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Cheap Boxing Archive Page
Sunday, July 29, 2007
By Larry Goldberg Boxing gloves are the key piece of equipment that every fighter needs Boxing at its core is a pretty simple sport. It doesn’t take much in terms of equipment and there are only two fighters and one goal: Be the last man standing. The only tangible piece of equipment that is needed for boxing are the gloves. Boxing gloves are the padded hand coverings that both keep boxers safe and act as the weapons for the destructive hand power that many professional boxers possess. Boxing without gloves, known widely as street fighting is a dangerous activity and it is not practiced within the ring of professional boxers. Because boxing gloves are the only real piece of equipment needed by participants it is important to choose the right pair. Good boxing gloves fit the professional standards (size, weight, ECT.) and they fit the boxer’s hands well. While they are bulky to first-timers a professional feels right at home with their hands tightly wound within the padding. Boxing gloves are used in varying thickness levels for training as well because of safety and performance reasons. Obviously when sparring a boxer will wear gloves to protect their hands and their opponent but even when doing technique drills on a leather speed bag or a heavy bag a boxer will often wear some sort of hand covering or hand wrap. Hand wraps are usually the layer of protection that is underneath the gloves themselves. Hand wraps are a slight cloth covering that protect the hands from injury and keep them rigid for contact.
by: Cheap Boxing
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
By Larry Goldberg Pure strength is the goal of many athletes in contact sports. Speed, endurance and strength are the core elements of any training program but when it comes to boxing or martial arts strength needs to be complemented with an uncanny agility and quickness. This more specific form of strength cannot only be found through weight workouts and the like but it needs to be built through a more sport specific training exercise. This is where the use of heavy bags comes into play. Heavy bags are one of the best ways an athlete from any sport can increase core strength and are strength in general. Here’s how it works: You use a heavy bag as a generic opponent- striking, dodging and improving upon your core strength by hammering against something that is of a sufficient weight. Leather speed bags are used to improve quickness and agility and heavy bags are used to build strength. By punching against a heavy bag you are working several different muscle groups, including: biceps, forearms, abdominals, chest and back muscles, and shoulders. It is basically an all inclusive upper body workout. If you’re looking for a heavy bag that best benefits you in these ways you should look for one that is firm, is heavy enough that it doesn’t swing freely after punches and is made out of a fine enough quality to not destruct quickly. A quality heavy bag should be able to take quite a beating and you should be ready to give it just that- a tough workout!
by: Cheap Boxing
By Larry Goldberg To be an effective boxer you must take care of your core. Your core consists of your back, your chest and your abdominal area. The core is so essential to a boxer because this is where they will absorb most of the contact from opponents and if the core is weak the chances of surviving a long or powerful fight are pretty slim. However, many of the training techniques and exercises are tilted to improve the core muscles of the body. Heavy bags help build the core, with an emphasis on building endurance in the shoulders and arms; speed bags are designed to develop hand quickness and core muscles in the abdominals; and medicine balls are incorporated within many boxer’s regimens because they work effectively building the entire group of core muscles. Here’s how: A boxer can improve their core muscles and abdominal strength through using a medicine ball with a coach or a spotter. The boxer starts face up on the floor, spread out in a flat position. The spotter should stand directly over the boxer with legs spread over the boxer’s mid-section. Then, the spotter should drop the medicine ball (most weigh around 15-25 pounds) onto the stomach/ chest area of the boxer, who then attempts to catch it. The impact will simulate a power punch from an opponent and it will help ready the boxer for competition. Then, the boxer should use core muscles in the abdominal and chest to heave the ball back up to the spotter who again drops it. The entire process should last around ten drops and throws.
by: Cheap Boxing
Monday, July 23, 2007
The other night I was watching a junior welterweight prospect named Timothy Bradley as he navigated his way through a ten-round fight against Donald Camarena on the Showtime network. It wasn't what might be considered a proper test for Bradley's abilities, as Camarena, a southpaw who is really a glorified club fighter, was severely outclassed. One could see that Bradley had athletic ability, a work ethic, a lot of hustle, and some power. But the question is, could he be a world champion? Surely the Showtime announcers were pumping him up pretty good, talking about how he looked even better than the last time they had seen him, when he was matched with another mediocrity. And I don't blame them for not seeing some subtle things, since neither of them really had any boxing background, aside from being observers. But I noticed that when Bradley threw his combinations, he was slapping with his punches - coming wide, and if he had been able to throw some straight punches with authority he would have knocked out his opponent. The "arm punches," as it were, prevent him from getting the maximum power on his blows, naturally, and for a moment I dismissed him as being someone who wasn't likely to ever be a world champ. But when it comes down to it, what does it really take to be a "world champion" these days? Let's consider that there are all the sanctioning bodies to consider; the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO are the five most credible. And there are usually top "contenders" waiting to fight for each of those titles. Some of them might actually be better than one or more of the champions. It is entirely conceivable that a champion may not even be, legitimately, one of the top ten fighters in a division. So how possible would it be for Timothy Bradley, who possess at least SOME ability, to defeat the 11th best fighter in a division on a given night? Well, I guess it's quite possible. So the lesson to be learned is, don't disqualify anyone who can hold up their hands from becoming a champion, even though it doesn't necessarily mean they're a great fighter.
