Punching Bag Buyer’s Guide

Standing Punching Bags:

If you plan on kickboxing, definitely purchase a standing punching bag since standing bags start much lower to the ground and are often height adjustable. The base is normally filled with water or sand. Sand will give you a more sturdy base and will rock less when hit. Some say stable is better but a little rocking is more realistic since your opponent moves with your punch. To incorporate the fluidity into the stand, water is much better. A water filled standing base is around 300lbs. One of the big disadvantages to standing bags is they are normally of lesser quality and are more likely to wear and tear.

The Hanging Bag:

If you are not into kickboxing and you are after a more durable, more professional punching bag, the hanging punching bag is best. Mounted to the wall or ceiling with chains allows the hanging bag to sway upon impact, better representing an actual opponent and allowing you to work on combos and footwork. Another key thing is the hanging bag will always return back to its original position while the standing bags are likely slowly slide across the floor, never returning to their original position. Please, please, please, before purchasing a hanging bag, check the weight of the bag and ensure your ceiling or alternate support can safely support it.

How much sway should there be in a Hanging Bag?

A bag should sway a little so that your don’t break your hand upon impact, but not so much that the target is constantly moving and it’s near impossible to land a punch. Sway for a hanging bag is really determined by the size of the fighter and the weight of the bag. For a 5’10 180 lb. male, a 70-80lb bag will work. This is just a rule of thumb and those who throw lighter punches should aim for 50-60lb bags while those who really wish to throw some of the harder punches can go to the 100-120 lb bags.

To keep in mind:

It is recommended that you always use some type of hand protection when working the bag. Although serious bag injuries aren’t too common, it’s pretty terrible to admit that you can’t participate in the actual fight because you broke your hand on the bag. As far as hand protection goes, it can be pro gloves for a boxer, striking/grappling gloves for those into MMA or possibly just hand/wrist wraps. Please use some type of protection though- It’s better for your bones and will result in less wear and tear on the bag. For those planning on using less hand protection, you may want to consider a lighter bag to avoid potential injuries.

Punching Bag Mounts And Hangers: How To Hang a Heavy Bag

While hanging a punching bag may seem like common sense to some, there are some important aspects that shouldn’t be overlooked to achieve optimal workout settings and maintain safety. There’s nothing worse than then having your wall or ceiling come crashing down a day or two after hanging your brand new bag, especially if you happened to be training at the time.

Find a strong support beam that you are sure can more than handle the weight of the bag to accommodate both the bag weight and the extra force due to the bag swinging upon impact. If you are not sure whether a beam is strong enough to support a bag, do your research first! Again, if a bag comes crashing down and you are lashed by a chain or hook, you won’t be happy. Also, make sure you follow the manufacturer’s directions.

Be sure that the support from which you choose to hang the punching bag is a reasonable place within the room. If it’s too close to a wall, the bag may swing into the wall, potentially breaking the wall or rebounding unpredictably. The best place in my opinion is in the middle of a room, or at least six feet to the nearest wall. This allows the trainer to circle the bag and work on footwork and punches from all angles.

Once you finally have pinpointed where you want to hang the bag, pre-drill a hole in the support and install an eyebolt using a screw driver as a lever to turn the bolt. Avoid using hooks as punching bags can potentially fall off a hook if struck hard enough. Last but not least, connect each corner of the bag together with the provided chains and use the S-hook to connect the top of the punching bag chains to the eyebolt.

If you find you don’t have a good support beam or want a more mobile solution, there are stands available on wheels that are readily mobile. There are also standing punching bags where the base can be filled with water or sand to provide as much as 300lbs towards a steady base. While these bags may help save space and take away the hassle of initially mounting a bag, they don’t have the sway and feel that you’d expect from a true hanging bag. Hope this has helped with your bag setup. Be safe. Train hard.

Dave Toub is the owner of http://www.punchingbagspro.com>Punching Bags Pro and absolutely loves the sport.

Everlast Punching Bag Favorites : The Teddy Atlas Angle Bag

Although there are various punching bag brands out there, my favorite bags are Everlast brand. This article is not meant to knock other manufacturers/ brands – It is meant to review some of the benefits of the Teddy Atlas Angle Bag and what is has to offer. What makes these bags unique and how can they help you to achieve your boxing and MMA training objectives, beyond the standard bag drills?

