How to Get a Good Workout With a Punching Bag

If you’re looking for an effective workout combining strength and muscle building with cardio, try a punching bag workout. Punching bag workouts became popular in the 1970’s. Hitting a punching bag was considered a great way to both get a workout and to let out frustrations. Get your heart pumping, get toned and improve your overall health by starting a punching bag workout.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Warm up your muscles before starting a punching bag workout. Stretch and bend your joints. Do jumping jacks or jump rope for about five minutes. You should work up a light sweat during a warm up routine; any more than that, you're working too hard.

2. Wrap your hands or wear boxing gloves to protect your knuckles while hitting the bag. Start by hitting the bag lightly and work up to throwing more powerful punches.

3. Use your feet. Keeping your feet moving, bouncing on your toes and moving side to side helps keep your heart rate up and build up endurance and stamina.

4. Incorporate some kickboxing into your punching bag workout. Kicking the bag will help develop your leg muscles in the same way punching will build your upper body.

5. Throw combination punches and kicks. Mix it up. Alternate hands and feet, use short and long jabs, hooks and crosses, adjust your distance from the bag, anything to vary the workout.

6. Cool down for five minutes by doing simple stretches and circling the arms by rotating them at the shoulder.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a punching bag workout a few days a week between sessions of sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups and running or jogging for a well-rounded workout program.
• Put as much power as you can into every punch. Tighten your abs and use as much force as you can by using your legs, back and shoulders every time you hit the bag.
• Start a punching bag workout slowly, and gradually build up your speed, endurance and power of your punches and kicks.
• Make contact with the bag as it is swinging back to you between punches or kicks. Don't wait for it to stop moving to hit it again.
• Do not start a strenuous exercise program such as a punching bag workout before checking with your physician.
• Do not hit the punching bag with your bare fists to avoid cuts and scrapes to your knuckles, as the surface of a punching bag can be rough.

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