Hi there I'm Mike Gales for Everlast Nutrition. In this video let's take a
look at some shadow boxing for beginners. Shadow boxing is a great way to practice
all your boxing technique. It's also dynamic and it is a great way to work
up a sweat and burn a ton of calories. It's also low-impact and surprisingly is
easy on the joints. It could also be an awesome mode of cardio if you have any injuries.
Best of all you don't need any equipment. All that you really need is
your imagination and the desire to get into great shape. If you wanted to you, then you
could use some gloves or even nothing at all to shadow box. I usually use hand
wraps because I like to use shadow boxing to warm up. Then i can move on to
something else like the heavy bag, the focus mitts or perhaps some sparring.
That way, my hands to be ready to go. I will leave a link in the description
below to show you how to properly wrap your hands.
Traditionally people did use their own shadow to shadow box. Yet your shadow will be dependent
on the available light. So you may want to begin by using a mirror instead.
In the beginning, I'm not looking to be powerful or explosive.
I'm going to take things nice and easy. Start off by facing the mirror and
assuming you're proper boxing stance. I'll leave a link to that in the
description below as well. All that you're looking to do here, in the
beginning, is set yourself up in your stance and get yourself comfortable.
I'm going to keep my guard up and loosen up by shifting my weight from foot to foot.
Once I feel comfortable in my boxing stance, I'm going to spend about a minute
just moving around. I'm not going to throw any punches. I'm just going to
remain in my stance as I move forward and back. Then laterally from one side to the other.
I also might throw in the odd pivot or two here and there.
After I've moved around for a little bit, I'll return to one spot in front of the mirror.
I'm going to start to throw some punches in place.
Keep in mind that this is not a minute to win it. I don't want to be rapidly throwing only my
arm as quickly as possible. Instead, I want to keep things at a much more
realistic tempo. I'm going to throw one punch reset myself into my stance.
Then i will throw another punch. For someone who's new to shadow boxing,
trying it up for the first time. I would suggest throwing 50 of each of the basic punches.
So that would be 50 jabs, 50 crosses, 50 left hooks to the head,
50 right hooks to the head, 50 left hooks to the body, then the right hooks to the
body ,followed by some uppercuts. As I throw each punch, I'm looking directly at
myself in the mirror. I'm making sure that I'm using proper technique for each shot.
I'm keeping track of my hand position. I'm making sure that my
shoulders stay nice and high to protect my chin. That my elbows aren't too
wide but most importantly I'm trying to remain relaxed and I don't forget to breathe.
I can also get used to the idea of someone throwing punches towards me.
Luckily in this case, it is only my reflection and so there's no need to worry.
After I've thrown 50 repetitions of each punch,
I'm going to finish off by practicing some defensive maneuvers for a couple of minutes.
I will use my imagination to envision myself slipping my opponent's punches,
bobbing and weaving and blocking his punches.
I will try and pivot in and out of punching position.
I'm going to stick to looking into the mirror and throwing those 50 repetitions
of each punch for a couple weeks. I will do that until I feel confident with my technique.
After a while, once you've gotten used to shadow boxing with a mirror, let's see if
we can put together your own shadow boxing routine. To do this, I'm going
to use an app on my smartphone to keep track of the time.I'm going to aim
for three minutes of shadow boxing followed by one minute of rest. I'm
going to aim for five rounds to really work up a sweat. Let's start out the
first round and like we did previously we're going to start up with some movement only.
For the first round we're not going to throw any punches.
Once you've gotten used to shadow boxing and you feel a little more
comfortable with your technique, you can move away from the mirror You can begin to
use your imagination and envision that your opponent is right in front of you .
He is trying to get the angle on you but you're not going to let him.
By now, you should have an inclination of what your proper boxing stance should feel like.
You want to do your best keep proper positioning now as you move around.
Picture yourself getting into the proper position and into the proper range to
throw the punches that you want to throw. Next, we're going to throw only the jab
and the cross for one round. Once again visualize your opponent. Then throw
only the jab for the first minute. Move yourself into different positions and
only use that jab.
Then visualize yourself landing the cross, as you keep moving
for the next minute of the round.
Finally throw the jab and the cross together,
for the final minute of the round.
Next we're going to throw hooks and uppercuts for an entire round.
I'm going to start with some left hooks to the head.
Then I'll throw some left hooks to the body.
Then I will do the same thing for the right hooks. It's important to note
that I'm not putting a huge amount of power into these shots.
I'm looking to stay fluid and I'm looking to keep moving. The whole time I
envision that I'm out boxing my shadow or imaginary opponent.
I'm going to finish off this round by throwing some uppercuts. Don't forget to relax and don't forget to breathe.
We're going to finish off the shadow boxing routine
with two consecutive rounds of throwing combinations.
remember that you don't need to throw the shots with a huge amount of power.
Envision that shadow opponent and try to keep moving. Picture him coming forward towards you
or running away in retreat. Picture yourself breaking his defensive shell or
that you're slipping and blocking all of his punches.
The most important thing here with your shadow boxing routine is to have fun and to use your imagination.
Remember that the punches don't have to be thrown with a huge amount of power.
Don't forget to just relax and breathe. Now you have another great
workout routine to add to your repertoire. It is low-impact for your joints.
Yet it also destroys a ton of calories as you work up a tremendous sweat.
Best of all this type of workout can be done absolutely anywhere
with no equipment whatsoever. This has been Mike Gale's for Everlast Nutrition.
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