It is over three months since lockdown started in the UK, in a nationwide attempt to stop Covid-19 in its tracks and save as many lives as possible from the deadly virus.
During that time, boxing fans have had to satisfy themselves with training alone, either at home or in the park, and watching old boxing movies and reruns of classic fights.
While the worldwide boxing scene has started to take its first steps back to normality - Top Rank returned with the first major boxing event since the pandemic on 9 June in Las Vegas, when Shakur Stevenson stopped Felix Caraballo in the sixth round - UK boxing gyms are still yet to reopen, despite the Government easing lockdown restrictions slowly but surely.
The latest step has been to reopen establishments including pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, libraries, playgrounds and museums from Saturday 4 July. While boxing gyms and other similar facilities remain closed, it seems it could be just a matter of days or weeks before they are able to reopen their doors to their loyal customers.
In an interview on Friday 3 July on LBC, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked why some industries are being allowed to open while others must remain shut.
Speaking about gyms in England, Johnson said: “We are going to reopen gyms as soon as we can do it in a Covid-secure way and I think that the date for reopening gyms at the moment, if we can do it, is in just a couple of weeks’ time.”
Tweeting after the interview, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, said: “Many people keen to hit the gym & keeping Britain fit is key in Covid battle. We’ve made lots of progress & I know steps businesses have taken to make their spaces & equipment safe. Subject to public health, our aspiration is to reopen gyms & leisure facilities in mid-July.”
Meanwhile, chief executive of UK Active Huw Edwards said the gym and leisure centre’s representative body is having “conversations with the Government to establish a clear roadmap to reopening”.
So, it looks like we can finally start to get excited about getting back to training, sparring and fighting sooner rather than later. With that in mind, Bravose is here to help you start prepping for your long-awaited return to the ring.
Prepping your fit
If you are somebody who has so far failed to embrace home workouts in lieu of the gym, it is never too late to start. There is still time to make progress before the gyms open, ensuring you will be able to hit the ground running once you can get back inside your favourite fit club.
We have previously told you how one of the best parts about boxing for physical fitness is that you can reap the benefits from the comfort of your own home.
Home boxing-based workouts can give you strong arms and shoulders, increase your core strength and stability, improve your general fitness levels, and help you become more coordinated in the process. We put together a simple boxing workout to try at home, which involves skipping and three key bodyweight exercises. If you are struggling for motivation, check out our blog on boxing motivation and training accountability hacks.
You can even take things up a notch by learning how to build your own home boxing gym. In this blog post we explained how building your own dedicated space for boxing training could be more achievable than you ever thought, with just a few considerations and key pieces of equipment needed. Even when life is back to normal, it will still be a great option to keep you fit when you cannot get to the gym.
Prepping your kit
Once boxing gyms reopen there will be a whole host of new Government guidelines to follow to ensure everybody can get back to training while staying as safe as possible.
While gyms will be following new cleaning and safety standards to help protect you, you can also play your own part in keeping hygiene standards as high as possible.
We have previously talked about when to replace your boxing gear because, eventually, there is going to come a time when your equipment will have paid its dues and is ready to go into retirement. With everything going on it seems like now would be as good a time as any to start afresh.
If you are in the market for new equipment, we can help you find out how to choose the best boxing gloves, head guards and boxing pads. Or, if you are brand new to boxing, read our blog post on the new boxer’s guide to getting kitted out. Once you have your new gear sorted, it will be more important than ever to keep it clean. Our blog on how to clean and maintain your boxing gloves will take you through tips to maximise hygiene.
