Quarantine Conditioning: Shadowboxing and Heavy Bag Workouts

Now that we’re into the winter months COVID cases are ramping up in most places. The pandemic continues to make training difficult for most people. If you’re having trouble getting any jiu jitsu training in, and are looking for workouts to keep yourself in shape, have you looked into getting a heavy bag?

Benefits of Heavy Bag Workouts

We all know how difficult it is to get a cardio workout that carries over to jiu jitsu without actually rolling, but engaging in a heavy bag workout can help cross that bridge. This isn’t an article covering top-game drills for the heavy bag, those are of course very beneficial. Rather this article will discuss boxing workouts to help increase your cardio and endurance for jiu jitsu.

Heavy bags offer numerous benefits:

• Enhance aerobic fitness in a way similar to rolling. More steady-stream methods of cardio like running lead to a consistence cadence with steady breathing. Conversely, training on a heavy bag causes rapid and varied breathing, similar to a fight
• Improves arm and shoulder strength and endurance. This will help to strengthen your yoke and help your frames for jiu jitsu
• You’ll learn timing, and how to properly throw a punch
• Your hands will get stronger from multiple repetitions of hitting the bag. You will develop “heavy hands”
• You’ll develop good leg/hip mechanics if you perform proper footwork

Benefits of Shadowboxing

If you don’t have room or money for a heavy bag you can still get many benefits from simply shadowboxing. Shadowboxing can help you develop the speed, coordination and stamina needed for boxing, which can carry over onto the mats.

• Enhances your cardio
• Improves coordination
• Builds endurance
• Teach you proper form and footwork

How to Get Started With Shadowboxing and Heavy Bag Workouts

Though I’ve taken some boxing in the past, I’m by no means an expert. When I want to find good heavy bag and shadowboxing routines, I turn to YouTube.

My favorite channel is Coach Anthony‘s channel. He has tons of free, detailed instructionals on YouTube.

Here are a few of my favorites. You can apply most of the ideas he’s talking about to both the heavy bag and to shadowboxing.