punching bag ideas
Hey Connie! Punching bags are awesome for circuit training,jacking up your intensity and also relieving stress! You definietly need a pair of boxing gloves or wraps! I have an extra pair of wraps to send you if you'd like,you need them, email me with your info to ship out! You can use "any" kickboxing video to make it more intense , tae bo has videos out Total impact-Full Contact workout you can purchase at
www.collagevideo.com item #4652
If you want to go on your own, get some great music, stopwatch,jump rope,and also you can incorporate weighted vest and ankle weights. But of course you want to master the techniques of all the punches and kicks first , then slowly layer on the intensity! Here's a couple of workouts that I personally do to give you some ideas. Try this boxer workout, it is what an amateur boxer might go through(amatuers go 3-4 rounds while pros go 10-12) You'll work in a circuit format. After a good warm up,(5-7 mins) start with 2 mins of fast freestyle jumprope(focus on footwork)take a break(30 secs to 1 min)do another 2 mins jumprope,break repeat for 3-6 rounds.(You can shadow box during breaks if you want) Now if you have a speed bag, go to it, and do the same thing, 3-6 -2 min rounds-focus on TIMING. Stay loose and relaxed as possible, Now go to the heavy bag and do the same thing. POUND this thing. SHOW NO MERCY! Work the jab until your arm is about to fall off! when you throw your straight right, put your entire body into it. Bring it straight back, and keep chin tucked. POWER! Do the same for hooks and uppercut! Throw in a blast of combining all those moves on the heavy bag for 3 rounds of 1 min(rest 30 secs to a min in between) r jab,l jab,r hook,l hook,r uppercut l uppercut,slip slip! Now shadow box with or without weights for 3-6 rounds. Stay REAL, be fast...speed and more speed. Use ALL of your skills--ALL OF THEM!! Be creative and stylistic in your fight! Now if you have a doube-end bag, do rounds with this. Bob and weave(really squat into it),bob and weave ,strike strike. Move, bob, and weave speed and more speed. Now back to the jumprope. Work those calves-shuffle,do a**kickers,run frontward and backward,crazy 8's,side to side with the rope-be creative. Finish off with pushups,planks,abs and stretching. If you have a pool go for a swim, to wind down then take along shower! If you want to work on your footwork,balance,timing,distance,concentration,coordination, agility,and even further,get a hackysack.Combine hackysack with jumprope(you'll be absolutely golden!) I use a tennis ball now instead of a hackysack. I did this years ago since all my hackysacks were getting holes in them!(I call it HACkBALL TRAINING)
Wow! There are soo many other things to do with the bag,using w/ or w/o videos! I wish I had some more time to write out programs for you!(I'm soo slow at typing) Just to add a few ideas more for you! Do interval training in between the slow and heavy series (or any other weight video w/ long rests or put the video on pause which is usually a 2 min pause) while you are at rest do a min or 2 of the following(in between sets(-of course you could do all at once or after a bodypart-it is your workout after all haha) but for your rests period try to do the following for a full min or 2 in between sets: jabs, then, hooks,then upper cuts, then do slipp slip(work the bob and weave), throw in the combo for a min of the previous, then throw in a round of back fists for a min, then do leg circuits front kicks,side kicks, round house kicks,back kicks, drill kicks(machine gun kicks) then crescent kicks, then do a combo of upper and lower example-r jab, l jab,r roundhouse,l roundhouse, or step w/left foot do a right crescent,left crescent, 2 quick right jabs then do other leg,step front right, left crescent,right crescent, 2 quick right jabs, just some examples you can do, possibilities are endless w/ combos. Also you can do rounds of punching and kicking in between bootcamp, now this CATHE's program below, I'm just putting it here to show you how great this sequence goes with boxing/kickboxing by using the following exercises of your choice!
bootcamp use boxing/kickboxing rounds in between
Cycle 1: Jacks/halfjacks/circlejacks/airborne; squats w/ barbell; rows w/ barbell; plank - side twist
Cycle 2: Sumo squats; static lunge w/ barbell; pushups; long lever crunch w/ med ball
Cycle 3: Jack/Jab/Plyo; Plie squats w/ barbell; tricep dips; reverse crunch w/ med ball
Cycle 4: Speed skater; leg press w/ med ball; bicep curls w/ barbell; plank/pushup/out
Cycle 5: Terminators (!); squat/roundhouse/calf pumps; one-arm rows w/ two 8lb db; plank/side hip raise
Cycle 6: Consecutive power kicks; front/side kicks; military press; oblique crunch
Cycle 7: knee up/kick/speedbag/airbornes; lunge (alternating front/back w/ db); lying tricep extensions (yay! we get to lie down!); planks on elbows w/ hip dips (hard!)
Cycle 8: Ice breakers; side lunge w/ med ball; hammer curls; oblique twist w/ med ball
Hope these ideas were helpful for you! Of course always be creative as possible with all of this and adapt everything for your own individualized purposes. Boxing/kickboxing is such an AWESOME SPORT! Let me know how you make out!
