I’ve been doing pretty well in the gym lately with weights, but my cardio regimen is rather nonexistent. As a way to do better, I’ve been thinking about getting into boxing - not against opponents, at least not at first, but just me whacking a bag and getting my heart rate up.
My questions are, (1) what’s your opinion of punching bags as a cardio-and-strength workout, vs. other options? (2) If I’m just an idiot standing in the gym in front of a punching bag, what’s the best way to get started? Know of any good “Boxing for Dummies” resources online to teach the fundamentals of punching, moving my feet, etc.?
When you say “bag” are you speaking of a heavy bag? Because boxers also use speed and double-end bags.
I trained for quite a while before I “whacked a bag.” Spent a lot of time mirror training for technique, shadow boxing, punching hand-held pads, and non-contact “sparring” first.
It is VERY easy to injure yourself on a heavy bag, especially if you punch/kick with any power. I broke an ankle on a heavy bag, and broke a wrist throwing a lazy hook into a thai pad. So you really want to develop some basic technique before you attack a heavy bag, and develop a healthy respect for the bag. When you start, you’ll probably want someone to hold the bag for you, as getting it swinging introduces a whole new set of variables.
Good question - my gym has both. Thanks for the tips.
Anyone else? Any good resources for learning good punching technique?
I thought I mentioned 3 kinds! 
Boxing and many other martial arts are great exercise. Just take proper precautions, wear proper equipment, and learn how to wrap your wrists. I’ve read any number of books and mags and viewed all kinds of vids, but I can’t recommend anything over having a good instructor.
One thing to be aware of re: boxing - I’ve known far to many instructors/schools that simply toss newbies into the ring way too early, and work on technique later. Also, I really enjoyed my time spent on MA - especially boxing. But as I close in on 50 and am developing more and more arthritis in every joint I ever injured, I somewhat question the manner in which I went about it.
Fine fine, they have both speed and heavy, not double-end. 
I take a cardio kickboxing class at my gym. We use bags like these: http://www.amazon.com/Century-Wavemaster-XXL-Training-Blue/dp/B000EZYT8U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1247590472&sr=1-2
These bags are not too hard. Still want to wrap your hands correctly or use some sort of padded glove.
Does your gym offer boxing classes? It might be a good idea to take some, learn the counts, technique, different kinds of kicks if you wish to kick as well, and different ways to work more short burst cardio and strength training in with your boxing. In between rounds in my class we’ll jump rope, do squats, pushups, mountain climbers, ab exercises, etc. Each class is an hour and it’s a really great workout. And it’s great to punch something if you’ve had a bad day.
Just to state the obvious, but simply because a gym employee instructs something called "boxing, “kickboxing” or “cardio kickboxing” does not mean they know much of anything about punching or kicking correctly. I’ve seen such classes that contain excellent boxing technique and exercises, but far more that just sort of simulate the appearance of boxing. I imagine either could be a fun workout, but in the latter I would be wary of actually impacting anything.
And yes, those wave bags are considerably softer than a traditional hanging heavy bag.
Before you strike anything you need to learn how to make a fist, and how to hold your wrist.
As an older fart…
Repetitive stress is a killer to your joints and wrists as you age. Make sure you cross-train many different drills (shadow, shadow with weights, speed bag, partner with pads/mits) and don’t just use the heavy bag as your primary workout. IMO, keep the heavy bag sessions short and simple, and use it as a technique-refining tool instead of a conditioning tool.
The only sure way is to box with a trainer who can fine tune your technique, but if you’d like something to read over I can recommend the book “Box Like the Pros” by Smokin’ Joe Frazier. You have to take it some of it with a grain of salt; Frazier is decidedly old school and recommends a few things I definitely wouldn’t (e.g. doing long distance running in heavy work boots to build leg strength), but his descriptions of technique are solid and good for beginners.
If you fight opponents you are stupid or soon will be.
And high impact damage to your hands will show up sooner or later.
Why do you say that? Amateur boxing uses head protection. Furthermore there’s a huge difference between fighting an opponent for training, and fighting for competition. The worst part off it would be the inevitable damage that would occur to your joints… which is going to pretty much happen with any exercise except maybe yoga.
Boxing is an excellent way to cardio train. When I was in peak shape as a youth (Sports letterman, football, track) we would box for 3 rounds and be so exhausted by the end of only three rounds it that we could hardly hold our hands up!
WARNING WARNING…Zombie thread. However, I would think the info is not out of date and if there is a thread that is more current I’d be happy to use it…
I’m thinking of taking it up as a workout and spent 15 minutes with the trainer at the gym yesterday to get a feel for it. I borrowed his gloves and he showed me the wraps but we didn’t go full force.
I have smaller than average wrists. His gloves were not at all tight in that area. I doubt that wrapping would have significantly changed that. So my question is, as long as the wrists are wrapped adequately is it important that the glove itself be tight at the wrists.
Answers to that question and any other general comments/tips/warnings are welcome …
A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to take up boxing. I am 57 now. Mostly for the exercise but I also wanted to reach the point of mixing it up in a ring, preferably with some other old man.
The two actual boxing gyms I found looked at me like I had two heads, both stupid, and refused to have anything to do with me.
I tried LA boxing - A good workout but they steered me away from the actual boxing and I got bored of what was basically an exercise class using heavy bags.
Then I found a boxing class at the local rec center. Mostly an exercise class - jumping rope, medicine balls, situps, etc. with some boxing thrown it: Stances, jabs, combinations. Eventually we made it to the bag and then a little sparring, with gloves. The class was a real workout and the sparring was even more so. So my recommendation is look for a rec center class. If the first thing you do is wrap your hands and put on gloves (like with LA Boxing) I’d run the other way.
I would say yes, if you keep at it you will want gloves that fit well. You can get by in a light workout with no handwraps or loose gloves, but when you start really hitting hard you don’t want loose floppy gloves shifting around on your hands. It doesn’t seem like it would make that much of a difference, but having good wraps under the gloves can help with the fit.
I understand that as an alternative to wraps you can get a second smaller glove that supports the wrists… thoughts?
You mean somethng like these gel wraps? I’ve used them for bag and pad workouts and they’re okay. Their main advantage is that they’re convienient - they slip on in a second rather than the minute or two it takes to wrap your hands, and they’re much easier to wash than hand wraps, which usually need to be machine washed in a mesh bag and then dried draped over a door (or at least that’s how I’ve generally done it), which is a pain but has to be done because they get sweaty and stinky easily. Gel wraps and speed wraps are quicker and easier to put on and to wash, but they just don’t provide the same degree of hand and wrist support that a good conventional wrap does.
A few months back, I got a punch bag for my garage - it is not a real heavy bag, rag filled. I use a timer on my phone - 1 minute punching/kicking, 20 seconds running/skipping with a sequence of jab/cross, head hooks, body hooks, mixed kicks and combos. I repeat the cycle 3 times for a 20 minute workout. If I am not going for a bike ride or to the gym, I can do it twice for 40 minute workout that really kills. I like it, and do this 2 or 3 times a week. I don’t use wraps - I don’t think the bag is that hard. I do think my technique is fairly good, though.
I also do a boxing circuits class once a week (just pad work and bodyweight/plyometrics/high intensity exercises).