You can buy all the hi-tech gym equipment in the world you like, but nothing is as effective as a heavy bag. This one piece of training equipment is extremely beneficial whether you have simple fitness goals or professional fighting ambitions.
Traditionally, punch bag training was associated with boxers, however, these days everyone is using it for building muscular strength and cardiovascular stamina. It’s also helpful in reducing stress and depression besides developing combat skills.
In this post you will learn about some important heavy bag training tips to develop the perfect body. Most workouts are divided into 3 sections: Warm-Up, Combinations, and Cooling Down. You can also tweak them according to your body, age and fitness level.
Designing Heavy Bag Workout
You can’t just buy a heavy bag and start hitting it like a mad man. This will lead to various injuries that will hinder your progression. What you need to do is, design a workout that will maximize your health and skill set, while keeping you safe from injuries.
10 Minute Warm Up
Don’t forget to warm up before the start of every training session. It reduces the chances of an injury and improves performance and decreases post-workout muscle soreness.
Mostly warm up exercises comprise of basic stretching and cardio exercises such as skipping rope, stationary jogging, and shadow boxing. This will increase your body temperature and get your nervous system firing.
But remember, these extensive stretching and warm up exercises before high-impact punch bag workout can cause “slack” in your connective tissues and joints, causing an increase in various injuries and strains. So in order to avoid that perform warm up that doesn’t last more than 10 minutes.
The Cool down Effect
Cooling down slows down your heart rate and brings down body temperature in a safe manner. It’s a common observation with inexperienced athletes, after a hectic heavy bag workout they tend to lie down immediately on the couch or take a bath. This is really dangerous as it will cause muscle soreness due to the reduced the levels of lactic acid in your muscles. This is a perfect time for gentle muscle stretching. Spend about 5 minutes, but if you want more there is no harm.
The Set and Rep Model
This is the simplest way to structure your workout using just a heavy bag. Plan what skills and combinations you need to work on. Next step is to decide how many sets and reps you are going to do. Keep track of your numbers by writing it down on a piece of paper or you can use a white board and hang it in your workout room.
Start will smaller numbers and then increase it gradually. For example, perform two sets of 30 straight punches, rest for 30 seconds in between the sets. Then perform two sets of 30 round house kicks, resting for about a minute in between sets.
You can design your own sets and reps model for each day. Also try to mix them up a little in order to make it unpredictable for your body.
Time-based Training
Many professional boxers and mixed martial artists use a time based structure for their punch bag workouts. Their workout is designed around a specific time frame ranging from two to five minutes. For this kind of workout it is highly recommended that you use some kind of timer or stop watch in order to time your intervals.
Gear Needs
Before starting your workout, you need to get your hands on gear that is essential for this type of workout, equipment such as boxing gloves, hand wraps and a heavy bag. Make sure they are of high quality as it will help you perform better. High quality may come at a higher cost than the cheap stuff but it will be durable and serve the purpose well and for a longer period of time. You can easily find top brands out there who sell premium quality equipment at affordable prices.
