It may seem slightly ironic to some that the dangerous sport of boxing is actually one of the best training workouts you can do, nevertheless it is a FACT and one of the main reasons personal trainers use this method when working with their clients. That's because boxing is the fastest, most effective way to burn the maximum amount of calories in the shortest space of time. In effect it works the entire body to the maximum, toning and sculpting all the muscles and provides fantastic weight loss results. It is also a seriously fun way to shed the pounds.

But you can forget all about walloping a punch bag in a sweaty gym or slabs of meat Rocky-style in a butcher's ice room. No these workouts are all relatively low key and involve simply your one-on-one personal trainer and you. In fact it is literally one-way one-on-one because they wear the pads and you don the gloves. And that is all you are aiming at, the pads on the trainer's hands. It is the only contact; you're not actually striking the personal trainer anywhere else on his/her body.

It may sound a bit strange, but resistance training causes microscopic damage or tears to the muscle cells which react by quickly initiating an instinctive repair mechanism to get the muscles regenerating. This in turn makes the body grow stronger. Thus rest time in between resistance training sessions is just as important as the workout's themselves. Resistance training is beneficial for many health and fitness reasons, especially when it comes to losing weight. That's because muscle tissue is metabolically active, thus the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn which makes losing weight easier - even when you're simply resting. It also makes maintaining a healthy weight much easier too.

Apart from being a great weight loss and cardio workout, boxing training is excellent for agility and mental alertness and gets those all-important endorphin cavorting around the body to create that wonderful feeling of well-being. And with your personal trainer encouraging you every step of the way, it is the perfect motivation you need for getting on the road to greater fitness and shedding that weight you so despise.

So, that's why resistance training is an excellent fitness tool, what is the best way to get into resistance training? The easy answer to that is with the help of a personal trainer. Not only are they best suited to fit in with your particular lifestyle or work pattern, more importantly they can give you the motivation you need. This is a big part of getting any health or fitness programme off the ground and why most people fail to maintain any workout sessions on their own. They may start off well, but it's hard to keep going without that extra person spurring you on. But with your personal trainer encouraging you every step of the way, it is the perfect motivation you need for getting on the road to greater fitness.