How to Choose the Right Punching Bag for Your Workout?

You might think you got a good workout in, but chances are you’re using the wrong punching bag. Don’t worry; you’re among the many at-home boxers who have the same issue.

With so many options and variations of boxing bags to choose from, it can be a hassle to determine the right one for you.

So, in this article, we’ll show you how to choose the right punching bag for your workout to improve your boxing performance.

Since there are so many different bags of various sizes and weights, we’ll also walk you through each one, so you know which suits your workouts best.

Why Is It Important to Choose the Right Punching Bag?

Most beginners will make the common mistake of choosing a random punching bag without seeing its specifications.

Choosing the wrong punching bag will cause you more problems than any good. That is because every bag is not ideal for your height, weight, or workout goals.

Moreover, each variation of punching bags come with their own way of being mounted or set up. It means that not every punching bag is the right one for your garage or workout room, and most of them are for gym use rather than home.

So, it’s essential you know the specifications of a punching bag before incorporating it into your training.

Check our article about Boxing Workout For Beginner. We hope that this guideline will help you step by step.

Types of Different Punching Bags: And What They Mean?

Punching bags come with a variety of different designs with features that make them unique to the other. Here are some types and what each of them enable the bag to do –

Traditional and Free-standing

The punching bags we usually see and are used to are traditional ones. They hang from the ceiling or are fitted on a stand and tend to swing when they are hit.

Free-standing punching bags, however, have a slight dome-like base and can be moved around the workspace easily.

Both of these bags are heavy. These types of bags are most commonly used in karate, Muay Thai, and boxing because they’re great for sharpening kicking and punching skills.

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Weight and Size

A 200-pound punching bag may seem like the best choice for extra cardio, but they are the worst if you’re not already a heavyweight boxer.

The unspoken rule among boxers is to use a bag that is around half the weight of your entire body. That way, it is easier to work with both the size and weight.

Beginner boxers should look for lighter bags weighing about 40 to a maximum of 70 pounds. When you’ve developed basic skills to call yourself an intermediate boxer, you can level up to a 100-pound punching bag.

Speed Bag

Speed bags are small, teardrop-shaped bags that are used to improve agility, timing, strength, and cardiovascular endurance.

What makes a speed bag different from usual heavy bags is the size and weight. They are much smaller than regular punching bags and are filled with air, making them as light as ever.

These bags are held by ropes or a stand from walls or ceilings. They are regularly used in traditional boxing training to sharpen skills related to speed.

With a speed bag, boxers can learn how to shift their weight between feet in action, improve hand-eye coordination as well as know when to keep their hands up.

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Teardrop Bag

By its name, it can easily be mistaken for a speed bag. But in fact, it’s much heavier than a speed bag and is suspended from the ceiling by chains, ropes, or belts.

The shape of the bag more closely resembles a human body which enables more practice of elbowing, uppercuts, and kneeling.

Teardrop bags are excellent for practicing uppercuts and body hooks. You can elbow, kick, and knee these bags in addition to delivering incredibly powerful hooks, uppercuts, and body punches.

These extra moves expand your range of motion and add variety to your training, which is good for fitness.

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Body Bag

Body bags are the closest to resembling an actual person in the variety of punching bags. They are usually set on a stand, with a fake torso, arms, and head to look like a human.

This shape helps boxers to practice on a realistic opponent without requiring a partner or trainer.

This type of bag is most used in mixed martial arts. While the most obvious advantage of a body bag is the opportunity to practice punches, grappling, and kicks, it also has several other advantages that you may not be aware of.

Body bag workouts help with technique, timing, strength, agility, balance, hand-eye coordination, and stress relief.

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Double End Bag

These bags are usually sought out by boxers who want to get more out of their speed bags. Double-end bags differ from speed bags in many ways. For one, they’re attached from floor and ceiling to bring about elasticity and increased free range of motion.

The elasticity of the bag’s ropes enables the bag to “hit back” by recoiling back to its original form.

That helps boxers respond to incoming hits without a partner or trainer to assist them. Since there aren’t any restraints around the bag, boxers can move around and practice from different angles like you would with a real opponent.

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Frequently Asked Questions!

• How do I know what size punching bag to get?

You should know what size punching bag to get by comparing your weight with the weight of the bag itself. Usually, if the bag is approximately half your body weight, it’s good enough. However, if you’re a beginner, go for no more than a 70-pound bag.

• Is punching a body bag a good workout?

During a body bag training session, the muscles in your upper body and your lower body are all involved, making it a highly effective full-body exercise.

Body bags also resemble the shape of an actual opponent, making it more effective for boxers to calculate and practice precise hits.

• What is the best punching-bag for beginners?

A free-standing punching bag weighing no more than 70 pounds is the best for beginner boxers.

Conclusion

That brings us to the end of all our info on how to choose the right punching bag for your workout.

We’ve walked you through the variety of different bags to choose from for your training; now, all that’s left to do is make a choice. Remember to keep our advice in mind while making your pick.