How To Track Your Progress For Boxing Training

Tracking your progress is something we are all guilty of not doing with a lot of things in life. Especially when it comes to training. With boxing training, in particular, it is no different as many don’t have a clue where to start!

What should you do? How often should you train? I’m I actually improving? Am I getting fitter and stronger?

In this article, I’ll give you some tips and advice on ways you can track your progress whether you are a beginner or more advanced.

Physical and Skills

Now when it comes to boxing, there are two main areas that you will need to keep on top of. The first is much easier to track and that is of course physical conditioning. There are many different ways to track this through the following:

Through monitoring weight
How many punches do you throw (See advice further below)
Tracking the amount of weight lifted (strength and conditioning)
Journaling your progress and what skills you are learning.

Skills and technique improvement is a bit more difficult to track, but I will go into more detail on this below on how you can track it.

Making a plan and schedule

It’s vital that you follow a proper plan for your boxing training! If you do this, you will be in a much better position to perform at a higher level.

If you plan on also doing strength and conditioning and are training 5-6 days a week. I recommend a max of only 2-3 days at most.

If you are only training 4-5 days a week with boxing training, only do 2 days of S&C.

S&C sessions should also not clash with your boxing training days or if you do, make sure it is after your technical training. For example, boxing training in the morning, and weight strength & conditioning in the afternoon. Here is an example of a training week you could follow to try out:

DAY	ACTIVITY
Monday	Boxing Training
Tuesday	S&C (explosive and core exercises)
Wednesday	Boxing Training
Thursday	Cardio & Light S&C (upper body)
Friday	Boxing Training
Saturday	Boxing Training or S&C (lower body)
Sunday	Rest Day or Light Jog/Run

Learn and master the fundamentals

First and foremost, boxing is a never-ending sport of learning. Even the top pros in the sport are learning every day at the gym and making sure their fundamentals are worked on all the time. It is through repetition of doing things over and over again which will make you see improvements.

In terms of actually learning these fundamentals, there are so many ways to start applying these with the most obvious one being learning from a boxing coach or going to class in a boxing gym.

If you are not ready to head to the boxing gym or want to learn from home. There are lots of resources on YouTube, Instagram, and even online boxing courses that can guide you.

From personal experience, (as a former beginner) I have found taking an online boxing course to be a great way to track your progress. Especially when it comes to having a plan laid out to learn punches and techniques correctly. Here are some of my course recommendations you can check out here.

Tracking your progress

Make a journal of what you are actually learning.

So if you are now committed to boxing resources to learn the fundamentals, it’s important to monitor what you have learned, this will also help you know what you still need to master. Here is an example of all the punches you will need to learn and track how comfortable you are. I have created a monitoring matrix example below through a traffic lights system.

*There are many ways to throw these punches below, this table is mainly for those who are beginners. But maybe if you’re more advanced you may need to improve one area.

Comfort level
1. Jab
2. Cross
3. Lead hook
4. Rear Hook
5. Lead Uppercut
6. Rear Uppercut
7. Lead Hook Body
8. Rear Hook Body

Now remember just because you feel you might have mastered one of the punches above, feedback will always be required from a coach eventually. Plus there are lots of other elements you will need to learn such as throwing combinations, footwork, head movement etc. (You could even have a matrix of those other elements you need to improve.)

Hopefully, you are getting a picture now that boxing is a never-ending game of learning.

Video Diary

A really good way to track your progress is by filming yourself while boxing training, you can then compare your footage with online coaches on YouTube or Instagram.

Another couple of ways to get feedback could be by posting your training footage to an amateur online community for feedback. One of the best I have found to do this is on the Amateur boxing thread on reddit – However be careful, sometimes you will get feedback that is wrong. But in most cases, everyone on there is wanting to help.

But eventually, you will need to show a qualified boxing coach online or offline to give feedback to improve.

Punch Tracking Systems

Now thanks to modern technology, we don’t need a coach in the background clicking away at every punch you throw.

There are lots of different punch trackers on the market that you usually wear within your hand wrap while boxing training. Or have been built into a punching bag. These punch-tracking systems have been designed to track how many punches you throw, the velocity and the intensity.

Some punch trackers are also able to track what type of punches you throw. This can be useful for boxers themselves and coaches to see punch tendencies or and work rate level in terms or punches thrown. Check out my top 7 options here or my favourite options below:

Corner Boxing – read my review here
Quiet Punch – read my review here
Aqua Bag – read my review here

Monitoring weight and body competition

Now as someone who boxes all the time, I’m constantly monitoring my weight and health. Especially as boxing is a sport where you need to fight within certain weight categories. So it’s vital you start to monitor and start to know your body.

Now you can do this through the good old way of journaling which is quick and easy to do. By weighing yourself each day you can see how much weight you put on or lose. You can also take pictures of yourself each week to see the progress you make with your body.

One of the best ways to really get a grasp on everything is through using smart scales like those of FitTrack. The FitTrack scale measures up to 17 health and body measurements so you can really start to understand your body and reach your health and fitness goals. Read my review here or check or visit FitTrack’s website to find out more.

Journal strength and conditioning

Now If you are also doing some strength and conditioning training on the side too! Get into the habit of monitoring what you do there too! This will all play into how you perform in your boxing training and also see your physical conditioning get better.

For example, record how much you lift and what exercises you do each session.

Check out my article on weightlifting for boxing here.

Correct training gear

Now, this is something that frustrates me in both ways, but I always recommend you try to get the correct training gear required. This also depends if you have the budget and how serious you are about becoming a better boxer.

Now obviously, if you don’t have a big budget or lack equipment, you can learn a lot of the fundamentals through just shadow boxing which is a fantastic way to learn. But eventually, you will have some sort of physical resistance from a punching bag or even a reflex bag to work on punch timing, head movement, reflexes etc. Personally, I think having some equipment will develop your skill set to a greater level. I recommend you check out the following article for gear:

Failing to track progress

Now, tracking your progress is something that takes commitment and just like anyone. Things can come up in life so it’s ok if you miss a day or two. Don’t beat yourself up over this if it does happen.

But it’s important that even if you don’t track one day, you can get back into the habit. As this is what will help you see the results you want to get and see how far you have come.

Know when to take a rest

Once you get into the habit of tracking, there is always the element of over-training. From personal experience, this can be one of the worst things. Especially for a sport like boxing which can be brutal and intense. By overtraining, things such as lack of energy, motivation, and injuries can happen.

Tracking your progress will help make you more aware of taking more rest and time off. You get to know your body and how capable it is. This is where recovery is so important in my opinion for anyone. Here are some useful articles on recovery methods below that you can check out.

Final thoughts

Tracking your progress for boxing training is just as important as doing it for strength and conditioning training. They don’t call boxing the sweet science for nothing. There are always different techniques to master and practice no matter what stage. It truly takes years to master this sport and not that many do.

By tracking your progress you are able to go above and beyond what others are doing and really see the results skills-wise and physically.

Boxing is a game of repetition and by tracking what you do over a period of time consistently you will be bound to see results.

Check out some other useful training articles below.

Jamie - Boxing Life

I'm a boxing analyst, amateur boxer, and blogger looking to pass on my boxing experiences and passion to anyone looking to learn or find out more about the sport of boxing. Whether that be gear reviews, fighter analysis, news, training tips, or my own personal journey, I'll be covering it on 'Boxing Life'.