Please help me with my heavybag training

[We want Floyd]

I'm 27 and I only want to make one amateur fight, because I think if you pick up a sport you should also compete in it at least one time. I wouldn't say I'm past my prime. I played tennis on a pretty high level a few years ago. Then I quit sports gained 100 pounds (now I already lost 50 with the help of boxing). So I now if I lose another 20 or 25 pounds I will be a lot faster. And btw I never said I wanted to go professional, I just love the sport and want to fight one real sanctioned fight!

If you are truly serious about competing in boxing. I strongly recommend that you go to your boxing classes for an entire year! That means hitting the gym 4x a week minimum, this doesn't include the running that you'll be doing.

I don't know how your trainers are, but, in my gym, the trainers will even go out on runs with the entire amateur team on weekends if they're preparing for a tournament.
** You must let you trainer know that you're serious about this, and he may just give you the personal time you need in getting ready for a fight. F**k the I'll charge you an arm and a leg for personal training, NO!

Anyway, it generally takes novice fighters about 6 months to really start looking fluid with their movements, once you reach that point, then the coach should be introducing you to sparring or mitt drills that involve contact to work on defense, then if you have a good coach, he'll be able to gauge your skills and be able to set you up a match with someone close to your skill level. Good luck!


So, here's the breakdown

first six months of boxing for beginners is very offense oriented, lots of heavybag work and focus on correct footwork. Roadwork a must/some strength workouts.

the next six would be a mix of working on offense/ intro to defense/counter punching/ and some sparring. Roadwork a must/ some strength workouts

Preparing for a tournament, your workouts will generally be lots of mitt drills, tons of sparring, and strength & conditioning

[lefthookbody]

thanks masagomexi for the great response.
Here's another video from yesterday morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9INx2SUNcw (boxing starts at 00:20)

thanks for all the advice guys. I really tried to speed things up. I also realized
how slow I really am through watching the first video.
I'll try to work on my other weak points in the next training sessions one by one.

[Trrmo]

thanks masagomexi for the great response.
Here's another video from yesterday morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9INx2SUNcw (boxing starts at 00:20)

thanks for all the advice guys. I really tried to speed things up. I also realized
how slow I really am through watching the first video.
I'll try to work on my other weak points in the next training sessions one by one.

That was faster but you need to keep your hands higher up, aim your punches higher and fully extend your punches. Imagine the bag is your opponent that has at least the same reach as you - you would be jabbed in the face really easily, you need to find maximum distance where you can still hit the bag with straight punches but be in the position most difficult for the opponent to hit you.

And forget about the comments too old and all that bull****, you keep training, sparring and running, eat right and you will be good to fight in November. It takes effort and guts to step in the ring even for just a few fights, and if thats what you wanna do you can do it so fk the doubters.

[Trrmo]

So, here's the breakdown

first six months of boxing for beginners is very offense oriented, lots of heavybag work and focus on correct footwork. Roadwork a must/some strength workouts.

the next six would be a mix of working on offense/ intro to defense/counter punching/ and some sparring. Roadwork a must/ some strength workouts
[COLOR=Red]

First 6 months only offence and no defence, then wait the next 6 months for intro to defense? - disagree even keeping your hands up in guard position and returning them to guard is defence, so beginners shouldn´t do this in the first 6 months???? defence should be part of training from the beginning

Also you dont need to train 4X a week, 3 times a week is enough to start.

[lefthookbody]

thanks trrmo for the response

[Trrmo]

one thing though you should go to the gym more than once a week, you need to change your work schedule if you are serious about it

[g0tcha]

to increase your work rate a little more you still need to add head movement especially if your not getting in the gym as often. some train on the bag just strictly for technique and such and do the defensive stuff later but i would suggest doing it all the time when your on the bag because of your situation. more lateral movements bob weave counters. add more hip rotation to your uppercut/hooks. they have no power and it looks like your just relying on your jab and straight. also keep your hands up higher. dont reach for that body uppercut/hook. it looks like your arm is just swinging for it. either step in then punch or lunge in so you have weight behind you and put your hip into it. last when you move to your left and you throw that jab out there double up even triple up. as long as you feel your getting the best that you can out of your sparring sessions and you consistently work harder in your workouts then you should do well.

[We want Floyd]

First 6 months only offence and no defence, then wait the next 6 months for intro to defense? - disagree even keeping your hands up in guard position and returning them to guard is defence, so beginners shouldn´t do this in the first 6 months???? defence should be part of training from the beginning

Also you dont need to train 4X a week, 3 times a week is enough to start.

You're too literal minded, it doesn't mean that I say to just focus on offense, doesn't mean the student shouldn't be instructed to keep his hands up, chin down and when he retracts his punches to make sure it comes back from the original position, duh.

Bro, no workout regimen is written in stone. Yeah, there's no problem with throwing defense in their. But, with what I've observed through the years, including myself, is that most people are not athletic in general. So, my theory is, doing things one by one and mastering it one by one, would make the boxing practitioner more proficient.

Again, not everyone is on the same learning curve, just like in a classroom, there's only a few great students, and the rest are mediocre, same thing in a boxing gym. The athletic/quick learners will pick things up quick, and it's the trainer's job to pick up on who needs to be bumped up and who needs more work.

One thing I'd like to add though, if defense is to be thrown in the very beginning, I'd say start learning the proper way of bobbing and slippin punches. Head movement is a lost art in today's boxing!

[We want Floyd]

First 6 months only offence and no defence, then wait the next 6 months for intro to defense? - disagree even keeping your hands up in guard position and returning them to guard is defence, so beginners shouldn´t do this in the first 6 months???? defence should be part of training from the beginning

Also you dont need to train 4X a week, 3 times a week is enough to start.

You're too literal minded, it doesn't mean that just because I said to just focus on offense, doesn't mean the student shouldn't be instructed to keep his hands up, chin down and when he retracts his punches to make sure it comes back from to original position, duh. That's boxing 101 everyone knows that, but I think focusing on teaching the proper punching mechanics and footwork and all the fundamentals should be the only focus for the first 6 months of a novice student.

Yeah, there's no problem with throwing defense in their. But, with what I've observed through the years, including myself, is that most people are not athletic in general. So, my theory is, doing things one by one and mastering it one by one, would make the boxing practitioner more proficient.

Rather than showing a million and one combination in each class, the class maybe more fun when doing various things. But in the end, the student usually ends up mastering none! It's better to start off small and build on it.

Hence, my idea of first 6 months should focus mostly on offense. Next 6 months, intro to def/counter-punching/ and after a year, intro to sparring. It all depends on the students learning curve too.

Again, not everyone is on the same learning curve, just like in a classroom, there's only a few great students, and the rest are mediocre, same thing in a boxing gym. The athletic/quick learners will pick things up quick, and it's the trainer's job to pick up on who needs to be bumped up and who needs more work.

One thing I'd like to add though, if defense is to be thrown in the very beginning, I'd say start learning the proper way of bobbing and slippin punches. Head movement is a lost art in today's boxing!