The art of eight limbs is mastered by spending countless hours training the body and mind. Of all the tools available to a fighter, the heavy bag may be the most important. Many legendary fighters swear by the heavy bag as a way to develop their Muay Thai skills. 

Today, Evolve University shares 7 reasons why you should add Muay Thai heavy bag drills to your training. 

1) Increase Power

In recent years, heavy bag training’s popularity has decreased in favor of strength and conditioning exercises to increase power. While strength and conditioning can enhance your athleticism and your power in turn, it is no substitute for working the heavy bag. Although exercises like sprinting and jumping increase the ability of your kinetic chain, this is a very different skill than being able to deliver said power through a strike. Repetition on the bag will make pad work sessions much more efficient and allow you to progress at a faster rate.

2) Increase Stamina

Knockout power is a hefty advantage in a fight, but only if you can land a strike on your opponent before you gas out. The heavy bag is a way for you to develop your striking stamina. When throwing heavy punches or kicks, it is common for your shoulders and hips to tire quickly. Once this happens, your power is considerably reduced and a defensively responsible opponent can start to walk you down.

Setting a timer to work the heavy bags in rounds will prepare you for the rigors of a real match. Start with three rounds, five minutes per round, with two minutes of rest in between each round. You should be able to stay moving throughout the full round and keep up a steady volume of strikes at fifty to seventy percent power. Once you become accustomed to this, increase the number of rounds to five instead of three. You can also decrease your rest period between rounds to one minute to push your cardio even further. 

3) Increase Speed

One of the best attributes of the heavy bag is the ability to adjust your training and drills to suit your personal needs. To increase your speed, you have to practice throwing strikes quickly. This includes the strike itself, the retraction, and the time between your strikes. Many people can strike and retract quickly but lack the speed to follow up on an opening. Drilling speed kicks on the heavy bag can develop your ability to follow up and minimize lost opportunities due to a lack of speed.

4) Practice Correct Form And Technique

The heavy bag is an excellent piece of equipment for practicing and developing the correct form. This type of training is not about developing any physical attributes, such as speed, power, or stamina. Practice various strikes at a slower speed, taking care to avoid any obvious errors that leave you exposed, such as flaring elbows or telegraphing. If you are having trouble keeping track of the various aspects of each strike, try again at a slower pace. Rushing your strikes will only waste your time and prevent further progress. In many ways, this is a battle with yourself to remain calm and control of your body, much like meditation! 

Certain techniques, such as elbow strikes, can be dangerous to practice full power with a partner. This makes the heavy bag an ideal training tool to develop these strikes. 

5) Increase Bone Density

Consistent use of the heavy bag will lead to denser bones in the long run. This is due to Wolff’s Law, which states that human and animal bones adapt and respond to external stimuli. This is shown in weightlifters, who have bone density far above the average person, and astronauts, who lose bone density in space, due to the lack of gravity and force on the bones. This principle can be used to harden and condition the limbs that you strike with. The most commonly conditioned body parts are the shins, hands, and elbows. 

6) Weight Loss And Physical Fitness

Everyone has been staying indoors and inactive this past year with the current pandemic. This has unfortunately led to many people becoming even more sedentary, which makes them more vulnerable to illnesses in general. Muay Thai heavy bag drills can greatly increase your base health, allowing you to live your best possible life. It is common to burn between five hundred and one thousand calories in a one-hour Muay Thai heavy bag session, which is perfect for losing weight or maintaining your current fitness level. 

7) Solo Training Convenience

Training with other people has become much more difficult than it used to be. Besides local regulations on gyms, many people want to minimize their exposure to others, for the health of both parties. Although there is no substitute for partner drills and sparring, Muay Thai heavy bag drills can help you maintain or even increase your current skill level to give you an edge when you do train with others next. In addition to striking, you can also practice your clinch on the bag. While this does not provide any real resistance, you are still building strength in the clinch. You can also attach a slip line to a heavy bag to train your eyes and footwork to stay off the centerline. 

Muay Thai Training Series: Heavy Bag Drills

If you are looking for an effective, structured and comprehensive Muay Thai heavy bag drills training guide, consider Evolve University’s Muay Thai Training Series: Heavy Bag Drills, an in-depth online video Training Series taught by legendary Muay Thai World Champions!

No detail is spared as Evolve MMA’s Muay Thai World Champions break down and demonstrate heavy bag drills they use to sharpen their tools and prepare for fights. Learn how different heavy bag drills can develop specific parts of your game while improving your technique, power, balance, timing, and accuracy.

Covering offensive and defensive heavy bag drills on punches, kicks, elbows, knees and the clinch, this training series will help practitioners of all levels grow their game. The drills taught will complement beginners who are developing their Muay Thai fundamental techniques and also educate them on important Muay Thai fundamental concepts. Advanced practitioners will also benefit from this training series through the various drills explained and demonstrated, allowing them to pick up nuances, fine-tune and improve on their existing game with new drills, and also watch out for common mistakes to avoid.

Packed with 23 chapters of heavy bag drills, 4 hours of on-demand video, Evolve University’s Muay Thai Training Series: Heavy Bag Drills is your ultimate guide to training like a World Champion.

Get Muay Thai Training Series: Heavy Bag Drills Today!