1. Hand Wraps

First things first, if you’re going to hit anything with your hands or spar, you’re going to want to wrap your hands. Hand wraps are a critical safety requirement for any combat sport involving striking. They serve as a protective layer for the dozens of small bones, tendons, and ligaments in your hand and wrist that are not naturally designed to absorb the repeated impact of a punch.

Well wrapped hands will provide proper bone and joint alignment, wrist stabilization, knuckle protection, glove longevity, and glove hygiene.

If you’re a beginner and have trouble wrapping your hands just read the instructions above! There are also many tutorials on YouTube if you are more of a visual learner.

My overall pick for at home MMA workout wraps are:

Sanabul Elastic 120 inch Boxing Hand Wraps. Sanabul makes great products and for the price you cannot beat them!

Second place runner up goes to:

RDX Gel Boxing Hand Wraps. Theyre a heavy duty wrap that wont break the bank.

2. Gloves

Boxing gloves come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Boxing gloves are the most essential piece of equipment for any striking-based workout. They are designed to act as a cushioning barrier, protecting both your hands and your training equipment from the high-velocity impact of a punch.

They will be critical in your training by providing hand and wrist protection while allowing you to train harder and longer. Boxing gloves not just soften the blow, but they distribute the force of the impact over a larger surface area. This protects the soft tissues and ligaments in yours hands as well.

Gloves come in all sizes and varieties. If you’re a beginner and want to shoot for a one-size fits all glove, use a 16-oz glove. This will provide maximum protection for bag work as well as sparring. There are so many choices that you can really let your personality shine through the different colors and designs that are available.

The best overall boxing glove that I would recommend that maintains high quality and is still budget minded is:

The RDX Boxing Glove. Suitable for just about anyone.

If you’re dead-set on training Muay Thai and want a glove that will last you for years and years, I recommend: The Fairtex BGV1.

I like these so much that I’ll include a pair that I’ve used and worn for many years.

3. Jump Rope

Jump roping is one of the most cost-effective, simple, portable, and low-cost forms of exercise. If you want to get fit and don’t have much time, get a jump rope!

Jumping rope is an effective way to boost cardiovascular fitness, plyometric explosivity, coordination, and balance. There’s a reason why jumping rope has always been a staple exercise for professional combat athletes.

The way I like to program jumping rope into my Boxing/MMA fitness routine is I first do 3 3-minute rounds of skipping rope before I shadow box or do anything else. What this does is allows me to prime my feet, legs, and hips for the footwork needed in the rest of my workout, and it makes me break a sweat.

Overall Pick for a durable jump rope:

Elite Jumps Adjustable Rope with Unbreakable Handles

If you like doing double-unders and crossfit style workouts these will work nicely:

High Speed Weighted Jump Rope by LIFEEZY

4. Heavy Bag

In combat training, the heavy bag is a foundational tool used to bridge the gap beween shadowboxing and live sparring. It serves as a high-resistance partner that allows you to develop the physical attributes necessary to fight, making it one of the most versatile and important pieces of equipment for fighting.

Unlike shadow boxing, the bag provides impact resistance. This teaches you to maintain solid structure and proper technique in order for you to not injure yourself. A moving heavy bag can teach you about spacial awareness you can practice a single combination or punch hundreds of times until it becomes instinctive.

If you are planning on developing your kicks, knees, and elbows in addition to your punches, I would highly recommend a Muay Thai style banana bag. They are much longer vertically than a traditional boxing back due to the need to kick at the bottom like you would in a kickboxing fight. A banana bag will help you to condition your shins by subjecting your leg to tiny microfractures which calcify over time and grow back stronger.

Overall Pick: The Fairtex HB6 6 Ft. Banana Bag Punching Bag for Muay Thai, Boxing, Kickboxing, MMA. As far as leather quality and durability, you cant beat Fairtex.

If you’re short on space or live in an apartment you may want to a Freestanding Punching Bag. These require you to fill the base with either water or sand to keep the bag upright. My overall pick for this variety is:
Century Torrent Freestanding Punching Bags

5. Kettlebell

Kettlebells are an extremely useful and versatile piece of equipment that has been used by Easter-Bloc countries for over 150 years. One kettle can give you the ability to perform dozens of workouts, gain total body strength, while improving power and endurance.

With a simple kettlebell you can perform shoulder presses and floor presses, bent over rows, kettlebell swings, Romanian deadlifts, and thrusters. Put some of these exercises together and you have a metabolic condition workout that not only builds strength, but your cardio as well.

My overall pick for a kettlebell is: Amazon Basics Cast Iron Kettlebell. These iron belles are simple and tough and will last a lifetime.