Heavy Bag Workouts, Drills To Improve Power, Speed, and Endurance

Very rarely when picking a workout for yourself can you find something that works on speed, power, explosiveness, weight loss, and endurance all at the same time. The heavy bag is one of those rare workouts that allow you to do just that. It is an extreme workout that will test you, but also bring satisfying results that will make it worth it.

The question becomes, what is the best way to workout on the heavy bag? You can technically just put on some gloves(or not) and go gung-ho on the bag until your arms drop. Which in all honesty is not a bad idea.  However, there can also be a method to your madness, which can not only help you build more endurance, but improve your form, technique, and overall fight ability. The heavy bag is a good opportunity to increase your skill level and is best used as practice, on top of a conditioning program, rather than just conditioning.

Truth is, you probably already know the benefits, which is why you are here. So let’s not waste any more time and talk about some great heavy bag workouts and drills for Boxing and MMA.

Whether you are a pro fighter, amateur fighter, or just trying to lose some weight, you will enjoy these exercise and they WILL help you improve.

Boxing Heavy Bag Workout and MMA Heavy Bag Workout

If you are an MMA fighter you can do the boxing drills as well if you want to focus on your boxing. However, if you are a boxer you don’t have the option to throw kicks and sprawl to avoid takedowns so we will break this article down into Boxing Drills, and MMA Drills for the heavy bag.

Click Here to Jump to MMA Heavy Bag Workout!

Otherwise, let’s get started with the first up:

Boxing Heavy Bag Workout Drills

As mentioned above, you can just put on your gloves and go all out on the bag until you drop. Chances are though, you will be missing out o some great progress being made. If you want to improve your punches in just about every aspect, it helps to do specific drills focused on certain improvements. Let’s break down each drill and what it can do for you.

#1 The Power Puncher - Punching Power Heavy Bag Drill

6 rounds, 3 minutes, 1-minute rest

Aside from teaching you how to punch harder and increasing your punching power, this drill will also be great for those who need to let some frustration out. This is a drill focused on pure power.

Before you start make sure your hands are wrapped well because you will need to protect your hands from this. Also, make sure you know how to throw a proper punch.

Here is the drill:

In each round, you will focus on ONE punch per round. You do NOT want to throw punches in rapid succession, but instead in focus on delivering a single, powerful blow every time.

Each time you land a punch make sure it is harder than the last. Get yourself to maximum power, and repeatedly deliver that power to the bag.

Focus on perfect form and hard punches. You will deliver each punch as hard as you possibly can.

Here is a breakdown of each round:

• Round 1: Jab
• Round 2: Cross, straight right or straight left if you’re a southpaw.
• Round 3: Left Hook
• Round 4: Right Hook
• Round 5 Left Uppercut
• Round 6: Right Uppercut

The power drill commandments:

1. Isolate each punch
2. Perfect form each time
3. Throw as hard as you can every time
4. Avoid rapid succession  
5. Focus on rotation and movement in power punches
6. Focus on knuckle positioning, finding the angle that delivers the hardest blow

That last one is something most fighters aren’t aware of. You have to play with the angles of how your knuckle lands and you will find that “sweet spot” that delivers the hard blow.

If you do this drill for a week you will see your power dramatically increase.

There a few benefits that come with this workout:

One is it will harden your hands, tendons, joints, and create more density in your punches. Causing your punches to feel much harder. This is Wolff’s law at its finest.

Two, it will require your brain to throw as hard as you can each time out, causing you to throw to your full power potential. It will also improve the form of each punch as you get to isolate and focus on one punch per round.

Lastly, it will rewire your body and build the necessary muscles to be able to throw at full capacity. Your body will be forced to move and adapt to power.

Here is an example of Big George Foreman on the heavy bag doing this drill.

In the end is a perfect example of what you should be doing, although a little less rapid succession.

Next up, we focus on speed.

#2 The Flash - Combination Speed Heavy Bag Drill

5 rounds, 3 minutes, 1-minute breaks

This drill will help you develop the punch speed necessary to deliver fast blows to your opponent. In combat, they say the punch you don’t see is the one that knocks you out, and it’s true. The key is to put those punches together, fast.

