Hi there I'm Mike Gales. You have decided
that you're going to take up some boxing or some MMA, to get yourself in great shape.
That my friend is a wise move because training for combat sports just
crushes calories. Even if you never intend on fighting, training like a
fighter is going to get you in tremendous shape in no time. In this video, we're
going to take a look at which style of glove is best suited for you. When you go
to the store to shop for gloves, there's quite a large selection to choose from.
There are many different styles and different sizes and weights. In this video,
let's try to mystify that a little bit for you. The very first suggestion that
I'm going to make is to stick with a concept of specificity. What I mean by
that, is that if you plan on competing in a certain discipline and you only plan
on buying one pair of gloves, then I would definitely buy the specific gloves
that go along with that sport. That would be MMA gloves if you're
planning on competing in MMA, or boxing gloves if you plan on competing in
boxing. If you're just looking to train and get yourself in phenomenal
shape, then let's take a look at some different styles of gloves .
We will cover some things to consider for each of the main styles. First, let's take a look
at a typical MMA glove. These are 7 ounce MMA gloves from Everlast.
They do offer adequate protection to punch the heavy bag, a double-ended
bag or even the focus mitts. They have some added wrap to go around the wrist for support,
which offers a little more protection. They also have a Velcro attachment,
so that you could put them on and take them off by yourself. When it comes
to MMA style gloves, notice that these gloves still allow you to have the
dexterity of using your fingers. That is a huge consideration depending on
what you actually plan on doing as far as training goes. You could use
these gloves to hit the bag, the pads etc. Then transition right into some
grappling or some wrestling. You can create circuits of punching the bag
and then transition and doing certain bodyweight exercises, like push-ups and
chin-ups. You can even work the bag that double-ended bag or mitts and
then transition directly into lifting weights. That is great for circuit
training and CrossFit or that style training. Having the ability to grasp
objects, without having to remove the glove is a huge asset.
It's definitely something to consider. They are typically not too
expensive and they're pretty durable. The downside to these gloves, is that they
only offer moderate protection when really punching a heavy bag. They are
pretty lightweight, so you could potentially get a better bag workout
using a heavier style of glove. Next up, let's take a look at what I would
consider a typical bag glove. This one here, is a 16 ounce glove from Eeverlast.
This is a perfect overall training glove. This can be used for the
double-ended bags, some focus mitt training and I find it's just
tailor-made to bang away of a heavy bag. It has a wrist support, along with a
Velcro attachment, so you could put those gloves on and take them off by yourself.
You can usually find these gloves anywhere from 8 to 16 ounces.
I personally always like to recommend going with a heavier glove, to really
increase the intensity of your workouts. Finally this is an all-around
training glove and you can use it for sparring. Yet in a perfect world, I
wouldn't recommend that. I do find that the velcro attachments can scratch you
or your partner, while you guys are jockeying for position in close quarters.
You definitely could use it for sparring but if you're looking to spar I
would recommend our next style of glove. For the pros, it's a great
all-around training glove and it's not too expensive. You could put them on
and take them off by yourself. So you can still train all alone and you can even
use them for some circuit training. As for the cons, well you still do have
to take them off to do some circuit training, as opposed to the MMA glove,
which you could leave on. I do find that they're good but they're not the best
glove for sparring. Finally, let's take a look at what I would consider to be a
sparring glove. These are the gloves that have the laces. These are also
great all-around gloves, that can also be used for the double-ended bag, the mitts
or even the heavy bag. Yet for me, these are primarily sparring gloves. The laces
will provide you with the ultimate support for both your wrist and your
hands. That could be important for sparring because you might land your
punches on a super hard target, like somebody's elbow. We usually use some
tape over the laces once you're all tied up, to keep both you and your
sparring partners safe from abrasions in close quarters. They're also a
better quality of leather. They are a better quality glove in general.
Better for your hands and for your opponent's face, as they lead to less
cuts, because the higher quality leather tends to be a little smoother. You can
get sparring gloves from 10 to 20 ounces. I personally use 18 ounce
gloves to spar. The reason is that I want to have a better workout and
the softer gloves are better on my sparring partners face and ribs.
If you enjoy having sparring partners and the key word here is partners, then this
is a good thing. As for he pros, the lace gloves are usually the best for
sparring. The higher quality offers the best protection for your hand
and the extra cushioning offers the best protection for your sparring partner.
The cons they're usually the most expensive.
They are also laced gloves and you're going to need someone else, to help you put them on and
probably take them off. For the bottom line, in a perfect world, if you're only
gonna buy one pair of gloves, and your goal is to do a lot of circuit training
that involves some boxing and transitioning to bodyweight exercises or
lifting weights, then your best option is probably gonna be the MMA glove.
If you're gonna put a little bit more focus on boxing and primarily hit the heavy
bag or focused mitts or double-ended bag, then your best option is gonna be
what I consider the bag glove for the boxing training glove. That's the one
with the velcro. They offer great protection for your hands, it's not too
expensive and you can still put them on and take them off by yourself.
Finally, if you're looking to do a lot of sparring, then I would suggest that you
spend a little more money and go with the laced gloves. Preferably at least
16 ounces, to keep both your hands and your sparring partners in good health.
For the sparring gloves, as well with all the gloves there are different sizes
and weights. As far as the size goes, you want to make sure that it fits
snugly in the glove, while you're wearing hand wraps. Yet not so tight, that it
can potentially cut off any circulation. As far as the weight goes, heavier
gloves will give you more protection for your hands and give you a more taxing
workout. On the flip side, they will also slow you
down and limit the impact of your punches during sparring. As a general
rule, if you're lighter guy, maybe you'll be aiming for 12 ounce gloves for the
heavy bag and maybe 14 ounce gloves for sparring. If you're a heavyweight,
you'll be definitely going at least 14 ounce gloves for the heavy bag and I
would recommend at least 16 or 18 ounce gloves for the sparring.
Just to ensure that you don't hurt your hands or somebody else during practice.
No matter which style of glove that you choose, please do not forget
to use the wraps. They're cheap and they're just as important for protecting
your hands as the gloves.
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