How Do I Know What Weight Punching Bag to Get for My Child?
Choosing the right punching bag can be very difficult and even once you’ve picked the right type of punching bag to buy, you need to consider what weight is appropriate for your child. There are many different kinds of punching bags but the most common for household use are the heavy bags also known as hanging bags and freestanding bags. These allow you to improve many different aspects of your boxing technique as well as utilising them for fitness.
So what bag should you get for your child and how heavy should it be?
Choosing the Right Punching Bag
It’s important to choose the right punching bag to have at home to make the most of your home training. Each type of punching bag works on a different aspect of your boxing technique, so ideally you would have several punching bags in your house but this can take up too much space and be costly. So it’s important to consider what aspects of training are most important in order to get the most out of your boxing training.
Some techniques necessary to practise in boxing include:
- Speed
- Accuracy
- Footwork
- Reaction time
- Power
- Endurance
Each can be improved through training on a different type of punching bag.
Type of Punching Bag
There are several different types of punching bags including:
- Speed bags
- Body bags
- Wrecking bags
- Heavy hanging bags
- Freestanding bags
Some fighters also benefit from grappling dummies but these are not so common in boxing as they are useful for wrestling and manoeuvres on the floor that you would find in Mixed Martial Arts sports rather than in boxing. Each type of bag, and grappling dummies, can be filled with different materials, from cloth rags to sand and water. These give the bag weight and provide some comfort for your hands.
Punching bags for children are usually filled with rags to provide more protection for their hands and keep the weight low.
The two best types of punching bags to have at home are freestanding bags and heavy hanging bags. These types of punching bags are great for cardio as well as enabling you to receive the mental benefits of hitting the bag as hard as you can to relieve stress. For children, the most important aspects to learn are power, endurance and reaction time, all of which can be improved with a heavy or freestanding bag.
Freestanding bags are considered beneficial for people who cannot add permanent fixtures to their homes as they don’t need wall mounts and brackets, while heavy hanging bags are generally considered the most beneficial overall although they need to be installed permanently. Both types of punching bags are around the same price, and due to the size and weight, children’s punching bags are cheaper than adults’. So, it’s worth buying either a heavy bag or a freestanding bag, just choose the right weight for your child’s training.
Weight of the Punching Bag
Generally, you should choose a heavy bag that is half of your body weight. This advice is for adults as well as children when choosing the right weight punching bag for them, although it’s better to choose a lighter bag for children to start with.
Children under 16 can find kids’ punching bags which are pre-filled with rags to make sure they’re the right weight. In some cases, you can buy empty bags which you can fill yourself to change the weight to make it most appropriate for your child if they are under 10 or small for their age. It is unlikely that they’ll need a heavier bag than those made for children, as these are made specifically with children’s weights in mind.
You may think that your child is destined to be a pro but not everyone is Mike Tyson able to hit a 300 lb (136 kg) bag at the age of 13. So when choosing the weight of a heavy bag for your child first consider their weight.
Adult punching bags can vary from 80 to 120 cm for boxing training, while kickboxing and Muay Thai bags tend to be 120 cm or longer to enable practising kicks too. Children’s punching bags are usually up to 80 cm long, and have a narrower diameter so they’re easier for the little ones to train with.
Finding the Right Place for Your Punching Bag
When buying a punching bag for your child, it’s also important to know where to hang it so they can train safely. With heavy bags, the ideal place is in the centre of the room from the ceiling support beam, so that they’re able to move around the whole bag and avoid any objects. But as kids’ punching bags are smaller than those for adults, hanging them from the ceiling may mean they can’t reach them.
In this case, you should find a solid wall in your house, either made from brick, stone or concrete and attach your wall mount ready to hang your punching bag. Make sure there’s plenty of space on either side for the bag to swing and your child to move.
If your child will train with a freestanding bag, you can simply move it into the middle of any room with space around for your child to move around it safely.
Getting the Right Gloves
If your child is just starting to get interested in boxing, it may be tempting to see how they get on with the punching bag before investing in any other equipment. But they should always wear boxing gloves when hitting a punching bag.
Boxing gloves are designed in a way to keep your hand in the shape of a fist, with your fingers curled over and your thumb tucked in to make punching easier. They also have a cushion over the knuckles to protect them from the impact of striking a person, a punching bag or focus pads. Although punching bags may be designed to soften the impact of the punch and absorb the shock, boxing gloves are essential to reduce the risk of injury even further.
What’s more, while they may appear similar to boxing gloves, Muay Thai gloves are very different. With the thumb loose for grappling moves and cushion spread out over the palm and back of the hand, Muay Thai gloves don’t offer the same protection that boxing gloves do and shouldn’t be used as a replacement.
Punching a punching bag doesn’t make you punch harder and training without gloves won’t increase hand strength; ensure your kid’s comfort and safety by getting them the right pair of boxing gloves.
How Often to Train
One of the main questions people have when investing in a punching bag for their home is how often they should train, and there’s no right or wrong answer. Train as often as you feel comfortable!
Children in the UK are advised to take part in at least 60 minutes of moderate exercise per week including activities that will strengthen their muscles and bones. Fortunately, hitting a punching bag covers both of those actions!
When you begin training with a punching bag, a 5 to 10-minute session can be great to break a sweat and utilise your muscles. But if that’s too intense, you can do a few 2 to 3-minute rounds in between other strength training activities like squats or sit-ups. Try this 4 to 5 times a week to start a healthy habit and reap the physical benefits of boxing.
It’s best to start moderately and make sure your kid is fully engaged and as their interest builds, you can increase the time working out and the intensity.
Buy the Best Punching Bags – Maxx Pro Boxing
At Maxx Pro Boxing, we design each piece of equipment for combat sports with the user in mind. That’s why all of our boxing gloves and punching bags are made with high-quality, durable and affordable materials. Browse our range of punching bags today, so you and your child can get fit from home in no time!
