Friday, May 6, 2011

Learning how to work out on the heavy bag

Lots of guys decide, at some point in their lives, that workouts shouldn't just keep them in shape, but they should be useful too.

And it's around that time that some of these guys decide to base their fitness routine around a heavybag workout. Workouts on the heavybag don't just serve as good conditioning routines, but they teach you valuable skills too. Skills like how to hit with maximum power without hurting your self.

Hitting without hurting yourself

Being able to punch without destroying your own wrist and/or hand(s) is a learned skill. Most untrained guys can't just walk up to a 100-pound punching bag and unleash fury upon it without getting hurt. So it's fair to say that if you are a complete novice to punching bag training, you should start slow -- at half power perhaps -- until you learn proper technique.

Then once your technique is acceptable, you still should keep the intensity low at first. As the weeks go by, it's OK to ramp up the intensity.

Gradually increasing intensity is important because it takes a long time for your hands and wrists to get stronger and more capable of withstanding punishment.

And don't be fooled -- what you're doing is punishing your hands. Heavybag training is controlled trauma to the bones and/or connective tissue in your hands, wrists, and forearms.

Protective gear


Protecting the fragile hands and wrists is of paramount importance. You must wrap your hands and wrists when you work out on the bag. It's not just something professional boxers or MMA guys have to do. Everyone -- no matter how good (or bad) you are at punching -- has to wrap his or her hands before every workout.

Padded gloves are a good idea too. They prevent the bruises that otherwise will crop up on your knuckles. They give you the padding you need to work out at 100%.

So if you want to start working out with the punching bag, that's great. But don't neglect the preliminaries: time, protection, and technical knowledge.