Avoid the Boxing Franchises: Find Free Boxing Gyms
Don't worry about fancy fitness franchises with “Boxing” somewhere in the name and membership fees that can soar to over $100.00 a month. A real fan wants the real thing, a professional boxing gym -- which is usually free.
The great thing about a boxer’s workout is that it can be done at home, but initially it’s best that you start out in a real boxing gym and learn proper boxing technique. It’s more fun because you will be working on real boxing skills. Moreover, proper technique prevents injury. You will be punching things; the risk of a hand injury is real if you don’t learn proper technique.
First things first: Go to the doctor to be sure you're healthy enough to begin a strenuous workout. Once you're pronounced ready, start your search for a gym. BoxingGyms.com is just what its name implies and is an excellent place to start.
Avoid huge glass facades, a registration desk up front, wall to wall carpet, air conditioning, complicated-looking equipment, fresh paint on the walls, and a dozen (or more) heavy bags hanging from the ceiling for group sessions. If you see women in leotards and full makeup, leave. Immediately.
Real Boxers and Real Boxing Skills
What you want is likely to be absolutely free or have a miniscule membership fee. It will be a nondescript former storefront, or maybe a converted old church, with a sense of boxing history and stories in its peeling paint, dog-eared fight posters, and the smell of sweat. There will be real boxers with real scar tissue who are working on real boxing skills. It is a little intimidating at first, but that’s okay; these guys and gals aren’t concerned with you. They’re focused. That attitude will rub off on you.
As you look around you’ll see a few heavy bags, a speed bag or two, an area for jumping rope, possibly some weights, and a ring. This ring will be stained with real sweat and blood and there will be boxers sparring, shadowboxing, hitting the focus pads, or doing floor work inside it.
In a real boxing gym, the ring is the centerpiece and in constant use, unlike expensive franchised gyms in which the ring is pristine and no one is ever in it because the gym charges an extra fee for "Advanced Membership."
Small items like hand wraps, jump ropes, or mouth-guards (when and if you are ready for sparring) may be bought at the gym, at most sporting goods stores, or online at boxing equipment suppliers.
Boxing gyms often provide training gloves (12- and 16-ounce), jump ropes, headgear, heavy bags, speed bags, weights, and other training tools. Remember that gym property remains at the gym and what isn’t attached to the floor, ceiling, or wall must be returned to its proper place after use.
Ready to Start Boxing
Now that you're ready to start Boxing, the first thing you’ll learn is how to properly wrap your hands. You should not take this step lightly. Properly wrapped hands prevent injury and will give you the confidence to punch hard. Although the hardest thing you may ever hit is a heavy bag, they are plenty stiff and can easily injure hands and wrists. In fact, you won’t be allowed to hit a bag without wraps; they’re that important.
Find someone at the gym to show you how to wrap your hands. They'll be glad to help -– boxers, you'll discover, are some of the nicest people in the world. But please, don't make the novice mistake of stopping by the local Mini Mart for bottled water with your handwraps on to show the cigarette slinger behind the counter that you're a “boxer.” That’s just weird.
Once you begin your boxing routine, you'll discover how hard amateur and professional boxers work to get into fighting shape. And you'll love every minute of it.
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