Things to Know About Building Power and Speed for Boxing

Training for boxing has undergone some major changes throughout the years. Prior to the 1980s, many trainers refused to let their fighters lift weights in an attempt to get stronger because the trainers feared it would make the fighters "musclebound" and that their punching would slow down because they would build heavy, muscular arms. While those ideas have all but disappeared, boxers have to concentrate on speed and technique, and building punching power through weight training is just one aspect of preparing for boxing.
Know Your Needs
Each boxer has different needs while training. Some punchers are naturally strong and are very dangerous when they get in tight quarters and throw punches. Those same fighters tire as the boxing match moves into the late stages. Other fighters box well and know how to move. They have the endurance to make this style work, but they often get muscled around by opponents when they try to fight on the interior. The boxer who has endurance and technique may need extra work when it comes to strength training and lifting, while the stronger boxer may need more conditioning work. According to boxing trainer Ross Enamait, fighters have to determine what training tools best suit their needs. Strength training helps all fighters, but in particular those who need to develop greater power more than those who have natural strength.
Building Power
There are several weight training exercisers boxers execute to build strength and punching power. These include arm curls, bench presses, leg presses, leg curls and lunges. Boxers may develop more strength and power by lifting to failure -- the maximum amount they can lift. However, this technique is not for beginners because it can lead to injuries when the muscles are not prepared to lift to that level.
Finish Your Workout
Boxers should not sacrifice training in the ring for weightlifting. It often is best to get your training work in before you start lifting weights. For example, many boxers get their road work -- running 3 to 5 miles -- in during the morning before heading to the gym for a training session. That training session includes rope jumping, hitting the speed bag, shadow boxing, hitting the heavy bag and then sparring with an opponent. After the boxing work is complete, the fighter does weight training exercises to increase strength and endurance.
Strength Work -- Building Punching Speed and Power
The point of lifting weights for a boxer is to build explosive punching power and increase the speed that punches can be thrown. It is not to build bigger and more impressive muscles. Boxers have no business trying to become bodybuilders. Enamait says that a bodybuilder's training routine does not work on power, speed or endurance. It is only to build symmetrical muscles, something that is of no concern to boxing judges and how they score a fight.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

5 Things to Know About Boxing Training Workouts

Boxing is a sport that demands serious training. Fighters have to get in superior condition, they have to practice throwing punches, they must learn to avoid them and they must find a way to call on energy reserves when they are exhausted. This sport requires both physical and mental strength and an inner confidence that allows a boxer to come through when a fight is on the line.
Overall Conditioning
From the time a fighter starts to prepare for a fight date, he must get his body in the best condition possible. Fighters do several exercises to help their conditioning, but the most important exercise to build endurance is running. Boxers generally run 3 to 5 miles early in the morning three or four times per week during the training period. Boxers refer to their running routine as roadwork. After doing their roadwork, boxers head into the gym for the rest of their training day.
Speed Bag and Heavy Bag
Boxers use the speed bag to learn how to throw quick and accurate punches and a heavy bag to learn how to throw punches with power and explosiveness. These are exercise tools that have been used in fighting for decades. In order to hit the speed bag correctly, a boxer must hit it in the center so that it bounds off a support ring and bounds back to the fighter. That allows a fighter to hit the bag in a rhythmic pattern that build quickness and hand-eye coordination. The heavy bag forces the fighter to use his entire body when it comes to throwing punches. Instead of using the arms, the fighter must also use his hips, glutes, back and core muscles to learn to be a power puncher.
Rope Jumping
Rope jumping helps a fighter build quickness and determination to finish the job along with coordination. Fighters jump rope with quickness and speed so they learn to move into a position to throw dangerous punches and move out of range to avoid dangerous punches from opponents. In order to make rope jumping an effective exercise, the boxer must jump rope non-stop for three minutes at a time--the same as a boxing round. Hitting the speed bag for five rounds can help a fighter get into excellent fighting condition.
Sparring
The most effective way to prepare for a fight against a top-level opponent is to get in the ring and practice with another fighter. Boxers wear head gear and larger gloves to keep themselves from getting hurt, but the punches are thrown with serious intentions. The fighter uses the sparring session to hone his skills and prepare for a fight. This is perhaps the best exercise because the fighter does the same thing in a sparring session that he will do in a fight.
History
Elite-level boxers try to stay in good shape throughout the year. However, when they have a big fight on the horizon, they normally use a six-week training cycle to do their most intense work. Heavyweight fighters such as Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis have often left their homes and gone to training complexes many miles away from their regular gyms so they could isolate themselves and prepare for their most important fights. Their exercises, diets and sleep patterns are carefully monitored in an effort to get a fighter in peak condition prior to a fight. Some of the classic moments provided by the sport indicate the training sacrifice is effective.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Benefits and Risks of Kids' Boxing

