Should I Get Boxing Shoes?

If you've boxed for a while and haven't worn boxing shoes, you have probably wondered this. Or maybe you didn't even know that boxing shoes existed! What exactly are boxing shoes and how do they help you with boxing? Are there any other shoes not designated specifically for boxing but good for boxing training? Are any shoes BAD for boxing training? Are boxing shoes good for anything else? What about kickboxing? Any downside to having boxing shoes, besides the expense? All good questions and here are your answers:

What are boxing shoes?

The biggest, most critical difference between boxing shoes and all other athletic shoes is the sole. Boxing shoes have very thin, light soles whereas other athletic shoes have thicker, heavier soles.  Boxing soles are also flat, as is the rest of the shoe in general. Most, if not all, of the time, boxing shoes also have ankle support, thus coming up higher on the ankles for the high-top, boot kind of look. 

How do they help you with boxing?

Consider what the feet do while boxing. The boxer generally stays up on their toes but also needs to dig down into the ground and push off for punches. The boxer needs to be very agile and move in any direction at any moment. The fighting stance is relatively wide, providing maximum balance, and crossing your feet is rarely done. While the feet need to move quickly, it is only in short bursts (a split second or two) and never in one uninterrupted direction for any period of time. I.e. there is never any point where the boxer is running or trying to achieve a top speed with their legs. The boxer also does not need to lift their foot off the ground very high. The lower the better, for several reasons. Pivoting quickly is both a huge part of boxing footwork and proper punch technique.

The thin, light soles allow the feet to move quickly, with the least resistance. You can actually feel your feet grip the ground too, which allows you to dig in and drive off more easily with proprioception. The soles themselves do not stick to the ground as much and this ensures that you don't get stuck moving one way and can't change in a split second. They also let you  almost slide your feet along the floor so the amount of time spent on one foot is minimal. The ankle support helps you make all those directional changes most easily too. All of this applies to pivoting as well.

Are any other shoes good for boxing?

There is nothing I would say is necessarily good for boxing but certainly some are better than others. Tennis is not dissimilar to boxing in terms of footwork and rotation so tennis shoes can work. In tennis however, there are plenty of times to cross feet and get up to maximum speed and thus, the soles are curved in a way to help you spring forward in a way not appropriate for boxing. They also need to absorb a lot more shock so they are heavier and don't slide at all. Basketball shoes generally have good ankle support for boxing and are made with reinforced souls that help with all the omnidirectional movement, pivoting, and wear. But of course those same souls are thicker and heavier, also designed to help you get close to max speed as well us upward spring for jumping high, something NEVER done in boxing. Then there are just the standard cross-trainer shoes that will certainly work for boxing training too. But probably the best are wrestling shoes, since the movement is most similar between the two sports. And wrestling shoes look pretty much the same as boxing shoes. There are even boxers who fight in wrestling shoes. I myself have never done it but if Floyd Mayweather has, we probably could, too.

Are any other shoes BAD for boxing training?

I would say running shoes, particularly distance running shoes, are actually bad for boxing training. Bad for your ankles and bad for your feet. Because they are made for running straight ahead and that is it. They are light, that part is good, but curved and don't allow for safe omnidirectional movement, in my book. The ankle support isn't there at all and pushing off the ground with your left foot, then pushing back the other direction going right, for example, will pressure the sides of your feet in a way that can be uncomfortable in many instances.

Are boxing shoes good for anything besides boxing?

I say no. Even though I mentioned earlier that some boxers fight in wrestling shoes, I don't think boxing shoes would work for wrestling. The main reason is that wrestling shoes need to be more flexible because sometimes your foot gets twisted and rolled in different directions. Most boxing shoes that I know of would pinch in such a situation. And for all other traditional sports, the lack of sole is going to make ground impact uncomfortable.

What about kickboxing?

No! Though a lot of the footwork in boxing and kickboxing is similar, most round/roundhouse kicks involve contact between the kicker’s shin bones and the target. You generally want this contact lower on the shins, right above the ankle. Take a look at any pair of boxing shoes and what do you see covering that area? The tongue and the laces! The ankle support of a boxing shoe covers that area so when you land the roundhouse kick, there is a good chance you are going to land it on the laces and that doesn't feel good, nor is it effective in any way. There are plenty of other smaller reasons but this alone is more than enough. No kickboxer fights in boxing shoes nor are there any shoes specifically designed for kickboxing and the reason is because bare feet really are the best option. If you don't want to use bare feet, a light cross-training shoe will be just fine. You just don't want your ankles covered and something that provides good balance on one leg.

