Starting Boxing?
Discussion
Hi All,
Not sure if this is the right place?
Basically I'm 19yrs old, live alone so have a lot of spare time after work most nights and the odd sunday and can feel myself getting seriously unfit!
I don't class myself as fat but I do think I'm very unfit! I realised just how bad after playing football for the first time in a while on sunday and it killing me!
So there is a small gym at the end of the road I work on, they do boxing in there, my plan is to join and start of in the gym for a few months and gradually work towards the boxing? this gives me something to aim for, and something I've always wanted to do.
Has anyone else done this before? got any tips? any horror stories? I know the boxing training can be extremely hard, but I really need a motivation in my life at the moment and something to work towards!
Cheers
Not sure if this is the right place?
Basically I'm 19yrs old, live alone so have a lot of spare time after work most nights and the odd sunday and can feel myself getting seriously unfit!
I don't class myself as fat but I do think I'm very unfit! I realised just how bad after playing football for the first time in a while on sunday and it killing me!
So there is a small gym at the end of the road I work on, they do boxing in there, my plan is to join and start of in the gym for a few months and gradually work towards the boxing? this gives me something to aim for, and something I've always wanted to do.
Has anyone else done this before? got any tips? any horror stories? I know the boxing training can be extremely hard, but I really need a motivation in my life at the moment and something to work towards!
Cheers
robbo1111 said:
Has anyone else done this before? got any tips?
Yep, keep your gloves up and your chin down!Give it a go, and try to stick with it for a few weeks at least; you'll then have a decent idea if it's for you.
There's a few 'actives' floating around on the Sports forum...they should be along in a bit to give you some more thoughts. Best of luck with it though!
robbo1111 said:
Hi All,
Not sure if this is the right place?
Basically I'm 19yrs old, live alone so have a lot of spare time after work most nights and the odd sunday and can feel myself getting seriously unfit!
I don't class myself as fat but I do think I'm very unfit! I realised just how bad after playing football for the first time in a while on sunday and it killing me!
So there is a small gym at the end of the road I work on, they do boxing in there, my plan is to join and start of in the gym for a few months and gradually work towards the boxing? this gives me something to aim for, and something I've always wanted to do.
Has anyone else done this before? got any tips? any horror stories? I know the boxing training can be extremely hard, but I really need a motivation in my life at the moment and something to work towards!
Cheers
My adivce is just to get stuck into the boxing, thats what I did with kick boxing and I am still sNot sure if this is the right place?
Basically I'm 19yrs old, live alone so have a lot of spare time after work most nights and the odd sunday and can feel myself getting seriously unfit!
I don't class myself as fat but I do think I'm very unfit! I realised just how bad after playing football for the first time in a while on sunday and it killing me!
So there is a small gym at the end of the road I work on, they do boxing in there, my plan is to join and start of in the gym for a few months and gradually work towards the boxing? this gives me something to aim for, and something I've always wanted to do.
Has anyone else done this before? got any tips? any horror stories? I know the boxing training can be extremely hard, but I really need a motivation in my life at the moment and something to work towards!
Cheers
t & a bit over weight but its great fun and a great way to release stress, so happy I just got stuck in rather than waited till I thought I was fit enough as the fitness comes with the training.Dont start sparing till you want to and even then chances are no one is going to be a dick and try and knock your head off, people will conform to your standard, learn to wrap your hands, get decent gloves, decent pads once you get into it and learn to skip.
don't fall into the trap of thinking you need to train to a level of fitness to start boxing training.i started over 20 years ago and my mate joined a local council run weights gym to get fit to start boxing.he never did.
i started out of a love for the sport and a desire to understand more about what i was watching.weight loss,confidence boosting,fitness level surge etc. all came as a happy coincidence for me.i was an over 15 stone pisshead when i started and boiled down to 75kg(about 11 and a half stone) after a year or so.
when you start the best bet is not to just thrash away at a punchbag but try and go to a proper amateur boxing club(A.B.C.).here you will be able to utilize training times 3 or 4 evenings a week under instruction from an A.B.A. approved coach.you will learn how to punch and move correctly before any bad habits can creep in(which is whar will happen if you go it alone).
when you start you will undertake fitness circuits,runs and loads of drills on both the bags and the hand held pads where you get proper one on one attention from the trainers.after a while you will be paired up with another lad/lads to go through the basic drills you will be learning.you won't be throwing full blooded shots but rather technique specific.for example you would start by throwing a jab while you partner would practice the various defences such as blocks,parrys,lean backs,step backs etc. you gradually learn more techniques and gradually drill more and more varied stuff while still doing the fitness stuff as well.
