Originally posted by storch
good for you!! may I suggest that instead of a traditional heavy bag that you get a 110lb water bag. it's a whole lot easier on knucks if you are hitting bare handed and it's a lot closer to actually striking tissue. it has a much better "feel" to it. and i agree the kids are a ton stronger than I recall being at 16-18
I have used boxing workouts for many years to stay fit, and the risks of bare-knuckles or even speed bag gloves are great. One hand injury can sideline training for months.
Water-filled bags are excellent, but need to be in a space heated 24/7 during the winter. If you were to use your garage like I do, buy a traditional bag (of good quality, avoid the junk sold in most stores). I only heat the garage for two hours a day in winter..
For those wishing to using boxing for fitness training, first go to Ringside.com and purchase a pair of 16 oz Ultimate Bag Gloves. Also purchase some hand wraps (I prefer the Mexican style with thumb loops). If you don't know how to wrap your hands, visit any boxing gym and someone should be willing to show you. Buy some tape in .5", 1" and 2" widths. There's different wrapping styles and methods, find the one that protects your hands, and this is important, is confortable. Don't wrap so heavily between fingers that it's uncomfortable. This WILL lead to a sprain or even worse.
Once your hands are properly wrapped and you have the gloves on, you can pound the daylights out of a traditional heavy bag with minimal risk of injury.
My suggestion for using boxin g to get fit is to start out with 15 minute sessions, do not take any rests or breaks. Increase your tempo and punching effort gradually. Strive for 30+ punches a minute. Work the bag up and down.
Gradually increase the duration of your workouts until you can do 60 minutes, uninterrupted (no breaks or rests) while still maintaining 30 punches a minutes. Do this at least 3 times a week. Be sure to stretch before and after each workout.
At this point add wrist weights (I like 1 lb weights). Once again, aim for 1 hour workouts. Once at this fitness level, throw in a two-hour workout once a week. For warm-up and cool down, consider buying a speed bag or double-ended bag (I like the latter as it aids in speed and timing, as well as teaching you to block with your gloves and forearms.
Also consider adding something to condition your lower body as well. Running will do this, but I prefer lower impact exercise, such as bicycling or power-walking on an inclined treadmill. Finally, during the summer, I throw in a two-hour sesson each week paddling my kayak (a Malibu eXtreme).
I'm 53 years-old, 5'11", weigh 177 pounds and my cardiologist uses me as his poster boy for motivating the other old farts.
The down side is that my two-car garage has been converted to a boxing gym since 1999 and I had to purchase a large shed for my yard tools and patio furniture.
My regards,
Widewing
