Training Guides Archives | Page 2 of 3

Boxing Drills: Agility Training for Boxing Footwork

agility training for boxing - athlete doing side step with resistance bands at ankle and holding medicine ball

A lot of boxing training is oriented on what’s in front of you. Running, jumping rope, shadow boxing, bagwork–all of it tends to focus primarily on linear movement forward and backward.

But when you’re in the ring, you don’t just move up and back, you step in all directions. And that’s where agility training for boxing comes in.

Agility training teaches your feet to step quickly and smoothly out to the side, without losing your balance. It also builds up the muscles that support these movements to reduce the risk of injury.

If you want to be able to slip and slide in all directions around the ring, then you need to incorporate some form of agility training into your routine. Continue reading “Boxing Drills: Agility Training for Boxing Footwork”

Boxing Drills: Plyometrics for Boxing Footwork

plyometric box jump for improving boxing footwork

Plyometrics have become an increasingly popular training option in recent years. It’s hard to find gym that doesn’t have a few boxes for people to jump on top of.

While it may look like a way to have fun in the gym, plyometrics are serious exercises, based on a fair amount of science with a very specific goal: to improve your power.

Despite what it may look like, there’s more to plyometrics than just jumping up, down, and around the gym. True plyometric exercises have some very specific requirements. And you’ll need to be more mindful of rest and recovery in order to get the best benefits.

Plyometrics, performed correctly, could significantly increase your power output. More importantly, plyometrics could be the key to improving your boxing footwork.

Read on to find out more about how it works, how it affects your boxing footwork, and some key exercises you’ll want to incorporate into your training. Continue reading “Boxing Drills: Plyometrics for Boxing Footwork”

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”

Boxing Drills: How to Improve Your Boxing Footwork

In the sport of boxing, all of the attention is focused on the hands. In a fight, success depends on how often those gloves land and how hard they hit. And knowing how to hit is essential for anyone wanting to step into the ring. But good boxers know that, in fact, victory flows from good footwork.

boxing footwork balls of feet stance

Good boxing footwork allows you to keep moving and keep your balance. It means never standing where you opponent’s punch ends up. You maintain control over your spatial positioning and stay hyper-responsive to your opponent’s moves. You can quickly step in and take advantage of an opponent’s mistake, deliver powerful, controlled punches, and then slip out of range again.

There’s a reason why the best fighters in the world put hours into perfecting their boxing footwork. Read on to learn about some ways to help perfect yours. Continue reading “Boxing Drills: How to Improve Your Boxing Footwork”

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”

Boxing Training for Stronger Fitness

As far as elite-level athletes go, boxers and MMA fighters are some of the toughest, most adaptable in the world. When you go toe-to-toe with another combatant in the ring, you have to know how to respond to whatever might come at you. That means hours upon hours of training to gain power, speed, endurance, and strength, all of which leads to a level of fitness unlike any other: Boxing Fitness. hitting the heavy bag with blue boxing gloves as part of boxing fitness training

Therefore, we suggest that all kinds of athletes—and anyone looking for a great way to get more out of their exercise routines—should invest in some quality boxing gear and take on some boxing training to pump up their fitness performance. Here’s how you can get started with boxing strictly as exercise. Continue reading “Boxing Training for Stronger Fitness”

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”

The Science Behind your Coach’s Training Regime

NOTE: This article was edited on 2/18/19 to include more information about Velocity Based Training (VBT) and common devices used to measure movement speed for use with VBT.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while then you know that boxing training constitutes more than just physical strength. We’ve discussed speed, movement, endurance, and mental preparation.

Now, we’re going to take a look at the science that supports the training that goes into boxing. If you understand the physical principles involved, then you will be able to better identify ways to maximize strength, speed, and your overall boxing prowess every time you put on your headgear and step into the ring.

Hitting the heavy bag to improve strength and mobility Continue reading “The Science Behind your Coach’s Training Regime”

8 Tips to Help you Succeed as an MMA Fighter

The octagon - where MMA fighters dream of victory

To say the popularity of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has skyrocketed since UFC’s first event in November of 1993 would be an understatement. The UFC was valued at about $4 billion in 2016. It now consistently draws more pay-per-view buys than boxing and a comparable number to the WWE.

The popularity of the sport has inspired many people to start learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in hopes of one day stepping into the Octagon. But before you set your sights on becoming a great MMA fighter like Conor McGregor or Demetrious Johnson, let’s consider what it takes to get there. Follow these eight tips to becoming a successful MMA fighter to give yourself a shot at the glory. Be warned though—you will need to put in a LOT of hard work. Continue reading “8 Tips to Help you Succeed as an MMA Fighter”