Education Archives | Ringside Boxing Blog

Become a Better Boxer through Gratitude

A boxer sits on the ring stairs thinking about his most recent training session. — It’s important to stop and appreciate the small wins that you experience while training.

Giving thanks and practicing gratitude come naturally on Thanksgiving. These ideas are baked into the holiday’s identity.

But we don’t have to limit our practice of gratitude to just one day a year. We can engage in gratitude as a part of our daily lives, all year long. When we do, we gain more than we give.

For boxers and other athletes, learning to incorporate appreciation can do more than just give us a positive outlook in life. Regularly recognizing our own success and the role others play in it can actually improve performance in the ring.

A Fighter’s Guide to Nutrition and Diet

Movies, TV, and countless training montages have taught us that a fighter’s diet needs to be highly specialized to be effective.

Torso and right arm of a boxer in peak physical condition. — *To build a great body for fighting, you need to have a solid nutrition plan.*

In reality, a fighter’s nutrition plan has a lot in common with your basic “sensible diet”. It only varies in how much you eat and how often.

In this blog, we lay out our guide for a proper fighter’s diet. This will help you to not only get through your training, but get the most from it.

Boxing Gloves by Weight: Understanding Glove Sizes

Ringside boxing gloves — You need to pick the right size for the type of glove you need.

If you are just getting started in the sport of boxing, you may be a bit confused by the different sizing options available for boxing gloves.

Companies size bag gloves with a standard Small/Medium/Large scale, which seems simple enough. But then you get into Sparring gloves and Competition Gloves and suddenly the gloves are sized by weight.

Because of this, it can be difficult to know what size glove you need.

We aim to help you make sense of the different sizing conventions, and figure out which size glove will meet your needs.

Best Boxing Gloves For You: 7 Things to Look For

Best boxing gloves: black quick-tie training gloves hanging from the ring ropes.

You might not be surprised to learn that we are commonly asked about how to choose the best boxing gloves. With so many options, narrowing it down can feel overwhelming.

Do I need a bag glove or a sparring glove? Leather or synthetic? What’s IMF Tech? There are so many things to consider.

And then you have to figure out what size you need to get.

With all these choices facing you, how can you make sure that you’re picking out the right pair of boxing gloves for you?

We’ve put together a guide that will walk you through the seven things you need to understand when choosing your first (or your next) set of boxing gloves.

A Guide to Jump Rope Workouts for Boxing

If you’ve been around boxing for some time, then you’ve seen fighters jumping rope in the gym. And if you’re just getting started, someone’s probably told you to jump rope as a part of your training. Many of the boxing greats, Ali, Marciano, Tyson, Mayweather, all used the jump rope to get ready for their fights. It’s clear that the jump rope is a fundamental part of the boxing workout. But why?

Obviously, spending 5-10 minutes jumping rope is a great cardio workout, but it’s more than that. Jumping rope can be a great tool for improving your footwork and focusing your mind. Jumping rope before boxing workout

In today’s blog, we’re going to lay out a few reasons that jumping rope is a critical part of your boxing training program. We’ll also help you decide on the right rope for your needs. Finally, we’ll lay out a few jump rope techniques that will challenge and add variety to your routine. Continue reading “A Guide to Jump Rope Workouts for Boxing”

Workout While Traveling: How to Keep Training when Away from Home

Working out tends to be easier when we have a plan, a routine. But what happens when it’s time to travel away from home. Whether it’s a vacation or a work trip, we often fail to keep up on our workouts while traveling. If you’ve got a trip coming up, though, don’t worry about throwing a wrench into your training plans. We’ve got a few tactics that will help keep your training on track when you’re off your beaten path.

workout while traveling - shadow boxing on the beach — SOURCE

Continue reading “Workout While Traveling: How to Keep Training when Away from Home”

Get Outdoors: Taking your Training Outside

As the weather warms, many of us dream of spending more time outdoors. The seasonal thaw draws folks out into the world to jog, hike, bike, and play in the fresh air. The most obvious benefit associated with exercising outside is the simple change in environment. Getting outside breaks up the monotony of seeing the same walls and equipment day after day. But there are deeper benefits to sweating in the sunshine. Studies have shown that time spent outside makes you happier, decreases stress, and boosts creativity.

Outdoor training, shadow boxing on the roof

For boxers, MMA fighters, and other martial artists, it can feel be challenging to heed the call of the wild outdoors. So much of our training relies on equipment that is fixed inside the gym. From heavy bags to sparring rings, the life of a training fighter seems to be confined to the gym or dojo.

If you want to bust down those walls, though, and feel the sun on your back while you work out, here are some great ideas to get you started. Continue reading “Get Outdoors: Taking your Training Outside”

6 Ways Boxing Training Improves Mindfulness

mindfulness - a moment of quiet contemplation before stepping into the ring

Last week we focused on how training to box was good for the body. This week, let’s talk about how it improves the mind. Specifically, we’re going to talk about mindfulness: what is it, why it’s important, and how boxing training can help you get it.

If you’ve been paying attention to health and wellness news over the past few years, mindfulness has become an incredibly common recommendation. This focus on mindfulness comes in response to studies showing that living in a world of over-stimulation and constant distraction is not good for our mental health. Perpetual sensory overload affects our dopamine receptors, prevents us from properly focusing, and contributes to mood disorders like anxiety and depression. The act of seeking mindfulness helps to calm, center, and de-stress the brain. When successfully practiced, the pay off is significant. Psychologists say achieving mindfulness can help us better regulate our emotions and open ourselves up to long-term happiness. Continue reading “6 Ways Boxing Training Improves Mindfulness”

4 Signs You Might Be Competition-Ready

When athletes start to get serious about their boxing training, there are two questions that often come up: “how do I find a coach?” and “when will I be ready for a competition?”. We covered the first question with last week’s post on finding the right boxing coach to help you achieve your goals. This week we’ll be addressing that second question. If you’re starting to wonder how to gauge if you’re ready to sign up for a boxing competition and step in the ring for real, then please read on. Two fighters engaged in a bout at a sanctioned boxing competition Continue reading “4 Signs You Might Be Competition-Ready”

The Proper Way to Wrap Your Hands

Boxers will face more hand injuries than other single type of injury over the course of their career. Because there are so many small bones in your hand, it is absolutely imperative that you take every precaution available to protect them. Proper hand wrapping is the best method of preventing an injury that could keep you out of this great sport. We recognize the importance of protecting your hands and have provided the following instructions to teach you the proper method using a standard hand wrap.

Please keep in mind that this is a general guide and other methods do exist. We feel that the method below is a good starting point and covers all the basic points of proper hand protection. Continue reading “The Proper Way to Wrap Your Hands”