How To Get Started In Boxing

Boxing is a great sport to get into, especially if you are looking for a work out.

When most people think of boxing, the first thing that comes to mind is Ali or Mayweather, but that is not all boxing is. Boxing is a sport that requires tremendous amounts of strength and control. The training is extensive and that is where many boxers just cannot compete. Boxing also requires a lot of confidence. The hardest thing to learn in boxing is how to stay in form. This means to stay strong on all levels, physically and emotionally.

Boxing is not just about heavy punching, but rather, it is a form of aerobic movement and amazing flexibility as well. When you begin training, you will learn how to keep your balance, as well as how to keep yourself coordinated.

The results are endless.
Before you dive into the ring, you will want to start with some basic boxing training. It will also help build your self-esteem and get you mentally prepared for your first fight. Training will also let you work at your own pace, depending on why you have decided to learn the art of boxing.

Boxing can get very competitive, so make sure you join a league that is right for you and the reasons you joined the program. This also goes for women who want to join, as boxing is for everyone.

A.   Do You Need A Boxing Trainer?

If you are thinking about getting into the sport of boxing, your first step will be to find a trainer. When finding a trainer, you will want to keep in mind that the safest way to go is to make sure he or she is certified from a recognizable boxing organization.

What makes a great trainer is the key to any relationship, and that is the tool of communication. If you do not communicate well with your trainer, you will be sure to lose the ability to grasp the techniques of boxing. A large part of training is the respect between you and your trainer, if there is no respect then the mental portion of boxing will be lost. You cannot argue endlessly with your trainer, and you must be willing to accept their criticism.

The key to a great trainer is if they can get you motivated, even on the worst of days. Trainers are there to push you until you cannot give any more.

The first place to start to look for your trainer is in your local gyms. It is hard to judge someone by speaking with them over the phone, or grabbing them out of a list of names in a newspaper or phonebook. The reasons behind why you have decided to learn boxing will determine how skilled of a trainer you will want to find.

B.   Getting The Most Out Of Amateur Boxing

Professional fighting is a business conducted for monetary gain. Amateur boxing is a competitive sport or recreation. We are directing our instructions, advice, and suggestions to the coach supervising boxers individually or in groups; to the boy who, motivated by a desire for competitive or recreational activity, wishes to learn the fundamentals of boxing; and also to the father who acquiesces to the urge to teach his son the art of boxing.

We believe that too often the fundamentals of boxing are overlooked in favor of complicated punches, series of maneuvers, and fancy footwork. Experience has proven that the methods of teaching and learning boxing employed throughout this book are just as adaptable to youngsters as they are to boys of high school and college age.

My personal enthusiasm for amateur boxing stems from my experience with the hundreds of fine young men with whom I have worked as a boxer, as coach at the University of Wisconsin, while in service with the Marines, and as a coach of the United States Olympic team. Woody’s foremost rival in college — Heston Daniels of Louisiana State University — flew one of the United States Army planes participating in General Doolittle’s first raid over Tokyo.

Here again the pilots were carefully selected from among the finest physical and mental specimens in the United States Army Air Force. The famed and great Jimmie Doolittle himself first gained prominence as an amateur boxing champion.

A Captain of Navy Air personnel who was in a large measure responsible for the selection of candidates for Naval Aviation placed boxing number one on the list of sports that best qualify a boy to be a pilot. He attributed this to the splendid coordination; to the lightning-fast timing and sharp reflexes; to the superb physical condition; and to the “will to win,” or competitive spirit, developed in a well-supervised boxing program.

C.   Boxing Training Secrets for Fast Fat Loss

Conversation between the trainers and future boxer

FUTURE BOXER: How do boxers burn fat so fast, what lessons can the regular person take from their training that works quickly?
TRAINERS:People spend to much time training with cardio equipment. I have seen people train on cardio equipment, and their body’s still look the same months later!

Training for long and very casual intensities. Raising cortisol levels, preserving fat, etc…

People who perform a boxing workout get lean from the intense anaerobic way they train. Boxers fight and train in rounds lasting from 2 minutes to 3 minutes in duration. The training equipment also demands you get lean by the way the bags have to be worked.

Same thing for the punch mitts when used correctly your whole body is moving and working and in a more anaerobic and intense manner than aerobic training.

Many times people who cross train or want to learn boxing for self defense are amazed at how sore they are in different areas of their body from the workout. As I’ve stated several times above since boxing workouts are predominantly anaerobic and we train with lots of intervals, our metabolic rates are increased.

Unlike the aerobic way people train where they only burn calories for the duration of the aerobic activity or training. With anaerobic interval work your metabolic rate is increased for hours even after training is complete as you obviously know.

FUTURE BOXER: What’s the role of slow cardio in stripping fat from a boxer’s body?
TRAINERS : We condition using sprints, sled work, sledge strikes, sprint and run drills, but really speaking from a fighters perspective, nothing beats intense sparring to get in shape. We also perform intervals of fast punching on the bags and punch mitts.

So upon working with him. I had him jumping rope, working the punch mitts, working the heavy bag and VERY easily he lost 14 pounds in 6 weeks! Because of the intense anaerobic way he trained and the muscles and movements he was using in training this way.

We start cleaning house!
I have them stop eating sugary cereals, soda, sugary juices, white breads, refined carbs, margarine, just garbage food period! This goes along way with improving performance, vitality, and weight loss obviously.

So for weight loss having them eliminate the garbage foods and drinks and having them eating smaller meals frequently throughout the day works big time for weight loss on top of the kick butt training their doing.

Don’t eat less meals. Eat more meals frequently with less food for weight loss. I also keep critiquing their eating habits and food choices for weight loss as needed…

FUTURE BOXER: Do you use boxer’s training techniques in your client’s workouts?

TRAINERS: Boxing workouts are BIG in my clients workouts.

By getting your eating habits under control and cleaned up and by jumping rope, shadow boxing, working the punch mitts, heavy bag, double end bag and speed bag you literally melt that fat off your body in a quick manner.

That’s why I like to use boxing training techniques. Boxing training gets results. People can get bored with the cardio equipment. All those bio-motor abilities you improve on top of shredding the fat from your body.

FUTURE BOXER: What methods of strength training do you prefer? Do you use free weights or a lot of body weight exercises?
TRAINERS: Strength training methods will depend on the persons training age, background, weaknesses, needs, goals, and were we are from a fight.

Usually I begin with body weight movements. We also use dead-lifts, single leg work, posterior chain work, core strengthen with more transverse plain exercises, but we also perform reverse crunches they are a great abdominal strengthening exercise that also help in improving posture.

A lot of unilateral work, pulls, rows, chins, pull ups, you name. Hypertrophy training can be used if I have a fighter that wants to move up a weight class or needs a little more muscle. For our dynamic training, I like to used med balls and other plyometric exercise for explosive power.

FUTURE BOXER: Do the boxing workouts require any special equipment?
TRAINERS: Yes the workout uses special equipment that is very affordable and can be purchased at sporting stores, or boxing equipment magazines.

You will need hand wraps, a jump rope, gloves, punch mitts, a heavy bag, double end bag, speed bag and a small timer that you can by at any store.