How to Hit a Boxing Heavy Bag

Boxing is not a simple game. To the outsider, it may look like two individuals who are trying to obliterate each other with their fists, but it truly is an athletic contest based on speed, timing, coordination and power. Learning how to hit the heavy bag correctly will help a boxer learn how to punch with power.

Use your entire body when hitting the heavy bag. This becomes obvious to anyone who tries to hit a bag with just his arms and his fists. It is far too heavy not to use your whole body when delivering the blow. You must align your arms, legs, torso and shoulders when hitting a heavy bag or the result will be sore or sprained wrists.

Work on your combinations on the heavy bag. You need timing in the boxing ring and you need timing to hit the heavy bag. Your momentum and body weight must be going forward as you deliver the blow, especially if you want to deliver it with power. The first combination should be left jab, left jab, right cross. This is how boxers can dictate tempo in a boxing match. The first two jabs set your opponent back on his heels and the right cross is a stunning blow that may send him to the canvas.

Draw targets on your heavy bag. If you are a middleweight fighter and your average opponent is six feet tall, draw the outline of a boxer who matches that height. You want to work on accuracy. If you are trying to dig a left hook into the rib cage, you want to make sure you are accurate with the punch. The same goes with a left hook or right cross to the head. Drawing a body outline on the bag will help.

Push yourself to complete your workout. The heavy bag is a draining piece of equipment that will push your muscles to the limit. It's not enough to work on it for 30 seconds or a minute. The boxer needs to work on it for three minutes at a time, which is the equivalent of a boxing round. Hit the bag for three minutes, take a one-minute break and then hit it for another three minutes. Do four rounds on the heavy bag every time you work out in the gym.

Ice your hands after every heavy bag session. The process of punching has an impact on your hands and knuckles. The process of punching will tax your hands and bruise them. The best way to prevent swelling and keeping your hands functioning at top efficiency is to dip them in ice for at least two minutes after a heavy bag session.