Are you aiming to get the physique of a boxer? Then you should consider including heavy-bag workouts in your exercise regimen!
Heavy-bag workouts, also known as punching bag workouts, are popular physical exercises. It is an exercise routine that’s religiously followed by almost all boxers and fitness enthusiasts worldwide.
These workouts effectively improve upper body strength while boosting your stamina and endurance. But before you start punching away, you must keep certain aspects in mind.
Like most physical exercises, there are specific guidelines and tips you need to follow for the best punching bag workout so that you don’t injure yourself. This article provides you with an essential guide to heavy-bag exercises.
So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into it!
Heavy-Bag Workouts For Beginners
If we begin from the basics, you first need to know what a heavy-bag workout is. In this regime, you must punch a heavy bag repeatedly to exercise your arms and upper body.
The bag weighs around 50 to 150 pounds, is circular or cylindrical, and provides significant resistance when you punch it. That’s how it helps strengthen the core muscles of your arms, shoulder, chest, and back.
As a beginner, you may need to follow a lighter training regimen than HIIT or endurance workouts. However, once you progress, you may switch to either of the above based on your preferences.
You will need to work out for 20 to 30 minutes initially. You can practice the different boxing punches in this stage: jab, cross, hooks, and uppercuts. Following the routine below in the initial stages will help build your strength and stamina. It can also help reduce weight without health implications.
1. Warmup
In this phase, you can warm yourself up by doing light exercises. Typically, 5 – 10 minutes of jumping rope, 20 – 30 squats, pushups and crunches, and 5 – 10 minutes of jumping jacks are great.
2. Punching Rounds
Once you have warmed up, it’s time to get to the main exercise. As a beginner, you should try 3-minute rounds of punching the heavy bag using jabs, crosses, hooks and uppercuts.
Repeat each three-minute round at least four times, taking a 30-second gap between each. Make sure to cycle through each of the basic punches and keep moving around the heavy bag to keep your balance.
3. Cooldown
After completing four rounds, it is time for the cooldown exercises. Alternate between different stretching exercises for 3 to 5 minutes.
Heavy-Bag Workout For Endurance
Once you have become seasoned enough, you can choose between HIIT and endurance heavy bag workout routines. While the endurance workout helps improve your overall stamina and endurance, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) enhances top body’s strength. In the case of the Endurance workout, the basic framework is the same as the one for beginners, but the time intervals are longer.
1. Warmup
Endurance warmup typically involves around 10 minutes of jumping rope and jumping jacks, or 40 – 50 squats, pushups and crunches.
2. Punching Rounds
Instead of the usual four rounds in beginner workouts, you should go for at least 6 to 8 rounds in endurance.
Each round should be at least 4 to 5 minutes long, where you need to cycle between the different punches.
The interval between each round should be around 1 minute. Also, keep moving around the heavy bag to maintain your footing.
3. Cooldown
For the cooldown, perform different stretching exercises for 3 to 5 minutes.
HIIT Heavy-Bag Workout
Since the primary focus of HIIT is to build upper body strength, the intervals between different rounds are lower, while the punching rounds are more intense. This is the primary difference between endurance and HIIT punching bag workout routines. Apart from that, the fundamental framework is the same.
1. Warmup
Warm yourself up by performing 5 to 10 minutes of jumping rope or jacks. You can also do 30 – 40 squats, crunches, and pushups.
2. Punching Rounds
The punching rounds for the HIIT should include around 2 to 3 minutes of rigorous punching. The frequency and speed of punches should be higher to increase the exercise intensity. Cycle between all different punches, and you may include power punches and kicks with greater force to exercise the legs and waist.
Simultaneously, keep moving around the heavy bag to maintain balance. Repeat this process for 6 to 8 rounds, taking 30-second intervals between each round.
3. Cooldown
Perform cooldown exercises for around 4 to 6 minutes. Alternate between different stretching exercises to steady yourself.
Benefits Of Heavy-Bag Workouts
As you can see, a heavy-bag workout, in essence, is an entire body exercise. Although you focus on building upper body strength, you need to pay attention to your lower body stability and hand-eye coordination, among other things.
Exercises like boxing have many benefits, some of which we have listed below:
- Enhance core muscle strength
- Improve hand-eye coordination
- Improve footwork and stability
- Enhance stamina and endurance
- Lose excess fat and body weight
- Develop self-defence capabilities
- Enhance body image, confidence, and self-esteem
Time To Start Working Out: Heavy-Bag Style!
And that was our brief guide about the essentials of a punching bag workout routines. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned fitness enthusiast, we have provided guidelines for both scenarios.
A punching bag workout is an excellent exercise to improve your physique and stay in shape. Besides improving your strength and stamina, you can also learn some great self-defence boxing technique to get you out of sticky situations. It also provides an excellent post-pregnancy workout regime to help shed those extra pounds.
Check out MMA Factory’s online store for a large selection of punching bags for your next workout. And, if you need any assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our team!
Stay safe and healthy, folks!
