The Shadow Boxing Blog
Updates about our iOS and Android app, training advice, technique breakdowns, gear guides and workout ideas: everything we write about boxing ends up here.
Boxing Fundamentals
Boxing as a New Dad: How to Keep Training When a Baby Arrives
I have two kids and kept boxing through both arrivals, about two hours a week. What I and the other dads at the gym learned about training on no sleep: warm up more, spar less, go defensive, get a bag at home, and why it is worth keeping up.
Level Changes in Boxing: Why You Need to Mix Head and Body Shots
Punching only at the head makes you easy to read. How going to the body pulls the guard down, the head-body and body-head patterns worth learning, and the tactic of training your opponent to expect one level before you hit the other.
Body Combinations in Boxing: Six Combos Worth Drilling
Body shots work best inside a combination. Six head-body and body-head combos to drill, the rules that make them land, and why the hook to the body followed by the uppercut to the head was Mike Tyson's signature.
Boxing Mobile Apps
The Only App With Guided Boxing Sparring
Boxing apps train one person at a time. The Shadow Boxing App is the only one that runs guided sparring for two people: a spoken rule for every round, roles that swap, and light contact from start to finish.
Android Has Caught Up With iOS, and the Play Store Reviews Show It
A new batch of Play Store reviews for the Shadow Boxing App on Android, from fight prep to sweating more than at the gym, with our reaction to each one.
What Being a Best Rated Boxing App Actually Takes
We just revamped our reviews page. Here is what 8000+ ratings taught us about staying one of the best rated boxing apps on the stores.
Boxing Videos
Virtual Pad Work on the Heavy Bag, in a 30-Second Clip
A short video of a boxer doing virtual pad work with the Shadow Boxing App: the app calls combos like 1, 1 body, 4 and the boxer reacts on the heavy bag, with the app screen overlaid.
Watch: A Heavy Bag Round on the Fundamentals, Jab, Cross and Hooks to the Body
A short video of a boxer working a heavy bag round with the Shadow Boxing App calling only the basics: jab, cross, stiff jab and hooks to the body, with the app screen overlaid.
Move First, Then Punch: A Boxing Footwork Drill in a 45-Second Video
A short video of the Shadow Boxing App running a footwork drill: the app calls a direction, the boxer takes one step that way and throws three punches.
New Features in the Shadow Boxing App
Why a Boxing App Teamed Up With a Travel Photographer
The story behind Round Zero, the short film and photo series we made with photographer Guillaume Flandre and boxing trainer Phap in Da Nang, Vietnam, and why a small boxing app is making films at all.
It's the Details: How the App Decides Which Way You Move
In the footwork exercise, the app calls a direction before every combo. Fixed patterns are too predictable and pure randomness walks you into a wall, so the app does something in between.
New in the App: Guided Light Sparring Workouts
The Shadow Boxing App now includes guided sparring workouts: light, technical rounds with a partner where the app sets the rules, calls the swaps, and keeps the intensity in check.
Heavy Bag for Boxing
How to Train Explosiveness on the Heavy Bag Like a Pro
Hitting the bag hard for three minutes does not build explosive power. Here is how boxers actually train it: short maximum-effort bursts, real recovery, snap over shove, and a couple of rounds you can run this week.
Starting Heavy Bag Training With the App
Beginner tips for heavy bag work: keep the power down, mix speed and impact, move your feet. Plus how the app guides bag sessions.
Using the Shadow Boxing App With a Punching Bag
The app works on the bag too: every shadow boxing exercise transfers, plus bag-specific exercises and an 8-day heavy bag program.
Learn Boxing with an App
How to Warm Up for Boxing: A Simple Routine That Works Anywhere
A boxing warmup in three steps: mobility with a focus on breathing, raising your heart rate, then light shadow boxing. A routine of about 17 minutes you can do with no equipment, and how the Shadow Boxing App handles warmups when you want them done for you.
Sparring Tips for Beginners: When in Doubt, Hands Up and Jab
A simple rule for your first sparring rounds: when you don't know what to do, raise your hands and throw jabs. Why it works, where it stops working, and how to drill it alone or with a partner.
When Should You Start Sparring? Earlier Than You Think
You can start sparring within weeks if it's light, controlled and themed. Why getting tapped teaches you to keep your hands up, how to set the rules with a partner, and a story from the app's creator about a year without sparring.
Best Boxing Gear
Can You Wear an Apple Watch While Boxing? Shadow Boxing, Bag and Sparring
Shadow boxing with an Apple Watch is easy. Wraps and gloves make it trickier. Where to wear it on the heavy bag, why to leave it out of sparring, and how to close your rings either way.
Boxing at Home: Punching Bag, Jump Rope and Speed Ladder
Three cheap pieces of boxing equipment that cover different things and work well together at home. What each one trains, and how the app handles all three.
How to Pick a Speed Ladder for Boxing: Buy the Cheap One
Speed ladders are one of the few pieces of boxing gear where the budget option is the right one. What to look for under $20, what to skip, and what to do with it.
Jump Rope For Boxing
The Boxer Skip: How to Learn Boxing's Signature Jump Rope Step
The boxer skip is the jump rope step you see in every boxing gym. What it is, why boxers prefer it to the basic bounce, a four-step way to learn it, and the mistakes that slow people down.
On Holiday? The Jump Rope Is the Only Boxing Gear to Pack
A jump rope weighs a few ounces, fits in any bag, and keeps your boxing conditioning alive on holiday. Here is how to use it, with help from a boxing app.
Lay the Rope Down: Jump Rope Footwork Drills for Boxing
Lay the rope on the floor and it becomes a footwork tool: a line to step over and punch, a circle to move around. Here is how the app uses it.
