How to hit a punching bag correctly? Some tips for beginners on working with a punching bag

A punching bag and a bag are the main training attributes of fighters. From the outside it seems that everything is simple: you put on special gloves, clench your hands into fists and desperately “punch” the projectile. In fact, if you want to achieve good results, you need to strike correctly. Read about this later in the article.

Warm up and strengthen the wrist

Warm-up for boxers is like a hunting hole. Those who neglect safety rules are sure to end up in the bottom - with a couple of injuries to boot. It is very important before training with a punching bag to conduct a warm-up workout for the arm muscles, shoulder girdle and legs. It is recommended to supplement it with jumping rope.

The weak point of any boxer is the wrists. Therefore, they need to be strengthened in such a way that the hands become accustomed to the load. The best way to do this is with the following exercises: push-ups, fist stands, and barbell or dumbbell curls.

Punching and kicking techniques

The punch must be: a) accurate; b) fast; c) strong. To achieve all these indicators, combine training with a punching bag and a bag. The first allows you to practice dexterity, coordination, speed and accuracy of punching. A heavy boxing bag is designed to test the strength of an athlete. It can be used to strike with both hands and feet.

When striking a punching bag, remember the following rules:

  • keep both feet firmly on the ground, do not cross them, do not jump
  • after striking, immediately return your hand to its original position, preparing to strike again
  • constantly move to the sides, as well as back and forth
  • don’t take your eyes off your “opponent” - this habit will come in handy in real fights
  • don't forget to breathe, let the air pass through your nose
  • keep your teeth clenched tightly

The most common mistakes

Most main mistake athletes is as follows: they do not hit the punching bag, but push it, holding their hand near the projectile. A professional strike should be different: fast and clear. As soon as your fist makes contact with the punching bag, return to your starting position. Your reaction must be quick, and your hands must be ready to strike the next blow.

Another mistake made by beginners is to not practice with bare hands. Boxing bandages allow you to fix the hand and protect the surface of the hands from abrasions, bruises and other injuries. However, if the blow is strong enough, you can suffer an even more serious injury than without a bandage. The best option- train with boxing gloves. They absorb shock, “harden” your hand and protect it from injury.

Of all sports, boxing requires the most physical preparation. Boxing requires a mixture of power and speed, as well as good overall physical fitness. Professional boxers work long hours to improve their skills in order to grow and be ready to face tougher opponents. If you want to learn how to box, follow these instructions.

1. Be careful

When training on this apparatus, the most the main problem is that you develop bad “visual” habits. When striking the bag, fighters often either look at the bag at one point or do not look at the projectile at all.

Too concentrated look

This intense eye contact is good for a hunter aiming at his target. In the ring, such a look seems to tell your opponent where you are going to strike. Never look down if you are about to throw a punch to the torso. Otherwise, it will be easy to defend against such a blow and counterattack. Do not look at the point of impact, especially since when you hit the body, your head is left unprotected.

When working with a bag, you just need to look forward. Imagine that the bag is your opponent and you need to keep it in your sight. Watch his head and body movements. You hit with precision, but without widening your eyes at the point of impact.

lazy eyes

This is when the fighter does not look at the bag at all. Believe it or not, some fighters cannot even answer the question: “Where are you looking when you punch?” Sometimes you come across boxers who, when delivering strong blows, look at the floor or to the side. Very often, when fatigue sets in, boxers hit blindly.

You don't want your eyes to wander. Lazy eyes make you vulnerable in the ring! Focus and look at the bag. This will give good accuracy and, more importantly, the ability to see the oncoming strike. The best way to cure lazy eyes is to put squares of tape on a bag (i.e., something to look at) or spend more time practicing with other equipment that allows you to train your visual concentration, such as a pneumatic bulb.

You need to look at the bag, but not “goggle” your eyes at it. The entire bag should be in view, not part of it. Always monitor your distance (the distance from you to the bag).

2. Keep your balance

Throw the punches in the bag, not yourself. Stand on both feet and do not fall over the bag. Maintaining balance contributes to a more powerful blow and better job legs while moving around the bag.

Don't hang yourself with a bag. Don't push him with your shoulders - this bad habit allows technical boxers to "fail" you by shifting when you fall on top of them. And under no circumstances push the bag with your head! This - The best way run into an uppercut.

