I have been hitting the heavy bag for a couple of years now for cardio and stress release.

Tonight I was determined to break through a plateau (12, 3 minute rounds) and found a great way to set a goal for myself. I was boxing to my heavy bag playlist that is 67 minutes long. instead of playing it while I prepped and warmed up I did my lower body strength workout of lunges and prisoner squats with the 16 oz gloves on. I moved on to 4 sets of 20 Seal Jacks to break a bit of a sweat.

Then I started my music, on shuffle this time, started the ring timer and went 15, 3 minute rounds with a minute rest in between.

To mix it up, I picked two songs to alter my routine. When "Kashmir" (Led Zep) came on I boxed straight through the song with no rest. That was 8 and a half minutes of HELL. Nothing like boxing to Bonham's beat.

When "Do It Again" (Queens of the Stone Age) played I needed to go another round without stopping for rest.

I finished in 80 minutes with an average heart rate of 158. That is a bit high for me since the calculated max at my age is 168, but I still had energy to burn at the end. My endurance is growing every day, especially since I dropped almost 10 pounds in 3 weeks.

Thanks for reading. I thought that since you each throw the leather you can appreciate the workout. (My 23 Year old son who works at an MMA gym can't keep up with me anymore!)

Tim