Despite its reputation for violence, many boxing gyms offer popular kids' programs. According to kids' combat sport expert Dave Coffman, boxing taught by the right coach offers all of the benefits associated with more exotic martial arts programs. Though it does carry some inherent risks, properly coached and supervised boxing can be a good outlet for young men and women.
Benefits
Boxing training itself is a vigorous workout, burning up to 400 calories an hour in a child-sized athlete, according to Coffman. Besides building cardiovascular endurance, the drills in a boxing workout build speed, strength, flexibility, timing and coordination. The mental traits built by boxing include perseverance, mental toughness, strategy and even patience. As boxing coach Lee Sprague puts it, "You're going to get hit, and feel pain, and have to deal with that in a constructive way right there on the spot."
Risks
Although boxing is a combat sport with some risk of injury, boxing ranked behind football, baseball and soccer for injury rates in a 2002 study of youth sport injuries. Wearing proper equipment and having a qualified coach present helps keep injury rates low. Many parents are also concerned that a violent sport might develop violent children. However, as the "Parents' Guide to Martial Arts" by Debra Fritsch points out, mindset in athletes is directly related to the mindset of a coach. An aggressive ballet instructor is more likely to produce aggressive children than a calm and centered boxing coach.
Equipment
Proper safety equipment is vital to safe participation in any combat sport. Kid fighters should wear gloves, helmets, mouth pieces and groin protection at all times. Though hand wraps are popular, some trainers prefer to eschew them with children as the extra support might slow the natural development of their wrist muscles. Training equipment not essential to safety includes boxing shoes, punching bags, weight equipment and jump ropes.
Training Programs
Kids' boxing classes will typically run for 60 to 90 minutes. During the class, students will engage in a warm up, practice specific drills, work on punching bags or shields, engage in live practice, such as sparring, participate in conditioning and perform a cool down. Some coaches also will set aside time to teach important ethical or mental concepts, such as ethics, strategy and citizenship. Ex-convict Larry Chisholm specifically uses his Pittsburgh-based program to steer children away from gangs and into a more productive use of their time and energy.
Competition
Competition is as much a part of boxing as it is any other sport. A kids' boxing program will include opportunities to compete in the ring against team mates and against members of other teams. Cofffman points out that this can sometimes be hard for parents to watch. However, boxing competition teaches kids about the value of hard work, the importance of mental toughness and how to maintain discipline under serious stress. Like all other elements of boxing training, a boxing match must be adequately supervised, use all safety equipment and be conducted by a qualified referee.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

How to Increase Your Boxing Power?

A boxer must have have skills, speed, rhythm, strategy, endurance, perseverance and toughness to succeed. Each trait contributes to success in the ring in a different way. Power, for example, gives effectiveness to the punches that other attributes allow the boxer to land.
Benefits
Speed, rhythm and skill will help an athlete land a punch. Without power, though, the punch is often meaningless. A weak punch won't knock a boxer out, and most of the time won't even erode at his endurance in the way most boxing punches do. Albuquerque, N.M.-based kickboxing coach William Pleasant says of power, "You can't dig a hole with a rubber shovel."
Elements of Power
Boxing power lies within three specific areas. Physical strength is important to deliver powerful strikes. Strong people hit harder than weaker people. Body alignment is equally important, as it allows the boxer to add the strength of his legs and torso to each punch. A powerful punch doesn't just involve the arms, it involves the entire body. Proper form also contributes to boxing power, as a well-formed punch hurts the opponent more. A poorly formed punch can hurt the boxer who threw it.
Bag Work
Working the heavy bag is a key way to build power. Punching the bag develops the precise muscles and reflexes needed to throw powerful punches. The bag's resistance, especially with a training partner to steady it, provides resistance training for the muscles in the punch. Watching how the bag reacts to a punch helps a boxer know if his punches have the right alignment. Heavy bags also provide immediate feedback about punching form. A poorly thrown punch will turn a wrist or ding the knuckles for a painful reminder that it's important to do it right.
Weight Training
Weight training builds the simple muscle strength that creates powerful punches. Boxers benefit from full-body training, but power relies mostly on the triceps, deltoids and lats. According to Arnold Schwarzenegger's "New Modern Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding," good exercises for the triceps include arm extensions and incline dumbbell presses. Pulldowns and dumbbell rows are good for building lats. Good deltoid exercises include dumbbell shrugs and deadlifts. For all exercises where it's possible, free-weight exercises are better than machine exercises. According to "Strong Women Stay Young" and "Martial Arts Over 40," this is because free weights force the small muscles around the wrists, elbows and shoulders to stabilize the load. These small muscles are vital for throwing punches with proper form.
Plyometrics
Plyometrics are exercises that use body weight to build explosive force. Where weight training increases muscle size and strength, plyometrics use that strength in a dynamic context. Examples of plyometrics include jumping, high-stepping, skipping, clap push-ups and any other exercises where the athlete pushes himself off the ground.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Strength and Speed Training for Boxing Women

Women's boxing started out as a curiosity but is now a sport that attracts the attention of top boxing trainers, fight fans and female athletes. Women's boxing is a demanding start. Many women come into the sport for the challenge of it but are unfamiliar with the basics. In addition to learning the way to punch, move and train, women boxers have to get in top condition and build strength in order to be effective in the ring.
Conditioning
The conditioning aspect is vital for any boxer. Doing road work is a necessity. Road work--long-distance running--will help a boxer build the endurance that is necessary to last in the ring. Run 3 to 5 miles every morning before heading into the gym. Do this three or four times per week.
Strength Training
Women who go into boxing have to undergo strength training in order to become effective punchers. The average woman might not have the natural physical strength, compared to the average man, to throw powerful punches, so they have to lift weights and do circuit training more than male counterparts. Strength training by itself won't make a fighter an effective puncher, but a stronger woman will throw harder punches once she knows the correct techniques.
Quickness and Speed
One of the best tools that boxers use to gain speed and quickness is jumping rope. This will increase a woman's coordination, movement skills and help develop fighting instincts. Jump rope for six minutes, take a one-minute break and then jump rope for another six minutes. This will give you more jump and quickness once you are in the ring.
Heavy Bag Training
Women and men both train on the heavy bag, but they do it in different ways. Women want to build strength and upper-body endurance when they work out on the heavy bag. The idea behind training with the heavy bag is to be able to throw punches in combinations and to throw punches without stopping. This will build the kind of upper-body strength that will allow female fighters to become dangerous in the ring. Men are more interested in using the heavy bag to work on their power punching technique. Men want to throw punches using the muscles in their back, core and glutes in addition to their arms and shoulders. Unlike women, men are not looking at the heavy bag as a strength-building tool.
Considerations
Boxing for women has not yet reached mainstream status but it has been an accepted sport since the 1990s. Many women go into boxing and training because it helps them get in shape. However, several women's amateur and professional programs are operating. Championship belts are awarded to top-level fighters and their fights attract ticket-buying fight fans.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Boxing Training With Speed and Heavy Bags

