Heavy Bag Uppercuts

PushBag

A vertical, upward-driving strike generated from a slight crouch and hip/leg drive, thrown at close range against the heavy bag — trains vertical pressing power integrated with lower-body drive and rotation.

Demo: Boxing technique demo

Sets

6

Reps

2-3 min rounds

Rest

1 min

Contraindications

Wrist/knuckle injury without proper wraps and technique — always wrap hands and use gloves designed for bag work.

Setup

Boxing stance at close range to the bag, knees slightly bent, hands up in guard.

Execution

  1. 1Drop slightly by bending the knees, rotating the hip and torso on the striking side
  2. 2Drive upward through the legs and hips, extending the arm vertically into the target with palm facing up/inward
  3. 3Make contact with the first two knuckles
  4. 4Return immediately to guard

Key cues

  • Power comes from the legs driving upward, not just the arm
  • Keep the strike compact and close-range
  • Rotate the hip on the striking side into the punch
  • Snap back to guard after each strike

Common faults

  • Looping the punch out wide instead of driving straight up
  • No leg drive, arm-only power
  • Overextending and exposing the chin
  • Dropping the guard hand

Tweaks

  • Combine with hooks and straight punches in combinations
  • Use short, sharp reps for power; longer rounds for conditioning
  • Adjust range/distance to the bag for different uppercut angles

Regressions

Heavy Bag Hooks

Muscles

Primary: Anterior Deltoid, Quadriceps, Obliques

Secondary: Triceps Brachii, Core, Glutes

Sources

Attribution: Boxing fundamentals canon