No matter who you are, if a punch lands, you are going to blink, it’s just a human reflex. But you have to be fast enough to land the next punch before your opponent has a chance to open their eyes. That is what this drill will help with.

This drill will focus on two punch combinations. The goal is to try and make the two punches sound like one. Focus on pure speed.

Here is the drill.

• Round 1: Jab, Cross combination. Focus only on this combination.
• Round 2: Straight Right, Left Hook (reverse if southpaw)
• Round 3. Jab, Right Hook (reverse if southpaw)
• Round 4: Uppercut, opposing hook combination
• Round 5: Freestyle the combinations, same methodology.

Make sure you emphasize speed here. You have to try and get the two punches to sound like one punch. Get as close to that as possible. Every time you throw a combination, focus on making it sound like one punch. Isolate each combination and perfect it as the round goes on. Throw as FAST as you CAN each time out.

This will rewire your brain and your body to throw your combos with speed. It eliminates the natural tendency we have of throwing lazy punches that are not our full potential.

It will also build the fast-twitch muscles necessary to throw those fast combos and get you closer to blind your opponent.

# 3 The Counter-Puncher - Defense Heavy Bag Drill

5 Rounds, 3 minutes, 1-minute breaks

The counterpuncher drill will get you in the habit of automating your defense and not getting caught stiff after you throw it. It will also get you in the habit of countering after each defensive move. The goal of a fight is to make your opponent miss and make them pay, not just make them miss.

The drill will be a simple one.

It will be a defensive move, followed by a single punch or combo, followed by another defensive move.

You can do this as you feel necessary just make sure to follow the rule. Here are some examples you can follow.

1. Pull back, as if you are dodging a jab, then throw a straight right hand, followed by a left hook, duck under the opponents counter right. This is the pull counter follow up.
2. Duck right to get out of the way of the jab and follow up with a counter right. You can also do this 2x. This means duck, right hand, duck right hand.
3. Shoulder roll, right hand left hook, straight right, and roll under their left hook.

You get the point, always follow these steps for each strike attempt.

1. Defensive move: duck, dodge, parry, shoulder roll, etc.
2. Strike: 1 to 4 punch combination
3. Defensive move: duck, dodge, parry, shoulder roll, etc.

You can even throw an intercepting counter.

For example, as you are dodging their left, shoot the jab the body, then come straight from the side over their left with the right hand, or right hook, and get out of there again.

Switch these up and get creative, just make sure to counter every time and get out the way.

The Benefit

As with most of these drills, not only will they result in an excellent conditioning workout, but it will help train and improve your skill level. It’ll allow your body to do these things faster and with better form, as well as rewire your brain to do these things on autopilot when in fight mode.

The whole point of “drills” is to drill down a set of techniques, and that is what this does, it gets you used to use your defense as your offense.

Here is a perfect example of what you should be practicing:

#4 The Marathon Man - Stamina Heavy Bag Drill

3 Rounds, 1,000 punches per round, break as needed.

If you don’t have a punch counter, feel free to use timed rounds but still break as needed.

This is a workout made famous by the one and only Floyd Mayweather. These days, it seems like everybody does it, when previous to Floyd, it was almost nonexistent.

Either way, it is an excellent workout and will test your will.

Here is how it works:

You hit the bag nonstop with straight punches at a light pace. Every ten to twenty punches, throw in a couple of hard hooks and uppercuts. This helps break the monotony and also gives your shoulders a break but will tax your lungs more. It also mimics a real fight where there is an explosion of activity followed by an “active rest” where you are not expending a lot of energy, but yet still energy in motion. Despite it looking like slacking, it is actually a genius workout that replicated the action of the fight VERY well.

Also, once you actually start doing it you will quickly realize it is for anything but a slacker, this workout is HARD.

Here is Floyd on the bag if you need a visual for it: 

Fel free to adjust the punch count per round to better accommodate whatever shape you are in, whether better or worse. Just make sure to do a number you can do consistently for 3 rounds.

# 5 The Master and the Mauler - The Everything Heavy Bag Drill

3 rounds, 3 minutes, 1-minute breaks

This is a tough workout and will get you in fighting shape. Try this drill after having tried all the drills above because it will involve all of each. Here are the rules for the drills.