Preparing for a boxing match is a full-time job for most fighters. To stay healthy in the ring and give yourself a chance to win, you cannot let your training slip just because you don't have fight coming up in the next three weeks or a month. The best fighters train every day to stay strong, keep their reflexes up and make sure their endurance is at a high level.
Endurance
To work on your endurance, you will need to do roadwork three times or more per week. Roadwork is how boxers refer to distance running. Fighters hit the road early in the morning--before going into the gym--and run 3 to 5 miles at a time. Expect to tone down the roadwork in the final seven to 10 days before a boxing match, but know that running allows you to prepare for expending the energy that you will need to have in a boxing match.
Speed Bag Training
To have a chance to get the punch in before your opponent does, you have to display your quickness on a regular basis. You have to be quicker to punch and to block your opponent's shots. Working on the speed bag will help you improve your quickness and your instincts. Boxers want to hone their left jab on the speed bag and add in a right cross, a left hook and a right hook. Hitting the speed bag regularly will help you get quicker when it comes to delivering punches. Do this for 15 minutes every day, take a two-minute break and then repeat the drill.
Heavy Bag Training
The heavy bag is a vital boxing tool when it comes to delivering a punch with power. It is not enough to hit a heavy bag with just the power in your arms and shoulders. You must use your hips, glutes, legs and core muscles when you deliver a power punch. The heavy bag will make you use your entire body when you are throwing a punch. That will translate into you learning the right way to throw a power punch in the ring. Do this every day for 10 minutes, take a five-minute break and then repeat the set.
Sparring
As you go through the training process, you will need to step in the ring and spar with another opponent. A sparring partner should be a solid boxer who will challenge your ability. Both you and your sparring partner will get in the ring with protective headgear and gloves that have extra padding. Some fighters also wear rib protectors. However, both of you will throw hard punches. You have to land yours and avoid your sparring partner's, as if it were a boxing match. Sparring three times a week will help keep you sharp and prepared to fight.
Considerations
The earlier you are in your career, the more important it is to keep to your daily training regimen. Boxing is a dangerous sport and if you want to protect yourself you have to take training very seriously. The habits for your career are set in the first two years so make sure you push yourself to the maximum in order to give yourself the best chance to win and stay healthy when you get in the ring. If you notice that your training tactics are starting to wane and you spend less time running, sparring or hitting the speed bag, you may be winding down in your career. If you are no longer preparing the way you did earlier in your career, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to either rededicate yourself to your training or to give strong consideration to retiring.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Abs Workouts for Boxing

Boxing is a challenging sport requiring aerobic fitness, endurance, strength and power in equal measure. Boxers train hard to develop the necessary physical attributes to be successful in the ring. One area of a boxer's body that is especially important is the abdomen.
About the Abdominal Muscles
The term "abs" is often used as an abbreviation for rectus abdominus, which is the muscle that runs up the front of your stomach. Abs is also the term used to describe the muscles of the midsection, commonly referred to as your core. Along with your rectus abdominus muscles, your core consists of your oblique or waist muscles, the erector spinea muscles of your lower back and your transverse abdominus, which is the natural "girdle" that compresses your abdominal cavity contents. As significant as your rectus abdominus is, these other muscles are equally important in boxing.
Strong Abs for Protection
As a boxer, you need strong abs for two main reasons, one of which is protection. Strong abs provide a barrier between your internal organs and the powerful body blows your opponent lands during a bout. Weak abs mean that body blows will be more painful and are more likely to result in you getting winded and possibly losing the bout. Strengthen your abs to protect yourself from body blows' effects.
Strong Abs for Performance
The second reason you need strong abs for boxing is performance. Most movements in boxing are initiated by your abdominal muscles. Ducking, dodging and especially punching require a strong midsection. Your core is the link between your arms and legs, and any weakness in this area will result in lost power and energy. Stronger abs will transfer to all aspects of your boxing.
Ab Training Exercises
Perform a variety of exercises for your midsection to ensure your abs are up to the demands boxing places on them. Select exercises that work your abdominals from all angles so that you develop all-around core strength. Performing variations of crunches, side bends, leg raises, planks, cable twists and back extensions will ensure your midsection is strong from all directions. Variety is key for successful boxing ab training.
Developing Stronger Abs
Developing strength requires that you place a significant overload on your muscles---and your abdominals are no different. Although many ab exercises use body weight for resistance, you will probably find that over time you will need to use equipment such as medicine balls and cables to continually strengthen your core. High reps, 20 or more, are effective for developing muscular endurance, but punching harder, ducking quicker and absorbing big body blows is more reliant on muscular strength. To develop your abs for boxing, try to perform exercises that keep your reps below 12 per set to focus more on strength and less on endurance.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

How to Develop Good Boxing Defense?

