Beginner’s Guide to the Heavy Bag

NEW TO THE BAG? WE'VE GOT 20 BEGINNER-FRIENDLY HEAVY BAG COMBOS!

By Evan Lee

The heavy bag is one of the most valuable pieces of training equipment you can have if you’re training alone, if not the most valuable. But only if you use it properly, so let’s go over a few rules and key principles. 

The heavy bag is not to be treated as a punching bag. If you simply start blasting the heavy bag, you will not get much out of it at all. You may get some conditioning done. However, why just get conditioning when you can get more? 

The heavy bag can be treated as you would a sparring partner. If we can shadowbox like we have an actual opponent in front of us, why can’t we do the same for the heavy bag? 

If you’ve seen videos of boxers, kickboxers, nak muays, etc. working the heavy bag, you will no doubt notice that they move around the heavy bag a lot. They don’t just simply beat on the bag. They work combinations, evade, circle around, and do all the things you would do if you were in a fight. You will see this particularly with boxers. They work head movement, they work pivots, they use the swing of the back, etc. 

The heavy bag is also a test for the stability of your techniques. It tests whether or not you’re balanced when you create impact. It’s one thing to throw balanced kicks when you’re shadowboxing, but when you’re being pushed against by a heavy bag your balance and specifically how you react to impact is put to the test. 

And if you want a comprehensive test of how strong your balance is, you need a lot of drills. And we have that for you!

20 Muay Thai Heavy Bag Combinations for Beginners

 The Incredible, Useful, Reliable, Never-Tired Heavy Bag!

The best thing about the heavy bag is that it does not get tired and will always be there for you. Drills make skills, and you can do unlimited drills on a heavy bag. You can take the time to work out all the tiny little details of particular techniques and commit them to muscle memory on the heavy bag.

Want to do 10 billion roundhouses? Go ahead. Want to do 10 billion teeps? No problem. 

Once balance and technique is tested and built, we can finally get to conditioning. As I’ve said, the bag does not get tired, which is what makes it perfect for conditioning. Plus, you can also change things up immediately as necessary. Feel like going light for a bit and then switching to heavy shots? You can do that. And it’s just damn fun to hit the heavy bag.  

At the end of the day, if something is not fun to do, you will not want to do it and you may not even do it at all. The heavy bag is a fun piece of equipment, it builds your technical skill, it tests your balance, and it improves your conditioning. What more could you want? 

10 Minute Heavy Bag Workout For Muay Thai