3. Don't push, hit

The bag should not swing much from your blows, but should shake like a paralytic. There is an old saying: “If you want to know who hits the bag correctly, ask a blind man.” This means that it is by the sound that you can determine whether you are hitting correctly or not. You want a pop or slap from the impact, not a thud. For those who don’t know, I wrote an article a long time ago on “How to Throw a Whip.”

Pushing (not punching) will just push the bag and your arms will get tired quickly. A quick hard blow will barely move the bag. Relax your hands and throw quick, whipping punches. Invest in, but so that the time of contact of your fist with the bag is not too long. As soon as contact occurs, immediately return your hand and throw the next blow. If your hands get tired quickly, then you should not hit, but push the bag. I repeat: contact with the bag should be short-term.

4. When impacting, your feet should be on the floor.

When impact occurs, your feet should be flat on the floor. Standing on the floor means good balance, great power, an accurate strike, and the ability to quickly escape after a hit! You can move as much as you want, but when it's time to hit, put your feet on the floor! If you find it difficult to keep your feet on the floor while moving around the bag, take smaller steps. Professionals hit much harder because they do not lift their feet off the floor even when they move around the ring.

5. When you're not hitting, move your feet.

As my coach said: “Move your arms, or your legs, or your head.” If your movement is not offensive, then it is a defensive movement. Since the bag does not hit back, we do not worry about movement

with the head, however, we definitely need movement with the legs. When you finish hitting, be sure to move.

Keep distance

Always keep the right distance. Move with the bag and keep it within striking distance at all times. Don't let the bag swing too far or too close. Don't be lazy and work with your feet. Move with the bag, and don’t stand and wait for it to “fly” to you. Move away when the bag comes at you and follow it when it moves away from you. If you can't keep up with the rhythm of the bag's movement with your legs, hit lighter or choose a heavier bag... or train your legs.

6. Don't wait

This is what separates a man from a boy. Watch the professionals at work on the bag and you will see that they are constantly throwing punches. They rest for no more than 2 seconds.

Beginners always take breaks between series (combinations). After the series, they walk for 10-15 seconds, restoring their breathing. Such long periods of inactivity will kill you. In a real fight, there are no 10-second breaks to recover your breathing.

The moral of the story is: “Never stop hitting.” You don't need to hit with all your strength all the time, but you need to throw punches constantly. When you regain your breath and move around the bag, throw light punches and jabs. Once you're ready for some big hits, step up and open fire.

7. Less force, but more breath

When working with a bag, as when running, it is very important to breathe! Don't worry too much about the power of your punches. Concentrate on explosive breathing. To avoid fatigue, relax and control your breathing..

Strength and endurance have little to do with how much effort you put into throwing a punch. Professionals deliver hundreds of powerful blows only through good technique and proper breathing. Proper breathing allows you to remain relaxed and throw many punches without getting tired. Good technique allows you to deliver strong blows without wasting energy that is put into the blow.

Don't let the bag get you down. The bag works at your rhythm, i.e. in the rhythm of your strokes. Learn to save energy for more serious training (sparring or working with a suspended air bag). If working with a bag tires you, then you are not yet ready for competition.

8. Throw 3-6 hits

A series of 3-6 hits is what you need. Not 1, not 2 or 10. 3-6 hits are enough to damage the enemy and don’t take much time, so you can get away before the enemy throws a counter combination. Combine your strikes into combinations. For example, try common (1-2-1-2, 1-2-3, etc.) and uncommon (1-3-2, 3-1-2-3-3, etc.) . Fights take place in combinations, not single strikes. Hit combinations and keep the rhythm.

Hit high (to the head) and low (to the body). We often see that blows to the head are not thrown high enough. When it comes to the fight, it often turns out that due to the habit of hitting low, the fighter’s shoulders quickly get tired.

9. Active recreation

When you're tired, don't just stand there. Move! If you are going to rest, rest while moving and strike lightly. Don't hang yourself on a bag or try to dance like Mike Tyson. It’s really bad when you stand motionless, like that same bag.

10. Keep your arms up

You need to be careful not to let your strength confuse you.

You THINK you have your hands high, but the only way to test that is when you get hit. Until it's time to get in the ring, you can spend hundreds of hours beating the bag and reinforcing bad habits without ever realizing how open you are. When you jab, don't let go right hand. And never drop it when you throw a left hook. Don't just cover your head, but also tuck your elbows in to protect your torso. It's best to have a coach or friend watch your bag workouts and yell at you every time you let your hands down.