Albuquerque, New Mexico-based boxing coach and kenpo master Bill Packer says that unlike karate and other martial arts that block incoming strikes, boxing teaches athletes to dodge attacks. This is because boxing punches come in fast and in flurries. A block would leave a boxer no time to counterattack, and often no time to block the second incoming punch.
Footwork
According to Packer, footwork is at the core of all boxing skill. The ability to shuffle in and back, circling away from your opponent's position of power, is key to successful boxing defense. Boxers drill for hours to improve their mobility, strengthen their calves and build the cardiovascular endurance they need to keep their feet moving for an entire 10-round bout.
Bobbing and Weaving
The most common method for avoiding a boxing punch is simply moving the head out of the way. Boxers will duck under an incoming punch, slip the head backward, just out of reach, and dodge right or left of where their head was a moment earlier. When training to dodge a punch, most boxers work not just the dodge but their follow-up. A boxer is most vulnerable while throwing a punch, so a boxer who has just ducked under a punch has an opportunity to throw a devastating counterattack.
Checking
Karate black belt and experienced boxer and kickboxer Matt Zanger recommends a defense strategy called checking the punch. For punches to the head, a boxer holds the arms and gloves up in a cage around the head, taking his opponent's punches on the arms. For the body, this means dropping the elbows to catch body blows on the sharp, bony parts of the arms rather than on the soft, vulnerable parts of the torso. A common counter-tactic to checking is to intentionally punch the arms, causing fatigue that limits a fighter's ability to punch. This works especially well against checkers because checking presents the arms as a target.
Training for Defense
The best training for defense is to spar, either competitively or as a training drill intended to build a specific skill. Although some like to practice sparring where one athlete is allowed to defend only, black belt and training expert Dave Coffman disagrees. He points out that defense is easy if you never attack; only by punching will a boxer expose himself enough to have to take special steps to defend himself.
Examples
Packer believes the best way to learn about boxing defense is to watch boxers defend themselves in the ring. Zanger points out that lightweight fighters are usually better for this purpose than heavyweights. Lightweight boxers use their mobility more than heavyweights since heavyweights are better able to rely on simple muscle mass and strength to absorb blows rather than avoid them. Though you can watch fights live, in practice or on TV, you get more out of it by watching with a qualified coach or expert who can point out particular techniques and mistakes.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Essentials of Training for Women Boxers

Boxing training requires women to work on keeping their endurance up and their muscles tight. Running, weightlifting and technique practice are the basics of boxing training, and boxers also can participate in sparring to get better. Women boxers must be careful not to overexert themselves but at the same must train enough to be in stellar shape for upcoming fights.
Running
Running long distances at a slow pace is not the optimal training regimen for female boxers. According to Bodybulding, "One of the best ways to condition the body for boxing is through interval running. Intervals consist of intense, sustained running for a set distance or time." Boxing rounds last for two very intense minutes, so a 55-minute run at a slow pace will not benefit boxers as much as short sprints will. The website recommends that boxers run sprints at 200 meters and then add 200 more for each step up until they reach 800 meters.
Weightlifting
According to Truly Huge website, the idea that boxers should not life weights is a myth. Some of the benefits women can get from lifting include quicker punches, decreased fat and increased muscle, plus better neural adaptations. Athletes must lift weights to stave off fat gain, and no athlete can be worse off with more strength. While overdoing a weightlifting program can hinder a boxer's progress, it is necessary that they engage in the activity on a frequent basis to maintain a strong body.
Technique
Proper technique provides boxers with offense and defense. Throwing punches in the correct manner lets boxers make contact with more of their attempts, and just as important, proper defensive technique lessen the likelihood of severe blows to the face and body. Women need to perfect their stance, punching technique and defensive moves to give themselves the best chance of winning in a real bout.
Sparring
It can be difficult for women to find a willing opponent to practice their punches on. A sparring partner wears a mask and flat-handed gloves so that the female boxer can throw punches at full intensity and not hurt the partner. The Learn About Boxing blog touts sparring's benefits, most importantly that boxers can work on their combinations and game plans in a realistic situation. Working on combinations with a punching bag is not the same as doing them with a real human.
Core Training
The core is the most important part of the body in boxing, consisting of the sides, stomach and lower back. According to the Sports Fitness Advisor, a strong core provides better efficiency in movement, improved balance, more power and less chance of injury. Abdominal exercises are the foundation of core training; do exercises that work the lower back and obliques.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Skills Developed in Boxing Speedballs

Also called the speed bag, the speed ball is an effective boxing training tool that is used to build punching speed, quickness, accuracy and endurance. By hitting the speed ball every day while training, a fighter can develop the kind of confidence that will allow him to hit his target on nearly every punch he throws.
History
The speed ball is a boxing tool that has been used throughout the sport's history. The greatest champions in boxing--including Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Manny Pacquiao--all used the speed bag to hone their reflexes and build their skills in the ring. Robinson was so good on the speed bag that he was said to "make it sing" when he hit it. "I love to hit the speed bags," Robinson said in a 1976 interview in LA Sports Magazine. "They don't hit back."
Significance
The speed ball will allow a fighter to develop punching accuracy. This is perhaps the most important factor in fighting consistently. Throwing punches takes energy. When you throw a series of punches and they are off target, it will take energy away from you that you will never get back. "People don't realize how much energy it takes to throw a punch, miss it and then throw another punch," said former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on an HBO fight practice. "You have to be accurate with most of your punches or it will drain you."
Effect on Quickness
The speed ball will help make a fighter much quicker in the ring. The action of the bag bounding from its spot on the bottom of a swivel hook and hitting a supporting ring sends it back into punching range almost immediately after hitting it. This helps build the speed and quickness that a fighter must take into the ring every single day. Great fighters, such as Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali, hit the speed ball with such ease and speed that they were said to make the bag "sing" when they hit it with a series of punches.
Effect on Concentration
Hitting a speed ball will help develop a fighter's confidence and concentration. In order to hit the bag consistently, your mind must be focused on the task at hand. Once the rhythm of hitting the bag becomes established, the fighter develops a pattern of delivering the punch, bringing his hand back and hitting it again. The pattern becomes ingrained in the fighter's mind, and it becomes a staple of training.
Drills
One of the best drills with the speed ball is the left jab drill. In this exercise, you will have to hit the speed bag with rhythmic jabs. First you hit it once, then two straight times, then three times and finally four straight times. Then start the pattern again and do this at least 10 times. You cannot miss the center of the bag. If you do, start the drill over again.
Then do the three-round drill You will hit the speed bag for the equivalent of three rounds. While you will concentrate on throwing the left jab, you must mix in your short right, your right cross and your left hook. Throw punches for the equivalent of a round and then take a one-minute break. Do this for for the equivalent of three rounds.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Boxing Skills Training for Absolute Beginner

