So I thought I would share my thoughts experiences with kit that I bought to work out with at home. Purely subjective of course
1. Heavy bag. My least favourite bit of kit, but perhaps the most satisfying. It's great to thump a heavy bag, but it doesn't teach you much except how to deliver those rare big ones. On the downside, it encourages you to be static, planted on your heels, drop your hands, open your guard and raise your chin. It swings slowly so it's pretty predictable. Good for power but adds a higher risk of injury to the tendons in your elbow, from overuse, even if your hands are well wrapped. Let's face it, how often do you really throw that hard in sparring?
2. Maize ball. I use this for two reasons only. One is for uppercuts and the other is to work on my ducking and slipping. It's a fun thing to punch and I do kind of like watching it fly around but, as with the heavy bag, it is predictable and that's a bad state of mind to get into.
3. Free standing speed ball. That's one of those speed balls on a bendy stick that comes back at you. I bought the Viper speed ball. I love it. It's great for getting you to use your full reach. Great for hand speed. Kind of helpful for hand/eye coordination but not, as I hoped, good for getting you side stepping and slipping. That's because, for all that it is bendy and mobile and waves around pretty fast, its trajectories are predictable and it feels like the horizontal equivalent of bouncing a basketball.
4. Double end bag. This is a bitch. It is, in effect, a football (I got the peanut shaped double) with elastic ropes to the floor and to the ceiling. This is the one that really teaches you hand to eye coordination and makes you slip and move around.This is the one you need for sparring practice without a sparring partner. Well, as near a you can get. It will smack you in the face a lot so it forces you to keep up your guard and think about defences.
5. Mirror. No way can you train for boxing without shadow boxing. If you can't see how he sees you, you're going to get tagged a lot when you are in the ring.
6. Metronome. I downloaded a metronome from the Playstore. For non-musicians, this is the thing that makes you play music in time. You can set it to accelerate or decelerate. I use it with the mirror to help me loosen up my arms by punching out in time to the beat. I start at 70 bmp and gradually increase to 140 bpm over 5 mins, the do the reverse. Pick any combo and just keep working it. You find yourself majoring on footwork while it's slow and on hand speed and relaxation as it gets fast. It's also a good cardio workout. Very highly recommended.
7. Skipping rope. Needs no explanation. If a fat wee man like me can use it, anyone can. If you can't skip, you can't box.
You can get more out of the heavy bag if it is mounted so you can move 360deg around it. You can also set your round timer for intervals and alternate power punching, combinations or speedy continuous punching. Video yourself working it to catch sloppy technique. I worked it nearly every day recently adding an additional round each day until I got to 11, then it was time to return to my day job...Felt good to get to that point, though. Sounds like you are making great use out of the equipment you have. You are definitely setting the benchmark for intelligent, useful forum contributions and your dedication to continuing your training in these times of limitations will no doubt inspire others.
I get that re the heavy bag. I guess different people train around their styles. I don't hate the big heavy bag, I just wanted to move away from the big power punches and into more movement and speed. But I take your point about your training cycle; it's something they do at my boxing club a lot
The big revelation to me was the double ended bag. It really is a mind shift because you have to get into that very connected mindset that you also get in sparring. It also really does force you to pull back into the guard as if you were sparring because this thing will smack you in the face if you don't
I guess training is best directed to your weaknesses so that they become strengths
Ironbull (96)
4/28/2020 12:38 PMSo I thought I would share my thoughts experiences with kit that I bought to work out with at home. Purely subjective of course
1. Heavy bag. My least favourite bit of kit, but perhaps the most satisfying. It's great to thump a heavy bag, but it doesn't teach you much except how to deliver those rare big ones. On the downside, it encourages you to be static, planted on your heels, drop your hands, open your guard and raise your chin. It swings slowly so it's pretty predictable. Good for power but adds a higher risk of injury to the tendons in your elbow, from overuse, even if your hands are well wrapped. Let's face it, how often do you really throw that hard in sparring?
2. Maize ball. I use this for two reasons only. One is for uppercuts and the other is to work on my ducking and slipping. It's a fun thing to punch and I do kind of like watching it fly around but, as with the heavy bag, it is predictable and that's a bad state of mind to get into.
3. Free standing speed ball. That's one of those speed balls on a bendy stick that comes back at you. I bought the Viper speed ball. I love it. It's great for getting you to use your full reach. Great for hand speed. Kind of helpful for hand/eye coordination but not, as I hoped, good for getting you side stepping and slipping. That's because, for all that it is bendy and mobile and waves around pretty fast, its trajectories are predictable and it feels like the horizontal equivalent of bouncing a basketball.
4. Double end bag. This is a bitch. It is, in effect, a football (I got the peanut shaped double) with elastic ropes to the floor and to the ceiling. This is the one that really teaches you hand to eye coordination and makes you slip and move around.This is the one you need for sparring practice without a sparring partner. Well, as near a you can get. It will smack you in the face a lot so it forces you to keep up your guard and think about defences.
5. Mirror. No way can you train for boxing without shadow boxing. If you can't see how he sees you, you're going to get tagged a lot when you are in the ring.
6. Metronome. I downloaded a metronome from the Playstore. For non-musicians, this is the thing that makes you play music in time. You can set it to accelerate or decelerate. I use it with the mirror to help me loosen up my arms by punching out in time to the beat. I start at 70 bmp and gradually increase to 140 bpm over 5 mins, the do the reverse. Pick any combo and just keep working it. You find yourself majoring on footwork while it's slow and on hand speed and relaxation as it gets fast. It's also a good cardio workout. Very highly recommended.
7. Skipping rope. Needs no explanation. If a fat wee man like me can use it, anyone can. If you can't skip, you can't box.
8. Focus mitts and a pad man. I wish....
9. Training buddy for sparring. I wish.....
10. My boxing club. I wish....
AussieBoxer (44 )
4/29/2020 8:26 AM(In reply to this)
You can get more out of the heavy bag if it is mounted so you can move 360deg around it. You can also set your round timer for intervals and alternate power punching, combinations or speedy continuous punching. Video yourself working it to catch sloppy technique. I worked it nearly every day recently adding an additional round each day until I got to 11, then it was time to return to my day job...Felt good to get to that point, though. Sounds like you are making great use out of the equipment you have. You are definitely setting the benchmark for intelligent, useful forum contributions and your dedication to continuing your training in these times of limitations will no doubt inspire others.
Ironbull (96)
4/29/2020 11:48 AM(In reply to this)
I get that re the heavy bag. I guess different people train around their styles. I don't hate the big heavy bag, I just wanted to move away from the big power punches and into more movement and speed. But I take your point about your training cycle; it's something they do at my boxing club a lot
The big revelation to me was the double ended bag. It really is a mind shift because you have to get into that very connected mindset that you also get in sparring. It also really does force you to pull back into the guard as if you were sparring because this thing will smack you in the face if you don't
I guess training is best directed to your weaknesses so that they become strengths