Train Hard, Fight Easy: How to Pick the Best Punching Bag for You

If you’re new to boxing or looking for ways to level up, a good punching bag is a worthwhile investment. Punching bag exercises require a lot of strength and stamina, delivering a total-body workout. They can strengthen your core, relieve stress, improve focus and boost self-confidence as well. Although there are different styles, the best punching bag should be stable, durable, and have the right weight and size to fit your personal needs.

Available Types

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When navigating the world of boxing bags, there are 3 main types. Free-standing, hanging and reflex. Each bag type has its cons and pros.

Free-Standing

Convenient, portable and versatile free standing punch bags are a sure-fire way to take your training anywhere. Free-standing punching bags have become a very popular choice for people setting up a home gym. They are mounted on a solid and sturdy base and do not require hanging from a roof, beam, or bracket. When ordered online, a standing punching bag typically arrives in three or four different components that are reasonably simple to assemble by hand.

A free-standing punching bag is an excellent choice if you have limited space or do not want to drill holes in the wall or roof. If you fill the base of your freestanding bag with water, you should be able to keep it in a corner of your gym and move it to the centre when you need it.

If you load the foundation with sand, the free-standing punch bag becomes more stable, but it is much more difficult to move. A 6ft alternative, for example, may weigh up to 150kg when loaded with sand. This gives unparalleled stability for punches and kicks but requires two or three people to move it. Adding water and sand will make the base heavier but more stable. You may still transfer a heavy bag by removing its base and rolling it to the desired location.

Another great thing about free standing punch bags is that you can move all around them. For example, if you want to practice circling your opponent and sporadically throwing a jab, you can circle 360° with a standing bag as long as it is not positioned directly against a wall.

Hanging Bags

A hanging punching bag is a typical punch bag that is fastened to the roof, beam, or wall using a hanging bracket and chain. Hanging punching bags, the oldest and most traditional of all boxing equipment, remain immensely popular among professional boxers and martial artists today.

Many people struggle with hanging a heavy bag since they need somewhere to hang it, therefore bags nowadays come with a chain that must be secured to the roof, a bracket, or a beam. However, if you don’t really want to drill any holes in your gym’s ceiling or wall, then hanging isn’t the right option for you.

Boxing Speed Bags with Rotating Bars

Punching bags with a revolving bar or arm are especially enjoyable to use. They provide a varied and fun workout while also helping to strengthen boxing head movement, responses, and timing. You can practice advanced boxing tactics such as bobbing and weaving, lay-back/shoulder rolls, and defensive positions like the cross-arm guard.

Another advantage of a punching bag with a revolving bar is that it teaches you to keep your hands raised. Instead of evading the bar, try blocking it and practising launching precise and quick counterpunches. Every time you throw a punch, you must either block or evade the bar, making it an ideal tool for boxers trying to improve their ability to escape counterblows.

Since punch bags with a rotating bar are not meant to withstand the impact of hard punches, they are often lightweight. This means you can easily move the bag to the centre of a room or garden and practice your footwork all around it.

Factors to Consider

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Now that you are familiar with the most common types available, let’s get into the rest of important factors to consider when purchasing.

Who Will Be Using It?

Before you purchase a punching bag, you should evaluate who will use it. The user’s boxing expertise, stature, and fitness level are all significant factors to consider. If you buy a punching bag for a youngster, consider if they are tall enough to utilise it. A short, hanging punch bag, for example, is probably not appropriate for an 8-year-old youngster. If the user has no previous boxing expertise, they may prefer the simplicity of a hanging or freestanding punch bag over a speed bag or punch bag with a spinning bar.

Where Will You Put It?

Before you buy a punching bag, think about where you’ll put it. The finest punch bag for a garage, for example, will differ from the best punch bag for usage in a spare room of an apartment or flat. Determine where you intend to place the punching bag in your home or gym. Once you’ve designated an area or place for your bag, think about whether you’ll be able to hang a punching bag from the roof or a wall within it; how much overall space you’ll have to use your bag; and whether you’ll need to minimise the amount of noise the bag makes.