Buying a durable pair of boxing gloves will certainly make you all excited and thrilled. But this thrill can easily be turned into a huge misfortune if you hurt your hand or felt numbness in your fingers. Have you ever been in such a situation? If so, then you need to know how to break in boxing gloves.
A stiffness of newly bought gloves will cause discomfort during your boxing session. You need to have well-fitted gloves to show good performance in your boxing game. In this article, you’ll know the step-by-step guide on how to break in boxing gloves, the correct fitting of your boxing gloves and some do’s and don’ts to fit the gloves.
How are Boxing Gloves Supposed to Fit?
First, you need to understand the correct fitting of the boxing gloves. Following are some points to notice in your gloves while boxing. Ask the following questions yourself.
Can you feel your hand?
Your gloves shouldn’t be too tight that you can’t feel your hand and fingers. The boxing gloves should be snug and have enough space so your hand can get proper blood circulation throughout the boxing session.
Do you feel comfortable and supported?
You should immediately change your boxing gloves if they provide everything but support and comfort. Your boxing gloves shouldn’t only give you a snug fit but should be comfortable while wearing them.
Do your boxing gloves stay put during the session?
If your gloves come off easily during boxing, you surely are in deep trouble. Boxing gloves aren’t supposed to come off after every punch. They should stay in your hands without hurting and leave your hand numb.
Can your fingers touch the upper part of the gloves?
There should be a small space between your fingers and the gloves so you can feel the upper part of the gloves. Otherwise, your fingers won’t get the proper movement and blood circulation.
How to Break in Boxing Gloves?-A Guide
Here is a step-by-step guide about stretching or breaking boxing gloves. Different types of gloves take different kinds of effort and techniques. Gloves with synthetic material can get soft and stretched after one or two sessions. While breaking in leather gloves can give a tougher time because of stiffer padding layers.
Now, let’s jump to the recommended way to stretch boxing gloves.
Step 1
Squeezing and Pressing the Gloves:
The first and most obvious step to breaking in boxing gloves is gently squeezing and pressing down the inside padding of the gloves. Make sure to not put extra force, you have to be gentle while squeezing. The gloves will get less stiff by doing gentle pressing for about 2-3 minutes. After that, put the gloves on and start stretching your finger and hand for about 1-2 minutes. Attentive squeezing will help you not damage the significant structure of the gloves.
Step 2
Light Training:
Again, you don’t have to be harsh with this step as well. You can use a punching bag for light training to break in boxing gloves. Gentle punches against the bag will certainly soften the hard padded layer of boxing gloves. Your hand might get hurt if you punch too hard.
You should skip this step if you have sparring gloves. This step can harden the padding inside the gloves which can be risky. As far as training gloves are concerned, you can consider doing this step to stretch the boxing gloves.
Step 3
Use of Hand-Wrap:
This step is more like a precautionary measure. The use of a long hand wrap will help you get a snug and accurate fitting of the gloves. Not only that but it also protects you from tissue damage. It would be great to use two hand wraps under boxing gloves.
Before going into the boxing ring with a new pair of gloves, consider wearing hand wraps inside for the sake of extra protection and support. This will also help with breaking in boxing gloves.
Some Don’ts While Break in Boxing Gloves:
You will surely get a lot of advice about how to break into boxing gloves from different people. You better not follow all of them. We know some of them will mess up with your glove’s resilience. Let’s see what those are.
- The use of moisturizers or any kind of liquid will damage the strong and durable structure of your boxing gloves. So, if someone suggests you do so, don’t blindly follow their advice otherwise you have to buy another pair of gloves
- Don’t sit on your gloves to break in them. Yes, some people do this and end up ruining the wrist structure of gloves.
- Punching the hard wall is another piece of advice you will surely get from some so-called experts. Doing so will lead you to serious injury, and also damage the resilience of the boxing gloves.
- Never put your new pair of boxing gloves into the dryer or washing machine for breaking-in purposes.
How To Wear Boxing Gloves?
After knowing how to break in boxing gloves, the question you need an answer to the most is, how to wear your boxing gloves?
- First of all, grab a good-quality long hand wrap and wrap it around your hand to protect vulnerable bones.
- Make sure to not tight the hand wrap too much, doing so will block blood circulation and may hurt your muscles as well.
- Now, put on the gloves in a way that your hand doesn’t feel any kind of discomfort. Your hand shouldn’t feel suffocation at all.
- Also, fasten the velcro strap so your wrist doesn’t move too much.
- A sturdy, well-padding, and properly break-in pair of gloves are as essential as your boxing skills.
How Long Do Boxing Gloves Last?
A well-constructed pair of boxing gloves can last 2-2.5 years. Besides that, cheaply made boxing gloves won’t last much longer than 1 year. Furthermore, the longevity of boxing gloves also depends on the frequency of training and how you take care of your boxing gloves.
Conclusion:
Breaking in leather gloves or any other gloves won’t only help protect you but also help you with focusing more on the game. Never forget to follow our recommended guide on how to break boxing gloves before your start practicing with new pair of boxing gloves.
