Tips for working out with a punching bag

 A session with a punching bag gives you an excellent full-body workout, while also relieving stress. Here's how you can benefit from throwing jabs, hooks and kicks at a punching bag.

• An exercise session with the punching bag is one of the very best stress relievers. It allows us to divert our latent or pent-up aggression toward an inanimate object while doing something that benefits our body.
• Endorphins released during the workout help uplift the mood. Also, since you're required to maintain form and intensity levels while punching, the workout helps develop mental discipline.

• You can tailor a punching bag routine to meet your fitness objective. Warm up before the workout so that you can punch swiftly and move without stiffness.
• Begin with a one- to three-minute session of hard punching; this will build muscles in the shoulders, back, and arms. The resistance provided by the bag also strengthens the joints and tendons.
• The right way to punch for strength gains is to stay put, rotate at the hips for acceleration, and punch with all your strength. Punching a bag as it swings toward you will yield better strength gains.

• Move on to a round of rapid-fire punching. The act of dancing around the bag and throwing combinations burns calories and builds aerobic fitness.
• You can practice different combinations of quick repetitive punches; for example, jab and cross; jab, jab and cross; and jab, cross and left hook. Keep the intensity up until the end of the round.
• Begin with a 30-second session and slowly build your stamina until you can last a two-minute round without letting your guard drop.
• Punches thrown at the bag involve the abdominal muscles. Crosses, hooks, and uppercuts recruit abdominal muscles to the maximum. A combination of these punches requires rotation at the waist and flexing of the abdominal muscles.
• Focus on twisting at the waist when bobbing, ducking, and weaving.
• Include roundhouse kicks into your abdomen-building routine. Strong abdominal muscles contribute to core stability, which is necessary for maintaining correct posture and proper co-ordination between limbs.
• Target one round of three minutes.