Besides the cost, is there any downside to owning boxing shoes?

I feel a third "no" in a row coming on! No downside at all. Boxing will be better in your boxing shoes, there is no doubt about it. Boxing shoes do tend to wear pretty fast though. My feet are particularly wide and it doesn't take long before the shoe and the sole start to separate on the sides. Plus since the sole is, by design, lighter and smaller, it is going to break down faster. They are just not meant to be particularly durable shoes. But that doesn't mean that you should be buying them every few months, even if you box most days of the week. The tricky part is finding good, quality boxing shoes that work for your particular feet and style of movement. Most places do not sell them so they will have to be ordered online. Just make sure there is a good return policy if you don't like the fit or they fall apart too quickly.

So, should I get boxing shoes?

I think that one is going to depend a lot on you. I would highly recommend them to anybody serious about boxing training for fitness. Then for someone who wants to box competitively on any level, it is a pretty much a must. Footwork is one of the most difficult things in boxing and as I have mentioned on this very blog, it is also the most important thing in boxing. Proper shoes will help your footwork. They will make it easier for you to move in what is generally an awkward for just about anyone. I would say the right pair of boxing shoes will make a more significant difference in your performance than just about any other sport-specific shoe other than cleats.

Another thing to consider is how you feel. I can tell you with just about 100% certainty that if you feel better about the way you look while boxing, you will perform better. A new pair of gloves or shoes or even an outfit can make a significant difference. Having the shoes makes it feel a little more serious. Like you are taking training seriously and that can have a carry-over effect too.

Then there is another mental component kind of along the same lines that when you are about to start training and you take off the shoes you walked in wearing, then sit down to lace up your boxing shoes, it helps get your head in the game. Reinforces that you are boxing now and for many of us, that is particular mindset. The wrapping of hands does this too. Warriors going into battle.

On the flip side, I personally enjoy boxing in non-high top basketball shoes too. I have a wider, more open stance than some and the bigger soles help my feet with balance and push-off but at the same time, I definitely wouldn't say I'm better in basketball shoes. It's just different and both are good for me. At the very least, having a pair specifically for boxing helps too reducing the overall wear on my shoes as a collective. If you have any questions about specific recommendations from me or my shoe collective, let me/us know!

Where is My Mojo Part 3 - The Comeback

In the previous 2 posts, I spoke about a couple different ways we can lose our mojo. Mojo meaning our desire and drive for an exercise program. It can be hard to regain your mojo, once it is lost, and sometimes Life makes this more difficult by throwing a whammy at us, bringing our momentum to a grinding halt. Maybe it's a long vacation, a series of short vacations or an injury that may take more than a couple weeks for recovery. For a lot of people, coming back from such a long layoff will seem daunting at best, impossible at worst. Here are a couple of ways to counteract those feelings and get back on track:

Know That Your Hard Work Is Not Lost

The sense that you could work on something for a period of time, toil over it and then lose everything that you have worked for is just gone is a terrible, disheartening feeling. If you've ever forgot to save something on your computer, you know what I mean. It's more than just the time it would take to redo what you've lost, it is a major psychological blow. When it comes to physical activity though, no matter how long the layoff, none of the training you've ever done in any sport, or even just physical activity in general, is ever lost. Muscles atrophy, sure, skills can decline, absolutely, but it's never all lost. You are still in plus territory, even if other things occur like weight gain, age, etc. Your chances of getting back to a good routine are much statistically higher than someone who has never started BUT don't let that knowledge allow you to put off your comeback!