1. Don’t let more than 3 seconds go by without throwing a combination.
2. Each set of combinations has to be a minimum of 3 punches.
3. Move your head after each combination.
4. Throw each punch as fast and as hard as you can every time.

This is an intense boxing workout and that is why it’s recommended you only do it for 3 rounds. However, if you have more in you, by all means, go for it.

This workout benefits just about everything you can possibly think of. It helps prepare you for an intense fight but less Gatti-Ward and more Canelo-GGG. By this I mean not a nonstop exchange of punches but rather an exchange of counter punches, slick movement, and nonstop action fighting at your full potential.

The key here is to stay sharp the whole time and bluff it even when you’re tired. Don’t get lazy and don't cheat. You want to eventually end up at a point where you are perfect from the first moment to last, despite the intensity.

The point of this drill is to teach you to fight at your full potential the entire fight, that’s what separates the greats from the champions, and the champions from the contenders.

That wraps it up for boxing heavy bag workouts.

Next up, heavy bag workouts for MMA fighters.

Heavy Bag Workout Drills for MMA Fighters

If you're an MMA fighter you can do the boxing workouts as well, however, just working on your punches won’t be enough. While it may be an important part of your game, it is definitely far from the only part of your game. Because of this, you have to train your body and mind to do multiple things. The defense and striking aspect change completely.

So here are some heavy bag drills you can work on if you are an MMA fighter.

Sprawl and Brawl - Takedown defense heavy bag drill

5 minutes, 3 rounds, 1 minutes breaks

If you’re one of those guys like Chuck Liddell and Conor McGregor who just want to keep the fight standing because that’s where you feel you dominate, this is the drill for you. This is the workout that will wire you to keep the wrestlers off.

Normally, the second you opponent feels that you are the better striker than them, they will look for the takedown. The most opportune time to get that takedown is while you are mid-strike as you are less likely to defend successfully. This drill will help with that. It will help you get accustomed to sprawling mid-combo, as well as work on your conditioning to not get tired while doing so.

If you have ever fought a wrestler then you know how exhausting it is to keep those animals off. This workout will help you prep both mentally and physically for it.

Here is the breakdown:

The idea is to throw a minimum of two or three punches, followed by a sprawl, then immediately followed by an uppercut, elbow or knee.

Here is an example:

Jab, Straight Right, Sprawl, Come up with a knee to the body.

Left Uppercut, Right Hook, Sprawl, Come up with Left Elbow.

Keep doing this the entire round.

Make sure you always come back up with a strike as your opponent is usually vulnerable after a failed takedown attempt so you want to train yourself to capitalize on it quickly and efficiently.

What you want to do is practice the form and the timing for these and get it down to perfection.

It’s exhausting, but it is a must!

The Set-Up - Finding the knockout heavy bag drill

This is an excellent drill that will teach you how to set up shots properly to increase your chances of getting a knockout.

As many have said and already mentioned earlier in the post, its the punch you don’t see coming that knocks you out. This will be all about setting up that strike that your opponent won’t see coming.

This drill will be all about throwing a quick strike to trick your opponent's mind and plant the bombs necessary to hurt them.

The two quickest strikes you can land are the low kick and the jab, so that will be the focus.

Here is the breakdown:

You will alternate between these two concepts but here are examples of shots you will be setting up.

• Jab, Hook
• Jab, Elbow
• Jab, Head Kick
• Jab, Body Kick
• Jab, Low Kick, Head Kick
• Jab, Spin Fist
• Jab, Spin Kick

The jab does two things for us in this case.

One is it helps us find the range that way our next strike knows its destination perfectly.

Two is it will keep your opponent busy and distracted them to give you enough time to land the shot you need. No matter how tough you are or how good a fighter you are, when your face gets hit, you blink, that gives you the perfect amount of time to land the strike they won't see coming.

The jab is the most underrated punch in MMA, and widely underused. Be the one to take advantage of that.

The next part of the drill is throwing the low kick to trick your opponent reflexes. The low kick is fairly easy to land especially if you feint the jab up top and throw it hard down low.

The movement and pain will bring their focus down to their leg and it gives you the opportunity to strike high.

