THE HEAVY BAG
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you will now recieve a new edition, each one talking about a specific training routine or diet. I hope you found the 15 page
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at http:boxingkent00.tripod.com and follow the link. This is the first of many editions and im sure this is not the only one
that will talk about the heavy bag.
Now, lets get this party started!
The heavy bag is one of the best exercises around, it improves anaerobic fitness, power, skill
and stamina. Before punching the heavy bag I suggest you wrap your hands properly and get some good bag gloves!
When hitting the bag, focus on throwing multiple combinations.
Use variety, throw jabs, hooks, uppercuts, power punches etc..
throw different combinations, feint, move, throw from angles.
Something thats all to common in boxing gyms is 'going through the motions'. Fighters seem to
just stand their punching the bag with little effort, and at the end of the night they leave the gym certain that they have
had a good workout.
WRONG!
It could be much more effective, for one, if you throw punches and dont move around, then when
it comes to fight night you will find it hard to move out of range after throwing a punch. This will make you a sitting duck,
muscle memory will make sure you dont go anywhere, DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE!
What can you do?
First thing you can do is 'imagine' it is an opponent that you are fighting. here is some rules
to stick by when working the bag:
. dont stand still, a moving target is harder to hit, throw, then MOVE!
. have a plan, what will you do this session? i.e work on a specific skill and do a certain drill
on the bag.
. concentrate! be focused as if it was a real opponent
. wear a gumshield, if you compete then wear your mouth guard, this will help you improve on
your breathing when fighting for real.
. use variety, dont just throw the same punches, because this means you are likely to do this
in a fight, keep him guessing, throw differet combinations from different angles.
. Keep up the work rate, dont go through the motions
The above may seem obviouse, but they are rarely kept to, mainly because a coach is not always
there to supervise. But you must break this habbit, because when its show time there will be noone with you saying which punches
to throw!
Dont stick to the same style on the bags, keep it interesting by changing what you work on, lets
look at some examples:
. Speed- for a whole round concentrate on speed, just throw combinations, at least 3 punches
per comby. maintain pace.
. outside drill- stay on the outside for a round, jab, move, keep it long and move around the
bag at range, move left and right.
. inside drill- opposite to the above, throw hooks and uppercuts, keep the head moving (remember
what I said about being a sitting duck!) practice body and head shots. maximum power!
. change direction- if you are used to moving to your right, for a whole round move to your left.
throw the jab while mixing in combinations, throw from different angles.
. jab- the king of punches for the boxer! throw single, double and treble jabs. mix in feints.
ie. feint-jab-feint-jab-jab. move in both directions while throwing the jab. do not become predictable, throw from different
angles and feint from different angles. TRAIN SMART!
When on the bag, dont be predictable, everyone throws 1-2-3
that is the jab-right hand-left hook (southpaws reverse this)
Try different combinations to keep you opponent guessing, try 1-3-2 so you hook off the jab,
this is hard at first but keep at it.
or 2-3-1, mix it up.
also work the body and head.
Sample drills
This drill will work skill and explosive power.
4x3 minute rounds with 1 minute rest
. throw punches like the ones I have suggested, remember foot work, feints and head movement.
4x30 seconds with 1 minute rest between rounds.
. punch out drills, throw straight punches as hard and as fast as you can, non stop 1-2-1-2
4x15 seconds with 45 seconds rest
. punch out drills, again these are non stop.
1x3 minute round
. finish with a skill round, you will now be fatigued from the punch out drills. Fight through,
you will thank me on fight night!