Avoid the Spiral

Unfortunately, our brains are not always helpful during any kind of a layoff. They tell us things like, "Ugh, I feel so out of shape" and "I used to look so much better and now, I've just let it all go', "I'll never get back to where I was" etc. etc. The sad irony here is that for many of us, telling ourselves these things doesn't actually bring about a call to action but quite the opposite. It discourages us and defeats us, making it harder to get back into a program. This is the same with dieting for many of us too. We have a bad day where our diet restrictions are broken, we feel terrible about it, then we eat those feelings. It can be very difficult to change your self-talk, especially negative self-talk but here is one trick I learned that actually worked surprisingly well for me: Tell yourself to shut up. Immediately. Immediately being the key and I'm not joking here either. Here is an example:

"I used to look so better and now, I've--STOP!"

"I'll never get back to whe--STOP!!"

Literally yell "STOP" in your head as soon as you feel those thoughts creeping in. Don't entertain the thoughts, don't even let your mind finish saying them. Just interrupt with a resounding, powerful "STOP!" And your brain likely will stop, at least for a second. But when it starts up again - STOP! Okay, okay, but here it goes again and STOP! Keep yelling that, the instant you feel the thought. Don't wait even more than a split second. Don't consider these thoughts on any level. Nipping them in the bud like this can actually work. It's almost like when you feel the hiccups coming on. If you hold your breath immediately, you can shut the hiccups down. If you wait too long, you are stuck with hiccups for a while.

Stay Mentally Engaged

There are some good things you brain can do for you doing the layoff. It can stay mentally engaged with what you were doing and want to get back to some day. So if it's boxing, watch boxing videos on Youtube. Watch different fighters. Read about boxing. Read about fitness training in general. Just because your body can't do it, doesn't mean your brain can't. But won't that just make it worse on you? Make you feel worse for NOT being about to exercise while it still occupies your mind? That sounds like a negative, not useful thought so.....STOP!

Most of this is mental. It really is. We tend to divide our lives into chapters, of sorts. If you are doing something like boxing and really into it for a while, that becomes a chapter. But if you take a long vacation, are rehabbing an injury, or just are away from boxing for a while, that chapter tends to close. Doesn't mean you can't start a new chapter but if you are able to stay mentally engaged, there is less of a hard end to the original chapter and thus, getting back into it feels more like a continuation, rather than a full restart.

Some Physical Engagement Too

Taking those examples again - a vacation, an injury or life change that prevents you from doing your normal exercise routine - there still may be ways to stay physically engaged. In the case of an injury, of course you want to clear all of this with your doctor. Maybe you can get a walk in? Maybe you could bust out 5 push-ups? Or 10? In the case of boxing, maybe you can practice footwork only. Anything you can do to keep some form of physical activity in your life while still unable to do your regular exercise routine can be very useful, for both body and mind.

Beware the Double-Whammy

Let's say you, after that long layoff, finally make your comeback and get back to your exercise program. Woo-hoo! Congratulations! I know it was not easy. Instead of being rewarded by The Universe for your impressive achievement, it immediately throws another curveball. Like maybe you just got back from vacation, ready to get back into the swing of things, and then bam! You get sick. Or something unavoidable happens to prevent you from returning to your old routine/exercise program. The ol' double-whammy. It happens far more often than it should. And it very well may happen to you.

So what do you do about the double-whammy? If this DW is truly unavoidable, you have no control, that is true. But it is one of those cases where even though you can't change the thing itself, you can change the way you think about the thing. My recommendation is to simply laugh. Picture those little creatures from the 80s game show, Press Your Luck, that were actually called "Whammies', if you remember them. Laugh because this is Life just trying to mess with you. It thinks it will stop your comeback but haha, you're not going to let it. Nice try, Life. Sure you may not be able to resume your routine for a little while longer and yes, that sucks, but you will ultimately triumph. This will be a blip on the radar, as I sometimes say. Instead of letting that negative self-talk creep in, shut it down and try some positive self-talk. Your laugh is a laugh of superiority because you know you cannot be stopped. And that no matter how hard life hits, you're going to just keep getting up over and over again.

Boxing is full of great comeback stories. The one most refer to as "The Greatest," Muhammad Ali, was unable to box during his prime physical peak years. He left as the champion, came back years later, and then lost his first big fight back. But he kept coming and reclaimed his belt, cementing his legacy of one of boxing's best, most beloved fighters. And I can't imagine he had a lot of negative self-talk going on in his head either. In fact, Ali was the first person I recall in any sport who called himself the Greatest. He said it over and over again. Whether it was true or it wasn't, he believed it and I can't imagine he could have achieved what he did without this kind of positive self-talk. Try it for yourself!

