Are you just discovering pad training for yourself and would you like to bring more variety into boxing through partner training? Then you are probably wondering whether you need special boxing gloves for training on the boxing pads. You can find the answer in this article.
What you will learn in this post:
- What are the basics in pad training
- Which boxing gloves are suitable for boxing pads
- How to find the right gloves for you
What are boxing pads? What do you train with it?
In short: With the claws - punch pads with gloves - you train a boxing match: Your partner wears the hand claws and you your boxing gloves. Together with your training partner, you simulate various processes of a boxing match so that you can improve your individual skills - responsiveness, speed, punching technique - under the most realistic conditions possible. Because unlike the punching bag, you get immediate feedback and a counter-reaction from the claw holder. In the course of the pad training he moves more and more through the room, away from you or towards you, so that all your boxing skills are in demand.
You can find out more about pad training and how to build it up cleverly here !
Which gloves do you use for pad training?
In fact, we can understand that you are unsure which boxing gloves are suitable for pad training. As so often, it is a very own philosophy which boxing gloves a boxer wears. Basically, it is not necessary to wear heavily padded boxing gloves. Because 1. you hit a soft target - the punch pads - and you already have good shock absorption, and 2. you feel your punches better with thinner boxing gloves. This makes it easier for you to notice how your shots hit the punch pad.
This means that many boxers use their regular boxing gloves, which are also used on the punching bag, for training on the claws and jab pads. The boxing gloves are relatively light, depending on your weight class and punching power. The boxing gloves for pad training often have 10 to 12 oz.
BUT... there are also many who do it differently. Some boxers swear by boxing gloves that are 14 oz or larger. They use their sparring boxing gloves with thicker padding. Why? Pad training is a simulation of sparring and this type of training usually involves the use of heavier weight boxing gloves. The reason lies in the risk of injury, which should be reduced by high padding. In addition, heavier boxing gloves have a training effect on your arms. So you can build muscle better that way. However, you should only wear heavy boxing gloves of 14 oz or more for pad training if you have used them frequently. If your arms tire after just a few minutes, you haven't achieved much with 14 oz or 16 oz boxing gloves in pad training.
If you use your sparring gloves for pad training, you should make sure that the punch pads are not cracked. Otherwise, they could damage your boxing gloves, so they should definitely not be used for sparring anymore.
Which boxing gloves should I use on the pads?
You should definitely tackle the first attempts at pad training with light boxing gloves, i.e. with 10 or a maximum of 12 oz. You will quickly notice that a higher weight in the boxing gloves also requires more performance from you. But if you don't yet have the muscle strength and stamina to keep your fists in the boxing gloves up for a longer period of time, the pad training will come to an end quickly. Since most beginners use boxing gloves for the first training sessions anyway, you don't have to worry about an extra pair.
If you are an advanced boxer who would like to vary your training or challenge yourself more, you can of course use 14 or 16 oz boxing gloves.