Change up your Heavy Bag Routine

Heavy Bags are a great tool to develop striking power and building sport specific stamina. But like all tools, proper use will enhance the benefits – and many do not know the techniques you can implement to create an effective heavy bag workout. Here is a brief overview of different techniques I use regularly.

When hitting the bag, you can train with a specific striking style. For example: power, combinations, volume or freestyle.

• Power – In this style, I will throw one strike every four seconds. This is not a cardio workout – it is strength builder. I will repeat the same strike 10 times, with each strike hitting with more speed and force. I focus on utilizing my full body power – twisting my hips, driving off my legs, rotating my fist, etc.
• Combinations – Similar to power, except now I will focus my power on a sequence of strikes. I will execute the combination explosively every four to five seconds, repeatedly it ten times as before. Each repetition should be faster than the previous one.
• Volume – The opposite of power, I will try to throw as many strikes as possible. The emphasis is on speed. Each strike is fully extended. This is definitely a cardio round.
• Freestyle – Here, you so whatever you want. So it is good to mix everything up.

Just by using styles, you will get much more our of your heavy bag workouts. You can also add some more bang for your buck by implementing additional exercises.

• Sprawls – Every so often, drop down flat to the floor and get back up a mimicking your defense to a takedown.
• Slams – If you have a throwing dummy or equivalent, you can lift it up and slam it, training your throwing ability.
• Explosive bursts – Let your hands fly and strike with bad intentions for either a set amount of strikes or time.
• Abominals, shoulders, neck exercises – During your bag routine, for 15 seconds do a quick set of crunches, shrugs, or neck rolls and jump back onto the bag.

These are just a few ways of making your heavy bag routine more challenging and beneficial. Give it a try in your next workout!