How Boxing Workouts Can Transform Your Fitness Routine?
Explore how boxing challenges the body and mind, helping you overcome training plateaus, build functional strength, and improve cardiovascular health.
Ronda "Rowdy" Rousey
Bio
Ronda Rousey is a groundbreaking figure in combat sports, widely regarded as one of the most influential athletes of her generation. Born on February 1, 1987, in Riverside, California, Rousey rose to prominence as a judoka, becoming the first American woman to earn an Olympic bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Her success in judo laid the foundation for her transition to mixed martial arts (MMA), where she quickly became a dominant force.
Rousey made history as the first female fighter in the UFC, where she became the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion and held the title for nearly three years. Known for her fierce submission game and lightning-fast armbar finishes, she went undefeated for nearly a decade in MMA. Ronda’s groundbreaking career not only helped popularize women’s MMA but also paved the way for future generations of female athletes in combat sports.
Beyond the cage, Rousey is an accomplished author, actress, and advocate for gender equality in sports. Her autobiography, My Fight / Your Fight, details her journey from judo to MMA and reflects on the mental strength and resilience required to succeed at the highest levels of competition. Ronda’s legacy extends far beyond her athletic achievements, as she continues to inspire and challenge societal norms.
I used to think I had to be miserable to earn success. But I've lost that need and realized that it's very old-fashioned. Boxing great Mike Tyson said "a very happy fighter is a dangerous fighter". I think he's right. I'm happier—and more dangerous—now than I've ever been.
There were times when I knew that I was in a terrible situation, but I also knew that it wouldn't last forever. Those are the moments when you have to remind yourself that this experience is a defining moment in your life, but you are not defined by it.
I have been asked if I have no fear. The truth is I fear a lot of things. I just don't let fear control me. I use it to motivate me. I confront things that scare me head-on, because fear is nothing more than a feeling. The girls I'm facing in the cage, they can hurt me. Fear can't actually hurt me. Acting without fear is called recklessness. Acting with fear is called courage.
Everyone wants to win. But to truly succeed—whether it is at a sport or at your job or in your life—you have to be willing to do the hard work, overcome the challenges, and make the sacrifices it takes to be the best at what you do.
Making a change in your life is as easy as making a decision and acting on it. That's it.
You don't look at the matchups and hope to have a good draw, making it easier for you to win. It doesn't matter who you have to fight and what order you have to fight them because to be the best in the world, you have to beat them all anyway.
I'm not looking to escape the pressure. I'm embracing it. Pressure is what builds up in the chamber behind the bullet before it explodes out of the gun.
Life is a fight from the minute you take your first breath to the moment you exhale your last. You have to fight the people who say it can never be done. You have to fight the institutions that put up the glass ceilings that must be shattered. You have to fight your body when it tells you it's tired. You have to fight your mind when doubt begins to creep in. You have to fight systems that are put in place to disrupt you and obstacles that are put in place to discourage you. You have to fight because you can't count on anyone else fighting for you. And you have to fight for people who can't fight for themselves. To get anything for real value, you fight for it.
If you are unwilling to leave someplace you've outgrown, you will never reach your full potential. To be the best, you have to constantly be challenging yourself, raising the bar, pushing the limits of what you can do. Don't stand still, leap forward.
Never hope for mistakes from your opponents. Assume they are perfectly prepared. Assume they make weight. Assume they never get tired. Assume all their reactions will be the correct ones. Expect that they will have their eyes open, ready to take advantage of any mistakes that you make.
So many people assume that I'm cold and callous, but the truth is you need a big heart to fight. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I have had it broken too. I can compete with broken toes or stitches in my foot. I can take a hit without batting an eyelash but I will burst into tears if a sad song comes on the radio. I'm vulnerable; that's why I fight.
I have an ability to ignore all of the information coming from my body, even pain in general. I dissociate from pain, because I am not the pain that I'm feeling. That's not me. That's not who I am. I refuse to allow pain to dictate my decision making. Pain is just one piece of information that I'm receiving. My nerves are communicating to my brain that there is something going on physically that I should be aware of. I can choose to acknowledge that information or I can choose to ignore it.