When starting out in boxing, the athlete has to be a sponge. There is much to learn, a lot of work to do. A competitive attitude is a must in order to get the most out of the sport. Many people decide to try boxing because they know it provides a great workout and will help them get in better shape. However, it's also a sport that brings out the warrior instincts in the best fighters. You don't need championship goals in order to step into the ring, but you do have to want to prove yourself every time you compete.
Conditioning
A boxer has to address conditioning right from the start. Boxers condition themselves by running, jumping rope and hitting the speed bag. Running three to five miles helps build endurance, while jumping rope and hitting the speed bag improves quickness and overall reflexes. Most boxers start all of their training sessions with conditioning workouts.
Punching Accuracy
If you are going to get in the ring and compete against another boxer, you have to know how to punch accurately. One of the best ways to do this is with the speed bag, which hangs from a swivel hook and is attached to a rebounding back board. When you hit the speed bag properly, the bag will quickly rebound back to you and then you continue to pepper the bag with quick punches.
The floor-to-ceiling bag also helps to improve punching accuracy. This is a bag that hangs on a rubber band that goes from the floor to the ceiling and allows the bag to rebound in unpredictable ways. When you learn to hit this bag rhythmically, your punching accuracy increases.
Strength Training
If you are getting in the ring to fight, you have to throw hard, heavy punches. You can get stronger by lifting weights and doing circuit training, but going into the weight room is just part of the formula for building strength. You can do this by hitting the heavy bag. This will help build functional strength in the ring. Boxers quickly learn that throwing hard punches is not just about using your arms and shoulders. Instead, you have to use your back, core muscles and glutes when you throw a powerful punch. Hitting the heavy bag will help you hit your opponent harder in the ring.
Sparring
Running, jumping rope, hitting the speed bag and the heavy bag will help you develop the skills you need to box. But the most important factor in learning the sport is to get in the ring and spar with an opponent who has similar ability and experience as you do. When you are sparring you will wear protective head gear and boxing gloves with extra padding but you will still feel the impact of the punches and so will your opponent.
Understanding Expectations
While you are learning the sport, you need the guidance of a trainer who will guide you through the ins and outs of the sport. Learning how to move in the ring in order to put yourself in a position to throw punches, avoid them and then throw some more comes from getting an understanding of what is happening in the ring. You will gradually learn these things, but it helps quite a bit to have a trainer who can direct you and teach you as the learning process continues.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Bags and Pads for Boxing Training

Like all sports, boxing uses specialized equipment to help training, improve safety and boost performance. The types of equipment most iconic to boxing are the pads: soft gear for striking that allows practice and competition without harm to the puncher or the partner getting punched.
Kinds of Boxing Pads
Boxing pads come in three basic varieties: safety equipment, bags and shields. Safety equipment pads the hands or body to allow contact fighting without serious injury. Bags are pads mounted to the wall, floor or ceiling that a boxer can punch without needing a partner. Shields are pads worn by a sparring partner for the boxer to punch at while in motion.
Materials
All three kinds of boxing pads follow the same basic construction. Padding, usually cotton batting or foam, is wrapped around a core. The outside surface of the padding is then covered with a durable surface such as leather or vinyl. In the case of leather, manufacturers take care to put the seams on areas that won't be involved in the actual punching. This helps prevent abrasion injuries during use.
Safety Pads
Safety pads for boxing include headgear, boxing gloves and groin protection. The construction of safety equipment uses the boxer himself as the core, covering the inside surface of the gear with the same material as the outside surface. According to Boxing Ontario, amateur boxing rules require headgear and gloves, while pro fights require only gloves. The large, padded groin guard is optional under both rule sets.
Bags
The punching bag is perhaps the most iconic image of boxing training. Boxers use heavy bags to practice punch technique and build strength from the resistance of the bag. Speed bags, those teardrop shaped bags that hang from a backboard, help work on timing, speed and rhythm. Fighters also use a variety of target bags to help work on their accuracy.
Shields
Focus mitts, or training mitts, are the most common kind of boxing shield. Worn like a baseball glove and with heavily padded palms, a training partner will wear them while sparring with a fighter. The partner presents the palms as targets at different positions, distances and angles. Many boxing programs develop combination patterns to practice using their training shields.
Distributors
According to boxing and martial arts coach Dave Coffman, the primary distributors of boxing pads are Everlast and Century. Other US distributors include Ringside, Macho and MTI Trading.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

What to Train Daily for Boxing?

