Morning Hits

Besides my membership at 10th Planet, I have a membership at a gym. Fortunately, they offer some boxing and kickboxing classes there. I don’t take those at the gym, but they have the equipment.

Maybe it’s the guy in me or the testosterone still pumping through my body, but there is something very relaxing and enjoyable about punching things. LOL.

This piece of equipment is great for practicing various combos and for just venting. I like hitting the heavy bag as well, but I have found myself enjoying this even more. No, the targets don’t move, but it is very easy to work up new combos.

I generally start off slow, repeating the same action over and over and then work on getting faster and hitting harder. You can see the springs in the picture. These allow the target to flex or react slightly after it is hit.

As an added bonus, the targets are adjustable. Since I am 6’3″, I practice a lot on targets that have a would-be head height around 5’10” to 6-foot. This one shown was actually a bit taller. If I had to guess, this guy would have been about 6’4″ or 6’5″.

Cardio

If you’ve never worked on a heavy bag or on targets like these, you’d be amazed at what a cardio workout it can be. When you’re throwing all you have into it, using your hips, legs and upper body as you should, you can start to feel the cardio after just a few minutes.

I usually strike for 15-25 minutes. I think I’d like to get to where I can strike non-stop for about an hour. I don’t know. I may be pushing it. I need to watch some more videos and read more about fight training workouts. No, I don’t plan on competing in an MMA matches . . . not unless they create a GUFC… Geriatric UFC. haha. The good thing about a GUFC would be mouth guards wouldn’t be needed. Everyone would just spit out their dentures before the fight.

In all seriousness, if you’re looking for a change in your cardio workout and you haven’t used a heavy bag, try it.

Warning

I would like to add a warning to my suggestion people hit a heavy bag. If you don’t know how to throw proper punches, go light. It’s very easy to mess up your wrists and hands. Even professional fighters get boxer breaks and such. Probably more likely than a boxer break is a sprained or sore wrist.

A boxer break happens usually by leading or striking with your pinky knuckle instead of your first two knuckles.

On a heavy bag or target, when throwing body blows and hooks, it’s very important to keep your hand, wrist, and elbow in a straight line.

If you haven’t watched FightTIPS on youtube, you’re missing out. Shane has some great videos and information. If you are interested in learning MMA or basic fight science, I highly recommend subscribing to his channel. The man is a very deep well of information.