How to Start Boxing: Key Tips by Coaches

Many people imagine fierce sparring, broken noses, and concussions when they hear the word “boxing,” but that’s not true. If you are more than 8 years old and have no problems with your spine, then this sport is for you. If you train for yourself, then the classes for girls and guys will be the same. Usually, 3-5 training sessions a week (and for pros, who compete and get on tops of 22 Bet ratings, 2 times a day) will be enough. Boxing develops strength, endurance, coordination, and even self-confidence. Moreover, many people train to relieve stress after work.

What You Need to Train at Home

To train at home, you need a desire and a few free square meters. Boxing is an interconnected work of the body and the brain. So, it’s important to control the legs, body and arms at the same time. The main thing is to master the boxing base: the correct positioning of the legs/arms/body, movement on the legs without and with punches, punches at the expense of the back, a sense of impulses and balance.

For home training, dumbbells with rubber shock absorbers, expanders, shock absorbers, a punching bag, and a fitness bracelet will track the number of calories spent. The most expensive isn’t the best. So, start from the price and reviews, and in the third place, look at the brand.

During training, film yourself on your phone and then on video (you can do it in slow motion) to review and correct mistakes, if there are any. Usually, it’s a swing at impact, wrong fist positioning, not coordinated work of legs and arms, the tension in the shoulders. Mistakes are bound to be, so practice more boxing movements. 

But let’s remember about nutrition – it’s important. Instead of special diets, there is a healthy balance of nutrients (proteins/fats/carbohydrates). It depends on age, weight, daily activity and goals. It is necessary to eat 1.5-2 grams of protein per kilogram of your own weight, more vegetables and to keep within your norm of calories.

Training Plan

Warming up and calming down are necessary for any sport. The warm-up not only warms up the heart and muscles but also adapts the body to specific boxing movements. The warm-up should warm up every major joint: the neck, shoulders, elbows, hands, pelvis, knees and ankles. It is also very important to do thoracic mobility exercises: rotational movements in the shoulder girdle around the vertical axis with a stable pelvis.

Then start jumping on a rope and then moving on to boxing. And in the final part of the workout do stretching and warming up. Most importantly, don’t forget to rest. Otherwise, you will overload yourself and it will not give results.

Your progress depends on the level of coordination. If you’ve been dancing for ten years, it’s easier to box. If you spend most of your time at your laptop and haven’t done sports before, then it will be harder.

You need a mentor to set up a stroke and properly build up the biomechanics of the movement. He will correct mistakes from the very beginning. If you practice a punch incorrectly, your brain will fix it, and it’s hard to retrain. That’s why you’ll need boxing bandages (recommended length – 3,5-4 meters), gloves and a helmet for your first training outside the house (if there will be sparring and you risk missing a punch). The gloves depend on the purpose of training: for punching – protective and bulky, for sparring – competitive hard. So when buying, bandage your hand right in the store and measure the gloves on top. They should fit snugly, your fist should clench comfortably, and your wrist should be firmly fixed.

Trainer’s Choice

If you want to learn how to move, strike correctly and just choose boxing as an interesting way to burn calories, then consider the studio with Fit-boxing. At these training sessions, there is no work in pairs and blows from a partner, but you’ll pump your whole body and get out the negative energy. If you want to learn how to work in pairs and participate in sparring, then the classical boxing section is the right one.

The main task is to find a mentor who will see your mistakes and find a way to correct them. Titles or the number of followers on Instagram do not equal a good coach. If you are interested in competitive boxing, you need a mentor who prepares athletes to perform. The achievements of his athletes are a measure of his coaching professionalism.

If you want to learn how to punch and move properly, watch a video on the potential coach’s Instagram of how his charges work on the paws or the punching bag. If you like the results, try working out with him.