The Ultimate Guide – Does Kickboxing Helps You to Build Muscle Mass?

Can You Get Ripped with Kickboxing?

This blog debunks the myth about adding kicks and punches to build muscle tone.

Indeed, kickboxing is a great sport working on your different muscle groups.

Apart from other workouts, fitness enthusiasts have an active session of kickboxing, but the muscle-building claims raise suspicion.

Does kickboxing build muscle mass or the claims are too far from reality?

This article uncovers the truth behind the link between kickboxing and muscle building.

To build lean muscle, developing your muscular strength is the key. However, kickboxing has nothing to do with it.

Kickboxing is Not Strength Training

Any workout can improve your fitness level, but to build muscle, the approach is important.

Later on, the importance of technique and skill is key.

The science is simple:

To build quality lean muscle, you need to constantly challenge your muscle with increased resistance and weight. Your muscle mass sustains the challenge with small tears.

Your body focuses on repairing and rebuilding the tears, this result in increased muscle fiber. The entire process is termed muscle hypertrophy.

To encounter visible changes, you need to test your muscle by increasing weights consistently. The resistance should escalate gradually over time. This would make the muscle stronger.

With stronger muscle mass, your body won’t build further lean muscle with a similar weight. You need to elevate the point of failure by increasing resistance. It only ensures muscle growth and a muscular physique.

While many consider it to be strength training, this is quite not the fact.

Kickboxing is Different

The above argument showcased the approach of strength training. The ins and out signifies how kickboxing isn’t a strength workout. It doesn’t involve the mechanism necessary for muscle growth.

The discussion was in general terms. Let’s consider beginners who haven’t encountered resistance. In such a case, kickboxing can result in some hypertrophy. Kickboxing body before and after would be amazing in such a situation. There’s another side to the coin.

Once your body has adapted to kickboxing workouts, it doesn’t challenge your muscle tissue. The resistance remains the same, while your muscle doesn’t reach the point of failure. It reduces the rate of muscle growth leading to a declining point.

There’s more science to kickboxing and muscle building. Let’s find out…

A Minor Study Discussing kickboxing and Muscle Growth

The study indicates that kickboxing doesn’t really benefit your bulking goals.

You can spend time in sport, but not with the mindset that it will benefit your muscle gains.

It does help improve your fitness level and physique.

Does kickboxing build muscle? Let’s flip the coin to see the argument made in the favour of the sport of bulking.

Does Kickboxing Build Muscle? 

Kickboxing isn’t a simple sport. It functions as a proper full-body workout. Surprisingly, it works on every muscle group of your body.

This includes your glutes, hamstrings, calves, quadriceps, shoulders, core, back, chest, and arms.

The bulking depends entirely on your kicks and punches. You need to exert enough force to observe the difference.

Push your feet to the ground while punching your fist with intense force.

The reason lies in the mechanism necessary for muscle growth. Without hypertrophy, you can’t assume building lean muscle.

Mechanical tension and metabolic stress are the main components of strength training. They determine your muscle growth.

Mechanical tension is the force applied to your muscle mass while lifting weights. It should rise to the time of failure to cause muscle tear. Eventually, this triggers muscle repair and rebuilding.

Kickboxing fails to develop metabolic stress of mechanical tension. Of course, the resistance as a result of punches and kicks is low. They don’t trigger hypertrophy to accelerate muscle development.

Is there any other way?

The only way to build muscle is to activate hypertrophy. If in some way kickboxing increases hypertrophy, you can gain muscle.

However, if you observe closely the mechanism of the sport, the possibility is negligible.

Kickboxing requires making faster movements. This naturally lessens generated forces.

Fewer force results in less mechanical tension. This reduces the chances of reaching hypertrophy.

Though, the sport does activate metabolism to accelerate fat loss.

So, does cardio kickboxing build muscle, the answer remains the same.

If it trims body fat, it can naturally increase your muscle mass. However, that’s a completely different story.

The workout doesn’t build muscle, but it emphasizes multiple muscle groups. So, what muscles does kickboxing work, does kickboxing build glutes and arms? Let’s find out…

What Muscles Do Kickboxing Work?

The full-body workout may not add lean muscle, but it doesn’t disappoint you.

It elevates your cardiovascular endurance as well as improves your muscle toning.

Does kickboxing tone arms? Yes, it does, but there is more to it.

Surprisingly, it is one of the best workouts for muscle toning. It even provides you benefits like a strength-training program.

What Muscles Are Worked During Kickboxing?

• Leg, along with quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves
• Chest and shoulders
• Neck and upper back.
• Arms, as well as forearms.
• Core, plus abdominals and lower back.

The list comprises almost every major muscle tissue. Of course, this makes kickboxing one of the best strength training workout programs. However, knowing how to build muscle while kickboxing matters. Of course, it is all about the right approach.

Kickboxing Benefits: Is it a Perfect Full Body Workout?

Kickboxing hype has increased over the years. Does kickboxing build leg muscle? Most questions are like this.

However, kickboxing isn’t just about gains and toning, it is the most effective full-body workout.

It is one of the best exercises working on every muscle group.

This makes it perfect for full-body workouts. On top of that, the kickboxing benefits for males and females further strengthen its stance.

#1: Strengthen and Tone Muscle

Kickboxing offers benefits like strength workouts.

Of course, kickboxing works like an effective full-body workout distributing the benefits of a strength workout.

It strengthens and tones your entire body at once. Whether legs, glutes, core, back and arms, you receive the benefits simultaneously.

