If you've looked into this product line recently there's no doubt you will be aware of how many pairs of weighted boxing gloves there are out there for sale. Surprisingly, most of them have quite bad review scores. Being a relatively simple product to make, and make well, It's actually rather disappointing to read. So many of the cheaper pairs seem to have just been poorly thrown together.
One of the better pairs for sale. The 0.5 KG (1.1 lbs) Adidas Velcro Fastening Training Gloves.
Fingerless glove, add some sand or other filler for weight, and sew it all together. With these terrible quality pairs, it's really not worth the time or money to purchase a pair. You will be much better off using a heavier set of real padded boxing gloves, or using a set of 0.5KG hand weights. Personally, I use tube design hand weights. A good pair can potentially last a lifetime.
However, hand weights are slightly less convenient, and a little more unsafe when swinging tired if you're going to train at a certain class, such as boxercise, P90X or aerobics. Weighted, MMA style boxing gloves also look more trendy! Not that I care about that, but some people do. So what are the best brands to buy? Well, there are a few that stand out from the rest.
One pair is the fingerless offering from Adidas (Pictured above). They weigh 0.5KG each, have a velcro fastening at the wrist and are made from a stretchy material. I believe the material is neoprene or similar.
Pictured: The highly rated Unisex Beachbody P90X 1 Pound per hand workout gloves.
The other pair, and the pair I would personally recommend for
women (men can use them too) if they were looking to buy some weighted gloves like these, would be the offering from P90X. Like the Adidas example further above, the P90X are good quality, fingerless and velcro fastening. However, they do weigh slightly less per glove, weighing in at under half a kilogram (0.45KG / 1lb) each.
And they are less bulky around the wrist when compared to the Adidas pair. Both products claim to be breathable, and they are to a certain extent. But, ironically, that is one of the reviewers biggest gripes, that their hands sweat a lot, and after some weeks / months of use, their gloves start to smell. This is inevitable though, and its nothing that a good wash or odor killing product like the Meister Deodorizers can't put right.
How much weight do you need in each glove?
0.5KG - 1KG (Max) is an adequate amount of weight for men and women.
Punching with too much weight can actually be bad for your joints. Especially if you're doing a lot of straight punches. If you have been wearing weighted gloves and throwing straight punches, extending the arm until the elbow joint locks with each strike, you may experience pain or discomfort in your elbows after training.
The heavier the gloves the more potential for injury if punching in this manner. All is not lost though. The best way to prevent this from happening without removing the exercise from your routine is to not fully lock the elbow with each strike when doing straight punches. Hooks and upper cuts are fine.
Can I use weighted fingerless gloves to actually punch a bag or pad?
I'm one of those guys who punches a heavy bag with nothing but bare fist, so I would say yes, by all means use them to punch the bag or hit the mitts.
But my choice and training habits most probably don't suit the majority of people. The potential for injury is rather high. You may injure your hand, knuckles or wrist. So, if your hands are not used to impact training its best that you wear a nice padded pair of boxing gloves when hitting bags or pads.
Furthermore, if you use weighted gloves to actually make impact with punch bags, or other training aids, like training dummy's (ground and pound etc), they won't last very long, as the stitching will come undone and you will most probably have to buy a new pair.
