The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Haven't posted for a while and that kinda sums up how my time has been.  I've really struggled to balance work, Uni, family, etc and find time to train.

The Good

I have been able to maintain regular attendance at Leicester Shootfighters, whenever I've been really pushed for time I've prioritised training & learning.  As a result I've managed to improve my boxing a lot.  JD Hylton's tuition is excellent and I find it really easy to improve under his style of teaching.  I feel like my speed, relaxation, movement and technique has all improved.  At present we're body sparring but the option is there to attend a full sparring session to be organised soon.

The Bad

As my technique and my conditioning (sort of) has improved my strength has nose dived.  Seriously.  Wendler always says that as conditioning increases strength will drop.  In my case this is compounded by not training strength with anything approaching regularity or consistency.  The blow to the ego for someone who's lifted for 20 years is desperate.  Which leads me to.....

The Ugly

.....my technique on the lifts which has been absolute shit.  A recent set of presses was so bad, so mu ch leg drive that it was almost a jerk rather than a press.  To solve this I've reduced all my maxes for the upper body lifts so that I can get the work in and progress and get some volume.  I also need to put sled dragging back in to my programme - it seems to help with most things in life.

Anyhoo, on we go. 

Take care of yourself and if you've got any comments let's have 'em.

Hey McGlovin'!

Not really about training this one, but hopefully it'll be of some interest...

My original training was in kickboxing, starting out with the PKA (I'm not posting a link for them, they make enough money without any help from me) back in the late 1990s and as such I've been through quite a few pairs of boxing gloves over the years. With this in mind I thought I'd share some of my experiences of gloves.

Back in the day with the PKA, you had to buy equipment sanctioned and provided by them. This was a great way for instructors to make money and, you would hope, a way for the student to benefit from economies of scale that the PKA were able to tap in to. Not sure if this was ever the case as gloves, pads, etc. always seemed expensive compared to other brands that you could buy. Anyhow, this is how I, and countless others, ended up with T-Sport artificial leather 10oz gloves. In fairness we were training in 'Light-Continuous' kickboxing and maybe these gloves were up to the job. However, I wouldn't use them for anything else and training two-to-three times a week, plus bagwork, they soon gave up the ghost. I ended up getting mitts to use for bag and pad work, had to be T-Sport again of course, and soon moved on from these as the padding was woefully inadequate.

When I began training at Leicester Shoot Fighters the club gloves were all Blitz. Even though the gloves were used communally and took a hell of a pounding they lasted well and remained comfortable for hitting and being hit. It was based on this experience that I got myself a pair of the Blitz 14oz leather gloves. These are great gloves. The foam is solid but with plenty of give for sparring partners. The fit is fairly snug but feels supportive and secure rather than constrictive. I have quite wide hands but could still wrap my hands and get them on – wouldn't get a knuckle pad in as well though. They wear in nicely and without needing too long and also last well. My first pair were with me for about two years bag and pad work 3 – 4 times a week. I liked them so much I bought a second pair.

After the Blitz gloves I felt that it was time to invest in some proper muay thai gloves and dived in for a pair of Twins. Without doubt these are my favourite pair of gloves of all those that I've used. They are a little more expensive than generic/store brands but the quality is excellent – leather, stitching, padding, velcro all good quality giving the gloves great longevity even after plenty of abuse on the heavy bag and large maize ball. The fit for the Twins is good for wide hands like mine. As a heavy chap who hits fairly hard I like to use a gel knuckle pad under my wraps and the 14oz Twins accommodate this with no problems. Again I bought two pairs and still use a pair now.

The final pair I'll mention are my Fairtex 16oz leather. These are a different shape to the Twins but of a similar quality. If anything these are wider that the Twins and as such accommodate my hands + wraps + pads nicely. At present I've only used them for bagwork and they've stood up well to this. When I need new gloves it'll be a toss up between Fairtex and Twins.

I think with boxing gloves the old adage of 'you get what you pay for' runs true, buy nice or buy twice.