How to maintain your boxing equipment?
Is maintaining your English boxing equipment a battle for you? Here are our tips to help you win it!
Whether it's boxing gloves, mouth guards or boxing hand wraps, they all come in several different shapes, colours and materials. Essential to the practice of English boxing, they are for all boxers their first weapons of attack or defence, in direct contact with your skin or that of your opponent. It is therefore necessary to learn these simple gestures to increase their lifespan.
Boxing gloves:
Made of leather or polyurethane, boxing gloves are, in most cases, not washable. How can you keep them in good condition?
Let's start with the outside of your glove. Nothing could be simpler, a wipe with a damp cloth is enough to remove the dirt present on it.
For the inside of your glove, there are several little tips, including the obligatory use of boxing hand wraps: these will absorb a large part of the perspiration from your hands.
WARNING: Damp or wet gloves can smell bad! Because of the bacteria that proliferate inside your gloves, a bad smell will be released. So be sure to dry the inside of your gloves thoroughly.
What is the consequence of sweat in my gloves? How can I avoid this?
Sweat is hot, acidic water that your body releases to cool itself down. The problem is that this acidic water damages your gloves from the inside out.
To dry your gloves as best as possible after your boxing lessons, make sure to leave them in the open air and wide open.
However, it is also important to wipe the inside of your gloves with a dry cloth to best remove any remaining perspiration.
Using glove dryers is just as effective. Easy to transport, space-saving thanks to their attachment system, they will always be ready for use after your sessions.
Despite these tips, the ideal way to extend the life of your gloves would be to have two pairs of gloves: one pair dedicated to use on the bag, and the other for your sparring sessions. Indeed, gloves will always tend to wear out a little faster on the bag than during sparring lessons with your partners.
When should I change my boxing gloves?
In the vast majority of cases, you should change your gloves every two years.
Boxing Bandages:
Essential for any boxer, it is essential to maintain them well. How to do it?
After your workout, throw them in the washing machine, making sure to unroll them and close the velcro. Why? Otherwise, they risk clinging to your sports clothes during the wash cycle.
Don't worry about washing, the instructions are written on the strips and vary between 30° and 40°C depending on their material.
Once out of the machine, hang them on your dryer, unrolling them well for faster drying (one night is enough). Once dry, they are ready to accompany you again.
When should the bands be changed?
When you notice that they are less elastic than usual, or that they start to tear, it is a sign that they need to be changed.
Mouthguard:
Being a product in permanent contact with your teeth, it is essential that it is really clean.
Thermoformable mouthguards usually come with a storage box. After your workout, it would be ideal to rinse it with water, dry it, and then store it in its box.
Another possible solution would be to wash it using a toothbrush with toothpaste.
After all, the most optimal solution would be to soak it, with its box, in a container with a large spoonful of baking soda for about 30 minutes.
When should it be changed?
They go through a lot: bites, fangs, etc. So they should be changed as soon as they start to get damaged.
There you have it, now you have all the keys in hand to take care of your boxing equipment and get 100% out of your training sessions.
