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I receive a lot of email asking about heavy bag training. Many of my web site visitors arrive at the site by searching the term “heavy bag” in the search engines. I can only guess that many of you use or are considering heavy bag training as part of your conditioning and self-defense program. This article was initiated by an email asking a heavy bag question. I hope you can benefit from our discussion. Let me know what you think...Here's what the email said:

“I just read your article on heavy bag training. I've begun using the heavy bag for a good cardio/cross training workout. After training, my hands are often fatigued and slightly bruised. I believe my technique is O.K. but perhaps I'm hitting the bag harder than necessary. I wear wraps and decent bag gloves. I've been searching the Internet for an article on this very issue for some time and couldn't find an answer. I'm sure others have the same problem. Any Advice?”.... Derek R.

Pounding on a heavy bag can be an excellent form of exercises. If done right, it's an excellent way to build your stamina, tone your muscles, improve bone density and develop self-defense related qualities. If done wrong however, heavy bag training can produce negative results and lead to injuries. The problem of sore hands and joint pain is common, especially if you are new to bag work.

Bag work stresses the body.

Like other forms of exercises, bag work “stresses” your body. Improvement comes from alternating periods of stress and recovery. Stress the body, let it recover and adapt, then stress it again That's what “training” is. Over time you increase the intensity and/or duration of your training sessions as your body becomes stronger and more resilient.

Muscles adapt faster than connective tissue

It's important to know that muscles adapt faster than the connective tissues (tendons & ligaments) that hold you together. When you begin heavybag training, your hitting power can quickly surpass the resilience of connective tissue. The result can be soreness and connective tissue injury… That's not good!

The myth of no pain, no gain?

If you are into training for the long haul (you should be) you need to acknowledge your limitations and avoid over- training and activities that can lead to injuries. Learn to listen to your body and respect the feedback that it gives you.

Training with the pain of lactic acid build up (the burning feeling of a muscle that is being worked) or through the discomfort of exhausting blitz work is fine. However training through intense pain, joint soreness or bruising can only lead to chronic problems. Taking care of your body and avoiding injury should be your number one priority when designing your training program. After all, self- defense IS about “protecting” your body, isn't it?

Here are a few pointers to consider when training on a heavy bag.

*** Don't KILL the bag! ***

The single biggest mistake made when doing heavy bag work is to try to “kill” the bag. Trying to hit the bag too hard over-stresses the body and destroys the mechanics of the skills you are trying to develop. In addition to increasing the potential for injury, your strikes and kicks become slow, sloppy and off balanced.

*** Do it right, Keep it Tight! ***

Focus on staying relaxed, hitting with perfect biomechanics, and hitting fast. Striking power is a byproduct of speed and technique. Keep in mind that the heavy bag is a big inanimate object. It doesn't hit back. Always work on strikes and kicks that start from and return to a solid, well protected body position. Sloppy bag work results in bad habits and the development of strikes and kicks that you'll never land in a sparring match or street fight.

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*** Hit Don't Push ***

There's a big difference between hitting and pushing. If you try to over penetrate the bag when you hit it, you won't be able to generate knockout power. Many people are told to punch “through” the target when they are learning to punch. If this advice is misunderstood, it can sabotage your punching power.

You should make impact with the bag as your arm nears full extension. You should penetrate a couple of inches beyond the “surface” of the bag for optimal energy transfer. Consider that your fist accelerates from the time you initiate a punch and continues to do so until it reaches full extension. The closer to full extension you are when you land your punch the more speed, and therefore striking power you will be able to generate.

Listen to the bag for feedback about whether your hitting or pushing. If you are getting a good clean hit, you will hear a nice “crack” as opposed to a dull thud when you hit the bag. The bag should not swing much if you are hitting properly.

*** Lighten Up ***

Supplement your heavy bag training with focus mitts and Thai pads. Focus mitts are flat, padded “gloves” that boxing trainers use to develop punching speed and precision. Thai pads are larger pads that are held along the trainer's forearms to work on both strikes and kicks. The advantage of this equipment is that there is less resistance on impact and therefore less strain on the body from striking them. They also allow a wide variety of training drills that will develop timing, distance, movement and accuracy. Of course the “downside” is that you will need a partner to hold them for you.

*** Take a Break ***

If you lifted weights every day, doing the same exercises for the same muscles, you'd quickly become over-trained and potentially injured. Impact work (hitting things) is no different. If you do too much, too often without taking adequate time off in between workouts your body cannot recover and adapt. I suggest you keep your heavy bag workouts to a couple per week; three at the most.

*** Try Boxing Gloves ***

When I train people who are new to heavy bag work, I encourage them to use boxing gloves instead of bag gloves. The extra padding acts as a better shock absorber that reduces the impact energy on the knuckles and reduces strain on the wrists, elbows and shoulders. A quality pair of 12 to 14 ounce boxing gloves should do the trick.

*** To Wrap or Not To Wrap ***

Hand wraps are cotton strips that are used by boxers to bind and support their hands during punching practice. I don't wrap my hands when I do heavy bag work. (although, I've been hitting for 30 years). When I use hand wraps, I feel a lot more direct impact on my knuckles. I guess there is less “give” to the hands and the energy doesn't dissipate on impact as effectively.
I can't tell you whether or not you should be wrapping your hands. Try hitting the bag with and without hand wraps and use your own judgment as to what feels better.

Key Points to Avoiding Heavy Bag Training Injuries:

* Don't "Kill" the bag

* Do it right, keep it tight - don't get sloppy

* Hit don't push the bag

* Lighten up with focus mitts and Thai pad training

* Consider using boxing gloves instead of bag gloves

* Experiment with hand wraps

There you have it… my opinion on bag work and injury reduction. If your hands or joints are sore from doing bag work, I suggest you give them a few weeks off and replace your bag work with lower impact training drills. Punching and kicking in front of a mirror (shadow boxing) for example is a great cardio workout and an excellent way to assess and monitor your technique. If you use the heavy bag intelligently it can provide you with years of safe, productive training and conditioning. It's a great piece of equipment.

Take care, train smart and stay safe...