Where is My Mojo Part 2 - The Plateau

Last week, I spoke about the common, recurring phenomenon where someone makes a new, positive life change, is excited by that life change, sticks with that change for a while but gets derailed at some point and finds it very hard, maybe even seemingly impossible to get back on track.

There is similar phenomenon - actually, let's call this one a "paradigm' though - where someone has managed to make it through the first issue but has now been adhering to this new exercise program, or whatever the positive life change is, for a while but feels like they have plateau'd on some level. At first, they were noticing rapid changes and results, staying engaged with the program, broke through the initial mojo drop, continued on but feel like things haven't been progressing any more.

To some degree, plateau-ing is gonna happen. When you initially start a program and you're learning, things can change quickly. As you get deeper into it, the changes come slower and sometimes in spurts vs. a steady climb. It's not always a bad thing either. A plateau stage is sometimes where we unconsciously need to gather the physical and mental resources to take that next climb. But maybe you feel like you've been in that plateau too long and want to break on through.

Breaking through the plateau is highly dependent on what your program is and what your goals are. Specific to boxing, there was another old post of mine which discusses this in general - https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2022/03/are-you-comfortable-boxer.html - and it can certainly relate to other exercise programs as well.

Once again, this is a good time to check in with your goals. Have they changed at all? Are you looking to build more strength, more speed, whatever? Then ask yourself why. Why do you want these things and what will you do with them? You have to care that the changes will happen. From there, you need a modified plan. What is going to get you to those goals? You may get there doing things exactly the way you're doing them now but it will likely be slower than it needs to be. 

There are so many different variables here but I will give you an example: let's say you want to develop more power in your punches. And let's say you have listened to me talk about all the different ways to get more power (using lower body, explosive movement, no steady state punching, proper loading, creating the whip effect, etc. etc.) until the cows come home and have gotten better but now you seem to be stuck at a certain point. You may benefit from some supplemental strength work that translates to boxing. Medicine balls, kettlebells, lever presses, bounding, box jumps and beyond. Whatever you do needs to get folded into a periodized plan of some sort, allowing for improvements in overall strength and motor function. In this particular instance, the plan would not want to necessarily target significant gains in muscle mass for boxing but if this was part of your overall fitness goal, it would be easier to tweak. And again, this is just one example out of many. with the unifying principle of creating a plan for getting where you want to go, on the micro and macro levels. Otherwise, it is just a wish.

When it comes to the mental part, staying engaged with your program after you've been doing it for a while, sometimes that example above works here too. A while ago, I decided my jab sucked and went on a little mission to make it better. I experimented with a few things, did a bunch of drills and lo and behold, my jab got snappier and I mostly got rid of my tell (although I notice it still happens if I am talking while punching - see if you can spot it). Anyway, it was kind of fun and at the very least, focused my attention on something specific to work on. If you need ideas, let me know! 

Another thing that might help in the case of boxing is actually watching more boxing and combat sports in general, if you don't currently. And if you do currently, maybe taking a deeper dive into studying a particular fighter. Figure out what they do and maybe even try to emulate. Change up your style a little bit. This may make you feel a little uncomfortable though, as mentioned in the Comfortable Boxer post. Be okay with that. Whether it ends up being a change you adopt full time or not, you will learn something and it will keep your mind engaged.

When it comes to boxing, never think that you just are who you are and will never be any different. I have never been particularly fast and it's hard to imagine that I ever could be now as I approach my 50s but that's not true. I could do it if I made it my focus. At the very least, I could get quicker. And if I can do it, you can do it too! We just need to turn our wishes into plans!!

Where's My Mojo???

It doesn't seem to matter what the exercise program is or if it is just simply exercise in general, a recurring phenomenon we often see in the fitness industry is this:

#1) Someone makes the decision to bring fitness into their life

#2) They take the next step and start a new program

#3) They love it and feel better

#4) They are committed and get a good routine going

#5) Then after maybe a month, maybe two, they suddenly stop. They fall off the wagon.

#6) They abandon the program completely OR maybe they try again, but sporadically over the next couple of weeks/months and cannot get back on track, eventually abandoning it.

