Boxing Training 101: How to Train

When it comes to Boxing training, you want to make sure you’re making the best use of your time. I’ve seen trainers have students spend 15-20 minutes of their one-hour private sessions doing jump rope and treadmill. These things will not make you a better boxer. They could make you a better athlete, but you can also do them on your own FREE time. You might need some assistance early on to learn how to jump rope, but after that point it’s something you ideally do on your own as a warmup, or on days you aren’t able to make it to the gym. It also doesn’t help your “foot work” as much as some make it seem. Practicing your foot work is the best way to improve your foot work. You aren’t in a boxing stance when you jump rope, and you aren’t doing any of the same movements, so it’s silly to use it for anything other than general warm up, especially if you’re paying premium prices for private training.

The Speed bag is like the jump rope, as in it’s a common tool used in boxing gyms, that doesn’t really help your boxing much. Sure, it can be used for a bit of shoulder conditioning and timing, but so can shadow boxing or punching in any form. They’re both fine for a quick warm up but shouldn’t make up most of your lessons. Beware if your coach is having you spend too much time using these tools, unless it’s something you really enjoy, but know there are better ways to improve your boxing. I try to always have student practice what we’re going to be doing. That means don’t practice 10 punch combos on the bags IF you aren’t someone who’s going to do that in sparring. If you’re going to jump rope, try doing it in your boxing stance. If you enjoy running and do it on your off days from the gym, go for it, but it won’t make you a better boxer. You’d find more benefit in shadow boxing in a similar fashion to how you specifically box based on your style.

I see the most progress from students training at least twice, ideally three times per week. The issue with training once weekly, is you and your body forget the movements by the next lesson, so we typically end up spending half of the next lesson going over what we did the previous. With twice per week, the progress is exponentially faster. It’s closer to 3-X as fast as opposed to the 2x you’d assume. Consistency, especially in your first few years of training, is crucial. After you’ve been training for some time, the breaks between sessions, or just general time off, don’t affect your skill as much as just your general athleticism and timing.

There are many ways to learn to fundamentals of boxing. Some trainers might take it very slow, and work on perfecting every punch and movement over the first few months before teaching you how to punch and get punched at by a real target. I prefer to show people the basic, and then continually practice them while working on new boxing concepts like using the ropes, the corners, stance switching, double/triple hand punches with the same hand, feints, fakes, hand play, head movement, counter punches to the head and body etc. In the long term, you should end up in the same place, but some people learn better by listening and watching, and some learn better by understanding and doing.

It's crucial to learn why you’re doing all the movements and sequences your coach is having you perform, and not just being able to do them. Learn how to wrap your own hands, learn why you’re moving your head a certain way. Learn what counters are best for you in certain positions in the ring. That way, no matter where you train, you always have a solid base and understanding. I’ve met people who have trained for years who don’t understand why they’re performing certain moves at certain times. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Sometimes understanding why you’re doing something; actually, helps you perform the movement more efficiently.

I’m a massive proponent of stance switching, and it’s something you’ll see more and more nowadays and both boxers and mixed martial artists are learning how much of an advantage it can add to your game. I tend to start novices using both southpaw and orthodox regardless on if they’re left or right-handed. The number of weapons this adds to the arsenal is compounding and not cumulative. Foot work opens all offense and defense and being able to seamlessly switch stances takes one’s movement to another level, enabling substantially more offense and defense. Therefore, I think if it’s something that you can see yourself doing down the line, you might as well start from the get-go learning both stances instead of playing catch up later.

Training daily isn’t a realistic option for most people. When you aren’t at the gym, practicing what you’re currently working on, new moves you’d like to learn, or just shadow boxing in front of a mirror in a way that reflects your current style is likely more beneficial for improving your boxing technique, timing, and rhythm than running, or weightlifting. Those things can be supplemental, but for most, will likely never be more important as tools than practicing what you’re going to be doing. I wouldn’t swim if I’m trying to get better at running. Now if I’m swimming on off days as opposed to doing nothing, it’s likely still beneficial, but I believe practicing what you’re attempting to improve is something misunderstood and can make a large difference in how fast you improve for the specific task.