#2: Better Power, Fitness, and Agility

Kickboxing is an intense exercise. It elevates your overall fitness as well as improves your agility, activeness, and power.

The increased output and activeness improve your entire workout program.

Meanwhile, it improves your personal and professional life as well.

#3: Melts Away Calories

The sport works like a HIIT. A session of kickboxing can trim around 350 to 450 calories per hour.

On top of that, it advances your flexibility, power, activeness, fitness, and overall health.

Indeed, the best cardio workouts can help trim and tone your body. You can also add a kickboxing session to your routine for ripped muscles.

#4: Heightens Coordination and Balance

When it comes to kickboxing, hand-eye coordination is important. You keep moving while making fast punches and kicks.

This takes your hand-eye coordination to a whole new level. In the beginning, it is challenging. Soon, you learn to develop overall balance and coordination skills.

#5: Reduces Stress

Kickboxing benefits for females and males don’t remain to your body.

It even improves your mental health. Interestingly, the best cardio workouts function as a great stress reliever.

On top of that, it elevates your confidence and focus. It even accelerates the secretion of stress releasing hormones to combat the problem.

#6: Better Cardiovascular Health

Performing HIIT regularly can improve your cardiovascular health. It is the best thing for your heart but even decreases belly fat.

According to studies, belly fat is linked with diabetes, cardiac health, and other diseases.

Most people often enquire about does kickboxing builds muscle.  This limits the spot to muscle building.

In reality, the full-body workout offers various other advantages.

It improves your overall fitness and other paradigms of a fit body. On top of that, the disadvantages of kickboxing are none.

Indeed, you can add a session of kickboxing to get maximum benefits from the sport. But, how does it work on muscle groups? Let’s find out…

5 Major Muscle Groups and How Kickboxing Works On Them

In general, kickboxing appears to burn more calories. The sport works as a full-body workout benefiting every muscle group if utilizes properly.

Here’s how to target your muscle group using kickboxing.

#1. Back/Neck

Stronger back and neck muscles are necessary for explosive cardio sessions. You need to work on trapezius muscles while being conscious.

• Your trapezius muscles ensure your hand remains high in a strong guard posture.
• The lats get active when you stay on guard and pull back into guard after a punch.

The workouts even work on your lats i.e., latissimus dorsi. When you get back from your punch, it works on these larger muscle tissue.

Also, when you stay active keeping your hands high, it activates your back muscles.

#2. Arms

Does kickboxing build arm muscle? The sport is great for toning your pack. When you punch, it works on your triceps. Indeed, the muscle group works with every pushing motion.

When you punch a punching bag, it does work on the muscle tissue. Of course, you can observe the difference during your kickboxing sessions.

• The triceps helps in powerful punches.
• Your biceps stay active when beginning in the punching position and then pull back afterward.
• Your forearms observe the effects when you clench your fist to punch.

Moreover, kickboxing works on the biceps even during the move. You need to maintain a proper form while keeping your arms higher to provide your biceps with enough resistance.

The workout even improves your forearms. You need to clench your first properly to strengthen the tone of the muscle group.

Related: How to Tone Arms without Gaining Muscles?

#3. Shoulders/Chest

The sport even works on your upper body in different ways. To deliver a powerful punch, your body requires your shoulder muscles (front deltoids) and your chest muscle (pectoralis major).

It even targets your shoulders employing muscle on both sides of your shoulders i.e., your lateral deltoids.

• When it comes to powerful punches such as crosses and jabs, your front deltoids and chest muscles play key roles.
• Punches such as hooks target your chest and lateral deltoids.
• When you get back to guard postures after a punch, it works on your rear deltoids

You can work on your shoulders and chest by employing a few kinds of punches. Of course, it is about power and the right punches.

#4. Core

Kickboxing helps build a stronger core. When you punch, it targets your hips to throw a powerful one to the punching bag.

Of course, this move targets your obliques, abdominals, and lower back muscles.

• The move works on your Abdominals, lower back, and obliques when you deliver the punch.
• On the other hand, your core helps develop balance and power with every punch and kick.

Kicking also works as an intense core exercise. You should lift your legs up to your hip to engage your abs. the muscle tenses help keep balance during the kick. This is how kickboxing works in intense core exercises.

#5. Legs

Kickboxing works on your calves. You need to maintain your stance to make fast moves.

This keeps your calves under constant pressure strengthening them. If your kickboxing session involves jumping roles, it can further strengthen your calves.

• Kickboxing works on your calves while you use it to balance your posture.
• Jumping rope and even work on your calves if you involve it in your cardio kickboxing sessions.
• Kickboxing bounces your hamstrings, quads, and glutes.
• When you kick, it targets your thighs and glutes.

On top of that, kickboxing keeps your hamstrings, quads, and glutes active. The workout emphasizes your entire leg

This was everything on how to build muscle while kickboxing. You need to focus on the said move to improve your results. In the end, let’s sum up the discussion.

The Takeaway

Kickboxing is the best sport to improve your fitness, health, and body composition.

Does kickboxing build muscle?

Well, the full-body workout resembles nothing to a strength workout. Without hypertrophy, it is impossible to build muscles.

Even available reports suggest it can help build muscles.

Though beginners can observe some differences, after a time they won’t notice any benefits. However, the full-body workout works as an effective cardio exercise.

It trims body fat while toning your muscles. There are other impressive benefits of kickboxing as well.

In short, the workout program isn’t at all disappointing. You can perform a session of kickboxing but don’t expect big in terms of bulking.