Heavy Bag Routines

A heavy bag is a weighted bag which is suspended above the ground and used as a practice dummy for boxing and kickboxing techniques. Heavy bags can be useful for practicing technique, as well as gaining power, speed and cardio fitness.

  1. Skill Training

    • One of the main purposes of a heavy bag is to develop punching and/or kicking techniques. A typical skill training session for a heavy bag is working out for four to eight three-minute rounds, throwing combinations at the bag, while working on footwork. During the rounds the focus is on moving and throwing punches or kicks with good form, and in good combination, rather than putting a lot of power behind each strike. The flow of the rounds for a routines might look similar to a real bout. In live bouts, flurries and combinations are separated by periods of positioning and setting up attacks. A one-minute rest period should be allowed between each round.

    Power Training

    • Heavy bags can be useful for building striking power. Power training routines for a heavy bag also involve a round-based system, where shorter rounds of about a minute each are performed in succession with thirty seconds to a minute of rest. During the rounds, the focus is on throwing hard punches at a constant rate. When using the heavy bag 10-ounce gloves are typically worn to protect the hands, but when power punching, it can be helpful to wear 16-ounce gloves for further protection, especially when you have more power. Heavy bags should not be used without gloves, as it can harm the wrists and cause abrasions. A typical power routine would look something like 10 one-minute rounds with constant punching and high effort behind every strike, allowing 30 seconds to rest between each round.

    Speed Training

    • A third type of training routing for heavy bags is speed training. Speed training emphasizes hand speed and the ability to throw combinations and flurries quickly. Speed training uses short rounds of about 30 seconds, where you throw as many punches kicks or other strikes as quickly and accurately as possible. The goal is to strike often and hard, but each blow will not be as powerful as those thrown during a power training round. A speed training round is essentially a 30-second-long flurry. Again, rest 30 seconds between rounds. Wearing heavier gloves can help develop hand speed. It should be noted that all three types of training techniques are often combined into a single overall workout session.