Choosing the Correct Punching Bag

In today's post I will be listing some of my most recommended punching bags for everyone from children to seasoned fighter, as well as some tips to take care of your new punching bag.

For Kids 8 and under:

Kid Kick Wavemaster

Perfect for your youngster – I recommend this because children 8 and below should NOT be hitting any sort of hard punching bag. This will do more harm than good. Get this freestanding one to keep their interest – it’s also really easy to store.

You can get this bag on sale through Amazon here.

Recommended for Ages 8 and below.

For Ages 8+, Women Beginners:

Everlast 4004 40lb Traditional Bag

I would recommend a 40lb bag for light-weighted beginners – children and small women. This is a good starting bag for the weight class and because of the light weight, it will prevent any problems with wrist fractures or anything like that. I still recommend you start out with half power than work your way up as you feel comfortable.

You can buy this cheapest online through Amazon here.

Shipping Charge is Minimal

Just so you know, the image of that bag on Amazon is not the correct image. The bag will be about half size.

For Adult Beginners (Male + Female):

For the beginning adult, there are multiple options for you. These are the

recommended bags and here is why:

Everlast 4008 80lb Punching Bag

I know a lot of you macho guys out there are probably saying ‘BS I’ll be OK with a 100LB bag’. The truth is, if you have never seriously hit the bag before, you will most likely end up hurting yourself on a 100LB bag. Let me tell you a little story. I used to have these parties at my house and all the guys would see the 100lb punching bag and then begin hitting it. Mostly all of them would stop after a minute complaining of wrist pain. Know why? Because their wrists weren’t used to slugging it out on a 100lb bag. One guy even fractured a small bone in his wrist and had to go to the hospital to get it x-rayed (he was a bit drunk at the time and didn’t realize it!).

You can get this bag on Amazon here for cheap and with relatively low shipping charges.

I personally started out with a 80lb bag and worked my way up.

Century Wavemaster XXL Freestanding Bag

This is a great alternative to the 80lb hanging bag if you have problems with mounting a heavy bag from your ceiling, or if you want a more portable device that you can move around. One thing I like about these types of bags is that they tend to move forward around on the floor a bit when you hit it. It helps you learn proper positioning and advancing forward. Recommended if the hanging bag doesn’t work for you for whatever reason.

Again, you can get this through Amazon cheap – also includes free shipping so I recommend you get it there.

The BOB Heavy Bag:

This is a very cool punching bag

and if you have the money laying around, this is a very wise investment. What I really love about this ‘bag’ is that it is shaped like a 240 pound man so it gets you used to seeing a target like that. It also gets you used to targeting certain points on the body. This is going to be my next buy even though I am way past the 80lb stage.

You can read my full review of the BOB punching bag here

You can purchase this through amazon by clicking here.

For Experienced Adults

Everlast C3 Foam Heavy Bag

As you can tell, I’m a huge fan of Everlast This is the 100LB bag I use on a daily basis. Recommended for adults with 1-5 years experience. Hit this baby every day until your fists are a solid block and your wrists no longer give. Since it weighs more than most bags, this also makes for a good kicking bag as well as it won’t ‘jerk’ too much when you slam your legs into it.

You can get this on Amazon here – they have really fast shipping and the bag comes in a kit so this is one of the better places to buy it.

For Professionals:

Ringside Powerhide Heavy Bag – 130lbs

If you are professional, most likely you don’t need me to tell you what to buy. But on the small off chance, I recommend the Ringside Powerhide 130lbs punching bag. This is perfect for you heavy hitters with conditioned hands and wrists. This is my next weight upgrade coming this year (I’m outgrowing my 100LB bag power-wise).

You can buy this online through Amazon here.

Alright, now that you have selected your bag, let’s talk about what else you’ll need.

1. A mounting bracket to mount the bag to your ceiling or rafters. You can also use a heavy bag stand which I will talk about soon. That requires a whole new article so I’ll link you to that once completed.

2. You’ll need a two pairs of bag gloves. For one pair you will want a ‘thin’ glove. These are the gloves that are usually just a canvas covering that simply protect the skin on your knuckles from getting torn up. Your thin gloves should be used for conditioning only. Speaking of which, drop the macho attitude and use a freakin’ pair of bag gloves! The only thing you will get from training without them is a cut up hand which will prevent you from training more. Along with a pair of thin bag gloves, you will also want the standard ‘boxing style’ gloves in the 12oz to 16oz range. The reason for this is because using heavy gloves improves technique which helps with punching power, and as well as improve your stamina because you’ll be use to punching with weighted gloves on.

3. You also need to know how to use the heavy bag. Yes, you can just start hitting it, but you are much better off knowing the proper way to stand, how to move around the bag, how to deliver maximum power, etc. I will be creating a huge article about this in the future.

And Here are some tips to help you prolong the use of your new punching bag:

1. Do not set up your punching bag outside – one good rain and your new exercise equipment is a 300lb water logged retched sack of mold. Trust me, do not let these things get wet!

2. Wrap duct tape around the mid section of the punching bag. This will help keep your punching bag from deforming from continuous use. Yes, it will make it look ugly, but it will make your bag last a lot longer. You want to wrap it tightly enough that you see a bevel around where it has been taped. See diagram(masterful art skills)

1. If your bag chain uses hooks to connect to the bag, I also recommend you duct tape the openings so that they are closed. This will keep your bag from slipping out of the hooks. This can be really annoying to fix especially when you have gloves on.

2. If you are mounting your punching bag in your house from the ceiling, I highly recommend you add a coil spring. Without it, your house will feel like it’s in an earthquake every time you work out.

3. Keep your bag about 5 feet away from any walls. At my training school, the sheet rock walls near the bag have been caved in from hitting the bag so hard it slams into the wall behind it.

4. When hitting the bag, try to avoid making the bag swing back and forth too much – this puts a lot of strain on the mounting device and can cause it to rip out of the ceiling or rafter. This will also keep the stitching where the bag connects to the bag chain from ripping – this can ruin a punching bag.

That’s it for now!

Stay tuned, and feel free to comment below. Any questions, comments, or suggestions are very welcomed, so please do so below!