# Pimp My Bag Workout



## Ryankmfdm

OK, guys, so I really hate to sound full of myself, but lately I've sorta come to the conclusion that I don't have too many friends who I feel match my intensity and focus when we get together to hit pads. Thankfully, though, the gym at my school has several heavy bags, which rarely get used, it seems. I've come to really enjoy working the bag lately, given that you can hit it as much as you want and it never gets "tired." 

However, I must admit that my routine is getting just a _little_ stale, so I was wondering if anybody had any recommended combos that are particularly fun/useful/challenging for the heavy bag. I've been training Muay Thai for several years now, and my usual workout goes something like this (where each bullet point indicates a separate round):

-10 L/R kick checks (each), L/R kicks (each, @ body height)
-10 jabs, 10 crosses, 10 L hooks, 10 R hooks, 10 jabs -> R uppercuts, 10 crosses -> L uppercuts
-10 front push kicks, 10 rear push kicks, 10 L side kicks, 10 R side kicks
-10 L side elbows, 10 R side elbows, 10 L side elbows -> 10 R side elbows, 10 L side elbows -> R uppercut elbows, 10 R side elbows -> L uppercut elbows
-100 knees from the clinch
-front push kicks -> R body knees, rear push kicks -> L body knees
-10 L hooks -> R hooks, 10 L body hooks, 10 R body hooks, 10 L body hooks -> R body hooks, 10 L hooks -> spinning backfists
-one cool-down round of just working a single technique (e.g., last time it was spinning back kicks, which I'm not entirely confident about just yet)

And that usually does it. I do every round for reps, except for the second-to-last, for which I set a timer for four minutes. I give myself no more than a minute's rest between rounds. I try to really focus on making sure everything's crisp and technically sound, with good footwork, to boot. If the bag starts swinging too much, I like to let it hit me while executing various blocks so as to keep things a little more realistic than, say, just grabbing it and setting it back to sitting still. 

Any suggestions?


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

I don't know anything about working out, but the title makes me wonder if this is some sort of male variant of vajazzling?


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## Ryankmfdm

Suggestions to that end are welcome, as well. :wink01:


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

I'd suggest a few wee sequins up the middle leading to the shaft, with glitter reaching down to the trenches at each side. Maybe mix and match the colours as well. Hope you have some luck bud.


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## Trix

That's close to what I do when I watch tv/movies/documentaries at home.

I go something like.

20 push kicks with the right leg.
20 push kicks with the left leg.

20 knees to the body with the rl.
20 knees to the body with the ll.

I keep alternating body parts until I hit 200 or more total kicks(side kicks, leg kicks, body kicks, etc) and knees with each leg.

And 200+ punches(straight, hook, overhand, etc) and elbows with each arm. 

Its not hard to get up there in reps over the course of a 1 hr game of thrones ep, or a 2 hour movie taking a few breaks.

In terms of reps & combos... I try to mix offense and defense to make them almost the same thing. And alternate different things to try and avoid being predictable.

Like say if I'm throwing a jab followed by a cross. A lot of people will try and counter after the cross. Throw in a head dip or shell up with both arms after throwing the cross so its like jab, cross, shell. Or jab, cross, dip. So that offense and defense kind of blend seamlessly.

In other cases, throwing a combo, sometimes its good to give an angle at the end where someone might counter. Working the bag it might be something like lead cross, hook, step to the left to give an angle. To avoid becoming predictable and forming habits, maybe next time you'd lead cross, hook, step to the right.

Mix in body shots, knees to the body, elbows, clinches, etc.

This isn't something I really take seriously btw, take it with a grain of salt. I just do this for fun to try and avoid being a complete couch potato.

But yeah whenever I'm watching tv or something, I always have to be doing something.


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## Spite

I had a heavy bag once.

My training routine went something like this -

Left, right x10 followed up with headbutts until I started to get a bit dizzy where I'd switch to kicking shit out of it.

Key is to go all in on it.

Session should last about 2 minutes and if you're not exhausted afterwards then you haven't been trying hard enough.

If you need to mix things up a little add elbows and knees. You could also unhook it and put it on the floor to finish off with soccer kicks and stomps.


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## Ryankmfdm

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

*Trix*, how many rounds do you generally do? Rest in between? Or do you generally not structure your bag workouts with time constraints?

*Spite*, pretty sure I recently had a concussion, so headbutts are definitely outta the question. Additionally, I can't really take the bags down, since they're at the gym. 

I guess what I was hoping for was some specific combos that are particularly well-suited for working on the bag.


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

When I was actually hitting a punchbag I either focused on techniques lightly, or cardio heavily. Since you've been training for years in a competitive sport, you're probably more well versed than I was to combine the two. I didn't want to go hard with techniques because I knew that'd be the first stage of punching like a little girl with shite technique.

You likely know a lot more than me, but maybe the reason it's getting stale is because you're so structured. I liked to just let loose and do whatever came naturally whenever I was hitting the bag.


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## Trix

Ryankmfdm said:


> Thanks for the feedback, guys.
> 
> *Trix*, how many rounds do you generally do? Rest in between? Or do you generally not structure your bag workouts with time constraints?
> 
> I guess what I was hoping for was some specific combos that are particularly well-suited for working on the bag.


I go by pulse not rounds. I'm not sure what the industry standard way of doing it is. I just try to get my heart rate up and keep it up at something like a consistent rate. If you go by rounds, there could be some rounds where you'll take a break and go light & other rounds where you'll go hard. It might not be as consistent as measuring by pulse. But like I said the silly things I do aren't meant to be serious, I just do it that way because its the only free time I have to actually do anything.


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## Ryankmfdm

ClydebankBlitz said:


> When I was actually hitting a punchbag I either focused on techniques lightly, or cardio heavily. Since you've been training for years in a competitive sport, you're probably more well versed than I was to combine the two. I didn't want to go hard with techniques because I knew that'd be the first stage of punching like a little girl with shite technique.
> 
> You likely know a lot more than me, but maybe the reason it's getting stale is because you're so structured. I liked to just let loose and do whatever came naturally whenever I was hitting the bag.


You know, I've definitely considered this before, but having someone else say it really drives the point home. The reason I tend to avoid improvisation when I'm working the bag is, well... I'm not very good at it. But I think it'd be a worthwhile skill to develop, even if it means the intensity of my next few workouts might suffer a little in the process. I'm gonna give it a go. Thanks!


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

Ryankmfdm said:


> You know, I've definitely considered this before, but having someone else say it really drives the point home. The reason I tend to avoid improvisation when I'm working the bag is, well... I'm not very good at it. But I think it'd be a worthwhile skill to develop, even if it means the intensity of my next few workouts might suffer a little in the process. I'm gonna give it a go. Thanks!


When I first did my first couple of martial arts classes, we did a very "drilled" style. So I'd be at home and say "Do 20 cross punches, do 20 round kicks" etc. and I got REALLY bored of it. After a few years, while as I said I'd be way below the level of someone training competitively, now I like to just kind of shadow spar a bit more and make it up as I go. With the punch bag I never really hit it too hard since I could develop bad technique and I have a bit to go in strength training before that would help, so I focused on a lot of light movements, footwork and just throwing frequently with whatever came. I found that whether it was because of that or a coincidental other reason, I was able to put together combos with my hands much better than people training the same style as me (could have just been simply from watching more martial arts).

I'm assuming the style you do has some huge benefits that I don't even realize. I mean I'm just saying "What I feel when I train" as opposed to having the ability to actually tell you anything. The structure just bored me a lot more, especially when I'm just at home looking to get some rounds in instead of properly drilling in a class or something.


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