The heavy bag can be a great training tool or a lousy tool to use in your boxing training workouts. The heavy bag doesn't hit back so many fighters tend to drop their hands and get lazy with it while working it. Obviously the habits we display on the heavy bag will show up in the ring. So in this article I'm going to give you a great drill to use to stay sharp and alert.

The drill.

You will need a training partner for this drill as they will be behind the heavy bag and they will lunge at you with the heavy bag after you rip off a combination. Typically fighters will drop their hands after throwing a combo or they will just stand right in front of the heavy bag with their hands down. These bad habits are harder and harder to correct the more fighters perform them. This heavy bag drill is a great solution to this ever common problem you see in gyms everyday today.

Having your training partner move quickly at you with the heavy bag will train you to stay alert while working on defense at the same time. When your partner quickly moves at you with the bag you move laterally to the side. Just as in a fight after you fire off a combo the fighter will come right at you and you'll need to move quickly to the side to avoid the counter attack, so you'll need to do this with this drill as you'll get hit with the heavy bag if you don't. This really allows you to tighten up your game and train in a way you never have with the heavy bag.

This is a awesome drill to clean up your defense while working offense. Lateral movement will only improve your fighting from boxing to mma. That's how many fighters get knocked out, they make themselves easy targets while being too stationary. Use this drill so you don't become a sitting duck of the return combination's of another fighter. Master how to get your punches off while at the same time moving out of harms way. This is the key to solid striking!

How to perform it.

To use this heavy bag drill, as I stated earlier you must have a training partner stand behind the heavy bag. Tell your training partner to lunge at you in different spurts through out the round. Have your training partner change it up to keep you sharp and alert. Your partner can lunge at you with the bag after the combo and even in mid combo at times to sharpen your timing and reflexes. Three minute rounds will work great with this drill using one minute rests. Try performing 1-3 rounds.

Add this heavy bag drill to your boxing training routine and watch how it improves your defense instantly. I'm telling you, you won't be going through the motions and creating bad habits with this heavy bag drill. You'll be striking sharp and alert. You will also never have any more boring heavy bag workouts again!