If you are a trainer or coach, even someone who is interested in becoming a boxing coach or trainer. There are so many different pieces of equipment to prepare your fighter for the sweet science.
You are a coach or trainer looking for some new ideas to train your fighters or clients. I have provided 16 useful pieces of equipment for you to consider and how they help.
I have included the more traditional equipment trainers use, alongside some new ideas to try something completely different to what is usually out there.
Before going into the full list, here are my top 4 recommendations for different aspects of training.
| Combo Work | Footwork | Power shots | Reactions/Reflexes |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Everlast Elite Mitts | Powerstance | Ringside Punch Shield | Blaze Pods |
| Check Price on Everlast | Check Price on Powerstance | Check Price on Amazon | Check Price on Amazon |
1. Punch Shield Pads
The Punch Shield Pads are brilliant for developing punch power, while giving you the ability to move the pad in different angles for your fighter.
Trainer of Canelo Alvarez and Ryan Garica, Eddy Reynoso uses this often to help develop power punch techniques.
Watch the great video below of him using this to give you an idea.
Check out punch shield options on Amazon or Everlast.
2. Boxing Focus mitts / pads
Focus mitts or pads are the cornerstone of any boxing trainer and it is crucial that you get a pair of decent ones if coaching is your profession! Even if you are training with your buddy, this is a great piece of gear to help each other with combination, defense and footwork.
How does boxing focus pads help?
- They help fighters to set up punch combinations.
- Can be used to work on counter punching
- Used for defense as well as offence
- Gives your fighter or client a target to aim for
- Doesn’t give you stationary target like a heavy bag
You can also get much smaller surface area punch pads, which are some times regarded as speed pads, these are usually better for more advanced boxing coaches.
Make sure to check out Pad / Mitt options on Amazon or Everlast.com.
3. Paddles
Paddles are very similar to the above pads / mitts – with the main difference being that instead of slipping your hand into the pad you are holding them by the handles.
These are great if you have sore hands or wrists from actively using the pads as you won’t get as much stress. These are also very satisfying for you fighter or client to use with a very obvious target to aim at.
Check out Mick Conlan using Paddles in his workout below.
You can check out options on Amazon, Everlast or RDX.
4. Foam/Punch sticks
These can be much cheaper options to buy and are brilliant tools to use for defensive drills. Your fighter or client can also punch these like regular pads too which makes them very useful.
As the foam or punch sticks are long they act as if they are an opponent’s punches or arms. Thus it helps to create much more realistic situations outside or sparring training.
Check out this video on the Boxing Life YouTube Channel below of Teofimo Lopez using these with one of his trainers to get an idea.
Check out punch stick options on Amazon here.
5. Step ladder
If you are looking to develop your fighter or clients footwork and agility, ladder drills are brilliant to develop this quickly!
Simple exercises such as in and out with punches or even conditioning drills can be used with this simple and effective tool.
Check out my Boxing Footwork Training Drills And Equipment article for more ideas.
Or check out agility ladder packs on Amazon here.
6. Punch vest
Another important tool that trainers and coaches use are punch vests. Most usually combine this with pad work whilst using, so their fighter doesn’t need wait for their hands moving to lower body position.
This allows fighters to quickly transition from combination punches to body shots on the punch vests. Check out Ryan Garcia’s trainer using this with him below.
Check out Punch vest options on Amazon or Everlast here.
7. Reaction Lights
These are definitely a new trend. Boxing coaches are starting to use it to help their fighters’ reflexes, with the likes of Lomachenko using them. Reaction lights are a brilliant option as it forces your fighter to react as quickly as possible to the light flashing.
Reflex exercises include:
- Throwing a punch in the direction of the light which flashes
- Tapping a light quickly for which one flashes
One of the best products you can use for this type of training is the Blaze Pod, Reflex Training System which you can find on Amazon here.
8. Thai Pads
Now Thai Pads might be a better option for those coaches that also train mma, muay thai or kickboxing.
These pads are slightly longer and over the forearm so you can catch kicks as well as punches. Definitely for a mixed martial arts coach.