The Teddy Atlas Uppercut Bag (aka Teddy Atlas Workout System), is an 100 lb. bag where the bag is split into two sections. The lower 50-60% of the bag has a smaller radius than the upper part of the bag. The smaller radius section must extend about a half a foot outward to conform to the upper larger radius, creating various angled faces to emulate real angles one would encounter in a real fight.

Because of the angles faces, this is a great tool for learning or practicing hooks and uppercuts. Because uppercuts, hooks, jabs, and crosses are inherently different punches, they require slightly different pivoting and weight transfer to achieve the optimal effectiveness. Actually practicing with different angled faced allows you to figure out these subtle differences and to better your game across the whole spectrum of shots.

What’s really nice is the bag is designed with checkered targets, designated spots outlined on the bag to work the most common angles. Each target is numbered, enabling simplified combo drill creation and execution (2-4-2-3, 2-6-5-6,etc). This bag can also double as a normal punching bag since the bottom section is flat.

Last but not least, because the bag is double ended, it is very stable. It has some give but won’t fly all over the place so it really lets you work on making a flush contact point to really feel when your punches hit home. If the bag is flying all over, a pro boxer will learn to deal with it over time. For those looking to learn right the first time, this is a definite plus.

So am I biased? Of course. Anyone who writes an article is biased and writes to express what he/she believes. If you already agree that this is one of the best products out there, awesome. If not, don’t knock it till you try it. – Get to a gym and run some quick drills on it. All I know is my uppercuts and hooks are killer and it

Punching Bag Strength Workout

The punching bag is one of the best strength buildings tools out there. This workout is not just for hardcore boxers but for anyone who wants a good anaerobic workout. Many have turned to boxing and working the bag over weight training because it’s not as monotonous and because if done properly, results in less pressure on joints.

One of the most important things to remember is to warm up to avoid injury. I prefer a minute of jumping jacks followed by general calf/quad/arm stretching. Please, please, please, do not skip this step. It is better to take an extra 5 minutes a day warming up than an hour sitting at home missing your workouts wishing you weren’t injured.

When working for strength, the way in which your hand contacts the bag is very important. Ensure that the flat part of your middle and pointer fingers make contact with the bag (not your knuckles) and that your wrist stays straight. A very common mistake is hitting the bag with your knuckles and not aiming for your middle and pointer fingers. If you strike a bag hard enough and make contact with your middle and ring knuckles, you are very likely to fracture or break your hand.

The key to strong punches isn’t arm strength; its throwing your whole body weight behind each punch. Try to step in three inches to a foot following up every punch you throw, trailing the left hand with the left foot and the right hand with the right foot. Additionally, the left foot should pivot for a right cross and the right foot shoot pivot for a left jab. Pivoting will help transfer weight from your hips into your punch. Along the same lines, imagine a target about a foot behind the bag or your opponent. By punching through your bag/opponent, you will achieve a much greater force, especially when following with a step to throw your body weight behind it.

The most important aspect to strength training with a heavy bag in my opinion is variability. Don’t just throw jabs or crosses or preset combos all day. Mix it up and keep in mind the tips discussed above and apply them to all of your moves. Try for four short sessions of about 3 minutes with one minute rest in between. Remember to wrap your hands, avoid punching with your knuckles, and drink plenty of water in between sessions.

Punching Bag Training 101

Using the heavy bag can be a great way to improve your game. It is there to help better your endurance, strength, and to work on proper punching techniques and combinations. Despite the name, the punching bag shouldn’t just be a bag that you punch. It should be treated as a true opponent so that you can prepare as much as possible for the real thing. When fighting an opponent, important things to consider are blocking effectively and using many combos to keep your opponent on his toes.

The jab_____________________________

For a righty, the left jab is your lead punch. Although the jab isn’t as powerful as the cross (right/strong arm), it is there to setup scenarios where a cross can be landed- it is usually the start to every combination. The cross is meant to stun and trick your opponent so that a big punch can be landed.

