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Overview of Essential Equipment for Boxing and Kickboxing Training

By June 13, 2018No Comments

Boxing and Kickboxing Workouts – Equipment Needs

Before beginning any form of boxing or kickboxing training, the right equipment must be available for both safety and performance reasons. Here’s a summary of the most commonly used equipment for fitness instructors and coaches teaching clients fitness boxing and kick boxing:

Anklets: Elastic form fitting support for the ankle to help stabilize and prevent rolling.If additional support is needed or the workout area requires footwear, then boxing boots are recommended.

Hand Wraps: Hand wraps are essential for wrist and hand support, stabilizing and lessening excessive impact to the hand and wrist. Quick wraps are a good alternative to hand wraps.

Gloves: gloves for boxing come in two flavours, both being essential for comprehensive training i.e. bag mitts are smaller and designed for speed of movement to enhance the refinement of skills. Boxing gloves are larger with greater degree of padding inclusive of thumb protection and may be used for heavier workouts to build and tone muscles and for sparring and squad work. Check out our article Choosing a Boxing Glove for more information.

Mouth guard: required for sparring to prevent damage to the teeth, cuts to the mouth and to protect the jaw. Clamping down on a mouth-guard will immobilize the jaw to prevent damage stemming from impact. Also useful for workouts where you want to focus on breathing technique given the mouth guard restricts breathing through the mouth, forcing the athlete to utilize the nose.

Head Gear and Groin Guards: Whether boxing or kickboxing, if you are sparring then appropriate head gear and a groin guard are essential.

Speed-ball: an inflated ball hanging from a back-board. The speed ball acts as a rhythm bag, to develop hand-eye coordination – the same sort of coordination used in a blocking or parrying a punch. Hit the ball with side of hand or knuckles.

Heavy bag: the heavy bag is the most used piece of boxing training equipment as it allows one to develop all of the main punches and kicks, while conditioning for power, developing stamina and aerobic fitness. See our article Benefits of working out on the Heavy Bag for more information.

Floor to ceiling ball: an inflated ball suspended between the ceiling and floor by two elastic cords and used to develop hand-eye coordination, peripheral vision, punching skills and balance. This floor to ceiling ball provides a dynamic moving target, which enhances timing and evasive skills. See our article Getting Started with the Floor to Ceiling Ball for more information.

Skipping rope: jumping rope at various speeds and using different techniques improves footwork, builds stamina and conditions shoulder strength, all fundamental elements for boxing and kickboxing. Begin bouncing lightly on the balls of the feet, varying foot spacing, and rope speed. Remember to breath properly and work into a rhythm.

Medicine ball: medicine balls are used to build core stability through a multitude of movements. The main benefit to using the medicine ball is its versatility, as it can be used anywhere at any time and entire work-outs can be designed around it.

Focus Pads: a trainer uses focus pads (also called focus mitts) for the client or athlete to hit, ‘catching’ the boxer’s punches in sessions designed to teach skill development, balance and timing. There are a number of focus pad varieties depending on training type and personal preference, including Hook N Jab Pads and normal Focus Pads. The trainer will call for a punch, or a combination of punches, while the trainee focuses on perfecting their technique.

Fitness Singlet and Shorts: Its far better to wear boxing clothing than sloppy t shirts, track pants or shorts. Proper clothing infers better heat transfer and unrestricted movement.A towel is also important.

Drink Bottle: Regular hydration is essential so arm yourself with a good drink bottle and fill it with water.