Heavy Bag - Lead Hook (Head and Body)

Setup

Boxing stance at hook range (slightly closer than cross range), lead shoulder near the bag.

Execution

1. 1Pivot the lead foot inward as the hook fires, rotating the whole body like a door on a hinge
2. 2Keep the elbow at roughly 90 degrees, striking with a horizontal arc
3. 3For the body hook, bend the knees and drop the level before rotating into the target
4. 4Keep the rear hand glued to the cheek throughout
5. 5Snap back to guard immediately after impact

Key cues

• Pivot the front foot like stepping on a cigarette
• Rotate the whole hip, not just the arm
• Bend the knees to drop for the body hook, don't just swing lower
• Keep elbow height consistent with the target
• Chin down and rear hand up throughout

Common faults

• Swinging with a straight or overly wide arm (looping, slow hook)
• No foot pivot, killing power
• Dropping the guard hand while hooking
• Reaching for the body hook via forward lean instead of a level change
• Overcommitting and losing balance after the punch

Tweaks

• Practice a rip hook (short, tight rotation) vs. a long hook
• Combine with a lead uppercut for hook-uppercut inside combos
• Double up the lead hook (hook-hook)

Muscles

Notes

The lead hook is widely considered the hardest boxing punch to teach correctly — invest extra rounds here relative to the straight punches.

Sources

• Body Shot Combos - Heavy Bag Tutorial
• 10 Awesome Heavy Bag Drills

Attribution: Fight Camp