Does hitting a heavy bag build power?

hitting the heavy bag can definitely help a boxer build strength and power. hit a heavy bag for 2 or 3 rounds and then go to a smaller one. you'll notice a difference.

 

Not only power, but technique and stamina

 

Proof Please

 

both of them had a lot of Natural Muscle though

hitting the bag will help

so will weights imo

 

Yea, I find it hard to believe that Mike and George did not also lift weights...

 

yes

 

Exactly, :good

 

So a Bloke whose main interest is developing muscles in the body gives you advice (which since you bought it up, im guessing where not slated so therefore proberly right) and instead of taking on board and making something constructive like "Yes those muscles are used however correct technique is needed like a sprinter, who has powerful leg but needs the right stance" You just come back with "Hit the punch bag".

Think of it this way clone a person so there i 3, get one to just hit the bag, one to just do weights and another to do a combination, which will be stronger? The man doing both as he has stronger mucles in a more general way so when put into something specific has more power to put into a controlled movement.

 

i apologise murphy, if i had saw it was you before i posted that i would have toned it down abit, as i said in running program im a bodybuilder first .

 

Yes. It gets you used to transferring weight through your punches and getting the technique right. If you have the technique and movement, power just comes naturally.

 

Only if you hit it properly.
If not --- your just wasting your time.
Whats proper ?
Get a coach who knows.

 

Along with basic strength that you should have in your upper body to begin a boxing routine, you can develop power many ways. Olympic lifts are a good general way, medicine ball slams have a direct carry over to punches, and hitting the heavy bag is a sport specific way to increase punching power but notice that it is last developed after the basic strenght endurance with weights or body weight, and then direct exercies using medicine balls and/or resistance.

 

Valid points, but remember that weight training and body building are very different things. Increasing muscular mass does not always cross over into better sport technique. But for instance, at a certain point in a boxers beginnings, increasing the weight he can shoulder press will increase the strenght of his punch, considering he still does boxing-technical workouts. At one point, as he is more advanced, additional weight lifted in the shoulder press will not affect his punch and will possibly make it worse. This is done by trial and error and listening to your body. Every boxer's is different. But at that point, you can then use medicine balls in sport specific movements. So for volleyball players, research has shown that practicing spikes with a one pound glove on made their spikes more powerful over 6 weeks. But consider had they not developed general strenght before, they could not have reached such a high level of spike power. My point is this, boxers need very thorough strenght development. Postural muscles of the upper, lower back, abdominals, and the extremeties. Arms, legs, shoulders, forearms, etc. These all need to be strong before you can expect to develop greater power from the heavy bag.

 

And you are right, you get better at punching by punching, shooting by shooting, kicking by kicking. However, without strenght workouts, you gain in the technical abilities will stagnate, decrease, and then you can injure yourself.