Which Style Glove Is Best For You?

Get In Shape To Crush Calories

Hi, there we’re Teach to Fight. You’re here because you’ve decided that you’re going to take up some boxing or some MMA, to get yourself in great shape.

That my friend is a wise move because training for combat sports just crushes calories.

Even if you never intend on fighting, training like a fighter is going to get you in tremendous shape in no time. In this article, we’re going to take a look at which style of glove is best suited for you.

When you go to the store to shop for gloves, there’s quite a large selection to choose from. There are many different styles and different sizes and weights. In this article, let’s try to demystify that a little bit for you. The very first suggestion that we’re going to make is to stick with a concept of specificity.

What we mean by that, is that if you plan on competing in a certain discipline and you only plan on buying one pair of gloves, then we’d buy the specific gloves that go along with that sport.

That would be MMA gloves if you’re planning on competing in MMA, or boxing gloves if you plan on competing in boxing. If you’re just looking to train and get yourself in phenomenal shape, then let’s take a look at some different styles of gloves.

We will cover some things to consider for each of the main styles. First, let’s take a look at a typical MMA glove.

Everlast 7-ounce MMA

These are 7-ounce MMA gloves from Everlast. They do offer adequate protection from punching the heavy bag, a double-ended bag, or even the focus mitts.

They have some added wrap to go around the wrist for support, which offers a little more protection. They also have a Velcro attachment, so that you could put them on and take them off by yourself.

When it comes to MMA-style gloves, notice that these gloves still allow you to have the dexterity of using your fingers. That is a huge consideration depending on what you plan on doing as far as training goes.

You could use these gloves to hit the bag, the pads, etc. Then transition right into some grappling or some wrestling. You can create circuits of punching the bag and then transition and doing certain bodyweight exercises, like push-ups and chin-ups.

You can even work the bag that double-ended bag or mitts and then transition directly into lifting weights. That is great for circuit training and CrossFit or that style of training.

Having the ability to grasp objects, without having to remove the glove is a huge asset. It’s something to consider. They are typically not too expensive and they’re pretty durable.

The Downside To These Gloves

The downside to these gloves is that they only offer moderate protection when punching a heavy bag. They are pretty lightweight, so you could potentially get a better bag workout using a heavier style of glove.

Next up, let’s take a look at what we’d consider a typical bag glove.

16-ounce Glove From Everlast

Next is the 16-ounce glove from Everlast. This is a perfect overall training glove. This can be used for double-ended bags, and some focus mitt training, and we find it’s just tailor-made to bang away from a heavy bag. It has wrist support, along with a Velcro attachment, so you could put those gloves on and take them off by yourself.

You can usually find these gloves anywhere from 8 to 16 ounces.

I personally always like to recommend going with a heavier glove, to increase the intensity of your workouts. Finally, this is an all-around training glove and you can use it for sparring. Yet in a perfect world, We wouldn’t recommend that. We do find that the velcro attachments can scratch you or your partner, while you guys are jockeying for position in close quarters.

You definitely could use it for sparring but if you’re looking to spar we’d recommend our next style of glove. For the pros, it’s a great all-around training glove and it’s not too expensive. You could put them on and take them off by yourself. So you can still train all alone and you can even use them for some circuit training. As for the cons, well you still do have to take them off to do some circuit training, as opposed to the MMA glove, which you could leave on.

We do find that they’re good but they’re not the best glove for sparring.

Finally, let’s take a look at what I would consider a sparring glove.

Gloves That Have The Laces

These are the gloves that have the laces. These are also great all-around gloves, that can also be used for the double-ended bag, the mitts, or even the heavy bag. Yet for me, these are primarily sparring gloves.

The laces will provide you with the ultimate support for both your wrist and your hands. That could be important for sparring because you might land your punches on a super hard target, like somebody’s elbow.

We usually use some tape over the laces once you’re all tied up, to keep both you and your sparring partners safe from abrasions in close quarters. They’re also a better quality of leather. They are better quality glove in general.

Better for your hands and your opponent’s face, as they lead to fewer cuts because the higher quality leather tends to be a little smoother.

You can get sparring gloves from 10 to 20 ounces. I use 18-ounce gloves to spar. The reason is that I want to have a better workout and the softer gloves are better on my sparring partner’s face and ribs.

If you enjoy having sparring partners and the key word here is partners, then this is a good thing.

Lace Glove Pros

As for the pros, the lace gloves are usually the best for sparring. The higher quality offers the best protection for your hand and the extra cushioning offers the best protection for your sparring partner.

Lace Glove Cons

The cons are they’re usually the most expensive. They are also laced gloves and you’re going to need someone else, to help you put them on and probably take them off.

The Bottom Line On Gloves

For the bottom line, in a perfect world, if you’re only gonna buy one pair of gloves, and your goal is to do a lot of circuit training that involves some boxing and transitioning to bodyweight exercises or lifting weights, then your best option is probably gonna be the MMA glove.

If you’re gonna put a little bit more focus on boxing and primarily hit the heavy bag or focused mitts or double-ended bag, then your best option is gonna be what we consider the bag glove for the boxing training glove. That’s the one with the velcro.

They offer great protection for your hands, it’s not too expensive and you can still put them on and take them off by yourself. Finally, if you’re looking to do a lot of sparring, then we’d suggest that you spend a little more money and go with the laced gloves. Preferably at least 16 ounces, to keep both your hands and your sparring partners in good health.

For the sparring gloves, as well as all the gloves there are different sizes and weights.

As far as the size goes, you want to make sure that it fits snugly in the glove, while you’re wearing hand wraps. Yet not so tight, that it can potentially cut off any circulation.

As far as the weight goes, heavier gloves will give you more protection for your hands and give you a more taxing workout. On the flip side, they will also slow you down and limit the impact of your punches during sparring.

The General Rule

As a general rule, if you’re a lighter guy, maybe you’ll be aiming for 12-ounce gloves for the heavy bag and maybe 14-ounce gloves for sparring.

If you’re a heavyweight, you’ll be going at least 14-ounce gloves for the heavy bag and we’d recommend at least 16 or 18-ounce gloves for the sparring.

Just to ensure that you don’t hurt your hands or somebody else during practice. No matter which style of glove you choose, please do not forget to use the wraps. They’re cheap and they’re just as important for protecting your hands as the gloves.

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