No gyms/trainers, have a chance?

Well, I'm 17 years old and the area I'm in has no gyms or trainers (that I could find) to speak of. I've asked at the local sport stores, and the closest gym is about 2 hours away. Needless to say, I really don't have the gas money to drive that far.

I was thinking about getting a heavy bag and speed bag set up in my garage, and maybe just going down to that gym when they have some small local tournament. The best I can really do is get books and try to find information on the internet. Do you guys think I'd have a chance at becoming a decent boxer practically on my own?

You have a chance...just not a very good one. You WILL be able to learn the basics, and punch strong and all that jazz, but what will happen without a trainer is that you are going to wind up developing some bad habits. They may be serious, they may not be. I'd say what you MIGHT want to do is to maybe visit the gym a few times, take a few private lessons every now and then (maybe twice a month or so) and practice what you learn at home. It's not as good as having a trainer there all the time, but with any luck, those visits will help you nip those bad habits in the bud.

Like I said, it's not impossible, but it will be hard and theres a good chance you'll wind up developing some bad habits that you'll wish you hadn't.

I never even thought about going up there a few times a month for private lessons. That's actually a really good idea, thanks :)

One of the best learning aids in boxing is sparring. Now you cant do that on your own can you. Nor pad work. Bag and speed bag work can only go so far, good boxing ability comes from all of them.

as all said, it'll be tough. maybe you could work on as much as you can on your own and then move into the big city. until then, check out these. maybe there's something in here for you. I don't know for sure though since I've never seen any. But I must admit, even though I go to a gym 3x a week or so (wish I could go every day, but the boy and work and school kill too much time) a few of these have me curious just to see what else there is besides what my trainers are doing...ie get exposure to all kinds of philosophies. Then i can say, "Well Freddie Roach said to..." ;D

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