I inevitably get a lot of questions about nutritional supplements. Supplements for human performance is big business and supplements that might give someone an edge either in the ring or in the training and recovery while preparing to get in the ring are highly sought after.

To get right to the point - a few (legal) things help and most things don't.

On this page, I outline the ones I may have my clients use at different points in their body transformation process.  These are the supplements that work.

First - you need to know that Commando Boxing does not sell supplements...But, I do recommend certain, proven, supplements to my clients based on their specific needs - and those listed below are the ones I have had success with.

Boxing training is extremely rewarding. Hitting something over and over just feels really good - some days even more so than others... But, if you don't take the proper precautions and use proper technique, you risk injuring yourself. An injury will instantly affect your training even if it is a small one. So, before you start swinging - at minimum ensure you've got these four points covered.

Note that I'm only covering training you do by yourself here. If you're sparring, you have more things to consider.

It is totally possible for you to train like a boxer and end up looking like a boxer - complete with six pack abs, zero fat, and lean muscle - but looking like a boxer and having the fitness level of a boxer will not automatically make you a great fighter.

The really great boxers train their minds as much or more than they train their bodies.

Training the body is the easy part. The human body responds the same way in most people. It will increase in strength, speed, and endurance by training in a specific way. Over time, with consistency, your fitness level improves.

Your mind is not so easy to deal with but it is a crucial part of the total boxing equation.

Learning how to box on your own has the downside of not having an experienced coach watching you to correct any errors in technique. That is a bit of an annoyance, but you may be surprised to know that even experienced boxers with a coach in their corner will frequently ignore basic principles - especially when boxing against less experienced boxers. They believe they don't have to be as diligent and that because they are stronger than their opponent the deviations will do little harm.

Whether you are a new boxer or an experienced one, bad technique, no matter how small quickly adds up to nagging little habits that are difficult to correct. At some point they become weaknesses that your opponent can exploit (or that you'll have to learn how to compensate for) - so we all need to be able to recognize when something is out of whack and correct it before it becomes an issue.

Here are 10 common errors that you may observe yourself (or others) doing. If you notice it, correct it before it gets out of hand.

One of the things I love about boxing is how affordable it is to start. It lowers the barrier of entry and opens the door for people to choose learning how to box over learning how to do other sports.

There are only a handful of sports where you, by yourself, can progress and learn skills without having to buy a whole lot of equipment.

Even better - if you're at the point where you do need or want some boxing equipment to take your training to the next level - there is nothing spectacular or complicated about boxing equipment and it's possible to improvise most of what you need and DIY with low cost materials. So if you're broke or simply don't want to go out and buy equipment you should consider building yourself a home made boxing gym.

I'm going to show you how to make your own home boxing gym which is every bit as functional as one equipped with brand name equipment.

You're about to learn more about boxing gloves than you really need to know.

Boxing gloves protect you and your opponent. The earliest form of boxing glove originated in Greece (cestus) and consisted of something meant to inflict pain and suffering rather than reduce it. It was basically leather straps that may or may not have things such as studs embedded in them. In short, they made boxing fights good and bloody. 

Lucky for those of us practicing boxing today, boxing became more civilized. We now benefit from boxing gloves made out of better materials based on an understanding of the science and forces involved in punching.

When looking for gloves - you'll find a wide selection of various weights and styles. You may see them called training gloves, bag gloves, sparring gloves, boxing gloves, and so on. So what is the difference?

One of the reasons I love boxing as much as I do is that it directly relates to my profession.

Being in the military, a lot of the strategy and tactics that are relevant at work are also relevant in the ring.

Once you step in the ring, the following tactical principles apply. They are not applied separately but combined to achieve maximum effect.  Base your training and strategy on these principles and you can't go wrong:

Let me tell you a story.

There was a beginner boxer who walked into a gym one day.

He was in fairly good shape but by no means the biggest guy in the gym.  Immediately upon entering he noticed this huge muscular boxer working over the heavy bag and instantly thought about turning around and walking out the door.  The idea of getting in the ring with something like that was none too appealing. 

New boxer decided to stay and give the trainer a chance.  The trainer got him working some basics but more intriguing was this huge guy beating the crap out of the heavy bag.  He couldn't take his eyes off him and could not help but wondering if he would ever have to box something like that.  Surely anyone who did would end up dead on the floor.

Because boxers fight in an enclosed ring and that ring is big enough to allow movement, it is possible for the boxer to increase or decrease the distance between himself and his/her opponent.

Boxing is a constant negotiation over one little piece of terrain.  It is the ground directly between the two boxers who are just outside of each other's reach.  The entire point of a boxing match is to cross that small distance and strike your opponent without being struck yourself.

Because of this, there are three distances in boxing that you need to be aware of and how you behave in each is important.

At some point in your development as a boxer, you will have to find a boxing gym or boxing trainer that you can work with and let them take you to the next level. As I've mentioned on this site over and over, you can only learn so many skills needed to box from a book or website.

Commando Boxing is great if you're trying to get in shape or just learn basic boxing skills, but at some point, you actually have to box and you need a boxing gym or trainer to arrange fights, venues, and generally manage your boxing progression. You will learn more from a good trainer in one session than you will from every website or book out there.