Virtual Pad Work on the Heavy Bag, in a 30-Second Clip

Pad work is the part of boxing training most people cannot do alone: someone has to hold the mitts and call the shots. The Shadow Boxing App is a boxing workout app that covers the calling part. It runs the round, announces a combination, and you throw it. This short clip shows what that looks like on a heavy bag in the middle of a session, with the app screen overlaid on the video so you can see each callout at the moment the boxer hears it.

The combos are not scripted in advance, which is the whole idea. You get 1, 1 body, 4, then 4 body, 3, then 1, 4 body, 3, and you have to read each one and throw it with no time to rehearse. The numbers follow the usual system: 1 is the jab, 3 the lead hook, 4 the rear hook, and “body” sends the punch downstairs. Towards the end the app switches to light freestyle punches, so the boxer keeps the hands moving and the rhythm going without a set combination. That mix of called combos and free work is close to what a good pad session feels like, and it trains the same thing: reacting instead of planning. If you want to see the plain version with only punch numbers, there is a round of that on video too.

You can run the same round at home, on a bag or shadow boxing in your living room. Pick a workout, put the phone where you can hear it, and react. The app is free to try, so download it and give it a round.