Here is a breakdown:

Feint the jab before each kick. This will have the potential to relax your opponent after the low kick, causing them to let their guard down. Why? Because usually, the patter of fighting, is that the target strike comes after the feint. So once the low kick lands, their mind can assume that was the intended strike, and then you follow up. 

• Low Kick, Straight Right
• Low Kick, Hook
• Low Kick, Elbow
• Low Kick, Body Kick
• Low, High Kick
• Low Kick, Spin Kick
• Low Kick, Low Kick, Spin Kick

This will wire you to set up your shots rather than just throw them and train your body to flawlessly execute. It also allows you to find the range and put the opponent on the defensive, in the wrong place, so you can land on the openings you created for yourself.

You will alternate between the jab and the low kick and make sure you are throwing to your best ability each time.

This means as fast as you can, as hard as you can, and with the best form, each and every time out.

Here is an example of this in practice in Randy Couture's knockdown against Tim Sylvia:

The Power Kicker - Power Kicks Heavy Bag Drill

6 Rounds, 3 Minutes, 1-minute breaks

This is much like the power puncher workout above except it will focus on throwing on kicks.

The focus here is absolute power in your kicks. Think Cro Cop kicks.

• Round 1: Left Body Kick
• Round 2: Right Body Kick
• Round 3: Left Low Kick
• Round 4: Right Low Kick
• Round 5: Left Head Kick
• Round 6: Right Head Kick

This can get a little monotonous but it will help you develop insane power in your kicks over the course of just two weeks if you keep at it. This will train your body and mind to throw HARD.

The key here is to stay disciplined and throw only one kick per round, focusing on form, power, and perfection.

This will also help condition your legs to both take the pain and dish it out.

The Angles of Death - Muay Thai Clinch Heavy Bag Drill

3 rounds, 3 minutes, 1-minute breaks

That’s right I said Angles and not Angels. This is all about hitting your opponent with elbows and knees on the inside.

It is a very simple drill that you do for 3 rounds so not much detail to explain here.

Grab the bag in a Thai clinch and don’t leave that clinch until the round ends. From here you will reign elbows and knees on the inside. Picture moving your opponent's defense out of the way when doing so.

Focusing on this one thing will allow you to improve it quickly and allow you to get comfortable with throwing power in the clinch.

Focus on snapping your kicks and elbows with speed and power during this drill.

The MMA Master Mauler - Intense Heavy Bag Drill

3 rounds 5 minutes, 1-minute breaks.

This is an intense drill that ties everything together and not for the faint of heart.

This drill can go for as many rounds as you can handle but I recommend a minimum of three to get your conditioning up to par.

Here is the breakdown:

You will throw a minimum of 3 strike combinations, always include at least one kick or knee in each combo, and then sprawl. Once you are back on your feet, don’t let more than 3 seconds go by before you throw your next combo, and then sprawl every time.

A sample:

High left Kick, Straight Right, Left Hook, Sprawl…

3 Seconds lapse

Jab, Low Kick, Left Hook, Sprawl.

Rinse and Repeat, and do not wait longer than 3 seconds after you're back on your feet to throw the next combo.

Keep in mind this isn't just conditioning training, so keep your form, speed, and power at its full potential the entire time. The whole point isn't just training your body, training your mind, and perfecting your craft.

Practice Makes Perfect

The whole point of these drills to improve your craft in different areas. On top of that, it will condition you both physically and mentally. It doesn't get more intense of a heavy bag workout than these drills.

Make sure you try all of these at least once depending on your craft.

It’s for Everyone

Whether you are a Fitness Junkie, Boxer, or MMA Fighter, these workouts are for you. They will help you get in tip-top shape and help you get fit ready for any situation. It will also give you as much mental toughness training as it will physical. You will lose weight, build muscles, build confidence, and get better at your craft. 

Get To Work

Try these out and let me know which one was your favorite. My personal favorite has been Master Mauler. By favorite I mean I absolutely hate doing it because it is the most exhausting thing I have ever experienced in my life. But I love the progress that I get when I do it. My second favorite is the power puncher workout. This has helped dramatically increase my punch power over time and I owe it all to that drill so I’m happy to share it with you all.

I hope you enjoy these drills and are excited to try them in your next training session. Nothing left to do but to get to it!

Drop me a comment below if you have any questions or ideas.

Brawl All Day!