Beat The Heat: Training in New Jersey’s Heatwave

Over the last few weeks I have stepped up training at the boxing gym. I came up the steps to KO Contender Boxing Gym where I first started training in 2019. The owner Felix keeps the gym hot, no air conditioning in the tough summer conditions. In heat around one hundred degrees I got in the ring to move around. I wanted to spend time shadowboxing. The ring floor is a very spongy mat material and it wears the legs down quickly when you are not in shape.

I spent the first four rounds of the session shadowboxing. The first round was focused mostly on keeping good foot and hand position. After having time away from the gym the feet and hand coordination is not where it needs to be. To step in quickly cover ground and throw punches while being in position is incredibly important. Taking too many choppy steps can lead to getting countered coming in. Bringing the jab out and back quickly is important to avoid the right hand over the top. The second round was more based on coming forward and backward while throwing the jab and cross. Getting the right hand behind the jab is the first important step of going on offense. Not being able to find the range for the right or just jabbing and not following up stalls an attack.

The third and fourth round were focused more on lateral movement. I spend the first two minutes and thirty seconds circling constantly in one direction. At the thirty second mark in each round I came to the center to throw combinations and step in the same direction as the rest of the drill. This focused on getting the left hook out after the cross and around the guard. Each combination finished with a jab or two and movement. The bell rang after round four and the gloves came on.

The next step was the double end bag and I was already slowing down a bit from the heat. Tightening my punches and getting hand speed back is another department I am working on. The double end bag is difficult when getting back into the groove. Felix has a good one in the middle of the gym that has a lot of tension and is about head height. The drills on the double end bag are usually jab-jab, jab-right, jab-jab-right, jab-right-jab right-jab-right-left hook- right mixed with a jab to the body which is thrown to the strap/bungee and a jab to the had at the bag and then a right. This double end bag being in the middle of the gym allows foot work drills to be incorporated into the bag work.

After three rounds on the bag with some struggle it was off to the two aqua bags. The gym has a big aqua bag and a smaller head sized bag on a high hook. The aqua bag is filled with water and has some give and resistance on impact. It is good for building up the wrists and forearms. I normally slow the pace down on the aqua bag and throw hard punches with everything on them. I’d throw a few heavy hooks and uppercuts, step off, suck in some air, and attack again. At the bell for the first round I was exhausted. I shifted to the smaller double end bag. This bag is where I normally focus the jab mixed with crosses and left hooks. I like this to develop the muscles and punching up can be tiring and difficult.

The heat cut the session short. I like to train in the heat but this was excessive. I got more tired than usual as it felt like I had to work harder than usual to keep the pace. I drove home after cooling off and getting the heart rate down and went for an easy jog around the neighborhood.