How to Wrap Your Hands for Boxing?

If you are one to keep up with the latest and greatest in the exciting world of fitness, then we are sure you have heard some of the latest boxing news. Boxing has become more than just an Olympic sport for top rank world champions battling it out on ESPN fighting to become the next heavyweight champion -- boxing has made a comeback and is now for people who just want to get in shape. It doesn’t matter if you are the meanest and strongest cat on the block comparable to world title boxing champions like Tyson Fury, Floyd Mayweather, Anthony Joshua, Mike Tyson, Eddie Hearn, Deontay Wilder, Roberto Duran, Dillian Whyte, Muhammad Ali, and Manny Pacquiao, or if you are as delicate as a butterfly just dipping your toes into exercise for the first time, boxing fight camps are an excellent way for anyone looking for an intense full-body workout. With classes that fit all fitness levels, top-notch clubs like Legends Boxing have found a way to incorporate boxing training into a fun and challenging workout that keeps your heart pumping to get strong and burn calories all day long. However, if you aren't quite ready for the main event, it is a good idea to become familiar with the basics: how to wrap your hands properly to be a real contender.

Your fitness trainer will show you how it’s done during your first class, but to get ahead and know how to wrap your hands like a pro beforehand, keep reading – we’ve got you covered! You can also check out this video here.

Wrapping Your Hands 101

Wrapping your hands is an important and fundamental component of boxing training. Fighters ranging from heavyweight, to welterweight, to middleweight, to featherweight, all wrap their hands to protect the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the wrist and hand from injury. Whether you are working the heavy bag, sparring, or hitting mitts, boxing is a contact sport and puts a lot of pressure on your hands and wrists so it is important to take precautions and wrap them properly. 

Think about it – your hands are home to a variety of different shaped and sized bones. In fact, many people don’t even realize it but your hands are made up of 27 bones that all work together to provide your body with the support and flexibility it needs to manipulate objects in many different ways. 

With that being said, taking steps to prevent hand injury during training is critical. Hence, why it is so important to learn how to wrap your hands for boxing. 

How Do Wraps Help?

Wraps were created to provide mechanical support to your hand and wrist in situations where factors may detrimentally affect the well-being of your fists. In fact, they can even protect you when you throw a punch with a poor technique by keeping your wrist stabilized. In addition, if you are someone with small hands, wraps can fill up space in your glove to help prevent movement and friction. 

Many people feel boxing is dangerous, however, just like any sport, injuries can happen and are mitigated by boxing organizations like the WBA, WBC, and WBO. By taking the proper steps to wrap your hands effectively, you can protect your body and train just like the pros without causing harm to yourself. The two main things that wraps provide boxers are support for your wrists and protection for your knuckles. 

Wrist Stabilization During Training

Believe it or not, but your wrists are very fragile. All it talks is one misplaced punch to cause some serious damage that may impact all areas of your life. Wrapping your wrists can help to prevent hyperextension which is a common injury that tends to keep boxers out of the ring for quite some time until they are fully healed. Sure, building strength in your wrists is important but keeping the external protection and support during your workout is critical.

Protecting Your Knuckles During Training

It goes without saying that your knuckles bear the brunt of your boxing training. It doesn’t matter if you are hitting the heavy bag or sparring with a partner, the repetitive force tends to add up over time. Therefore, having an extra layer of padding between your knuckles and the target is important. It will help to protect your joints, preventing small fractures that could eventually turn into big problems down the road. Using hand wraps can help you to avoid taking an extended leave due to injury and keep you in the gym training. 

How to Wrap Your Hands for Boxing

If you were to Google “hand wrapping”, you would find a thousand different methods – and possibly a headache or two! Hand wrapping isn’t a one-size-fits-all skill, but it is crucial to your safety ringside. Wrapping your hands properly is going to take time and patience to figure out what is most effective and comfortable for your fighting style, but until then, follow these 10 steps to make sure your fists are well-protected from the start of your showdown.

1. Your hand should be held open in a relaxed position with your fingers spread apart. Start by placing the loop around your thumb, pulling the hand wrap tightly across the back of your hand. 
2. Bring the wrap across the backside of your hand, wrapping around your wrist two or three times. 
3. From the thumb side of your wrist, bring the wrap back across the backside of your hand, around the edge on the pinky side, across your palm, then back up to the backside of your hand and across the top of your knuckles. 
4. Wrap around the knuckle area two to three times. 
5. From the top of your knuckles, wrap across the backside of your hand towards your wrist and back around. This will create an ‘X’ pattern across the backside of your hand. Repeat this ‘X’ pattern two or three times.
6. Continue to wrap around the palm of your hand to the base of your thumb. Make sure to wrap completely around your thumb and back toward your wrist on the palm side of your hand, keeping the wrap from twisting. 
7. Continue to wrap around the back of your hand to your thumb and once more, wrap around your thumb, but this time from the opposite direction.
8. Wrap from your thumb over the back of your hand and around your wrist. 
9. Continue to wrap around your wrist, over the backside of your hand, and through the space between your pinky and ring fingers. Wrap around your palm back toward your wrist, repeating the steps for each finger. Make sure you keep the wrap as flat as possible to avoid any twisting. 
10. Once you complete the last finger, bring the wrap across your palm back towards your wrist. Continue to wrap across the backside of your hand towards your knuckles.
11. Once more, wrap around the top of your knuckles and across the back of your hand toward your wrist. 
12. With what is left of the hand wrap, wrap around your wrist keeping it firmly secured. Fasten the hook and loop closure and you are good to go! 

Like we mentioned, there are a ton of different methods when it boils down to wrapping your hands but to save yourself from all the confusion that comes with searching anything these days on the internet, follow our twelve steps listed above. However, if you are new to boxing, we highly recommend a gym like Legends Boxing with skilled trainers to teach you the ropes. With the proper protection, you will be unstoppable in your personal fitness journey to help you lose any weight that you may have gained during the coronavirus pandemic quarantine.