What are The Reflex Ball Benefits for Boxers?
If you intend to train as a boxer, one of the most important changes you can make is to the training tools you use. For many boxers, one of the biggest problems they face is their ability to follow their opponent and improve reflexes. If you cannot move quickly and you cannot anticipate the oppositions movements, you will find it that much harder to box with consistency. With that in mind, then, it is important to use a boxing training tool known as a reflex ball.
As one of the many different kinds of punching bags out there, the reflex ball is a hugely popular tool. It can play a role in improving how likely you are to consistently hit your intended target. Not only does training with a reflex ball make you faster in your movement, it makes you sharper in your anticipation. Now, you are more likely to land shots on an opponent simply because you can read their movements better.
The ability to make you sharper and faster, though, are just two of the reflex ball benefits that you should consider. What, though, are some of the other main benefits that comes from using a reflex ball? How can you further improve your skills by using this kind of training tool?
6 Most Important Boxing Reflex Ball Benefits
Of course, as any boxer will know, it is important that you can accurately hit your opponent. And to hit an opponent who is moving around the place, you need to be ready to react quickly. This involves honing your reflexes so that you can more reliably land blows on the opponent that you are fighting. To help you make that possible, we highly recommend that you start using a reflex bag.
Here, then, are some of the most important reflex bag benefits that come from using this kind of training.
Table of Contents
1- Improve Reaction Times
One of the most important benefits of boxing reflex ball training is that you can begin to improve your reaction times. When you need to land a hit on an opponent, this helps you to make sure you are moving to the pace of the opponent and thus land your shots better.
Every boxer needs to be able to quickly react and adjust based on what their opponent does. By training with a reflex ball, you get used to following and tracking their movement. Now, instead of throwing a punch where your opponent was, you throw a punch to where they will be. This is vital as it makes it easier to stay in a fight.
Reaction times are a big part of improving your skills as a boxer, which is why training with a reflex ball is so highly recommended. You might also wish to look into our speed bag buying guide, as one of the main speed bag benefits stems from improving your reactions also.
2- Get Used to Distractions
A big part of using a reflex ball, though, stems from your ability to stay focused without distractions. If you are fighting an opponent you have to contend with their presence as well as the people in the crowd. Throw in things like your coaches shouting information, the crowd singing and cheering, and the cameras flashing, and losing your focus is pretty easy.
One of the best boxing reflex ball benefits, then, is making sure that you can stay focused. You get used to following just the ball (or your opponent), ignoring the distractions that are happening around you.
This is very important as just about every boxer around finds it easier to stay in a fight when they retain focus. If you start getting distracted, you are going to let your guard down and thus be more likely to be dropped mid-fight.
3- Hitting a Moving Target
A big problem for many boxers is they get so used to training with things like a heavy bag that they stop fighting moving targets. A moving target is a big part of what makes boxing so hard; you need to get used to following an opponent who is moving around the place. Well, one of the best reflex ball benefits that you can benefit from includes being able to hit your moving target with greater ease.
They become simpler to track and thus you are more likely to land a hit on a target that is moving around the place. Many boxers lack this skill and it holds them back. Regular training will make sure that you can overcome that problem, though, and start landing hits on a more consistent basis.
So, if you find it hard to hit moving targets, get a reflex ball!
4- Anticipate Movement
Reflex balls also help you to work out more likely where a target will go in reaction to your thrown punch. If you land a solid punch on something to the left, the natural reaction is to go to the right. This teaches you to follow the movement of an opponent, hit them with pace, and then move into the next hit. You can then always be ready to anticipate where your opponent should be so that you can continually land your hits as they move in reaction to your punches.
This helps you to build up vital boxing skills, including making sure you start throwing dummy punches to force the reaction you want. Reflex ball training is built around making sure you can always know where your foe is so that you can hit them with proper power. Keep that in mind moving forward in future.
5- Improve Your Footwork
One of the other primary boxing reflex ball benefits is that you start to improve how you move around the place. Footwork is a massive part of being a boxer, and you need to be able to keep moving around the ring without losing your focus or your attention. That is why so many boxers use a reflex ball; they want to improve their footwork.
This is one of the punch bag benefits that you only really get with smaller balls that move around the place. Larger punch bags stay in place and do not really move around as much, minimising your education.
By using a punch bag like this, though, you are much more likely to be able to get better at moving on your feet. Now, you can spring in anticipation of where your opponent moves so that you can keep on landing your shots with confidence and consistency.
6- Learn to Punch and Move
A common mistake for many boxers today is that they find themselves needlessly static after throwing a punch. The best boxers learn to move and fire. You need to make sure you can move around, land punches, and then move into a safe position after landing a blow. Reflex balls help you to make your movements more elegant so that you can keep dancing around the ring and moving with the opponent.
They force you to become more adept at punching, moving to a new spot, and then throwing another punch again. This delivers consistent and credible improvement to how you box. You start moving on your feet, moving with your opponent, moving out of the way of their punches, and making sure that each movement helps to set up your next punch. These skills, then, are absolutely essential to really putting opponents in a tight spot.
Is a Reflex Ball Right for you?
So, as you can see, using a reflex ball is a very satisfying piece of your boxing training. If you wish to become a more well-rounded boxer then it would be highly recommended that you invest in such a training tool. When used properly, especially if you buy the best boxing reflex ball that we recommend, you can see all of the improvements in the above.
Reflex balls are vital to the training of any boxer. The skills they help you to develop and improve upon are the kind of essential skills that can be the difference between success and failure. So, if you wish to get better as a boxer, we highly recommend investing in a reflex ball – especially if agility and anticipation are your weaknesses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are reflex balls good for boxing?
Yes, but remember the aim here is to become more accurate and adept at reading the movement of the ball. Other punch bags, like heavy bags, are for those who want to start delivering knockout blows. This is for improving accuracy and anticipation.
Is a boxing reflex ball good for developing strong punches?
In a way, but a reflex ball is not going to build up your physical power. What it does improve, though, is making sure that each punch you land snaps. You can do a lot of damage with an accurate, pinpoint jab compared to a haymaker that only barely connects. These help you to land more accurate punches which will naturally improve the power you can throw with.