The main thing about training that remains constant no matter what bags or mitts or gadgets you use is that everything has to simulate a real fight. So that when you hit a heavy bag, hit it as though you were fighting an opponent, and similarly as you shadowbox and so forth. Here is a little tip. With masking tape, tape X's on your mirrors and heavy bags. The X's represent where your opponents head, liver, solar plexus, are. It makes your bag work much more organized and stops you from just throwing punches any and every which place on the bag. If youve ever been in a gym before you know that guys tend to just throw everywhere when they get on the bags. This is wrong because if you do this in a fight you get knocked out -- so why put it in your training?

Also - and this is a very big one - tape x's on your mirror that you shadowbox in also. This is so important because it gives you a sense of perspective. Have you ever shadowboxed in a mirror before? You tend to lose your sense of distance and range because whilst staring at your reflection it appears you're farther than you really are. To fix this Tape targets where youre opponent's head and organs are. This lets you know where your opponent is in relation to how far you are from him -- you would not be able to do that on a mirror without targets. This will dramatically improve your sense of distance and range. Try it and you will see what I'm talking about. It makes your shadowboxing much more organized as well since you have real physical targets to simulate your opponent.

Remember to make sure you shadow box lots. It is the most important training tool next to sparring. Chris has a good thread about it floating around here somewhere. give it a read because shadowboxing is almost never done correctly. Good luck.