With your right hand by your chin for protection against the punching bag (your opponent), a jab should be very quick. As a starting position both fists should be by your chin for protection. It is very important that after a jab is thrown, you return back to the starting position. The fist should be turned 90 degrees when throwing a jab, starting with your thumb faced up and making impact to the punching bag with your thumb to the side. Again, even though you may be training with a heavy bag that won’t necessarily attack you, it is important to always come back to your chin to protect yourself. Practice makes perfect.

Don’t let the punching bag win____________________

Whether it is the jab or any other punch, it is important to remember to make contact primarily with the pointer and middle finger knuckles. There are many injuries because punches are landed right between the middle two knuckles. These injuries can last months or years, so this is not something to scoff over. Injuries can occur with a bag or with an opponent.

Whenever you throw a punch, it is important to effectively transfer weight into your punches and to keep your opponent on his toes. I love this sport so I could chew your ear off forever giving you thousands of punching bag techniques- Instead of doing this, I just want to stress a few of my favorite shots and shifting your weight effectively.

Jab: Strive to punch straight forward and retreat straight back, using hips for power. To ensure a straight punch, line up your fist with a spot on the heavy bag and just focus on staying in line with that spot.

Left body shot: Lean in towards the heavy bag, use power from hips, pivoting off the ball of your left foot. Many times this shot is meant to contact the kidneys because it takes a lot out of your opponent. With proper pivoting and weight transfer, you should be able to move the punching bag a good amount.

Left hook: Ensure elbow is at the same elevation as your shoulder for a strong punch. With your arm bent at a right angle, pivot off your back foot. Again you should be able to move the punching bag a good amount.

Remember to have fun, stay focused and get the most out of training with your punching bag. Even though the heavy back won’t hit back, remember to keep the guard up. And even though it might be fun to just use your stronger arm and throw crosses constantly, the jab is really the shot that sets up the fight so that the stronger punches can have a place later.

Punching Bags: The Heavy Bag is Your Opponent

A great boxer understands the importance of strong punches and combinations to keep his opponent on his toes and to continually establish scenarios where he can land a strong punch. A punching bag is a great place to exercise combinations and build endurance. Below are a few of the most effective shots/combos out there.

Heavy Bag Shots and Combos________________________

Jab, double jab, triple jab-: While the jab isn’t the strongest punch, it plays an important role of distracting your opponent. Be sure to mix it up a bit. Don’t always do the standard single jab or jab-cross. Why not jab-jab-cross or jab-jab-jab cross. As long as you mix it up, your opponent won’t be able to predict you. Pick a spot on the punching bag and try to jab repeatedly hitting that same spot.

Right cross: Usually preceded by a jab, ensure that you really follow through when doing the right cross. You want it to be powerful yet quick. If it is two slow, the opponent can get a punch in over the bend in the elbow straight to your face whereas if your arm is straightened, your chin is protected by your shoulder.

Jab-right cross: The most well known combo. Throw the heavy bag a quick jab with the left and a powerful cross with the right, being sure to follow through and step out of the way after throwing the cross. The bag can still knock you over if you don’t step away after a hard punch, just like an opponent can throw a counter punch.

Regard the punching bag as your opponent_______________________________

After all combinations, practice rolling under the punching bag, ducking and dodging around the bag. Imagine that you just unleashed hell on you opponent, and the opponent is coming back with the counter-shot of a right hand. Strive to go under the right hand (heavy bag) and come up with a right hook. If you can dodge the punching bag, you can dodge your opponent’s cross.

We don’t want to just go out there and start swinging at the bag. Once we throw a combination, we should know which way to shift our weight. Again the most common way to counter a cross is to duck under the opponents arm (or the punching bag) and once under, you can take a crack at the body or chin.

After every punch, it’s best to keep moving or circle the punching bag as to get out of the path of your opponent. Most people move around the bag to the left since most out there are righties. Be sure to practice this both to the left and right. If you always go the same way, it’s easier for your opponent to predict, making it harder for you.

Use the heavy bag for everything it has to offer. Don’t just beat the crap out of it. Pretend it’s an opponent that fights back. When it swings back after you throw a cross, duck under it and counter with a hook or an uppercut. The punching bag is one of the best tools out there. Just be sure to use it right and regard it as an opponent and not just a psychological release.