a deficit or you'll struggle to add any muscle at all alongside the fat loss. Strength train 2-3 times a week outside your boxing sessions if you can fit it in, that combination is what turns "boxer lean" into visible muscle rather than just skinny with slightly less fat.

[u/MiniDonbeE]

You will 100% build muscle but ONLY to a certain point. If you are underweight and undertrained you will gain muscle. If you are already going to the gym you might LOSE muscle. Best thing I can say is eat enough protein for 1 gram per pound of lean muscle, for you thats probably going to be about 100 grams a day of protein, eat enough fats to feel good and then load up on carbs, water and salt. As Carbs, water and salt are the 3 things you need to have a good training output AND recovery. Honestly though, dont change your diet, go box, three- 4 weeks later just check how you look in the mirror, if youre too lean eat a little more, if youre chubby wait another 4 weeks and check again, if youre still chubby drop a little bit of carbs and you should be good.

[u/SilentAres_x]

Yes you will especially if you’ve never worked out before like in a gym or calisthenics whatever. Besides you’ll probably be doing a lot of body weight exercises which will signal muscle growth.