A boxer has to put in his time to keep up a high level of performance in the ring. Fighters must maintain excellent overall physical conditioning. This will help give them the endurance needed to box and move around the ring. However, they also have to work on basic skills: punching accuracy, punching power and the ability to defend themselves and attack an opponent with precision punches.
Boxing Road Work
In order to get in top condition for stepping into the ring, boxers work on their overall conditioning. One of the things they do is distance running—called roadwork—which helps them find the endurance they need to box for 3 minutes at a time for several rounds. Most boxers run 3 to 5 miles per day, four times a week, when they are in training. They do this road work early in the morning and it sets the standard for their training day.
Punching Accuracy
One of the greatest tools for learning how to punch accurately and stay sharp in your preparation is the speed bag. This tool helps a boxer develop a crisp, quick and accurate left jab. This is the punch that you will use to set up all your other punches and combinations. When the speed bag is hit in the correct way, it will rebound off a backboard and come right back at the fighter. A well-timed punch will allow the fighter to hit the bag in a rhythmic manner and develop a very dependable left jab.
Punching Power
Boxers need to lift weights to get stronger. However, strength alone will not make a fighter punch harder. Power punching is about timing and rhythm and using the entire body. Power punches start out from the feet, go through the legs, travel through the core muscles and the back, and into the shoulders, arms and fists. Hitting the heavy bag will help you throw punches with your entire body. Hit the heavy bag for 5 minutes, take a 1 minute break and then hit it for another 5 minutes to develop punching power.
Sparring
Sparring is the best test for any boxer. Although you wear protective head gear and boxing gloves with added padding, when you get into the ring for a sparring session you are trying to punch and hurt your opponent and he is trying to do the same to you. It heightens your reactions and reflexes and helps you learn how you will handle yourself in the stressful situation of a fight. It is best to go into a sparring session with a game plan of establishing your left jab and then throwing your other punches in a logical manner.
History
Great fighters do not let themselves go when they don't have a big fight on the horizon. The greatest boxers in history prepared for fights by training rigorously in the weeks leading up to a big fight, and then routinely at all other times. Great champions like Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard and Manny Pacquiao get to the gym regularly when they are not training for a specific fight. "You can't let it get away from you," Leonard said in a 2000 HBO interview. "You always have to realize you are a professional and you have to keep on training. It is your job."

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Punching & Defensive Boxing Training

Boxing is unlike other sports. There is no half-step into boxing. It is a sport that requires the athlete to throw forceful punches at an opponent and defend himself from the same. This is clearly a dangerous activity. If an adult goes into the ring, he must make a full commitment to get in excellent shape, learn how to throw punches crisply and accurately and defend himself. If this is not done with a full effort, the boxer puts himself at risk of serious injury.
Conditioning
The first thing an adult must do after deciding to get in the ring is to get in shape. This includes improving cardiovascular conditioning, getting stronger and improving overall quickness. Boxers work on their endurance and cardiovascular conditioning by doing road work. This means they are running 3 to 5 miles four times a week. This activity is done early in the morning before the rest of the boxer's training activity. Once in the gym, the fighter works on strength training through weighlifting and heavy bag training, and speed and quickness training by jumping rope.
Punching Accuracy
Fighters can work on their punching skills by hitting the speed bag and the floor-to-ceiling bag. The speed bag is ideal for developing the left jab, which is the punch that most fighters use to start their attack. The floor-to-ceiling bag is suspended on an elongated rubber band. When struck with a punch, the bag will rebound in an unpredictable manner. Being able to hit the bag consistently will help a fighter develop punching accuracy.
Punching Power
Lifting weights will help an individual get stronger but it will not necessarily help him punch harder in a boxing match. Learning to punch hard comes from using your entire body when you deliver the punch. The muscles in your feet, legs, glutes, back, core, shoulders, arms and fist must be used when you throw a punch if you want power. The heavy bag will help you gain this skill. Practice hitting the heavy bag for five minutes at a time, then rest for one minute and then hit the bag for another five minutes. Doing this with the proper form will help you develop strength and power.
Defensive Training
No matter how interested you are in boxing and how much you want to participate in the sport, you really won't know that the sport is for you until you get in the ring and an opponent starts winging punches at you with reckless intent. One of the ways this is done is a defensive drill in which your trainer or a sparring partner will throw punches at you. You are not hitting back. You are attempting to get out of the way of the punches and block them. This will let you and your trainers know how you react when you are under pressure.
Sparring
Getting in the ring against an opponent who is trying to attack you while you try to attack him is really what boxing is all about. Great boxers don't have to knock out their opponent, but they have to hit them with a series of punches that allow them to dictate the pace of the fight. To do this, they must be in top condition, they must know how to punch skillfully and they have to do it with courage. You don't have to enjoy it while it is going on, but you have to feel proud of yourself for engaging in this activity.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Strength and Power Training for Boxing

