BOXING FITNESS NEWSLETTER

The Heavy Bag

Directing the punches to the heavy bag can be a great release of tension and builds punching power and strength.

The bag that meets your needs will depend on your experience, weight, height and punching strength. A 70-pound hanging bag is a good starting size for the average person.

The Balazs freestanding heavy bag holder not only supports the heavy bag(s), but also has the platform for the speed bag and a location for a double-end-striking bag. The UBS4 (Universal Boxing Stand) is strong and very versatile lending itself to effective and creative workouts. It is easily put together and has a variety of configurations to best suit different locations and individual needs.

Hitting the heavy bag

The best part of working out on the heavy bag is that it can be a different workout each and every time, with an endless number of punch combinations being executed. It is creative, fun and a great way to release tension and stress, giving you the feeling of accomplishment and competence. Use your imagination, making up combinations, slipping, circling the bag and the result will be punches with speed and power.

Always wrap your hands and put on your bag gloves. The gloves should feel comfortable and your hands should fit deep into them. When the glove makes contact with the bag, the fist should be tight, the wrist straight, and the front of the glove touching the bag. Find your 'reach', (or the punching distance that you should be away from the bag), for a straight punch, by positioning yourself with a fully extended arm at the moment of contact. Hooks and uppercuts require that you stand closer to the bag in order to make contact and hit to one side.

For the straight punches try to hit in the centre of the bag. This will help prevent it from spinning. The punch should snap out, hit the center of the bag and then pulled back and recovered immediately. Do not leave your glove on the bag, but return it back to the 'on-guard' position.

Practice each of the punches until they are mechanically correct and then add more speed and power. Work the bag like you are in the ring, moving around and incorporating the movement of the bag back and forth into your workout. Never stand flat-footed, but stay on the balls of the feet, ready for movement. To add some power to the jab, tighten the abdominal (core muscles) and twist the body as the punch is being delivered.

Develop an action plan for working the bag and have a mental image of your combinations. Experience the workout. It is not a competition to see who can throw the most number of punches, but a finely

orchestrated plan of what punches to throw, how and when to throw them.

Basics

The following few steps will assist you in starting to train on the bag. Once you master the basics, move around the bag, attack and retreat, develop and perfect your own combinations.

Step 1

Take your boxing stance in front of the bag, always returning to it throughout your workout.

Step 2

Determine your reach or your punching distance. Execute a jab. As the arm is extended the glove should be in tight contact with the bag. Repeat a few times to become comfortable with the feel.

Step 3

Focus and hit in the center of the bag. Watch as the bag moves away and hit it directly and quickly as it returns to you. Mix up the straight punches, a few jabs and then a straight right.

Step 4

Next, add movement and more power. Step into the punches and step out. The glove hand moves forward as the front foot moves forward. The glove returns back to the shoulder as the back foot returns back. Mix up your punching combinations.

As with any new activity, learn the technique and build up your stamina to be able to continue the activity. Remembering that you are working towards three-minute rounds, you will have to learn to pace your workouts and mix up punches and foot movement.

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