Workout
Heavy Bag Intervals: 20 Minutes of Fight Conditioning
Five rounds on the heavy bag with clear instructions per round. Simulates the load of a fight – no partner, no excuses.
1 min read · 17 September 2026 · updated 19 September 2026
- Duration
- 20 min
- Level
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- heavy bag, boxing gloves, hand wraps, jump rope, timer
- Frequency
- 2x per week
Warm-up (5 min)
| Exercise | Sets | Reps / time | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jump rope | 1 | 3 min | – | easy, on the balls of the feet, build the pace slowly |
| Shadow boxing | 1 | 2 min | – | footwork, distance, 50 % speed only |
Jump rope
- Sets
- 1
- Reps/time
- 3 min
- Rest
- –
easy, on the balls of the feet, build the pace slowly
Shadow boxing
- Sets
- 1
- Reps/time
- 2 min
- Rest
- –
footwork, distance, 50 % speed only
Main part: 5 rounds × 3 min, 1 min rest (to 20 min)
| Exercise | Sets | Reps / time | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 – jab round | 1 | 3 min | 60 s | jab and double jab only, focus on footwork and bringing the hand back |
| Round 2 – combinations | 1 | 3 min | 60 s | 1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-2; step out of range after every combination |
| Round 3 – tempo | 1 | 3 min | 60 s | every 30 s: 10 s of non-stop straight punches, then back to rhythm |
| Round 4 – legs (Muay Thai) or body (boxing) | 1 | 3 min | 60 s | low kick/teep after every hand combination – or body hooks and uppercuts |
| Round 5 – championship round | 1 | 3 min | – | last 30 s everything you have; stay clean and mobile before that |
Round 1 – jab round
- Sets
- 1
- Reps/time
- 3 min
- Rest
- 60 s
jab and double jab only, focus on footwork and bringing the hand back
Round 2 – combinations
- Sets
- 1
- Reps/time
- 3 min
- Rest
- 60 s
1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-2; step out of range after every combination
Round 3 – tempo
- Sets
- 1
- Reps/time
- 3 min
- Rest
- 60 s
every 30 s: 10 s of non-stop straight punches, then back to rhythm
Round 4 – legs (Muay Thai) or body (boxing)
- Sets
- 1
- Reps/time
- 3 min
- Rest
- 60 s
low kick/teep after every hand combination – or body hooks and uppercuts
Round 5 – championship round
- Sets
- 1
- Reps/time
- 3 min
- Rest
- –
last 30 s everything you have; stay clean and mobile before that
This workout simulates the load of a fight: five three-minute rounds with one minute of rest, each round with its own focus. It is deliberately short. If you could still run for thirty minutes afterwards, you didn't work in the rounds.
How it runs
Set the timer to 5 × 3 minutes with 60 seconds rest. The instructions per round are in the table – stick to them even if you feel like something else. That's the point: executing a plan under fatigue.
In the rest: Walk, don't stand. Gloves on your head, breathe out deeply, only a sip of water.
Progression
- Weeks 1–2: as described.
- Weeks 3–4: shorten the rest to 45 seconds.
- Weeks 5–6: six rounds, rest back to 60 seconds.
- After that: increase round 3 (tempo) to 15-second bursts every 30 seconds.
Who is this not for?
The first three months of training. Before that, the technique to fill three minutes on the bag productively is missing – you'd be practising mistakes under fatigue. Do shadow boxing and shorter bag rounds with coach feedback instead.