Boxing is a sport that is intermittent in nature, characterized by intervals of explosive bursts of power mixed with scaled down survival movements; therefore, training intensity should be similar to a competitive fight sequence. After all, you will not be constantly throwing explosive punches throughout a three-minute round--no human can sustain that intensity level--nor will you be in a survival mode for the duration.
Expert Insight
In an Olympic boxing match, boxers must fight for a total of 11 minutes. The fight is structured for three three-minute rounds with a one-minute rest between each round. Therefore, it makes logical sense for a boxing athlete to have a high anaerobic threshold level and aerobic power level to meet the demands of this sport. In 2002, Laura Guidetti conducted a boxing study for the relationship between ranking in boxing competition performance and some physiological factors. The data suggest there were two basic factors related to boxing performance: physical fitness as indicated by individual anaerobic threshold and maximal oxygen consumption and upper-body muscular strength.
Time Frame
According to Tudor Bompa, author of "Theory of Methodology of Training," "32-36 weeks or 200 days of training are needed to reach a peak for advanced athletes." A form of periodization training is needed to peak at the right time for a fight. There are two basic stages of training: general preparation--containing a strength endurance phase and a basic strength phase, and the competition phase--emphasis placed on power and speed.
Strength
Early in the training cycle, structural--multijoint--exercises should be integrated into your workout twice a week. Squats, dead-lifts and power/hang cleans utilized to strengthen the hips and legs; after all, your punching power comes from the ground up. T-bar rows and wide/close grip pull-ups included to build back strength--large muscle area that aids in delivering a blow. High incline benches and shoulder presses to develop the deltoids for extending the crisp snap of a jab or straight right/left. Allow two minutes of rest between sets for maximum strength development.
Power
High speed, sport specific power exercises should be performed three times a week, including: heavy bag, speed bag, double-end bag and jump rope with high/moderate interval intensity of 40/20 seconds per minute. These should be sustained throughout three three-minute rounds. As a changeup, similar interval training in shadow boxing with light weights, medicine ball exercise, and hitting mitts with trainer. Light-sparring and two-mile interval sprints performed once every four days. Allow one day off a week to avoid overtraining.
Competition Phase
Intensity and speed pick up significantly. Combination lifts--clean and jerk, replace strength lifts--squat, dead-lift. Push up variations--clap, medicine ball--replace incline press. Amp up intensity during bag intervals with high/moderate intensity at 45/15 seconds per minute. More boxing specific exercises, including longer and harder sparring sessions. Plyometrics--depth jumps, multiple box jumps, bounding and medicine ball ballistic training--should be done early in this phase once every three days. Interval sprints and agility drills every three days.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Competitive Boxing Conditioning & Training

Boxing is a competitive sport that demands maximum effort from competitors. It is not enough to want to throw punches and to move around the ring. Boxers can learn the basics of the sport rather quickly. However, when you decide to get into the ring you have to understand that the intent of it is to throw hard punches at your opponent and he wants to do the same to you. Your health is at risk. As a result, you have to train and fight intently to have a chance to win and preserve your health.
Conditioning
The first commitment you have to make when you start boxing is to get into great condition. This requires you to burn fat, get stronger and improve your reaction time. Boxers run to get in shape. They call their running road work and they usually run three to five miles at a time and they do it four times a week or more. Boxers also lift weights to get stronger. Strong fighters have to learn the right technique to throw powerful punches, but the strength will give them a base to build punching power. An activity like rope jumping is also a traditional boxing exercise. It helps with reaction time and quickness.
Punching Accuracy
In order to throw quicker punches and do it accurately, boxers regularly hit the speed bag and the floor-to-ceiling bag. The speed bag will enable you to develop a dominating left jab. Most fighters use the left jab to establish all their punches and use it to throw combinations. The floor-to-ceiling bag is a protruding bag that is stretched on a floor-to-ceiling rubber band. When you hit the floor-to-ceiling bag it will react in an unpredictable manner. Hitting it with consecutive punches take concentration and accuracy and will help a fighter hit the spot he wants when he throws punches. Hit the speed bag for five minutes, take a one-minute break, then hit it for another five minutes to build the intensity and accuracy you will need to take into the ring.
Punching Power
Physical strength is a solid tool for any fighter to bring with him into the ring, but it does not necessarily correlate to punching power. Fighters have to throw punches in the correct manner. A heavy bag will help fighters throw punches by using their body. The best punches start in the feet and legs and use the power in the glutes, back, core muscles, shoulders, arms and the fist. Hit the heavy bag for 10 minutes at a time to build punching power and endurance. Take a two-minute break and then repeat the exercise.
Pre-Fight Sparring
As you get ready for an important fight, the most important aspect of your preparation is probably your sparring sessions. While you will have protective head gear and padded gloves, you will be throwing punches with the intent to hit your opponent with force. He will be doing the same to you. If you can effectively hit him while avoiding his punches, you will develop the confidence needed to go into the ring against a competent opponent. If you are getting hit and your punches are not hurting him, it will demonstrate that you have more work to do. You will want to do heavy sparring--three times per week--up until the last week before your match. At that point, you will want to get stronger but avoid taking damaging punches.
Function
The more intense your training and the clearer your mind is during the pre-fight process, the better chance you have of performing well in a fight. You may have a trainer to help you get ready and teach you skills, but it is all up to the work you do while getting ready. If you are not interested in putting in all the effort needed, you will go into the ring with less than full confidence. This will leave you vulnerable. However, a great effort will have you prepared to fight well and win your bout.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

How to Train for Boxing?

A foray into the world of boxing requires you to become familiar with training methods and equipment, as well as proper technique and physical requirements. A practical understanding of training exercises and boxing equipment will help you on your way to becoming a more accomplished boxer.
Types
Most boxing training areas offer a heavy bag, used to practice punches while providing resistance during workout.The speed bag, a teardrop-shaped bag attached to a circular base, helps you build hand speed and strengthen the shoulders.
Benefits
Boxing training offers a full body workout. All of the major muscle groups plus the core muscles, smaller shoulder muscles, and the forearm muscles will be used as you box. The speed bag, heavy bag and focus mitts help you become more accurate in your movements. The accuracy gained will ensure that the energy you expend is well used.
Function
The heavy bag will give you a human-sized target to hit and will provide significant resistance to your punches. Jumping rope, a common exercise in most boxing training sessions, helps you work on agility and foot speed.
Considerations
Boxing is a demanding task. You will be asked to complete fast-paced drills two to three minutes in length. The use of equipment in a boxing workout requires you to be in reasonably good health. If you have any injuries or are under the care of a doctor, seek advice from your primary health care provider before training begins.
Significance
Boxing equipment used in training sessions help to mimic motions that will be beneficial to a boxer. The focus mitt, for example, is a small round or oval-shaped glove with a circular target in the middle.The mitt should be attached to a trainer's hand and as it is hit correctly, it will force you to become more accurate with punches.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Benefits of Training Girls for Boxing