Practicing punches on a punching bag - working on a punching bag

Preparing for punch training

The amount of benefit that can be gained by working with a punching bag is enormous and undeniable, not only for maintaining physical fitness, but also for self-defense, and even as a means of relieving stress and negative emotions.

If you already have all the necessary equipment for working with a bag, practicing punches and you can’t wait to start learning techniques for practicing punches on a punching bag, you can skip the introductory instruction by clicking.

Punching gloves

To practice punching with a punching bag, you will first need boxing gloves or mixed martial arts gloves. For practicing punches on the bag, 10-12 ounce gloves are best. These gloves are not very thick and you will feel the blow better in them. It is better to immediately buy leather boxing gloves. Gloves made from genuine leather are much stronger than gloves made from synthetic leather and will last much longer, in addition to leather gloves your hands sweat much less.
Along with the gloves, immediately buy special bandages that you will wrap around your hand every time you practice strikes. Boxing elastic bandages will protect your hands from possible injuries.


You can read about how to choose boxing gloves in this article. From our partners you can also buy boxing gloves and bandages in the online store good quality and at a reasonable price.

Along with purchasing gloves, you can immediately buy a punching bag. You can buy a cheap bag or by spending a little more money, purchase a high quality leather bag. Prices usually range from 2,000 rubles for the simplest canvas bag and up to 15,000 for a leather one, High Quality punching bag. The bags can be filled with various fillers, such as: rags, crumb rubber, sawdust.

Rags and crumbled rubber for stuffing are best because they are durable and will not make the bag too hard, which can cause hand injury.

If you are going to train at home, with limited space and the inability to mount brackets for mounting a punching bag, you will be better off buying a water-filled punching bag for home, which is a implement with a wide base that is installed on the floor and filled with water. The advantages of water-filling bags are that they take up little space and can be installed almost anywhere in the apartment, without requiring any additional fastenings. Such bags perfectly imitate a potential opponent, giving the opportunity to strike from all sides.

On sale you can find modern air bags equipped with a hydropneumatic valve. Thanks to this system, you can independently regulate the weight of the bag and its rigidity by adjusting the level of liquid inside the projectile.

You can find out more about how to choose a punching bag - here in the online store of boxing equipment, you can buy a punching bag, which will be delivered to your home.

You need to mount the bag in a place that will allow you to maneuver around it freely. For greater convenience and safety, there should be a full 360 degree free zone around the bag. If you decide to exercise on your own at home, this is not always possible, because many people have to allocate only a small space in the room for their workouts. Therefore, make sure that nothing interferes with you and that you do not hit anything when striking the pear. Make sure that the floor surface is free of significant obstructions.

Training safety

Beginner athletes very often experience injuries, and one of the most common causes of hand injuries when working with a boxing bag is incorrect striking technique and poor fighting stance.

Impact surface of the fist

When striking with a fist, the striking surface of the fist should be the bones of the index and middle fingers. The knuckles should point slightly downward so that the two main knuckles are exactly in line with the ulna and radius bones of the forearm. Before you start practicing hitting the bag, be sure to warm up, warm up and stretch your muscles.

Shadow boxing is a good way to warm up. In shadowboxing, you should not just wave your arms, but imagine an imaginary opponent and strike correctly and accurately as you would in a real fight. Also, to warm up your hands and warm up your muscles, push-ups on your fists, on your fingers, push-ups with clapping will be useful, 1-2 approaches will be enough.

Practicing punches on a pear - working on a bag

When throwing a punch, you should use your full body weight, lean slightly forward during impact, and use rotation with your body. Hard work is the goal of punching bag training, not short, sharp slaps.

There are many types and techniques of strikes, but in this article we will focus on greatest attention only one. Hook - side kick is one of the most powerful punches. In most cases, it is the hook that causes a knockout when striking to the head. Your body weight also matters, but without correct technique, you will not be able to effectively deliver a powerful and hard knockout punch.

You can apply a side blow either to the body area - liver, solar plexus, or to the head - chin, temple, nose. The chin is the most vulnerable area of ​​the head, because... a blow to it will create a strong rotation - a shake of the head, cut off the supply of blood and oxygen to the brain for several seconds, as a result of which the person loses control of himself and falls. This is a knockout.

Rotation of the hips, underthrust of the back and thrust of the legs when throwing a punch are of great importance for striking. strong blow. During movement, you perform simultaneous actions with your legs and arms.


