How to Hang a Punchbag on Soft Plaster Walls

By Kasim Javed Punchbags

Designing a home gym, or simply bringing some gym equipment home to train on can be an exciting prospect. But you need to put your equipment in the right place to ensure your and your house’s safety – the last thing you want to do is break any precious ornaments or tear down walls.

So if you’ve got a bulky item like a punching bag to attach to your walls or ceiling, you need to make sure it’s in a safe place to prevent any damage. Let’s look at punchbags in more detail so you know which type you can hang where.

Types of Punchbags

There are several types of punching bags, each with a different use:

Speed bags
Body bags
Wrecking bags
Heavy hanging bags
Freestanding bags

Which kind you should buy for use at home depends on what type of training you’re interested in as well as what space you have. Each kind of punching bag is useful for boxers and kickboxers to practise a different aspect of their boxing and punching technique, so keen boxers can benefit from investing in each kind of bag.

Speed bags are great for improving the speed with which you can punch the moving target, especially for jabs. A lot of sports involve muscle memory so repeatedly striking a speed bag can be helpful for your muscles to get used to the movements and improve your reaction time

Body bags are shaped like a human torso so boxers can practise their shot accuracy, from jabs to crosses, hooks and uppercuts, they can all be performed on a body bag to make the most of your training without having a training partner.

However, boxing isn’t just a sport for people to improve their fighting performance, it also has a great many benefits for people looking for a fun, affordable way of getting in shape. So for general fitness, some bags are better than others.

Why Use a Punching Bag for Fitness?

Large heavy bags and free-standing punching bags are great for fitness as an individual can practise many different punches on the bag, as well as move around the bag, improving their footwork and further engaging their whole body. Hitting a heavy bag is great cardio as you’re using a lot of power to hit the bag and constantly shifting your weight from your rear foot to your leading hand to get the most power in each punch. A 10-15 minute round each day on a punching bag may not sound like much, but you can burn lots of calories, making it a great activity to help you lose weight.

Many people start running when they want to get fitter and lose weight but quickly go back to their previous, unhealthy habits as running is often boring and hard on your knees as they’re bearing the brunt of your weight. But with non-weight-bearing activities like cycling or boxing, you can get a great cardio workout in, without damaging the cartilage in your knees. Protecting your knees is especially important as you get older and develop arthritis, so exercises like boxing are an excellent and healthy alternative to boring activities like running.

Benefits of Free-Standing Punchbags

Free-standing punchbags are considered one of the best types of punching bags to have for fitness, as they have all of the benefits of heavy, hanging bags, but without the installation process. Heavy bags need to be installed with brackets or mounts to raise them off the ground and keep them away from the wall so you can move around them, but if you live in a rented property or have weak walls or ceilings, you won’t be able to hang these bags.

Free-standing bags can be positioned in the middle of a room, using a heavy base to ensure they don’t fall over after being struck, so you can easily move around the bag and not risk damaging your property or belongings with a heavy bag toppling over. Then, you can simply move the bag away into storage when you’re not using it, to free up space or return your dining room to normal.

Kickboxers can also make the most of free-standing bags, as they’re tall and often padded from top to bottom, so you can practise low and high kicks, shin and knee strikes and strong front kicks, without hitting a frame, or swinging and missing a bag that’s hanging too high off the ground. Grappling dummies can also be useful for MMA fighters to train at home, as they don’t require installation either.

Where to Hang Your Punchbag

Hanging your punching bag is not as easy as you might think, so consider what space you have, and what materials your walls and ceilings are made from, before purchasing a punchbag.

There are three places in your house where it is safe to hang a punchbag:

From a support beam in your ceiling
From a solid wall (made from brick, stone or concrete)
From a sturdy tree branch outside

Although you may think only heavy bags like straight bags and wrecking bags should be hung from secure locations as the weight may bring down a weak, plaster wall, every type of punching bag, including speed bags, should be hung from a secure location. Each strike will add pressure to the mount and the wall, so the bag should be attached securely to a sturdy beam or wall.

Do not hang a punchbag from a soft plaster wall, as you will likely tear down the wall. Even if you attach the punchbag and think it’s secure, after one or several punches, there may be too much pressure on the wall to stand holding the bag.

Some people recommend simply spreading the weight of the bag across the fixtures, however, even in this case, the risk of the bag and bracket coming loose is too high and risk causing you injury as well as damaging your property. If you don’t have strong enough walls or enough space in your building, you can consider hanging your punchbag outside on a sturdy tree branch. However, make sure you bring it into storage in a dry location to prevent the materials from breaking down in harsh weather.

How to Hang Your Punchbag

The best place to hang your punchbag is from a support beam in the ceiling as this gives you plenty of room to move around the bag. However, you can also attach a wall bracket to a sturdy wall, so the punching bag is away from the wall and you have at least 180° to move around the bag. You can check for support beams and strong walls by rapping gently on the wall with your knuckles, a hollow sound indicates the surface is thin and unsupported, so you should not position your punchbag here.

Once you have a suitable location to hang your punchbag, you can drill into the surface to attach an eyebolt, which you can then hook the chain of your punching bag on, so it can swing, and be easily removed as you require. If you have a wall mount, you can screw the bolts into the wall as per the directions, ensuring they’re tightened securely so that they won’t move or come loose.

Hanging a Punching Bag for Kids

You shouldn’t hang a kid’s punching bag from the ceiling as they won’t be able to reach it, so when hanging a kid’s punching bag, make sure it’s an appropriate distance from the ground so that they can train easily. Kids’ punchbags are lighter than adults’, at around half their body weight, but even kids’ punching bags should only be attached to sturdy walls to prevent damaging the wall and allow them to have fun training safely.

Furthermore, both adults and children should train with the appropriate weight boxing gloves to protect their hands, whatever kind of punching bag they’re using. MMA gloves and Muay Thai gloves don’t offer enough protection, so always stick to boxing gloves.

Maxx Pro Boxing – the Best Boxing Supplies

At Maxx Pro Boxing, we supply some of the country’s best boxing equipment. Browse our range of punching bags today so you can start training at home in no time.