What are The Benefits of Training with a Double End Bag?
When training as a boxer, one of the most important decisions you can make is to change up how you train. Adjusting the type of tools you use to work on your boxing skills is very important. One of the most important starting places for many boxers is to use punch bags. These are a natural fit for the type of training that you wish to do. However, as you might already know, there are many different types of punching bags to choose from. Among the less common choices is the double end bag.
If you are looking to work on your skills as a boxer, though, this kind of training bag can offer an exceptional place for intermediate boxers. If you are looking to learn about the various double end bag benefits out there, then we highly recommend you read through this guide.
What is a Double End Bag?
A double end boxing bag is a particular kind of bag. They are attached from floor to ceiling as opposed to having one that is attached to the ceiling or stands on the floor. Having a connection at both top and bottom helps to really change how this bag moves as you lay into it with your punches. An elasticated cord is attached to a circular bag, and your job is to work on this bag.
There are many double end bag workout benefits, with the most important being that it can improve your boxing rhythm. Every boxer needs to have flow and confidence in their movement, and this kind of bag provides that in abundance. This allows you to be more creative with how you box, and ensures that you can start taking a more varied approach to your punch combinations which can keep your opponent guessing as you work out.
Looking to buy the best double end bag? Then be sure to look into our double end bag buying guide. This can break down the best bags to look for, and ensure that any money you spent on training tools is justified in the cost.
7 Main Double End Bag Benefits
If you want to get the most out of your training regime, then it is important to pay attention to the follow double end bag benefits. This will help to ensure that you can get maximum value from your training time.
Table of Contents
1. Find your Punching Rhythm
As mentioned above, good boxers learn how to throw punches and keep to a rhythm. Being able to keep up a fast and furious pace is good, but it is better to fight in a rhythm as opposed to going all-out and being gassed if you cannot put down your opponent.
The double end bag training regime allows you to get used to throwing punches almost to a tune. You get more creative, changing from head to body to uppercuts and back to body and head movements in a flow. You become more creative.
2. Land More Punches
A big benefit of using a double end bag is that you start to learn how to land punches on a smaller and moving target. Unlike other punch bags, the double end bag does not bounce back into position and moves around a lot more – and with a lot less predictability. This means to get good at it you need to start learning how to anticipate where it will move after each hit, so that you can then land a punch with proper anticipation.
This is big, because it plays a critical role in making sure you become a more dangerous and accurate boxer. Improving hand-to-eye co-ordination is vital, and this is one of the punch bag benefits that you do not get with other types of boxing training.
You will start hitting more because you learn to follow the target organically, not just hitting and hoping. However, there is another indirect benefit related to this, which includes…
3. Learn The Value of Missing
The single most important lesson that you can get from using a double end boxing bag is understanding the importance of missing. Even the best boxers will find that many of their punches do not connect with an opponent. You will miss, and the higher up the ladder you go you will begin to miss more and more shots – that’s just how things work in a boxing match.
However, this bag allows you to get used to the feeling of missing. Why is that important? One, you stop feeling disheartened at missed punches. Two, you start to learn when you will miss and thus make sure that you do not become imbalanced and/or you do not leave yourself open for a counterpunch.
Learning the value of missing is just as important as mastering landing punches.
4. Learn How to Conserve Energy
Following on from the above, most boxers find that they use up more energy when missing than they do when connecting. Swinging and missing uses up energy, but the double end bag helps you to quickly evaluate how to work around that problem. Putting up the double end bag means that you will miss, and miss more often, which is a good thing.
You get used to the motions needed to miss, forcefully pulling your own arm back which uses up muscle energy. That might not sound like a good thing, but it definitely is. As you grow used to missing, you grow used to the motion needed to get back into position. This stops it being quite so much of a shock to you that you have missed in the first place.
Thus, you start learning how to properly use your muscle energies without gassing yourself.
5. Understand The Value of Following up
Good boxers become excellent at learning to follow up one type of punch with another. If you land a solid jab that forces the opponent to guard the face, it leaves the body open. Double end training forces you to start varying up your hits, getting you used to hitting face-body-body-face and in similar combinations like that.
Many boxers using a punch bag can stay rigid and limited, working on the one type of punching profile. This goes a long way to making sure you are much more fluent with your punches, always following-up.
6. Improve Your Reaction Times
Another big bonus of using a double end bag is that you can begin to improve your reaction times and reflexes. Being able to anticipate that the ball will move right, and then landing that blow to the right, is a critical skill for any boxer. This is one of the double end bag benefits that is shared with a reflex ball. One of the greatest reflex ball benefits stems from making sure you can learn where the next movement will be.
Every action has a natural reaction, and learning those reaction and what your opponent might try is a vital skill for any boxer. Keep that in mind, and you can start to really up the ante when it comes to how you box. Improved reaction times and reflexes can go a very long way to making you an all-around boxer.
7. Stop Wasting So Much Power
Linked to the above, though, is the ability to make sure that you stop wasting power. Many boxers overcook their jabs and underpower their hooks. This helps you to make a big change and ensure that you start throwing punches in a way that feels more natural. You start landing punches properly, and you start finding that you can get more power simply by improving the accuracy of your technique. A flush, accurate, well-placed jab can do as much damage as a fluffed hook. This is a crucial benefit of double end bag training that you might not even realise until you are next in a match-up.
Should You Invest in a Double End Bag?
All of the above, then, should provide you with all of the answers and information that you need to know that your double end bag training is worth the time and the effort. If you want to see the benefits of training with a double end bag, you should absolutely make an investment in one. The difference it can make to your accuracy, adjustment in power, and your overall fluency in the ring cannot be overstated!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is double end bag good for cardio?
Yes, you will need to constantly be on your feet and moving around to make sure you can catch and hit the double end bag. This is why so many boxers today use this bag type – they know it will make them fitter and thus able to last longer. The technical improvements that you make, too, will make sure you are more efficient with your energy.
How many calories do you burn hitting a double end bag?
You can burn a lot of calories training on a double end bag purely because it causes you to move around so much. Most find they could be burning in excess of 200-300 calories on a 30-40 minute session, so long as you actually stay committed during training.
Which is better double end bag or reflex bag?
The double end bag is a fine choice for any boxer who wants to improve on all of the above. The reflex bag, though, offers a smaller target to hit that works less on power and more agility. In truth, you should be looking to use a combination of both bag types if you want to really improve to your maximum level.