How to Break in Boxing Gloves [Apr 2023 – Update]

A lot of people have asked me how to break in boxing gloves. If you want a quick fix, just buy some hand wraps and wrap them around your hands first before putting on the gloves. Then take a few minutes wrapping your hands with the wraps to ensure that they’re tight enough for maximum protection. This will help soften up any leather that’s stiff or has been dried out from sitting unused for long periods of time!

Below is an outline of how I recommend breaking in boxing gloves:

1. Put on your new boxing gloves and wrap them around something solid like a pole or chair backrest that is at eye level.
2. Wrap one hand with tape (or both if you’re feeling adventurous).
3. Start with some light contact drills such as pushups, shadowboxing, and jump rope as a warm-up.
4. Once you’re loose, hit the heavy bag with your boxing gloves that are still wrapped up to really break them in. I recommend hitting the heavy bag around 10 – 15 times before doing any power drills such as hooking drills, uppercut drills, and combination drills
5. After this process is complete and you feel comfortable using your new boxing gloves, unwrap them and start using them normally. The whole process shouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes every other day for about three weeks.

How to break in your boxing gloves?

Breaking in a pair of boxing gloves is a meticulous process that requires time and patience. To break in your gloves, you’ll need to do the following:

1. Wrap your hands in soap and water for 20 minutes to create a slippery surface on the inside of the gloves.

2. Wet down a towel and place it inside your glove so that it creates a wet environment on the inside. You may need to change out the towel once or twice every hour if it dries out too quickly.

3. Grab a rolling pin and start rubbing it back and forth across the palm of the glove in a side-to-side motion. This will help to soften up any stiff fabric that is resisting being molded into shape.

4. Once you can fit your hand through the glove without any crinkling sound, it is time to punch the bag or spar with another person (just make sure to use caution not to damage or injure yourself or another person).

5. Put ice in a plastic bag and place it inside a sock before placing it on your boxing glove. This will help to harden up the lining of your gloves even more so that they provide better cushioning when you make contact with a surface during training.

Recommended Steps

6. Use a hairdryer set at low heat for about 20 minutes to add additional stiffening. Once all other materials have dried out from being wetted down previously. If you do not have access to a hairdryer, you can place your boxing gloves under a ceiling fan or outside in the hot sunshine to “air dry”.

7. After several hours, take off your gloves and use your rolling pin again to gently pound out any excess lines/creases that may still be visible on the inside of the glove. This will ensure that no unwanted creases are created during training later on once you do begin using them.

These steps should take between 1-2 days to complete depending on how often you soak/punch/dry out your gloves each day. Once they’re broken in, try adjusting what materials you used. (ie: wetting down towel vs cloth) to see if there’s anything else that works better for you; everyone’s preference is different.

What should you know before buying boxing gloves?

Before you buy your boxing gloves, there are some things you should know:

When buying a pair of boxing gloves, it’s important to buy sparring gloves and not bag gloves.

Leather and cloth gloves offer different benefits and disadvantages. You should consider what would work for you before making your purchase. For example, leather gloves might last longer but they don’t provide as much protection as cloth gloves do. Cloth gloves might need to be replaced more often but they’re more affordable than leather gloves.

The size of the glove is an important factor to take into consideration when looking for new boxing gloves. It’s important to get the right size so that the pressure is evenly distributed across the glove.

If you’re buying gloves for punching bags, make sure to get a pair that is specifically made for bag work. Bag gloves are not as padded as sparring gloves are and they don’t have thumb or wrist support.

 What types of boxing gloves are there? 

When it comes to breaking in your own boxer’s boxing gloves, there are two main options:

1) breaking them in yourself or 2) purchasing pre-broken in boxing gloves.

The process of breaking in your own pair of boxing gloves will take some time. So if you’re looking for an immediate fix, consider buying pre-broken boxing gloves instead. However, keep in mind that this might cost you extra money because you’ll have to buy a pair of sparring gloves and a pair of bag gloves if you’re looking for different types of padding.

Tips for breaking in your boxing gloves

1. Find a pair of gloves with an opening in the palm that feels comfortable to you. Your gloves should be tight enough to supply some protection but loose enough to where your fingers are able to move freely.

2. Put your hands into the boxing gloves, hooking the thumbs in the thumb loops at the bottom of each glove. Make sure they are fitting snugly on your hand with your knuckles slightly touching the padding of the inside of the glove so they are positioned correctly.

3. Grasp both ends of one side of the boxing glove and pull hard towards yourself, moving it back and forth until you find a spot where you feel resistance. Be sure not to stretch out or damage any material on your boxing gloves.

Recommended Steps

4. Repeat the previous step on the other side of the boxing glove with your free hand, repeating steps 2 and 3 until you’ve gone all around your boxing gloves.

5. Now that both sides of your boxing gloves have been loosened up. Go back to one side of each glove and pull it as hard as you can in towards yourself again before releasing it quickly to get an idea of how tight your gloves are fitting after being broken in for a moment. If they feel comfortable and secure for you, great! You’re ready to hit the ring and put them through some use! If not, keep going around and doing this until they fit comfortably snug while still giving you enough mobility to wrap your hands correctly when putting on your boxing gloves.

6. If you find that your boxing gloves are still too tight, you can put old socks or another pair of underwear over the palms of your gloves and use them as a makeshift boxing glove balm. This will break in your boxing gloves even further.

 When not to buy pre-broken in boxing gloves? 

If you want to get a really good grip on each punch, you should break your gloves in instead of buying pre-broken boxing gloves. The only reason I would recommend buying pre-broken boxing gloves is if you have no other choice.

 Different types of boxing gloves have different uses. 

Some gloves are designed for speed and agility while others are more padded to help with protection. Some boxing gloves are also meant to be used in training while others can be used for boxing matches. Gloves also vary depending on the weight of boxers, the material they are made from and their purpose.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How should a boxing glove feel?

When you are looking for the best boxing gloves, it is important to consider how they should feel. You don’t want gloves that are too tight and uncomfortable or too loose and provide no support. The gloves should be snug, but not too tight, and should feel comfortable when you wear them.

Q2. What is sparring in boxing?

Sparring is a form of practice in which you fight with a partner who has a similar or comparable skill level. It can be an invaluable tool for improving your boxing skills, allowing you to preview what it might be like to fight another opponent in a real match. But sparring also comes with some risks, particularly when done improperly–that means without taking proper care to monitor the intensity and avoid injury.

Q3. Is boxing bad for your hands?

Boxing is bad for your hands because punching heavy bags can cause arthritis.

The most common ways that boxers injure their hands are with punches to the palms or smashing their thumb against a hard surface like a knuckle punch. The trouble comes when they overdo it and punch the bag hundreds of times per day without stretching or wearing gloves to cushion their blow. If you’re not careful, this could lead to tears in the skin on your palm and then nasty blisters that never stop growing back. This repeated punching can also wear down your skin’s natural oils and make it dryer, weaker and more vulnerable to injury from other sources such as cuts from sparring targets.

Q4. What are 8oz gloves for?

8oz gloves are generally considered the lightest gloves you can use in a boxing match. They are also the most common size for amateur fighters. They provide enough padding to protect your hands and wrists but are still light and nimble enough to allow you to move and punch quickly.

Q5. How far up your arm should boxing gloves go?

Boxing gloves should cover at least part of your forearm and wrist for added protection.