As I mentioned in my training thread I like to dabble in boxing training for fitness, but no more. I am fond of the speed bag and ball, pad work drills etc (besides the punch bag) The heaviest bag I can get my hands on is 150lbs and it is in a boxing club. I usually have to put up with a lighter bag though, but I take advantage of working on footwork since even with crisp punches a 70lb bag is going to fly like... [insert clever simile] at my weight. What is the heaviest bag that you boxers use? And aside from the weight of the thing, I notice that some have a much larger surface area (than the average bag) whilst some are tall and slim and others are small in surface area but dense. For somebody who knows the finer points of boxing training, feel free to educate me on bag types. I may invest in one or two.
You could get one of those heavy bag/double end bag things. they're pretty handy and dont swing around.
Any specific benefits? For now I am just using a big guy to hold the bag, but I suppose I enjoy the awkwardness when I hit it alone.
Well it doesn't swing around so you wouldnt need a big guy. and yeah i guess it would depend on what your planning on working on. if you wanna build power and such you should probably get one of these so you can really dig into it without moving around. but if our working on putting your punches together and footwork a lighter bag might even make it more rewarding because it would be a lot more challenging controlling the distance when its swinging around, almost like a real opponent.
Yeah, I'm probably fine with it. The main function of the bag for me is just to get my heart rate up to a good level as I am not running at the moment. CV machines are OK but I prefer interval training that has some intensity.
the bag in my opinion is a great conditioning tool, you dont need to work on your skills so just buy a 80 - 100 lb bag and set yourself a time and just go nuts on it. [yt]0YFfy9lXFGE[/yt] [url]http://www.rossboxing.com/thegym/thegym24.htm[/url]
If you're using the heavier bag you shouldn't have a problem because it won't swing as much. Since you can't hit the lighter bags without sending them flying, you should use that chance to practice your footwork as you mentioned. I don't mean any simple footwork, practice moving in and out, pivoting while it's swinging the other direction, moving with the bag while maintaining your range. When you get better you'll realize you can use the bag for defense, side-stepping, etc. The bag is also great for finding your range, you'll learn when the bag is swinging when you can hit it with your arms fully extended and when you might have to take a step in or to the side. Now just punching a bag hard might not be the best idea when it's too light for you. Punching the bag without any power doesn't make you any less of a man; punch for endurance, technique or speed.
:good I try to do all of these things. I am starting to think that the lighter bag may serve me rather well.
It definately will, be patient and you'll be looking like a pro on the heavy bag soon enough. I used to just stand and punch before, but then again the bag can't hit back so hitting it hard is w/e. It turned out to be a bad idea when I realized how good my punches were but how weak my footwork/upper body movement/instinct to move after punching was. If you wanna punch the light bag with power, throw 3 or 4 punch combinations, only your last punch should move the bag even if it's really light. Right after you throw the combination, move as quickly as you can using proper footwork towards the bag and dish out another combination. Do that for the whole round, should help with chasing opponents around the ring (left hook to body off the double jab!!).
