Starting with any athletic sport can be daunting. Unsure if you’re doing the right moves, eating the right food to prepare, or using the right equipment. Choosing the correct boxing gloves can make all the difference. Take running for example, emphasis is put on starting with the proper running shoes – you likely wouldn’t go for a light three miles in a pair of boots or flip flops for obvious reasons. The boots are too clunky and don’t provide the lightness on your feet that running efficiently requires. Flip flops would surely cause a sore between your toes – and that’s if they stay on at all! With those options out of the way, you decide to choose a pair of running shoes. But which ones?
Glove Choice?
With boxing, your primary tool for training is your gloves. There are heavy gloves, light gloves, sparring gloves, bag gloves, and fight gloves. When it comes to choosing what to begin with, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Mitigating risk of injury to your wrists or knuckles and being comfortable. What running shoes do for your feet, boxing gloves do for your hands.
Avoid Injury
If you were new to running, you likely don’t have olympic level form to prevent injuries and unnecessary pain – and thats okay. You can rely partly on your shoes to mitigate some of those issues while you get better. Boxing is no different when it comes to your gloves. As the primary equipment used for training, making the correct selection can be the difference between feeling great, or waking up the next day with knuckle and wrist pain.
Padding is Important
If you aren’t an expert in throwing punches yet (which is quite okay) you want to be sure the padding in the glove is above average. For example, the DR-T padding in Hit N Move gloves directs the impact around your knuckles, instead of directly into them. Same goes with wrist support. Too many wonky punches with subpar wrist support can lead to a slew of injuries and pain with continued training. But fear not! Done correctly with the right glove, boxing can be very rewarding and lead to a lifelong passion.
Conclusion
For the same reasons you wouldn’t find the cheapest pair of flip flops to begin training for your first marathon, you should take care when choosing the correct boxing glove to embark on your boxing journey. Keeping in mind wrist support, hand padding, and longevity. While choosing incorrect running shoes will take a toll on your feet and ankles, boxing gloves will take a toll on your hands and wrist. The good news is – there are plenty of great options that will make your boxing experience fun and keep you wanting to lace up the gloves and get back in the gym.