BENEFITS OF SPEED BAG TRAINING
After heavy bags, speed bags are the coolest bag at the gym. Seeing one being used skillfully and hearing the rhythmic tappita-tappita-tappita is practically gym ASMR.
Speed bag training is good for more than just making you look like a workout pro, though! You’ll unlock tons of fitness benefits from this training. Many gyms, even your standard chain operations, have a speed bag for members to train on, so take advantage of this fun and unique fitness tool.
What You’ll Need
Nothing! You can train on a speed bag without needing any kind of gloves. However, if you’re new to bag work, you may benefit from wearing them until your hands are conditioned to this training.
The best gloves for speed bag training will be lightweight and with a slender profile. We recommend our Brave Men’s or Women’s Gel Gloves, which provide just the right amount of comfortable gel padding! Even simple Neoprene Quick Wraps, which are usually worn underneath heavy bag gloves, will work great for hitting the speed bag.
Unless you’re familiar with using speed bags for training, it’s best to stay away from high-ounce bag gloves or boxing gloves. These bulky gloves are great for sparring and heavy bag work, but their size can obscure your vision when training on a small target like a speed bag. It’s likely that you’ll end up hitting your hands as often as the bag – not painful, but annoying.
What Training Does
Boxers love speed bag training for the skills it helps them build, but you don’t need to plan on entering the ring to enjoy these attributes! A quick five- or 10-minute round of speed bag training can help you improve:
- Hand speed. Sure, you might not need to punch – but you might need to snatch for your phone as it plummets towards a sewer grate!
- And you actually have to be able to catch that phone, not just bat it closer towards its demise.
- At least your sense of physical timing. It won’t help you deliver improv jokes (sorry).
Speed bag training is also a great arm and shoulder workout for toning! You have to keep your hands raised to face level while you strike the bag (harder than it sounds for an extended period of time) while also striking the bag.
How to Train
- Begin with your hands up at your cheekbones, elbows slightly out.
- Go slow. You’ll pick up the technique more and more each time you train, and nothing kills the desire to learn faster than measuring oneself against others. If you like the idea of speed bag training, have fun doing it, and enjoy it, that’s all that matters!
- Hit with the back of your hand.
- Strike the bag in a downwards motion.
- Start with one hand and build up a rhythm. Remember to always strike the speed bag as it is moving towards you, not away from you.
Try one of these two basic rhythms to begin with:
Four-Strike Alternating
Strike the bag once with your right/lead hand. Let the bag swing back and hit the back of the platform, then swing forward, then backwards once more. As it comes forward again, strike in a downwards motion with the right/lead hand.
After four strikes with the right/lead hand, switch to the left/back hand and repeat the pattern.
Single Strike
Strike the bag with your right/lead hand. Let it swing back and hit the back of the platform, then swing forward, then back once more. Immediately switch hands as it swings forward and strike it with the left/back hand. Continue to alternate hands.
Once you feel comfortable, practice mixing up the order of your strikes even more. Other basic patterns include Right, Right, Left; Left, Left, Right; and Right, Right, Left, Left. You can get as creative as you want!
Eventually, you’ll start hitting the speed bag after its first bounce off of the back of the platform instead of the second. Soon you’ll have that smooth speed bag rhythm down!
