Can I Train Like a Boxer at Home?

The Covid-19 pandemic taught us many things, not least that many of the things we normally do outside, can easily be done from home, and boxing is no exception. With the right equipment and techniques, you can easily train like a boxer at home, either alone or with a friend.

But you need to make sure you build up your boxing workout slowly if you’re a beginner boxer and invest in the right equipment to keep you safe.

Boxing Basics for Beginners

When you first start boxing, you should concentrate on perfecting each of your punches by shadowboxing, so you don’t use the improper technique while using equipment and end up hurting yourself. You can teach yourself the basics at home online.

Basic boxing punches are:

• Jab
• Cross
• Hook
• Uppercut

You should also be incorporating some strength training into your workouts so you can build up muscle power as well as endurance which will help you be a better boxer in the long run. Once you feel ready to move on, it’s time to involve some equipment in your boxing workouts.

What Boxing Equipment Do I Need to Train at Home?

For your strength training exercises, you don’t always need equipment, as many exercises involve using your body weight, however, as you advance, you can start using dumbbells to increase resistance in your exercises which will increase your muscle mass.

When you’re honing your boxing techniques, however, you need to have the right boxing equipment i.e. boxing gloves, focus mitts and punching bags.

Boxing Gloves

As soon as you start making contact with punch bags or focus mitts, you need to protect your hands. Hand and wrist injuries are very common in boxing, so to avoid hurting yourself, you should invest in some quality hand wraps to keep a tight fist and the right size boxing gloves for you, to protect your knuckles, metacarpals and wrists.

Boxing gloves are highly padded to absorb the shock of the impact of a punch so this will reduce shockwaves passing through your hand and causing injuries, but this doesn’t mean you can punch anything. You should make sure you have a punching bag to do rounds on or a partner to hold up focus mitts for you.

Focus Mitts

Focus mitts, also known as focus pads, are cushioned pads that your training partner can wear on their hands to help you with various aspects of your boxing training. If you want to start training at home with a friend or partner, focus mitts are the best piece of equipment for you, as they’re a great way to help each other out with your performance, as well as being effective at improving:

• Punch speed
• Aim
• Footwork
• Combinations

Focus pads are also small enough that they don’t take up too much space in your house and can easily be put away in a draw, and they can be very durable so you know your focus pads will last a long time.

Ideally, you have an excellent mitt holder who catches your punches, directs you through your combinations and forces you to be quick-footed to move around the room and change quickly from an offensive to a defensive stance. However, if you’re both beginners, you can both learn as you go and use mitt holding as a way of improving your own boxing game since you have to think and move quickly and assess your training partner’s performance to give great feedback.

You shouldn’t be hitting the mitts too hard, though, as punchbags are better at providing enough resistance to allow you to practise powerful punches.

Punchbags

Punchbags are one of the best pieces of boxing equipment for a home workout as it gives you the freedom to work out completely alone; there are three main types of punching bags for use at home, each with its own benefits. So, if you have the space available to you, order one of each from the best boxing equipment brand so you can start training like a boxer at home.

Straight Punching Bags

Straight heavy punching bags are the classic punching bags you see in all boxing gyms. They’re filled with sand, water or material, depending on how much resistance you want for your punch, and usually made of leather or synthetic leather so they’re strong and durable against your punches – or kicks if you’re interested in kickboxing, MMA or Muay Thai.

They’re the best punching bags for practising powerful shots and harnessing your strength as they provide the most resistance and represent a similar size and shape to an opponent so you can practise your combinations with more power than if you were using focus mitts.

What’s more, they’re attached to a wall or ceiling with a bracket to allow the straight punching bag to swing, forcing you to also work on your footwork and manoeuvre around the bag. This does mean it’s impractical for some people to have in their homes as you need sturdy walls to support a heavy punching bag, and landlords don’t usually allow you to install such things when you’re renting. Fortunately, that’s where free-standing punching bags come in.

Free-Standing Punching Bags

Free-standing punch bags are smaller punch bags on top of a frame, so you don’t have to permanently install them in your house, but can simply place them in the middle of a clear room when you’re going to start training. They swing a lot to improve your punch accuracy and force you to work on your footwork, so you need to make sure your room is free of obstacles, but they are weighted at the bottom to stop them from shifting or falling after your punches.

Speed Bags

Also known as speedballs, speed bags are small punch bags like the top of a free-standing bag, but they’re attached to the wall with a bracket like a straight bag. As the name suggests, they’re for improving your punch and combination speed as the bag moves quickly after each shot. They’re lightweight so don’t require such strong walls as other hanging punching bags, and they’re small enough to be out of your way, so they’re a great investment for a home boxing gym.

Boxing Workouts at Home

Once you’ve got all your equipment together, you can start training like a boxer at home!

To keep yourself in great physical shape, you should aim to complete strength training 2 – 3 times per week, including squats, sit-ups, press-ups and if possible pull-ups, as well as a cardiovascular workout 2 – 3 times per week and speed training 2 – 3 times per week.

Before each of your workouts, you can try running or skipping to warm up your body as well as increasing your endurance and improving your footwork, which are two valuable boxing attributes. You can then hit the heavy punch bags for 3 minutes, take a 1-minute break and carry on for another 11 rounds, so you’re replicating the conditions of an actual boxing match. This will help improve your muscular endurance while performing excellent cardiovascular exercises, and, depending on how hard you go each round, is a great way of maximising your punching power.

When focusing on speed, you can try a similar routine with a speed bag. Hitting the bag quickly in short bursts over a long period will greatly improve your punching speed as well as how quickly you think – mental quickness is as important as physical speed when you’re face to face with an opponent.

If you don’t have punching bags but you do have a training partner, bring out the focus mitts 4 – 6 times per week and practise different techniques each time. For example, in one session work on your speed and accuracy, and then next try out your combinations and footwork. You can swap gloves and still have a decent workout as your partner’s mitt holder!

Britain’s Best Boxing Brand – Maxx Pro Boxing

Some of us don’t feel comfortable in gyms, especially when we first start, and some of us simply don’t have the time to regularly hit the gym, or the money to throw at gym membership. Luckily, you don’t have to.

Buy the best boxing equipment today so you can train like a pro from the comfort of your own home.