What Should I Look for When Buying a Punching Bag?

Buying a punching bag can be quite an investment, so there are many things to look out for to ensure you’re buying the right punching bag for you. When buying a punching bag, you should first consider what you want to achieve from your exercise, what type of punching bag is most suitable, what size is right for your build, and finally what materials are the most durable and cost-effective.

If you’re buying a punching bag for your home, you should also think about what space you have available and whether it’s safe to install certain types of punching bags, as some will require fixing to ceilings, walls or even doorways. So what type of punching bag is right for you?

Types of Punching Bags

There are several kinds of punching bags, each designed for a different kind of training to improve particular skills involved in boxing, Muay Thai and MMA, as well as general fitness. For kids, there are kids punching bags so they can enjoy a fun exercise safely. If you’re wondering what the best punching bag is, you need to first look at what each of them does:

• Body Bags are accurately named as they most resemble a human body in appearance and are used for improving the accuracy of shots
• Freestanding Bags are great for cardio as they’re large, heavy bags that allow for powerful strikes
• Wrecking Bags are shorter hanging bags that are great for improving footwork and agility as you need to manoeuvre the swinging ball
• Speedballs, or speed bags, are great for endurance too, but also help quicken shots and improve hand-eye coordination
• Straight Bags, also known as heavy bags, are large hanging bags that are great for increasing powerful punches and kicks, as well as improving endurance

Uses for Punching Bags

When you look into buying a punching bag, you should think about what your goals are. Since the different types of punching bags have different benefits to boxers and those looking to lose weight or integrate more cardio into their daily lives, if you’re not sure which punching bag is best for you, think about what you want to work on.

Cardio

Punching bags are great cardiovascular exercise. Whether you’re repeating your combinations for 10-30 minutes each day on a straight bag, or wreaking havoc on a freestanding bag or speedball, these three punching bags are the best for cardio workouts.

Improve Coordination

Good hand-eye coordination is crucial, not only for boxers, but sportspeople in general, and we can all benefit from improving our coordination and reaction times. Speedballs and wrecking bags are beneficial as they swing quickly, forcing you to orbit the bag quickly or fire off repetitive shots.

Improve Footwork

It can be unusual to see large, muscular men using skipping ropes that you’d usually associate with school playgrounds, but skipping is just one way that boxers improve their footwork so they can get around the ring quickly and get into their fighting stance. Wrecking bags and straight bags work on footwork and agility as the heavy bags swing after each shot, making you quickly readjust your feet ready to lay the next punch.

Increase Power

Generally speaking, the heavier the bag, the more power you can generate, which is why Mike Tyson trained with a 135 kg punching bag at the mere age of 13. If you want to increase your punching power or finally get that knockout punch into your repertoire, heavy, straight or freestanding bags are the best option for you.

Choosing the Right Size Punching Bag

Now you know what type of activity you’ll be doing and what punching bag is most suitable, you should consider what size punching bag is right for your height, weight and abilities.

What Punching Bag is Best for Beginners?

If you’re new to boxing or you’ve heard that hitting a punching bag is a fun way to work out and lose weight, you should get the right type of punching bag for you so that you can work out safely. Typically, the best punching bag for beginners is a long straight bag, as they are durable and incredibly versatile, allowing you to improve many aspects of your technique as well as burn fat and tone your muscles. For adults, 1 metre, or 3 feet punching bags are great to begin with, however, if you’ll be kicking your bag too, you should choose a punching bag over 120 cm.

These bags can also often be filled with either water or sand. Water is great for beginners as it provides sufficient resistance without hurting your hands or wrists; as you improve you can swap the water with sand to keep increasing your power.

How Heavy Should a Punching Bag Be?

The general advice when considering how heavy your punching bag should be is half of your weight, however, this changes according to the type of punching bag used, the experience of the person training, and their fitness goals.

Speedballs will be significantly lighter as they are much smaller than heavy bags, which – as the name suggests – are large and can weigh a great deal.

If using a heavy punching bag (straight or freestanding), beginners can greatly benefit from a punching bag weighing 15 – 30 kg, as this will provide a decent amount of resistance, without causing any discomfort from punching. If you’re fit but new to boxing, a 20 kg punching bag is heavy enough for a good workout, while more advanced boxers should use heavy bags of 45 – 90 kg depending on their body weight.

Storage and Installation

If you’re lucky enough not to worry about space, you’ve already got enough information to choose the right punching bag for you and your training regime, however, most of us also have to think about where we’re going to put our exercise equipment.

Straight, hanging bags can be great for those with limited space as you install a bracket on your wall or ceiling and hang the bag from there as needed. This is not a good option, however, for thin or damaged walls, as there will be a lot of force exerted on your punching bag throughout your workout, which will take its toll on your property.

Freestanding bags, although large, can also be a solid option for which punching bag to choose because they aren’t permanently installed anywhere and can be easily moved around the house for easy storage. The downside is that freestanding bags can sometimes fall over if they’re not sufficiently heavy comparable to the power of your shots. Great freestanding bags have a heavy base to avoid falling, but you should still check the size of the freestanding bag in relation to your own height, weight and experience to get the best out of your punching bag.

For everyone who’s really pushed for space, speedballs contain the ability to improve your coordination and endurance in a very small bag. If you combine this with a quick-reflecting rotating bar, you can push the speedball against the wall when it’s not needed.

Punching Bag Materials

The material used in your punching bag should also be considered before any kind of purchase. Whether you use your punching bag once a day or once a week, it will take a significant number of punches which will cause the outer material to deteriorate. That’s why the best punching bags use synthetic leather, to ensure your punching bag lasts you several years.

You can also choose from sand, water, foam or material to form the inside of your punching bag. Sand causes the most resistance and is the heaviest so is ideal for experienced boxers, while foam and material make for great punching bags for kids as they’re lighter while still providing enough resistance to imitate a real opponent.

Buy the Best Punching Bags

At Shop Maxx, we only make high-quality equipment so you can get the most out of your training sessions. Shop for punching bags, or check out our other blogs.