When throwing a punch, lift the heel of your back foot slightly off the floor and push with your toe as hard as possible, further and faster outside of your body, your hip should also be invested in the blow by inertia.

Make sure that your throwing arm is parallel to the floor when it hits the striking surface, and at the same time move your right shoulder forward for greater effectiveness by turning your torso. Your head should be tucked toward your chest and your shoulders should be raised as high as possible to protect your chin and head in general. Turn your chin toward your front shoulder, look from under your foreheads, exposing only your forehead. Exhale sharply from your lungs and strike the bag, then instantly return to the starting position.

Once you have mastered this exercise, begin to move around the bag, taking a step to the left or right each time you throw a punch. At the same time, constantly ensure that you maintain alignment and the specified distance between your legs. Walk on your toes and don't let your opponent get closer to you by using straight punches, such as pushes.

Bag work for beginners should consist of 60-second rounds of three or five sets. More experienced athletes can do 10 rounds, consisting of 120 seconds each. Well, seasoned fighters can perform from 10 to 15 rounds of 3 minutes.

The rest time between rounds may vary depending on your fitness level. The break time should not exceed 1 minute even if you are a beginner, because... Your heart rate can quickly become too slow, causing you to feel weak in your legs and feel dizzy. While you're resting, walk around the room and mentally prepare yourself for the next round.

Working with a punching bag is important and complex and cannot be mastered in one day. Try to practice punching on a punching bag at least three days a week.

I hope our article helped you get enough information about working and training with a punching bag. Don't forget to exercise regularly.

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We wish you success and high results!

For practicing punches, the punching bag is considered one of the most popular sports equipment. In order not to harm your arms or legs while practicing punches, you need the bag to be not very heavy (70-100 kg) and soft.

For training you will need: gloves, punching bag, paw.

1. Before training, bandage your hands or put on special gloves. Warm up by doing a warm-up, which includes jogging, somersaults, and jumping. The body should be completely warmed up. This will allow you to avoid various types of injuries during exercise.

2. Use your imagination when practicing punches, imagining in front of you not a punching bag, but a real opponent. This way you will gain a skill that can be useful to you in real combat. Hit the bag with single blows and combinations of blows, block possible attacks, and dodge them. Try to practice hitting with different angles. You are on the move all the time.

3. Master and consolidate the setting of a hard strike. Familiarize yourself with the technique of doing it first. Place your hand on the wall. Relax your muscles. Then place your other hand on the wall. During this exercise you should feel the rigidity of the structure. Then try changing the position of your legs, the depth of your squat, and the distance. When changing these parts, you should feel similar structural rigidity.

4. For the first lessons, use a pear that is of medium size and weighs 20-30 kg. Rock the bag slightly, pushing it away from you. When she returns on the reverse movement, then throw a counter blow towards her. If the pear stops or bounces back, then everything is fine. With each movement, increase the force of the push. Repeat the exercise several times, changing hands.

5. Once you have mastered the feeling of rigidity, you should move on to studying the blows. Keep your hands in the correct position. Practice strikes from different planes: from below, from above, forward, from the side; strikes with the elbow, wrist, fist, forearm, etc.

6. To learn how not to fall during a strike, you should practice a little with a partner. When practicing a blow, he must suddenly move his paw to the side. By working with a partner, you will learn to maintain balance.

Practice your punches on the punching bag!

– a leather projectile designed for practicing accuracy, sharpness and speed of direct and side punches in boxing. Hitting a pear develops arm muscles and virtuosity in work.

Types of punching bags

Heavy- the toughest type, is a large cylinder made of leather, leatherette or tarpaulin. A heavy punching bag is stuffed with sawdust and sand or rubber crumbs. Hitting a heavy bag helps you feel powerful and strong.

Average- This is a classic type of projectile, as it has a pear-shaped shape, and has been used since ancient times. Practicing punches on a medium-type bag will help you defeat your opponent with a combination to the head.

Pneumatic- the smallest type of fixed boxing equipment, filled only with air, hence the name. It also comes in two types depending on the mounting. The first is attached to the platform at one end approximately at head level. The second one is fixed on the guy wires between the ceiling and the floor. Training with a pneumatic punching bag develops accuracy, speed, sharpness of blows and speed of reaction.

Training with a punching bag. Correct practice of blows on a pear


Training with a punching bag can injure your hand. To avoid this, you need to protect and