UNLEASH YOUR CARDIO: 5 HEAVY BAG DRILLS FOR MUAY THAI

When it comes to building cardio for Muay Thai, heavy bag workouts are a game-changer. They not only help improve your power and technique, but they also push your cardio limits, making you fight-ready.

Whether you're training for a fight or just want to get into killer shape, these heavy bag workouts will get your heart pumping and your skills sharper. Below are five heavy bag routines designed specifically to boost your Muay Thai cardio.

1. 3-Minute Rounds of Non-Stop Combos

Start with the classic Muay Thai approach: 3-minute rounds. This workout is great for simulating fight conditions and improving cardio while refining your technique.

Instructions:

• Set a timer for 3 minutes, with 1-minute rest in between rounds.
• Alternate between fast-paced punch combinations and powerful kicks.
• Example combo: Jab + Cross + Hook + Low Kick. Throw this combo continuously for 30 seconds, then switch to Teep + Roundhouse for 30 seconds.
• ...

HEAVY BAG WORKOUT FOR POWER & COORDINATION 

By Andrew Bryan

< Note: We have previously discussed heavy bag drills that will build up your balance. This is an expansion of what we talked about last time, so I strongly recommend you read it here before going forward. >

Today we’re going to be looking at heavy bag drills for techniques that will not only improve your balance but also improve your co-ordination on unorthodox combinations.

We’re going to be specifically looking at building punches off of kicks. Conventional wisdom is to lead with a punch (the easier technique to see coming) in order to set up a kick. This is a completely valid way to fight, and it’s not wrong at all to emphasize this in your training. What is often overlooked, however, is doing the inverse.

Throwing a kick, at half power, to follow through with a powerful punch is an underutilized and formidable approach to fighting that has given some of the best kickboxers in...

LOOK NO FURTHER FOR HEAVY BAG TIPS & PHILOSOPHY

By Matt Filart

This quarantine sucks for just about everybody, and us nak muays have the struggle of needing to get out training fix on top of that.

We’ve talked a lot recently about buying your heavy bag and on workouts to do once you get one or if you already have one. These are great to tide you over until gyms start to open up, but with every passing day, it seems like we are going to be waiting a while. This means that if you have your heavy bag or are going to get one, you two are going to get pretty acquainted.

But maybe you want to do more than just work out! Maybe you are a newcomer to Muay Thai and don’t know how to train on the heavy bag by yourself.

Well, don’t worry you’ve come to the right article. We’re going to go over some tips and ideas to help you get the most out of your heavy bag workout.

How To Train On A Muay Thai Heavy Bag

#1: Pace Yourself

It’s easy to see a...

3 HEAVY BAG OR SHADOWBOXING DRILLS TO BE MORE BALANCED

By Andrew Bryan

Balance is crucial in any sport. Muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, any sport that requires you to spend a significant amount of time standing on one leg -- these are no exceptions to the rule.

Today we’re going to be looking at how specifically to use the heavy bag to train and improve one's balance, along with modifications for when you don’t have access to your own bag.

Let's dig in. 

DRILL #1: Lomachenko Wide Stance Drill

The first and indeed most simple of these exercises is routinely performed by the greatest living boxer, Vasyl Lomachenko. Rather than hitting the bag in your normal fighting stance, instead stand with your feet an unreasonable distance apart -- at least twice shoulder length.

From this stance, we hit the boxing bag with all our usual arsenal (save for kicks and knees). We jab, hook and pivot around the bag like normal, and we try to use as much footwork as we would...

STORE-BOUGHT OR HOME-MADE, HERE'S HOW TO HANG YOUR BAG

By Randy Pilares

You’ve finally bought or made a heavy bag for your home workouts. Your excitement is through the roof! 

You can now train Muay Thai at home any time you want to.

Hone the basics...

Perfect your favorite combinations... 

Drill Muay Thai until you drop....

The mere presence of the heavy bag will seriously upgrade your Muay Thai training at home!

You got one slight issue before you can start enjoying all of that, though. You will need to hang the heavy bag first, and it is not as simple as it first seems.

Before you hang that beast up, there are a few things to consider:

Location, Location, Location

Once you have your heavy bag, the first thing you need to do is to find the perfect location for it. 

The location needs to be just right. A lot of things could go wrong if you happen to select the wrong spot to hang your heavy bag.

It needs to be an area that offers plenty of space...

CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO SPICE IT UP ON THE HEAVY BAG

By Matt Filart

With gyms across the world closed due to COVID-19, us nak muays need to be a bit creative and figure out how to make killer heavy bag workouts make sense at home.

A lot of us, including myself, having been looking into purchasing our own heavy bags. If you have or are going to have your own heavy bag, you might not know where to start - do you just hit it, or go a few rounds on it, or can you do more?

If you need some workouts to do own your own heavy bag, don’t worry - we've got you covered with workouts and drills you can get started with.

If you don’t have a bag and are in the market for one, check out reliable heavy bag vendors, especially ones recommended by your favorite Muay Thai Guy!

With that being said, let’s cover 4 different workouts that you can do solo on a heavy bag! These workouts will help you hone your technique, conditioning and mental strength so you can push through 'em!

...

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 BEGINNER'S EXPERIENCE: 3 COMMON DISCOMFORTS

By Sean Fagan

Starting from square one is always a hard thing to do.

It can also become downright discouraging when the first couple of Muay Thai sessions are impeded by physical discomforts that seem to reoccur every time.

Just know that this is a common experience and there are others who have worked through the same thing.

So before we start unflinchingly kicking down banana trees, here are the three common discomforts that beginners experience and how to help reduce the chances of them occurring:

 #1: Muscle Cramps

Muay Thai is extremely dynamic and involves different muscle groups that are not commonly activated during daily routine, especially not for a beginner with a regular nine-to-five.

After all, nobody goes around doing 25-50 left and right leg kicks in public for fun on a daily basis.

Add high intensity training into the mix and the chance of cramps skyrocket.

That sharp pain in the sides…...

TRY THIS HEAVY BAG DRILL TO PRACTICE GOOD CHIN DEFENSE

By Sean Fagan

This was one of the first heavy bag drills I did when I started boxing when I was younger. I learned really quick that I need to keep my chin tucked, especially if I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose any money! You’ll get what I mean once you watch the video of this type of Muay Thai heavy bag drill:

Chin Tucked Heavy Bag Drill

See what I mean? There’s much more on the line now when you hit the heavy bag if you are holding money underneath your chin.

Of course, although using money as the tool for this drill can be highly motivated, if you’re a broke joke like myself and can’t afford to put some bills underneath your chin, you can also use a tennis ball or rubber ball of some sort.

THE BEST MUAY THAI WORKOUTS, COMBOS & DRILLS FOR THE HEAVY BAG

By Sean Fagan

Doing intense, focused heavy bag workouts for Muay Thai is easily one of the most overlooked and under utilized aspects of training.

If used properly, the heavy bag is a super effective piece of training equipment for improving your cardio, power, speed, technique, focus, and movement.

All Muay Thai fighters should incorporate heavy bag training into their overall strength and conditioning workouts on a regular basis in order to improve overall fitness as well as striking skills.

Routinely using the heavy bag is something that I find most fighters don’t do enough of. And for the fighters that do use the heavy bag, they are usually making these common mistakes and end up not using it to it’s fullest potential and getting maximum results.

These are 5 of the most common mistakes that most Muay Thai fighters make while hitting the heavy bag. Fortunately there are ways to fix and...