by: Cheap Boxing
Saturday, July 21, 2007
By Larry Goldberg I'll tell you what's interesting. I started to think about fighters who were very big punchers and wondering how many of them, in addition to that natural wallop, also had chins of iron. If you know anything about boxing, it would seem logical that the two might not go together, since a fighter who carried around a big punch would normally be a little tighter and more tense then a boxer who was looser and fought in a more relaxed state. The more tense you are, the more you are going to be affected by hard blows. But you would also figure that any big banger with a sensational chin would be pretty near indestructible. But there are really not many we can identify. I thought of Rocky Marciano, who was a very strong puncher, especially for his size; after all, as a relatively small heavyweight, he had enough pop to knock out people like Jersey Joe Walcott with one punch. He could hit with both hands, and if he didn't take his opponent out of there right away, he could chop him down like a tree over a short period of time. But who else? when you go down the list of champions throughout history, almost all of them come up a little short in one department or the other. For example, former middleweight champion Marvin Hagler, while possessing one of the great chins in history, was a serviceable but not sensational puncher. He was accurate and great at wearing people down, but did not have that huge KO power. One of the few guys we come up with such a search is Ray Mercer, who for a time held the WBO heavyweight championship. Mercer hit hard enough - in fact, he was almost the equal of Lennox Lewis and George Foreman while all three were active and hovering near the top. And one thing that has never been in doubt is the strength of Mercer's chin - very rarely was he ever hurt in a fight. The big problem with Mercer, as I suspect it is with most guys who fit the prescription we were looking to fill, is that he couldn't handle the "in betweens." He just couldn't deal with boxer-types, not even a little bit. Larry Holmes, at age 45, took him to school like he was an amateur. Upon seeing that, one would be surprised that Mercer was actually an Olympic gold medalist, inasmuch as in the amateur ranks boxers seem to be rewarded a lot more than punchers. It just goes to show 'ya - there's more to this game than simply going out there and knocking the other guy senseless. Wanna be a boxer? Hone your game with the help of CHEAP BOXING.
by: Cheap Boxing
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
By Larry Goldberg Boxers are a very special breed of athlete and they need very sport specific training exercises because of it. Part of the reason boxers are so different from other athletes is because there is such a fine line between needing both fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. Sure, nearly every sport has this need but boxing tends to need the best from both, not just a little from both. Then there are the sports, such as weightlifting or long distance running, which require a dominant percentage of one or the other. Not so with boxing. A boxer needs to have the core strength to back punches with power but also have the speed and quickness to avoid harmful combinations. One of the best ways a boxer can get the most out of each muscle group is to partake in calisthenics. Calisthenics help boxers and mixed martial arts athletes build up lean, strong muscles, not big bulky ones that slow them down. Calisthenics usually consist of an array of push ups, pull ups, crunches and sit ups. These exercises should be done 5-7 times per week and they will really strengthen the core muscles that a boxer uses on the most consistent basis, such as the abdominals, chest, shoulders, back and biceps. It is advised to wear hand wraps while doing calisthenics because they help support the fingers and the wrists better then if they were bare. Hand wraps also keep the boxer’s hands in a firm, stable condition, which is much how they will be while under the gloves, so it is good practice.
by: Cheap Boxing
By Larry Goldberg Any athlete who is looking to improve upon endurance is in luck. Endurance is a key quality to athletic performance and it can be influenced by cardiovascular activity, most notably long distance running. Here’s how it works: Each athlete is designed with a certain number of fast twitch and slow twitch muscles, as determined by their genetics and while it is difficult to improve the fast twitch muscles (which control quickness) it is far easier to control the slow twitch muscles. The slow twitch muscles in an athlete are what aid their endurance. In other words, the more slow twitch muscles an athlete has the longer they can perform at their peak and the more stamina they will show. For this reason most runners, especially in marathon running, have more slow twitch muscles then the normal athlete and most football players have more fast twitch muscles because they are required to cut and turn on a dime. Boxers and those in Karate often have a mix of fast twitch and slow twitch muscles though because they need the speed to deliver fast punches and the endurance to go all rounds. An athlete can work on improving their cardiovascular systems, which increases stamina and endurance by running. Running longer distances more frequently will help strengthen the slow twitch muscles in an athlete’s legs making it possible for them to run longer and longer distances, which quickly transitions into whatever sport they are involved in. Cardio work helps athletes perform their best every time out on the field, court or in the ring.
by: Cheap Boxing
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