So what happened?  If #3 is really true, why stop doing the thing they were enjoying and feeling better with? The answers will vary but almost all can be summed up by one word - Life. Life happened. Something in life caused their momentum to stop. Maybe they got sick, were out of town, got a little extra busy with work, the kids, whatever. Life stuff. Or maybe they were tired after a long day and decided to skip the gym on their normal day. No big deal, right? Can always make it up later.

The issue is that many, many people can't make it up later. Once the momentum is gone and that train derailed, it is extremely hard to get it back on the tracks. They have lost their mojo. It can happen to anyone.

Here is the thing people often miss: Life is not the real problem. And it is certainly never going to stop happening. What makes getting back on track so difficult in this scenario is that the person was lulled into a false sense of security. They started their new program, they were nervous to start but did it anyway, felt proud of themselves (as they should) were having fun and got fired up about this new, positive change in their life. This is what I call the "life-change high.”  But newness doesn't stay new for long and it no longer qualifies as a change once you've been doing it for a while. When this initial high wears off, we will need a different kind of motivation. It's almost like switching gears in a car. You have to find that 2nd gear if you want to get to your destination.

What you must know first is that this fitness journey is NOT going to be easy. Find something you actually enjoy doing, sure, but if you expect yourself to always feel like working out (or sticking to a new diet, which all of this applies to as well), you are in for a rude awakening. Some days you are just gonna want to stay home. Some days you'll say to yourself, "I'm just not feeling it.” When you were still in the life-change high state, you could override these things but not anymore. As I mentioned earlier, we can lull ourselves into a false sense of security. Maybe we tell ourselves it's not going to be easy but we don't fully believe it because it feels so good from the get-go. We can't allow that to happen, though, as it conditions us to think that is all working out should be ALL the time and when it isn't, we aren't compelled to stick with it.

So, by understanding what you're in for, you can set expectations and plan mentally and emotionally. Plan for setbacks. Expect Life to interrupt your routine. And expect to not be deterred by that. You truly have to embrace The Grind. But who wants to embrace a grind? Not many of us, right? We'd much rather have things be easy and quick. This isn't going to be one of them though. There are no magic pills or shortcuts. But always remember that YOU ARE WORTH IT. You are worth the grind. You are worth all the hard work. In fact, there is no better cause!

If and when you find yourself losing that mojo, ask yourself the following questions:

Why did you get started with an exercise routine in the first place? 

What are you goals?

Why do you want those goals?

What would achieving those goals mean to you? Fantasize about it!

What would happen if we DON'T achieve those goals, long term? 

Answer them honestly. Check in with yourself. The easy answer is that you can always put these things on hold. And sometimes, putting things on hold might actually work. But do you absolutely have to though? Why put it off when you really can do it now? It's probably not going to get easier later. Might seem like it because you're dealing with something big/difficult now, etc, etc. Remember that Life always happens. By the time you finish what is holding you back now, there may very likely be something new you're dealing with later. And think of how much better you will feel later if you start now!

Your brain will disagree. It will tell you that later is better and you can start fresh in X. After you finish X. When you get back from X. When X season is over. And it will give you very good, legitimate reasons why this is true and make perfectly logical sense. If you fell off the wagon, it will definitely tell you why you can't get back on. Or why it's not the same for you anymore. It can think of a million reasons NOT to do something or not to do something right now. But you only need one reason - You. I will say it again. And again and again. You are worth it.

So if you start something new and are on that life-change high, you can certainly enjoy it but remember that to, some degree, the life-change high is a lie. At the very least, it will eventually wear off.  You need a new high. While I'm naming things, I am going to call it the "Embracing the Grind High." If you come in and do a boxing class or whatever you do and are not feeling it at all, get excited. That is good! That is real. You are proving you are in it to win it, not just some tourist. So you didn't do your best that day. So you felt a little off or slow or whatever. Good! That shows you've got dedication. You've got grit. Yeah, some days are going to suck but you knew that going in and you did it anyway. Because it doesn't matter if you didn't perform up to your normal standards, you are one step closer on your path. Doesn't matter if Life happened and you weren't able to do your normal weekly return because you will keep getting back up every time Life knocks you down. It is not a sprint, it is a marathon and you are choosing strength over weakness.