after a month or so you will get your first taste of moving around a boxing ring.first on the pads with a trainer so your body gets used to the peripherals like the corners and ropes.secondly with a partner to go through the drills you have been working on.after you have done this you will move on to what we refer to as tech sparring.basically you put on your headguard and gumshield and start to gently ease up the speed and strength of your execution and get your first taste of actually trying to solve the puzzle in front of you. how do you open his guard to land a shot?? does he have a high guard to protect his temples? should i throw body shots to lower his guard so i can land head shots?? and so on.
tech spars should be exactly that.technical.you aren't trying to tear each others head off but learn from each other.
for me it is a very rewarding sport.it may be a little intimidating to first walk into a gym but you will find even the most experienced lad won't take liberties with you and the unwritten rule is to basically go as hard as your opponent and no more.if someone is trying to take your head off then go for it but if you get in at first and are tentative you will find the guy you are sparring with will try and help you where he can but won't take cheap shots and give you a beating.the sorts of lads that do this don't ever last long because there is always someone who is better than them to keep them in their place!!
finally,my advice is just go for it.it changed my life to such a degree that i really believe i am the man i am today because of the lessons i learned in a boxing ring.in social circles,in business and in life i owe a hell of a lot to this noble art.
i want you to post back here in a few weeks that you went for it and love it.!!if you find it's not for you at least you tried.good luck!
i started out of a love for the sport and a desire to understand more about what i was watching.weight loss,confidence boosting,fitness level surge etc. all came as a happy coincidence for me.i was an over 15 stone pisshead when i started and boiled down to 75kg(about 11 and a half stone) after a year or so.
when you start the best bet is not to just thrash away at a punchbag but try and go to a proper amateur boxing club(A.B.C.).here you will be able to utilize training times 3 or 4 evenings a week under instruction from an A.B.A. approved coach.you will learn how to punch and move correctly before any bad habits can creep in(which is whar will happen if you go it alone).
when you start you will undertake fitness circuits,runs and loads of drills on both the bags and the hand held pads where you get proper one on one attention from the trainers.after a while you will be paired up with another lad/lads to go through the basic drills you will be learning.you won't be throwing full blooded shots but rather technique specific.for example you would start by throwing a jab while you partner would practice the various defences such as blocks,parrys,lean backs,step backs etc. you gradually learn more techniques and gradually drill more and more varied stuff while still doing the fitness stuff as well.
after a month or so you will get your first taste of moving around a boxing ring.first on the pads with a trainer so your body gets used to the peripherals like the corners and ropes.secondly with a partner to go through the drills you have been working on.after you have done this you will move on to what we refer to as tech sparring.basically you put on your headguard and gumshield and start to gently ease up the speed and strength of your execution and get your first taste of actually trying to solve the puzzle in front of you. how do you open his guard to land a shot?? does he have a high guard to protect his temples? should i throw body shots to lower his guard so i can land head shots?? and so on.
tech spars should be exactly that.technical.you aren't trying to tear each others head off but learn from each other.
for me it is a very rewarding sport.it may be a little intimidating to first walk into a gym but you will find even the most experienced lad won't take liberties with you and the unwritten rule is to basically go as hard as your opponent and no more.if someone is trying to take your head off then go for it but if you get in at first and are tentative you will find the guy you are sparring with will try and help you where he can but won't take cheap shots and give you a beating.the sorts of lads that do this don't ever last long because there is always someone who is better than them to keep them in their place!!
finally,my advice is just go for it.it changed my life to such a degree that i really believe i am the man i am today because of the lessons i learned in a boxing ring.in social circles,in business and in life i owe a hell of a lot to this noble art.
i want you to post back here in a few weeks that you went for it and love it.!!if you find it's not for you at least you tried.good luck!
Thread resurrection..!
I'm looking at starting boxing training to improve my fitness and to be honest, try something completely different and see if I'm up to it. I'm under no illusions that I'm late to the party as far as competing goes and all I can imagine myself doing is sparring at most. At 28 am I going to be well out of my depth here? Fitness wise I'd say I'm above average but could and want to be fitter and from reading around, boxing/boxercise etc is a great workout, so I'm thinking why not.