Boxing training puts a girl through a series of drills that will test her physical toughness and mental dexterity. Boxing training for girls entails building endurance, building strength, increasing boxing intelligence and solidifying proper boxing technique. A training coach is necessary to learn the finer skills of training for the sport, and so is the realization that people can get hurt badly.
Benefits
Boxing has a large upside for girls who want to begin training or for those who are already involved in training. The most obvious perk of training is that it keeps competitors in outstanding physical condition. According to Bodybuilding.com, boxing training stimulates all the muscle groups and provides both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Self-confidence is another benefit of boxing training for girls, as getting through boxing training is a major accomplishment for any person.
Warning
Boxing is a dangerous sport and training for boxing can put girls in positions to get hurt. Getting punched by other boxers in training exercises can cause bruising and injuries to internal organs. Punching objects and other boxers also puts girls at risk for broken hands, fingers and wrists. Girls who want to get into boxing training need to know the risks of the sport and make sure they are comfortable with them.
Misconceptions
Boxing is not a sport just for men. Female boxing has seen a large boost in popularity since 1997 and it is socially acceptable for girls to engage in boxing training. The International Female Boxing Association formed in 1997 to promote female boxing as a legitimate profession. Boxing training options are available to girls at many gyms and the sport is not explicitly made for males.
Growth
Boxing training for girls has become more common across the world, as there are more competitions being held for females. The 2012 Olympic games in London will include women's boxing, according to Fightnews.com, and the IFBA has been in existence for 13 years. Worldwide organizations and an international competition at the Olympic level show that girls are engaging in boxing training across the world.
Significance
Boxing training for girls solidifies the thought that gender rules should not prevent females from getting involved in boxing. According to the Sport England organization, the International Olympic Committee's recommendation to include female boxing will make the 2012 Olympic games the first to feature gender equality, with the same number of competitions for each gender. Acceptance of female boxing at the Olympic level is a significant statement that gender equality in sports is encouraged.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

4 Things to Know About Boxing Training

A decision to start boxing is one that should not be taken lightly. Boxing is a dangerous sport in which you are trying to throw punches and damage your opponent and he is trying to do the same to you. When you start training for boxing, you are trying to get yourself in the best condition possible and you must also learn the skills that will help you be successful in the ring. If you slack in either area you could end up getting hurt badly.
Step 1
Run early in the morning to help you build endurance that you will use in the ring. Boxers call their early-morning running road work. Boxers will run 3 to 5 miles four times per week in order to get in the best shape possible. After running, boxers will head to the gym and begin their training.
Step 2
Hit the speed bag in order to build quickness, punching accuracy and the ability to anticipate. In order to hit the speed bag in a rhythmic manner, you have to develop a circular motion with your left jab. As you come down with your left and hit the bag, it will rebound three times in a back-front-back manner before you hit it again. When you can follow that pattern, you can introduce your right hand to the speed bag routine and later on you will move your feet.
Step 3
Punch the heavy bag to to develop strength, punching power and endurance in the ring. Boxers understand that power punches are not thrown with just your fists and arms. If you want maximum power when you deliver the punch, you must use your legs, hips, glutes, abs, core muscles, back and shoulders in addition to your arms and fists. Hit the bag for three minutes at a time to mimic the amount of time you spend in the ring in one round of boxing.
Step 4
Get in the ring and spar with an opponent. There are many exercises and drills to do before you get in the ring, but the only true way to test yourself is to get in the ring with a live opponent. You'll ideally be wearing protective headgear and boxing gloves with more padding than usual, since you'll be throwing punches at each other and you can get hurt. Once you finish your first sparring session you'll have a better idea of whether you belong in the ring.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training

Significance of Boxing Training for Youth

Boxing is a tough and demanding sport. Many of the top boxers in competition start out when they are youngsters. Boxing can help a youngster with his quickness, speed, strength, athletic ability and punching power. Training for boxing can also help a youngster become more confident and capable in all activities.
Function
Getting involved in sports and athletics is a good idea for most youngsters. It is a productive way to spend their time and there are many benefits, not the least of which is that they will have fun while participating. Not all children are cut out for team sports. Some like an individual sport, and in boxing, the youngster learns how to depend on himself, how to keep going when the circumstances are not necessarily in his favor and how to develop speed, quickness and punching power.
Conditioning
Anyone who becomes involved in boxing must work to get himself in good condition. When two fighters get in the ring--even at the youth level--fighters are throwing punches at each other and trying to hit each other. In order to give yourself the best chance of competing, work hard on the speed bag, the heavy bag and doing road work to get in shape.
Time Frame
Young people who go into boxing have to train before they go into the ring, much like any other athlete has to practice before he can play a game. Young boxers should expect to work out anywhere between 60 and 90 minutes five days per week doing activities like distance running--known as road work among boxers--hitting the speed bag, hitting the heavy bag and sparring, according to former British heavyweight fighter Frank Bruno.
Significance
Boxing can help a young person feel more self-confident in all of his endeavors. It takes tremendous courage to get in the ring and face an opponent who is trying to hit you with punches. In order to do that, a youngster has to train diligently. When a youngster does all the work necessary to get in the ring and then faces an opponent for the first time, he will become a much more confident boxer.
Warning
While getting involved in boxing can be a positive exercise in growth and development, it can also be a dangerous one. Young boxers have to practice under the watchful eye of an experienced trainer who will make sure they don't try to advance too quickly and who will not match them with opponents who have superior skills.

Read more »

Posted in: Boxing Training