how sore should my hands be after hitting the heavy bag?

[ultrassur]

hey guys, at first glance i realise this may sound like a stupid question but hear me out. i have a rare arthrtic disease. it primarily attacks the spine but also joints in the extremities. my feet have been pretty bad for coming up to two years now. one of the best ways of dealing with this pain and stuff is exercise. i have recently started hitting the heavy bag as something fun to do and my some of my knucles are a bit sore. obviously i expect there to be some pain from boxing, but i also don't know if the pain i have is from this or if it is disease progression. i also realise boxing probably isn't the best choice, but i like it and it is one of many things that i do for exercise. i also notice that when i start training my hands hurt the first few punches, but after 5 mins or so that pain is gone.



i wrap my hands and the gloves i use are everlast 4306. i think these gloves are pretty crap though so i plan to get better ones, i live in canada and think i might get some rival gloves. i also know that the handrwaps i have aren't long enough so that is another thing to consider.



if anyone has any advice or pointers that would be much appreciated. i'm not sure if my gloves are crap, i am not wrapping properly, this is a natural thing, it's disease related, etc etc.



if anyone says read the faqs or some other bullshit just don't bother replying thanks.

 

[BionikBlue]

Since you have special issues with your hands, I suggest you protect them as much as possible before training. You should look into getting some fist guards (since you are planning to buy rival gloves, they also make those fistguards) that you use under the wraps. Get some mexican style standard length 180 handwraps and learn to wrap your hands properly, that will also provide cushion for your knuckles.

As far as gloves are concerned, getting some quality gloves would be a good thing, if you want to be very careful with your hands you can get something like the 16 or even 18oz, that will offer a lot of padding for your hands and you will get an even better workout from the added weight.

Now if you want to use kicks, elbows and knees, you have other options to protect your joints. I know it sucks to get all padded up for a heavybag session, but if its what it takes to protect your body then by all means do it. You can get some ankle wraps, shinguards, knee and elbow pads...

Have fun training!

 

[ChachiKiller]

hey guys, at first glance i realise this may sound like a stupid question but hear me out. i have a rare arthrtic disease. it primarily attacks the spine but also joints in the extremities. my feet have been pretty bad for coming up to two years now. one of the best ways of dealing with this pain and stuff is exercise. i have recently started hitting the heavy bag as something fun to do and my some of my knucles are a bit sore. obviously i expect there to be some pain from boxing, but i also don't know if the pain i have is from this or if it is disease progression. i also realise boxing probably isn't the best choice, but i like it and it is one of many things that i do for exercise. i also notice that when i start training my hands hurt the first few punches, but after 5 mins or so that pain is gone.



i wrap my hands and the gloves i use are everlast 4306. i think these gloves are pretty crap though so i plan to get better ones, i live in canada and think i might get some rival gloves. i also know that the handrwaps i have aren't long enough so that is another thing to consider.



if anyone has any advice or pointers that would be much appreciated. i'm not sure if my gloves are crap, i am not wrapping properly, this is a natural thing, it's disease related, etc etc.



if anyone says read the faqs or some other bullshit just don't bother replying thanks.

Univ of AZ (2004 I think) study recommends impact to counter some osteo-arthritic conditions. I would think you should pull contact and end up tapping the bag. Maybe letting it grow in intensity.


My hands do not hurt during but they feel tired, engorged and a little unresponsive right after I hit the bag. I do not have anything that I would call pain.

Good luck man.