Anyone who boxes or has been in my position, I'm all ears.
Thanks!
I'm looking at starting boxing training to improve my fitness and to be honest, try something completely different and see if I'm up to it. I'm under no illusions that I'm late to the party as far as competing goes and all I can imagine myself doing is sparring at most. At 28 am I going to be well out of my depth here? Fitness wise I'd say I'm above average but could and want to be fitter and from reading around, boxing/boxercise etc is a great workout, so I'm thinking why not.
Anyone who boxes or has been in my position, I'm all ears.
Thanks!
ben_h100 said:
Thread resurrection..!
I'm looking at starting boxing training to improve my fitness and to be honest, try something completely different and see if I'm up to it. I'm under no illusions that I'm late to the party as far as competing goes and all I can imagine myself doing is sparring at most. At 28 am I going to be well out of my depth here? Fitness wise I'd say I'm above average but could and want to be fitter and from reading around, boxing/boxercise etc is a great workout, so I'm thinking why not.
Anyone who boxes or has been in my position, I'm all ears.
Thanks!
I started about 2 years ago approaching 14st and at the age of 26. Got fit through the first 6 months but didn't take the diet side serious enough. Broke up with gf and decided to get more serious to take my mind off things. I lost over 3 stone in 4-5 months. I'm looking at starting boxing training to improve my fitness and to be honest, try something completely different and see if I'm up to it. I'm under no illusions that I'm late to the party as far as competing goes and all I can imagine myself doing is sparring at most. At 28 am I going to be well out of my depth here? Fitness wise I'd say I'm above average but could and want to be fitter and from reading around, boxing/boxercise etc is a great workout, so I'm thinking why not.
Anyone who boxes or has been in my position, I'm all ears.
Thanks!
Had my first fight at the end of last year, lost that one but to a more experience guy and it was definately a steep learning curve but i have never been fitter or looked better. Have had 2 bouts since winning one and losing the other (although i thought i won and so did a lot of people but it was on an away show) Some experience though as that bout was with pro size gloves and no head guard.
My bouts have been on the white collar scene as my club wasnt affiliated with the amateur boxing association but looking to transfer over this year. Will probably be my last year of competing but simply because i want to try my hand at triathalons and distance running after. i'll still go training though.
Get down the gym though, theres nothing like boxing training for fitness.
ben_h100 said:
Thread resurrection..!
I'm looking at starting boxing training to improve my fitness and to be honest, try something completely different and see if I'm up to it. I'm under no illusions that I'm late to the party as far as competing goes and all I can imagine myself doing is sparring at most. At 28 am I going to be well out of my depth here? Fitness wise I'd say I'm above average but could and want to be fitter and from reading around, boxing/boxercise etc is a great workout, so I'm thinking why not.
Anyone who boxes or has been in my position, I'm all ears.
Thanks!
i'm 40 next week......had a contest last year and started sparring again just before Christmas. and i'd wager i'm a bit podgier than you!!.......as per my post further up a few years back, go and have a go!!I'm looking at starting boxing training to improve my fitness and to be honest, try something completely different and see if I'm up to it. I'm under no illusions that I'm late to the party as far as competing goes and all I can imagine myself doing is sparring at most. At 28 am I going to be well out of my depth here? Fitness wise I'd say I'm above average but could and want to be fitter and from reading around, boxing/boxercise etc is a great workout, so I'm thinking why not.
Anyone who boxes or has been in my position, I'm all ears.
Thanks!
Great (much!) earlier post by Tuscaneer who looks like he's the same age (and size!) as me 
Having done the gym and general gym type cardio (circuits/spinning etc etc) and having got bored, I thought that I might as well learn something at the same time. I went down the kick boxing route (and a modest amount of bjj), but I also train at a boxing gym and get in the ring when I mentally plateau with my training and need a different perspective.
I don't fight, but I love sparring and I travel the country to spar at other clubs. I am also st. I am under no illusion about that, nor do I have any pretensions otherwise. I am not a natural by any stretch. Indeed, that was one of the reasons for doing it; to push myself out of my comfort zone. But despite that, I have always been made to feel welcome. There is a respect and a trust to boxing (or kickboxing or particularly bjj) that is not visible to those outside the sport. It can seem a little daunting at first and don't get me wrong you have to be serious about it, but it isn't about hurting people. Like Tuscaneer says, it's about 'trying to solve the problem in front of you'.
