Boxing gyms and gloves

[sambfc]

Hi Guys,

I've been boxing now for about three months mainly at home and with friends. I have got to the point now where I really want to progress in the sport with the aim of having a few amatuer bouts. Which means I need to join a gym and get training.

One thing tho, what do I expect when I get there. Having never been to a boxing gym before is it like going down a normal gym where you turn up and get on with your own stuff? What happens? I'm going to join anyhow but want to be prepared and know what to expect when I get there.

Also, I bought some Lonsdale 14oz gloves in the sale when I started and they only cost me £8 reduced from £30. But they're crap and have split within about three hard sessions on the heavy bag. Has anybody got any recomendations on what would be the best gloves to replace them with? Don't mind spending up to about £60.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[John125]

firstly, i wouldnt worry about buying gloves just yet, most gyms provide these for free
When you get to the gym your trainer will fill you in on exactly how their gym works. Expect to have a work out routine that has multiple stations around the gym. Each station lasts for 2 or 3 minutes usualy and theyr seperated by about 30sec. Some examples of stations would be; the heavy bag, speed bag, double ended..bag, jump rope. Expect to do about 3 sets

[mickyward5656]

just call up your local gym and ask em all questions you have on the phone. simple as that...

[Spacey1991]

Hi Guys,

I've been boxing now for about three months mainly at home and with friends. I have got to the point now where I really want to progress in the sport with the aim of having a few amatuer bouts. Which means I need to join a gym and get training.

One thing tho, what do I expect when I get there. Having never been to a boxing gym before is it like going down a normal gym where you turn up and get on with your own stuff? What happens? I'm going to join anyhow but want to be prepared and know what to expect when I get there.

Also, I bought some Lonsdale 14oz gloves in the sale when I started and they only cost me £8 reduced from £30. But they're crap and have split within about three hard sessions on the heavy bag. Has anybody got any recomendations on what would be the best gloves to replace them with? Don't mind spending up to about £60.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

I wouldn't worry about your own gloves just yet, I have been going for 4 weeks and use there gloves... I have brought some wraps and a gum shield though, but if I was you I would just use the gyms for a while until I have been going for a good 3-5 months and then decide on whether to get my own gloves to mold into or not, just do one step at a time.

The gym I go to is more of a routine... we do running, some technique work (e.g. jabs, hooks, crosses, uppercuts, etc.), then exercises (many of them, press-ups, sit-ups, etc.), and sometimes if you have a gum shield they let us spar.

However your gym may be different, so if I was you I would contact the owner of the gym before you go for the first time as I did. Me and a friend went there asking what days are they open and time, how much per session, and what equipment we needed, they also let us have a quick look around the gym to see its facilities and watch the session to get a feel of what it is like (we didn't watch it all though obviously... after we found out what we needed we was happy).

So yeah my advise would be to contact them first and ask them what you need to know, ask them what equipment you need... but I wouldn't buy new gloves yet if I was you just use the gyms for the time being.

Anyway I hope this helped... well I tried too anyway.

[We want Floyd]

Hi Guys,

I've been boxing now for about three months mainly at home and with friends. I have got to the point now where I really want to progress in the sport with the aim of having a few amatuer bouts. Which means I need to join a gym and get training.

One thing tho, what do I expect when I get there. Having never been to a boxing gym before is it like going down a normal gym where you turn up and get on with your own stuff? What happens? I'm going to join anyhow but want to be prepared and know what to expect when I get there.

Also, I bought some Lonsdale 14oz gloves in the sale when I started and they only cost me £8 reduced from £30. But they're crap and have split within about three hard sessions on the heavy bag. Has anybody got any recomendations on what would be the best gloves to replace them with? Don't mind spending up to about £60.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

I don't know what the exchange rate is, but, the first type of gloves you'd want to purchase are bag gloves, Ringside and Titleboxing have lowered their prices on their most popular bag gloves, they're currently running between $60-$70.

I strongly advise you not to wear the gloves that the gym has, they smell really bad, and you have no idea where those other peoples hands have been, seriously, buy your own gloves.

Also, you would want to purchase handwraps, if you want a traditional handwrap, I'd go with the Mexican wraps, they're the best for the hands, there are also some "ready to go wraps" that are not bad, if you don't want to spend the time having to wrap your hands each time you go to the gym, the ones I like are the Everlast gel wraps and Ringside's gel wraps.

And you might as well buy a gum shield, eventhough you may not start sparring right away, it's good to get in a habit of breathing through your nose while wearing the gum shield during your workouts.

As far as joining a boxing gym, I don't know how many boxing clubs you have in your area, but, if your city has a good dose of boxing gyms, I'd suggest you check out atleast 3-5 gyms, compare prices. Me personally, I don't care much if it's a fancy looking gym or not. I care about the quality of the training. So, ask each gym if they offer free class trials so you can check out the classes, after that ,it's all up to you. What I or someone else considers great training, could be considered crappy by others. A trainer who was once a world-class fighter doesn't always translate into being a great coach! Don't be lured by all their trainers credentials. If you like the trainer's personality and is genuine with his students, then that's all you need.

An important question to bring up, if the gym representative hasn't already told you, ask them if they offer month to month memberships or are they by contract only. Few gyms in America offer month to month but there are some, and I think month to month is great because you never know how you're gonna feel about boxing again after a month into it.

I have a co-worker who signed her two sons up to an MMA gym and after a month they decided they no longer wanted to do it, and now she's stuck with an expensive membership for a whole year!

[sambfc]

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

I am gonna buy my own gloves tho, cos I box at home on the heavy bag and do a bit of pad work and sparring with a friend. Any more recommendations on good gloves would be much appreciated.

[Spacey1991]

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

I am gonna buy my own gloves tho, cos I box at home on the heavy bag and do a bit of pad work and sparring with a friend. Any more recommendations on good gloves would be much appreciated.

I am unsure about gloves yet buddy... as I don't have my own yet (I will search for some when I am considering getting some), but I am sure many people here know were to get some descent gloves and what descent gloves there are... I think you will be able to get some gloves of excellent quality if your planning on spending £60 like you said.

Just a little tip... as you said you spend in pounds you are obviously from the UK as I am, and I have heard some compliments of this website... saying this is the best website to get good Boxing equipment in the UK, so maybe you could have a little look on here.

http://www.sugarrays.co.uk/shop/

Hope it helped.