{"id":5086,"date":"2023-04-20T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T12:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/?p=5086"},"modified":"2023-09-13T07:53:57","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T07:53:57","slug":"mma-gloves-on-a-heavy-bag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/mma-gloves-on-a-heavy-bag\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Use MMA Gloves on a Heavy Bag? (Pros and Cons)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Are you wondering whether you can use MMA gloves on a heavy bag?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll examine whether you can use MMA gloves on a heavy bag and the pros and cons of doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can You Use MMA Gloves on a Heavy Bag? (Pros)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes, you can use MMA gloves on a heavy bag but it\u2019s better to use boxing gloves because they have more padding to protect your hands and wrist. MMA gloves have a maximum of <\/strong>8 oz of padding<\/strong><\/a>, whereas boxing gloves go up to 18 to 24 oz and even higher.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, while you can use MMA gloves on a heavy bag, it\u2019s more likely to cause injury to your hands and wrist, which means you\u2019re unable to train because you need to recover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fear and likelihood of injury also mean you can\u2019t train as hard as you could with more protective boxing gloves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there are some benefits to using MMA gloves on a heavy bag, which are as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Conditions the Hands and Wrists<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Punching a heavy bag<\/a> with MMA gloves helps condition the hands (especially the knuckles) and the wrists for MMA competition which uses 4 or 5 oz MMA gloves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an MMA fighter, it\u2019s no use only punching in boxing gloves because when it comes time to compete, your hands are much more likely to get injured because the hands, knuckles, wrists, and even elbows aren\u2019t conditioned for the punches without the high level of protection boxing gloves provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using MMA gloves once or twice per week on a heavy bag<\/a> helps condition the hands and wrist by getting them used to the impact experienced similar to fighting an opponent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Representative of a Competitive Fight<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Specifically using 7 or 8-oz MMA sparring gloves on a heavy bag is the perfect training for a competitive fight as they\u2019re much closer to the fight gloves used (4 or 5 oz).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure to use hand wraps under the MMA gloves as this increases protection. Hand wraps are overwhelmingly used by MMA fighters when competing, so using them gets you used to both the gloves and wraps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MMA fighters who overuse boxing gloves for heavy bags and MMA training can develop their power as they\u2019re well-protected, but they\u2019re spending less time with the actual equipment which matters most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using MMA gloves on a heavy bag is one of the best times to use them and get used to how they feel before a competitive fight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is because when sparring, a lot of the time MMA fighters use boxing gloves because the extra padding is vital in protecting their sparring partner from cuts and lacerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is especially true closer to the date of a fight because cuts and lacerations can result in a fighter not being allowed to fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Forces You to Apply Perfect Punching Technique<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Using MMA gloves on a heavy bag forces you to apply the perfect technique in every punch. As MMA gloves are less padded, injury to the hand and wrist is more likely without using the perfect technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, MMA fighters who train more with MMA gloves on a heavy bag tend to develop better punching technique. As a result, they also develop better precision with their punches, and overall it means they\u2019re better prepared for competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proper punching technique for MMA gloves on a heavy bag is to always connect with the two largest center knuckles where the fingers and hand connect. To do this, it\u2019s important to turn the knuckles over similar to the casting punch<\/a> technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In boxing gloves, because of their size, it becomes a lot easier to land punches with the lower set of knuckles by using a scraping action. If you punch like this in a competitive fight, bruises, sprains, and breaks are the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overuse of boxing gloves on a heavy bag can lead many fighters to develop poor punching technique. As their hands are overprotected, they don\u2019t feel pain when landing punches with poor technique and this doesn\u2019t transfer well into competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their punches are worse and their injury risk is increased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, when sparring with MMA gloves, MMA fighters aren\u2019t using maximum power because they don\u2019t want to injure their sparring partner. So, using MMA gloves on a heavy bag allows them to practice using the most power possible while maintaining perfect technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. MMA Can Be Trained<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Using MMA gloves on a heavy bag means everything can be trained in one session. Fighters can practice their punching technique and precision and they can also practice kicking, grappling, and clinching, where knees and elbows can be incorporated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When using boxing gloves, it\u2019s much harder to clinch and control the bag for practicing knees and elbows, and it\u2019s much more suited to boxing or kickboxing (without knees).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As MMA gloves mean you can mix offensive techniques on a heavy bag, it becomes an excellent cardiovascular workout<\/a> more transferable into a competitive MMA fight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The intensity and power come from the kicks, knees, and elbows, while the technique, precision, and footwork with the boxing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can You Use MMA Gloves on a Heavy Bag? (The Cons)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While we\u2019ve established MMA gloves can be used on a heavy bag, here are some reasons why and when you shouldn\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. One Month Before a Fight<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You shouldn\u2019t use MMA gloves on a heavy bag within 1 month of a fight due to the higher risk of injury to hands and wrists. Most of the work has been done 1 month before a fight, so the priority is to work on extras, maintain performance levels, and especially remain injury free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Three or More Times per Week<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As previously mentioned, boxing gloves offer the proper protection for heavy bag training. While using MMA gloves helps condition a fighter’s hands and wrists for competition, it\u2019s helping to prevent injury but not fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consistently punching a heavy bag 3 times or more per week leads to cumulative damage which isn\u2019t realized until it\u2019s too late. It\u2019s a very useful tool to use, as outlined in the pros above, but overuse may lead to arthritis down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bottom Line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, \u2018Can you use MMA gloves on a heavy bag?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, you can use MMA gloves on a heavy bag as there are great benefits to doing so. Those benefits are the conditioning of the hands and wrists, how it better represents a competitive fight, forces you to apply perfect punching technique, and because MMA can be trained.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you wondering whether you can use MMA gloves on a heavy bag? In this article, we\u2019ll examine whether you can use MMA gloves on a heavy bag and the pros and cons of doing so. Can You Use MMA Gloves on a Heavy Bag? (Pros) Yes, you can use MMA gloves on a heavy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5086"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5086"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6354,"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5086\/revisions\/6354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/groundedmma.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}