For a completely different take on boxing, try this excellent 30 min episode from the Culture Show by Tony Parsons (who is even stter that me!) which sums up the sparring side of things quite nicely. If you're not so much into how many famous authors boxed, skip to 9 mins in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYSrkjDdm54#t=464
Having done the gym and general gym type cardio (circuits/spinning etc etc) and having got bored, I thought that I might as well learn something at the same time. I went down the kick boxing route (and a modest amount of bjj), but I also train at a boxing gym and get in the ring when I mentally plateau with my training and need a different perspective.
I don't fight, but I love sparring and I travel the country to spar at other clubs. I am also s
t. I am under no illusion about that, nor do I have any pretensions otherwise. I am not a natural by any stretch. Indeed, that was one of the reasons for doing it; to push myself out of my comfort zone. But despite that, I have always been made to feel welcome. There is a respect and a trust to boxing (or kickboxing or particularly bjj) that is not visible to those outside the sport. It can seem a little daunting at first and don't get me wrong you have to be serious about it, but it isn't about hurting people. Like Tuscaneer says, it's about 'trying to solve the problem in front of you'.For a completely different take on boxing, try this excellent 30 min episode from the Culture Show by Tony Parsons (who is even s
tter that me!) which sums up the sparring side of things quite nicely. If you're not so much into how many famous authors boxed, skip to 9 mins in.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYSrkjDdm54#t=464
ben5575 said:
Great (much!) earlier post by Tuscaneer who looks like he's the same age (and size!) as me
Having done the gym and general gym type cardio (circuits/spinning etc etc) and having got bored, I thought that I might as well learn something at the same time. I went down the kick boxing route (and a modest amount of bjj), but I also train at a boxing gym and get in the ring when I mentally plateau with my training and need a different perspective.
I don't fight, but I love sparring and I travel the country to spar at other clubs. I am also st. I am under no illusion about that, nor do I have any pretensions otherwise. I am not a natural by any stretch. Indeed, that was one of the reasons for doing it; to push myself out of my comfort zone. But despite that, I have always been made to feel welcome. There is a respect and a trust to boxing (or kickboxing or particularly bjj) that is not visible to those outside the sport. It can seem a little daunting at first and don't get me wrong you have to be serious about it, but it isn't about hurting people. Like Tuscaneer says, it's about 'trying to solve the problem in front of you'.
For a completely different take on boxing, try this excellent 30 min episode from the Culture Show by Tony Parsons (who is even stter that me!) which sums up the sparring side of things quite nicely. If you're not so much into how many famous authors boxed, skip to 9 mins in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYSrkjDdm54#t=464
why thank you very much for the nod sir!!Having done the gym and general gym type cardio (circuits/spinning etc etc) and having got bored, I thought that I might as well learn something at the same time. I went down the kick boxing route (and a modest amount of bjj), but I also train at a boxing gym and get in the ring when I mentally plateau with my training and need a different perspective.
I don't fight, but I love sparring and I travel the country to spar at other clubs. I am also s
t. I am under no illusion about that, nor do I have any pretensions otherwise. I am not a natural by any stretch. Indeed, that was one of the reasons for doing it; to push myself out of my comfort zone. But despite that, I have always been made to feel welcome. There is a respect and a trust to boxing (or kickboxing or particularly bjj) that is not visible to those outside the sport. It can seem a little daunting at first and don't get me wrong you have to be serious about it, but it isn't about hurting people. Like Tuscaneer says, it's about 'trying to solve the problem in front of you'.For a completely different take on boxing, try this excellent 30 min episode from the Culture Show by Tony Parsons (who is even s
tter that me!) which sums up the sparring side of things quite nicely. If you're not so much into how many famous authors boxed, skip to 9 mins in.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYSrkjDdm54#t=464
it's spot on what you're saying fella. I had my 40th piss up on Saturday night and (as usually happens with me) the conversation was steering round to boxing and my recent additions to my memorabilia trinkets...talking to one fella who has had literally no involvement in the sport at all and he was taken aback by the friendliness and unwritten codes of acceptable conduct when sparring.
as a lot of people seem to think, he too thought it was all about trying to "out-hard" the other guy and was shocked when I spoke in terms of thinking round the strengths / weaknesses of the opponent in front of you. my analogy of it being a bit like physical chess seemed to change his thoughts on he whole shooting match.
He was still reluctant when I offered him to come down next week and pop the gloves on though!
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