With the popularity of boxing rising all over the city, it is important to understand what you are getting into at Bowmont Boxing. If you are expecting to walk into a beautiful building with flashy lights and amazing equipment, you have the wrong gym. We are old school in the best ways: think about it... Rocky trained in a butcher's freezer...
As mentioned, Bowmont focuses on strong, snappy, straight punches (especially the established jab) and great footwork. There are vast differences between the type of training you might expect from a boxing studio, versus what you will get at Bowmont Boxing Club in Calgary.
Footwork - Movement in a fitness class is a great way to increase the heart rate, but in a competition it can quite literally save your butt. Lateral footwork and smart rolling can not only help you steer clear of your opponent’s hits, but it’s also essential to good boxing technique. Most fitness classes focus on movement secondary to hitting (because hitting things is fun, whereas movement is tough!), but shadow boxing and visualizing your opponent is key to creating good footwork habits.
Handling Stress on the Body – Getting sore from workouts is something that every athlete knows well. Aches and pains can be normal, but training hard for competition can lead to repetitive use injuries. Knowing when to stop (or, when keep training) is important to keep your body at 100%. Coaches have worked long and hard to develop proper peaking techniques for competition, to allow for maximum success in the ring.
Strong Mindset & Game – No one will ever deny that getting hit sucks! In fact, the whole idea about combative sports is to try and NOT get hit. Sure, when you’re boxing in a fitness setting it might accidentally happen in training, but it would never be with malicious intent (at least I hope not anyway!). Getting in the ring with someone that really WANTS to punch you takes some real guts. Handing the mental stress (fears, anxiety and doubt) can be the make-or-break factors in success or failure. Bowmont boxers work with experienced sport psychologists and social workers to develop mental preparedness required in the ring.
Targeted Exercises & Conditioning – In fitness, we want to have a well-rounded workout that targets our whole body. However, when getting ready for competitions, you want to have sport-specific training that will improve particular movements, like a faster, more impactful jab.
The Right Team – This is something that is essential whether you are training for fitness or for competition. At the end of the day, you want to work with a great instructor (or coach) who can motivate you, correct your form, and who cares about your goals. Having a reliable workout partner (or sparring teams) can force you out on those days when you just don’t want to get to the gym. The right care team (i.e. physiotherapists and massage therapists) can all be factors in keeping you at your best! Although it may be a different group of people for competitive vs. fitness, being surrounded by the right people is crucial for success, in any element in life.
Even though the idea of putting your dukes up against another person may sound incredibly intimidating, as with many obstacles we face in life, it can be surprising to see how strong we are (and more importantly) how much stronger we can come out on the other side of the experience.