You can check out these awesome Fairtex Thai pads on Amazon here.
9. Reaction balls
This is definitely a more fun exercise and is definitely to help with reflexes and reaction times.
You can simply drop the ball in front of you or throw against a wall and you will need to react to where the ball bounces due to the special irregular shape of it.
Check out options on Amazon here
10. Punch Trackers
Now punch trackers won’t necessarily make your fighter any better, but they will however help you see punch velocity, work rate and what punches are being thrown.
These are fun little tool to combine with technical boxing training to see how much effort is actually being put in. Some punch trackers are better than others, so keep that in mind when planning to buy these.
You can check out my top 7 punch trackers article here to see further detail.
11. Chin Down Boxing Trainer
For any beginner or amateur just starting out, you will often see them lift their chin up more often than not.
The chin down ball makes sure to keep your chin down while you are working with your fighter or client on whatever training activity. You can also use regular ball for this instead.
Check out the Title Boxing version on Amazon, which has an handy rope attached.
12. Powerstance
Powerstance is a particularly good tool for a young amateur or boxing beginners just starting out in the sport.
It is a very useful tool for coaches to use on their fighters or clients to help create consistency and correct footwork positioning.
Even top professional boxers can benefit from using Powerstance, as it can help discipline and improve their footwork.
You can read my full review here or why not learn more on their website.
13. Gym Timer
Now if you are starting out at a gym or creating your own home gym, ideally you will want a boxing timer so you can set rounds and timers within the gym.
It makes it so much easier when working round for any training activity whether that be on the heavy bag or doing pad work.
Check out this option on Amazon here.
13. Tally Counter
This is a very old school method, but so many coaches and trainers still use the good old tally counters to count punches, press ups, and sit ups etc.
These are also a lot cheaper than the above punch trackers, so could be a good cost effective thing to consider.
Check out tally counter options on Amazon here.
14. Bob and Weave wall tool
This is literally a stick you put on the wall where you can teach your fighter to bob and weave. If you don’t have access to rope to put across the ring which you will often see the top fighter working on.
This is a great alternative option to get your fighter working on these defensive drills on their own.
Check out Title version on Amazon here.
15. ‘Broomstick’ Bob and Weave Boxing Defence Tool
‘Broomstick’ bob and weave boxing defence tool look like a bit of a joke at first but many of the top trainers are using this to help train more realstic defence movement including bob, weaving and footwork.
It literally has a boxing glove attached to the end of the pole and has lever for the coach to point and fire punches at their boxer. This is to simply give a more realstic experience without the need for tough sparring.
Watch this great video of world class boxing trainer Israel salas using this with Jorge Linares in his training below:
Check out Title version of this Amazon here.
16. Coach Spar Boxing Gloves
Probably one the least considered item on this list and that is coaching sparring gloves or catch and release gloves.
It basically combines a padded mitt with a boxing glove, with an additional padded strike zone in the palm of the hand. This is to provide a more realistic and authentic experience of training fro both fighter and coach.
Check out options on Amazon here.
Conclusion
There are so many innovative tools coming out in the boxing gear market that are all useful in their own way.
However, I always feel that the more traditional training items such as the focus pads/paddles, punch shield and punch vest are still the best ways of training your fighter or client one on one to improve their boxing ability.
If you are able to add another training item to you arsenal or want to try different training tools to change things up the punch trackers, Powerstance or reactions lights are great fun methods.
You can also check out more boxing equipment reviews here or why consider some other boxing training equipment below:
- Top 10 Best Hanging Heavy Bags – Reviewed & Rated
- Top 10 Best Free Standing Bags – Reviewed & Rated
- Top 10 Everlast Punch Bags To Improve Your Boxing and Fitness
- Best Century Free Standing Punching Bags | Review
- FightMaster vs BoxMaster Boxing Punch Stand Review
- Amazing Home Gym Boxing Equipment And Ideas
- Century BOB Punch Bag Review | Features And Set Up
- Sparbar Boxing Review
