UKC

Just joined the local boxing club.

Hoping for a different kind of fitness to supplement climbing.

Anyone had any experience boxing?

In reply to Daniel Heath:

Richard Simpson has. Try mailing him.

In reply to Daniel Heath:
Might help with the queueing for busy routes too

In reply to Daniel Heath: yes ofcourse, aswell as leg strength power and endurance it will still aid the fitness side of climbing, I competed for a lot of years and it seriously aided my armed strength and endurance. But don't forget all boxing training is mostly push exercises not pulling or finger strength training so you'll still have to do that, but it will aid the body in helping the muscles recover quicker and bring endurance into the arms when they are working hard and generally up a height aswell as pumping the blood to those areas that need it most but be patient it will take a while before you see a bit improvement . Buy a good pair of crape bandages for wrapping your wrists up you don't want any injuries, you might need them for your nose too!! Oh and you might need a good gum shield aswell. Any other advice drop me am e mail

In reply to Daniel Heath: wouldn't bother buying headguard mouthguard just yet ,if its a reputable club you wont be doin any sparring for some time..you can borrow gloves at the club but would be a good idea to buy your own. as gloves get very sweaty which is not good when sharing. if you go to sports soccer they sell padded mitts/wraps which are like wraps but without the hastle and will probably do you till your up against the klitschos !,
ive 54 and bin doin it for about 6 months ,not sure if it helps my climbing but certainly helps with my overall fitness and general well being and am enjoying it ,,its more technical than you think ,youll either love it or pack it in very quick .gd luck let us know how you get on!

In reply to Wee Davie:


Beat me to it....

In reply to colina: standard cotton wraps are ok but have no give so if you put them on too tight your hands can quickly cramp up, whereas crepe bandages give you equal support but have some elasticity and wont cramp your hands up as much. Was only joking about the gum shield but it might help if someone stands up to you when your bullying them off routes . If your enjoying it and end up sparring when your ready (it will be a while yet) hen getting in the ring will be 1 of the best things you can do. Very rewarding. Any form of upper body cv work in gonna help the arms with stamina and recovery

In reply to David Cowley:

Thanks for the encouragement.

I'm feeling quite weak in the arms and shoulders today, so it must have been a decent session.

Variations of sit ups on a wooden floor were painful though. My bony coccis is red raw today

In reply to Daniel Heath:

I reckon its a bit intense to supplement climbing, it would just hinder your recovery. If your aim is to get better at climbing, then spend the time climbing or resting. Though if you want to get into boxing, then sacrifice performance in climbing (though you could negate the effect on your ego by just lying to everyone about your climbing like rich simpson!)

In reply to Daniel Heath: I think it's a bad idea. Bag work is fine but if you are sparring, you'll end up with wrist strains and hand trauma (bruises, strains, maybe the odd fracture from time to time). This might not be particularly serious in real world terms but in climbing terms it will mess up your training because you'll have to take time off to recover.

In reply to David Cowley:
I get what you are saying but if you fan your fingers wide while you wrap then they should fit correctly over a fist.

In reply to Daniel Heath:
I used to box when I was young. The level of fitness training was imense. Mentally it'll help teach you to keep going when you are absolutely whacked.

In reply to nw: Yeh that works but if your inexperienced at wrapping them then its best just to get bandages, there probs cheaper aswell and are more comfortable. Well they are when I nick them from work just my personal experience, not that I used to hit much I used to cover up then spend most of the time on the canvas

In reply to Daniel Heath: I did manage to win a county ABA title at 9 st 7 once. I was quite fit then but only climbing at VS, different type of fitness, won't help your climbing much, certainly won't harm it either being leaner and all that cardio work. I do recommend quitting when you start getting battered by teenagers.