 

[zapataxiv]

hey guys, at first glance i realise this may sound like a stupid question but hear me out. i have a rare arthrtic disease. it primarily attacks the spine but also joints in the extremities. my feet have been pretty bad for coming up to two years now. one of the best ways of dealing with this pain and stuff is exercise. i have recently started hitting the heavy bag as something fun to do and my some of my knucles are a bit sore. obviously i expect there to be some pain from boxing, but i also don't know if the pain i have is from this or if it is disease progression. i also realise boxing probably isn't the best choice, but i like it and it is one of many things that i do for exercise. i also notice that when i start training my hands hurt the first few punches, but after 5 mins or so that pain is gone.



i wrap my hands and the gloves i use are everlast 4306. i think these gloves are pretty crap though so i plan to get better ones, i live in canada and think i might get some rival gloves. i also know that the handrwaps i have aren't long enough so that is another thing to consider.
QUOTE]

a good test is when ur hitting the bags to sometimes put the gloves up to your ears and shake em around a little bit if u dont hear the swishing around of pooled up blood ur not hitting the bags hard enough!
really though if ur going to be hitting the heavy bags a good pair of boxing gloves and full length handwraps are extremley important. also its natural for ur hands to hurt and then stop its part of the progression that ur hands make after training. naturally ur hands will get harder and they will become stronger it just takes time. also make sure ur using 16oz gloves!

 

[Jubacat]

Where did you learn to wrap your hands?

I had issues with not wrapping my hands correctly when I first started.

 

[ultrassur]

cool, thanks guys. unfortunately i can't do any kicking, or maybe i can. i don't know enough about it. is it mostly shin contact? if it is foot contact then there is no way i can do it. i am thinking from today that it might be more of a glove/wrap/new problem. one of my knuckles has been doing this weird creaking since i started but i have taken 4 days off now and it has seemed to subside. my joints are not swollen or hot which is what would happen i guess if it was arthritis.

how effective of a workout is shadow boxing? i really like hitting the bag so i don't know if shadow boxing would be as fun, but is it a comparable workout to actually hitting the bag?

 

[ultrassur]

Where did you learn to wrap your hands?

I had issues with not wrapping my hands correctly when I first started.

i never did learn. i have only been doing this for 3 weeks now. i just kind of 'guessed' but today i found a website that had a pic by pic guide of 5 different variations of handwraps. the wraps i have now are definitely too small. so until i get the longer ones i guess my only option is to use two wraps per hand

 

[ultrassur]

a good test is when ur hitting the bags to sometimes put the gloves up to your ears and shake em around a little bit if u dont hear the swishing around of pooled up blood ur not hitting the bags hard enough!
really though if ur going to be hitting the heavy bags a good pair of boxing gloves and full length handwraps are extremley important. also its natural for ur hands to hurt and then stop its part of the progression that ur hands make after training. naturally ur hands will get harder and they will become stronger it just takes time. also make sure ur using 16oz gloves!

that's good to know. i remember reading in another thread someone told me that boxers hands are denser than other people's cause they have had small fractures that bone grew over after time. i would presume that would cause some pain in the beginning

 

[zapataxiv]

that's good to know. i remember reading in another thread someone told me that boxers hands are denser than other people's cause they have had small fractures that bone grew over after time. i would presume that would cause some pain in the beginning

actullaly this is an anchiet training technique from china but basicly they belive that by repetedly damaging ur hands(by hiting woood or ****l lightly of course or putting ur hands into burning vats of sand) that ur hands will get denser and much stronger and will help u ht harder. i belive it when i used to train kung fu alot of the people i knew who did this training had hands like cannon balls! although i dont know how ur medical problem would effect this if it would at all

 

[Jenrick]

Howdy fellow arthritis suffer

If I'm having a flare up and am worried about my joints more then normal I normally use the following:

Mexican Gauze Handwraps
The stuff is washable and reuseable unlike regular gauze. Provides for me a tighter and more compact wrap that cushions my hand more.
TITLE Authentic Mexican Handwrap Gauze from Title Boxing

Else you can go with
Mexican stlye handwrap
Same as above, but longer and less stretchy. Still gives a much better wrap then regular non elastic handwraps.
TITLE Mexican Style Handwraps from Title Boxing

About three of four layers in (about halfway) through wrapping my hands I through these on:
Knuckle guards
TITLE Knuckle Guards from Title Boxing

Primarily I find they work best for sparring incase you catch and elbow point it helps take some of penetration. But I figure every little bit helps right? They've got gel ones know that probably help more on just straight impact.

