We’ve all been there, whether it’s a boxing gym or a regular gym, when someone unzips their gym bag and an unholy smell gets unleashed into the room. Sure, we all get sweaty and a little smelly after a workout, but if you don’t wash your sports clothes or equipment after each use, the smell after even 24 hours can be unbearable.

So what are you supposed to do? Sports clothing can be shoved in the washing machine and then the tumble dryer or hung on the washing line and it’s as good as new, but is cleaning sports equipment like boxing gloves so easy?

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Fortunately, Maxx Pro Boxing are experts on all things boxing and combat sports equipment, and we’re here to help you look after your equipment, so not only can you stop them smelling, but also keep them in good condition for longer.

Why Your Boxing Gloves Smell

We know that we sweat most from areas like our armpits and groin as that’s where our skin touches and is hairiest, so our sports clothes can end up smelling quite bad after an intense workout, but why do our boxing gloves smell and how can you stop your gloves from smelling?

Sweat is produced from sweat glands which are located in the skin all over the body, but are most concentrated where there is more hair growth. Men and women will have some hair follicles on the backs of their hands – not as much as their armpits, but some sweat will still be produced from our hands. What’s more, sweat itself isn’t inherently smelly, but the liquid sweat mixes with the bacteria on our skin to produce an unpleasant odour.

Bacteria thrive in warm, dark and damp places, which is why your armpits are one of the best spots for bacteria to live, and armpits are the place where we produce the most body odour. Thus, if your hands are sweating in boxing gloves, the bacteria on your hands will create a stench within your gloves, which is then an excellent place for them to live, as it’s dark and now warm and damp too.

Unfortunately preventing the smell from your boxing gloves isn’t as easy as just washing your hands before you put on your gloves – although that does help. So let’s look at a few ways to keep your boxing gloves clean and odour-free.

Boxing Glove Maintenance

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Keeping your boxing gloves clean and odourless is relatively simple, although it does require a few steps.

• Wash your hands
• Disinfect your gloves
• Air-dry your gloves
• Alternate your gloves

However, you will find it’s worth putting the effort in, as your boxing gloves will remain intact for longer with proper care and maintenance. Let’s look in more detail.

Use Deodorising Spray

Unfortunately, we can’t put boxing gloves directly in the washing machine, or hand wash them ourselves. Boxing gloves are predominantly made up of padding to protect your hands when you fight, so when they absorb lots of water and get beaten around in a washing machine, the padding can become twisted, misshapen and therefore ineffective.

Hot water can also damage the leather or synthetic leather of the outside of the glove, causing it to wear thin and crack, breaking the glove. Some people advise the opposite, that you should freeze your boxing gloves to get rid of the smell, but this is a myth. Just like with food, freezing your gloves will prevent the bacteria from multiplying while they’re frozen, but as soon as they warm up and are worn again, the bacteria come back to life and begin to thrive in the sweaty glove, causing them to smell.

Instead of washing or freezing your gloves, the best way to clean them and prevent them from smelling is by spraying your gloves with a deodorising spray after each use. A deodorising spray is a mild disinfectant that kills the bacteria in your gloves, stopping them from smelling altogether.

You can buy them in most supermarkets and shops, and even specialised ones made for your sports equipment in sports shops. Or, you can make your own disinfectant sprays, using one part vinegar to two parts water. The vinegar kills the bacteria and neutralises the odour (it doesn’t make them smell of vinegar).

Air Them Out

After you’ve disinfected your boxing gloves to kill the bacteria to stop them from smelling, you should then air them out in a sunny and dry location. The UV rays can help kill any remaining bacteria, as well as the air helping to reduce any smell from the gloves. You can’t put boxing gloves in the tumble dryer as the heat would damage the padding as well as cause any velcro wrist straps to melt, making your gloves unusable.

Even if you haven’t disinfected your gloves, airing them out after each use is a great way to reduce the smell. Whatever you do, don’t let them marinade overnight in a sweat sports bag.

Have a Few Pairs

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You might think you don’t have enough time to clean and air dry your boxing gloves after each use because you hit the gym every day, and you may be right – but either way, you should have a few pairs of boxing gloves, so each pair you use has time to properly dry and the smell to dissipate between each use.

You’ll likely have a few pairs of boxing gloves anyway, whether you’re a pro boxer or a beginner looking for their first pair, but you should also have a couple of pairs in the same size so you can get on with your training and not risk the health of your boxing gloves.

Buy the Right Boxing Gloves

When choosing the right boxing gloves, you need to know what weight boxing gloves to choose as well as what to look out for in terms of quality and materials.

Choosing the right boxing gloves largely depends on your weight. Most boxing gloves are unisex, and weigh between 6 and 18 oz, so boxing gloves for men and women can be chosen according to the following size guide:

• People under 45 kg need 6 – 8 oz gloves
• People weighing 46 – 68 kg need 10 – 12 oz gloves
• People weighing 69 – 80 kg need 14 oz gloves
• People over 80 kg need 16 – 18 oz gloves

The average weight of men in the UK is around 83 kg, so generally, men should choose 14 or 16 oz gloves for their boxing training. According to women’s average weight of 70 kg, they should choose 12 or 14 oz boxing gloves for training. Children under 10 years old can use 4 to 6 oz gloves, although there are boxing gloves specifically for children, as they have smaller hands.

However, boxing gloves for sparring will be heavier, as there will be more protection for your training partner, and for real fights, a lighter glove is used. A heavier glove doesn’t make you hit harder or cause more damage, in fact, the opposite is true.

That’s why Mike Tyson and other heavyweight pros use 10 oz boxing gloves for fighting and 18 oz gloves for sparring. The extra cushion is needed to protect the training partner, but less padding is needed in real fights so the opponent can feel the full force of the punch. However, professional boxers use different oz boxing gloves depending on their weight class.

When getting your boxing gloves, you may think there’s a bit too much space in the glove, however, you need some space for your hand wraps. Hand wraps are essential to prevent injury to your hands, so they should be wrapped several times around your hand before you put on your gloves.

Buy Britain’s Best Boxing Gloves

At Maxx Pro Boxing, we produce affordable, high-quality and durable boxing equipment, so you can train safely and comfortably, and – if you follow our maintenance best practices – you can keep using the same equipment for longer. Browse our collection of boxing gloves today!

Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: HOW