Boxing is a sport with extremely high demands on complete fitness, and the very intense training of boxers for conditioning (70% aerobic, 30% anaerobic) is geared to obtain optimum cardio-vascular fitness, as well as strength and flexibility, among others. Beginners soon notice a drastic reduction of body fat, and improved muscle tone from head to toe, more strength, stamina and energy, and an overall feeling of well-being. As these great benefits of a boxer's training program became more widely known, fitness programs were designed for the general public using boxing club facilities and equipment, and conducted by certified boxing coaches. (In some cases, former Olympic boxers and medal winners conduct fitness classes using the exact same training methods that made them Olympians.) The most popular fitness programs are "boxaerobic" and "boxercise" classes. An example outline is given on this web site.
Join the boxing club in your area that has recreational or fitness boxing. Most of them do. To locate the club, contact the Boxing Association in your province for direction, or the Recreation Department of your municipality. Even if no particular fitness classes are being held in the club selected, you will be welcome to join the boxers in the club, male and female, in their training program. The benefits will be similar. You will be asked to register in the club and the boxing association as a recreational member (with insurance coverage), and you will be surprised at the low cost.
Call your Provincial Amateur Boxing Association for information on boxing clubs in your area. The phone number of your provincial amateur boxing association is listed on this web site under Directory.
To become a boxer, you join a boxing club. There are 231 boxing clubs in Canada, all with qualified, certified coaches and instructors, and chances are that there will be one near where you live. You may already know one. If not, call your Provincial Association for direction. Before becoming a member of the club and applying for membership in your Provincial Association and the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association who will issue a competitors passport with medical record, you require a medical examination and a certificate stating that you are fit and healthy for boxing, not pregnant, and without pelvic or breast disorders, which can be done by your personal physician. With both male and female club members, you will join a training program for conditioning, as well as learning boxing skills, which eventually includes sparring. Sparring is boxing training in a gym ring with a partner, but supervised by your coach who will guide and correct, where you practice the skills you learned, including defensive skills, under actual bout conditions. For that you will wear a sparring headguard, mouth guard, and chest and pelvic protectors.
Not before several months of regular training (average 3 sessions of 2-3 hours per week, in the evenings), your coach(es) will assess your skill level and if you are ready for your first competition, a novice bout on a local club card can be arranged.
The minimum age for competing in amateur boxing in Canada is 11 years. There are 5 age categories: Cadet A (11 and 12 years old), Cadet B (13 and 14 years), Cadet C, also called Junior Olympians, (15 and 16 years), Junior, or Youth (17 and 18 years), and Seniors (19 years old during the year of competition, and older). There is no upper age limit in Canada, but internationally it is 34 years.
You will be matched against a competitor of equal weight, age group and experience. After several more bouts, and more experience, you may enter provincial and interprovincial competitions, and if successful, National Championships, which are tournaments of provincial teams in all the various weight classes. To become a National Champion means getting on the National Team, representing Canada internationally, and perhaps one day in the Olympic Games.
Female boxing is still rather new, and the numbers of competitors is still relatively low. With motivation and dedication to training and learning, it is much faster to reach the top in Canada and the world in female boxing.
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