From there a good pair of the heaviest thickest gloves you can find. Not only will they protect your hands, they'll provide a good workout

Normally my hands aren't sore/in pain so much as just tired from all the clenching of my fist and the muscle absorbing the impact.

Shadow boxing can be a good workout, but you have to put some power into your shots and not be lazy on throwing shots. Weighted gloves, hand weight etc, can help give you a work out.

-Jenrick

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

if you've got some rare arthritic disease, you might want to check with a sports medicine doctor if this is good for you in the long run...

 

[Jubacat]

i never did learn. i have only been doing this for 3 weeks now. i just kind of 'guessed' but today i found a website that had a pic by pic guide of 5 different variations of handwraps. the wraps i have now are definitely too small. so until i get the longer ones i guess my only option is to use two wraps per hand

Glad you found that site. There are some sites in the FAQs too.

I always get the Mexican style of handwraps.

 

[Jiu-Jitsu Cop]

Ok I did not read every post so if someone already said this then ignore my post.

I have trained MT since I was 16 and I am now 43. I used to hit the heavy bag with just wraps on or sometimes I used just bag gloves. Yes I was young and stupid. I still work out and to avoid anymore damage to my hands, wrist, elbows and shoulders, I wrap my hands with extra long wraps (I make my own out of two pairs of wraps) and I use 16 oz gloves when hitting the heavy bag.

I am slower this way but in my case who cares, is it really going to make that big of a difference. When you get older you will still want use of every part of your body. So train smart and good luck.

 

[Adial]

Post a vid of you hitting the heavy bag so I can asses the problem.

 

[James Keith]

cool, thanks guys. unfortunately i can't do any kicking, or maybe i can. i don't know enough about it. is it mostly shin contact? if it is foot contact then there is no way i can do it. i am thinking from today that it might be more of a glove/wrap/new problem. one of my knuckles has been doing this weird creaking since i started but i have taken 4 days off now and it has seemed to subside. my joints are not swollen or hot which is what would happen i guess if it was arthritis.

how effective of a workout is shadow boxing? i really like hitting the bag so i don't know if shadow boxing would be as fun, but is it a comparable workout to actually hitting the bag?

Muay Thai uses the shin mostly. I think pretty much everyone else uses the foot (for everything).

A lot of kicks use the bottom of your foot though. Those might be ok.

 

[Danielsan]

how heavy is your bag? and how hard is it?

 

[ChachiKiller]

how heavy is your bag? and how hard is it?

good point. mine is in the garage year round. it gets like cement for most of the year.

 

[ultrassur]

how heavy is your bag? and how hard is it?

hmm, i'm not sure to be honest. it's at the gym and it's a normal co-ed gym, not boxing specific. they have boxing classes which i don't take (time issues) but from what i've seen mostly fat out of shape women take that class. i guess they bags are hard, but probably the lightest weight bags would come in. i do not punch hard at all but have no trouble moving the bag a lot when hitting it

having said that, and maybe this is obvious, i try and hit the top part of the bag where it is a big softer. i stay away from the middle- lower part as that is rock hard.

 

[mschatz]

a good test is when ur hitting the bags to sometimes put the gloves up to your ears and shake em around a little bit if u dont hear the swishing around of pooled up blood ur not hitting the bags hard enough!
really though if ur going to be hitting the heavy bags a good pair of boxing gloves and full length handwraps are extremley important. also its natural for ur hands to hurt and then stop its part of the progression that ur hands make after training. naturally ur hands will get harder and they will become stronger it just takes time. also make sure ur using 16oz gloves!

This sounds ridiculous.

 

[coolmog]

yeah that does sound ridiculous. are you sure you are contacting the bag at the right angle? I think you are supposed to make the point of contact between the middle and index finger knuckles.