How to Punch a Punching Bag

Hitting a water core bag

Punching a punching bag takes great endurance, skill and coordination. If you are not in good aerobic condition before training regularly on the bag, then you will be soon after. When you punch the bag, the idea is to keep the body limber until your point of impact. Think of yourself like a snake coiled up in the grass and ready to strike on a would-be victim. With the use of some upper body agility and fancy footwork, you can be punching the bag like a seasoned veteran.

Things You'll Need

• Speed Bag Heavy Bag Water Core Bag

Instructions

1. Protect your hands. It is very important to wear gloves when you work out on any punching bag. Otherwise, you can really damage your knuckles and the skin on them. Use gloves that offer comfort and good shock absorption.

2. Hitting the speed bag is used for just that--increasing punching speed. The key thing to do here is get a good rhythm going. Start out slow and then gradually work up to a fast pace. There are a few different cadences you can do. Some of these include two punches in a row per hand, alternating punches. You can also do multiple punches for one hand, then multiple punches for the other hand.

3. Hit the heavy bag. This is the full-size bag that is primarily associated with increasing punching power. To punch this bag, you want to stay strong in the core and you want to twist your hips to really generate power behind your punches. Be in a slightly bent forward position and hit the bag with an array of punches. Work the whole bag from eye level down to the midsection. Envision the bag is an actual opponent and you are aiming for the head with rights, lefts, jab and hooks, then do the same for the lower part of the bag.

4. The water core bag is about the same size as a heavy bag. The big difference is it is filled with a water core cylinder that is surrounded by padding. Being that it is lighter, this bag is more designed for moderate punching power. But that's not to say that it can't be used just like the heavy bag.

5. For all the bags, vary your punches. For the heavy bag and water core bag, do different punching patterns with different tempos. For example, do an array of combinations. Do a left right left left, right left right right, and then progress to multiple lefts and multiple rights. You can also do a barrage of left and right punches in a row for a desired amount or time. This is called a punch-out interval.

6. Bob and weave. When you are working the bag, bob and weave your body by throwing in a duck and a sway while punching. When you are bobbing and weaving, stay light on your feet. Bounce up and down and be ready to change foot positions quickly to get good alignment with your target. Then when you are doing hard shots, such as that with the heavy bag, plant your feet, twist your hips and get a great amount of velocity behind your punches.

Tips & Warnings

• When hitting the speed bag, hit it right at the widest point of the bag to get a smooth kickback. There are different types of gloves for the speed bag and the body bag. For the speed bag, use light, vinyl or leather gloves. Use padded gloves for heavy bag work.