Any Recommendations For A Boxing Bag At Home?

Zebra Cheeks

Cheeky Bastard
Staff member
Senior Moderator
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
45,914
Reaction score
102,105
I’m looking to get a bag I can throw some punches on, and a couple kicks here or there. I’m a pretty big guy so I need a sturdy set up that won’t slide/shift on me if I hit it with a big punch/kick.

I have a wooden rafter I “can” hang a bag from but I’d like to avoid it if I can. And recommendations on either a stand, or a bag designed to stand that won’t move on me for an in home set up?

Really interested to hear your preference for your own set up, and things I should avoid. Thank you.
 
I don't have munch to contribute but if it were just punches, I think a double end bag is much preferable to standalone heavy bag. But for a standalone bag you're probably going to be looking at those with a water base like this dude has:
 
I don't have munch to contribute but if it were just punches, I think a double end bag is much preferable to standalone heavy bag. But for a standalone bag you're probably going to be looking at those with a water base like this dude has:

That’s awesome. I think that’s the best direction to go is the sand/water fill. I looked at wall mounts but I don’t love the idea of mounting something in punching
 
I don't really have an appropriate space in my house to hang a heavy bag, unfortunately.

I've got a Gallant Free-standing bag. This one:

https://www.gallantsports.co.uk/pro...QcTqL5fPRDXMM_6MlYoRo89YmOzM8HQxoCJ5sQAvD_BwE

Bought it during lockdown 1 last year - it cost me around £90 on eBay, and its the best money I ever spent. The base was filled by the previous owner with sand, so it barely moves at all. I'm heavy handed and it'll inch around the floor over 10 rounds, but nothing problematic.

I've used it 2-3 times a week over the last year, so that must be around 1500 rounds, and apart from some cracks in the surface (bound in traditional fashion with black tape), it has been terrific. Never thought I'd say that about a free-standing bag.
 
I’m looking to get a bag I can throw some punches on, and a couple kicks here or there. I’m a pretty big guy so I need a sturdy set up that won’t slide/shift on me if I hit it with a big punch/kick.

I have a wooden rafter I “can” hang a bag from but I’d like to avoid it if I can. And recommendations on either a stand, or a bag designed to stand that won’t move on me for an in home set up?

Really interested to hear your preference for your own set up, and things I should avoid. Thank you.

Hey @Zebra Cheeks
In my opinion, I guess there are a few factors I can think of that would depend to make best call for your boxing bag.

Is it an indoor or backyard gym? This might help guiding you into which material you'd need the bag to be. If you are planning to put up some proper work out to this bag, I'd suggest you spend a bit more and get one made of genuine leather. However, this might be driven if you will have this inside or outside.

I'm not sure if stand-alone bags have the closure available to fill it up (or remove) to add more weight to it based on your desired bouncing. Traditional boxing bags however, you can customize it to make it as hard as you may like it to be. Me personally, have added a few kg of sand into my bag, to have it in my desired comfort when punching.

I also love aqua bags, but I'm not sure these would help for kicking. I believe mostly they are made for punching in a water drop design.

My house is not such a big place, where my gym lives together with TV room and my wife's workplace. Based on that, I also had to look somehow the gym to not look bad/ ugly - what I consider as "decoration" :) -, so also tried to keep the design of it a bit aesthetic.

For the boxing bag I placed inside my house for my small home gym, there were some things I should've chosen better...
1- Getting a larger bag: Mine is actually 95 cm large, this is a bit limited for body and head punches. Might be even more limited for kicks.
2- Hanged vs standalone: Hanged bag may require a bit more effort in setting it up, but might save you some space and look better. Once you have it set up, is just about plugging in and off and you can clear that space. My opinion is standalone bags does tend to use a lot more of space and might not be so simple to store them.
3- Having it in synthetic leather: Given the price and spending capacity I had at the time I acquired this, I didn't paid much attention to it being synthetic leather. After several months of use and "decoration", quality, feeling and look of genuine leather is better.

My costs of implementation were the following:
- Iron bar in the ceiling with installation USD $140
- Boxing bag $70
- Double ended bag with bungee ropes and rope $70
- Extension chains and adapters $20

I'll drop here some pictures I've taken yesterday of my humble home boxing gym, with some measures in case it helps as a reference.
WhatsApp Image 2021-02-17 at 10.19.51.jpeg WhatsApp Image 2021-02-17 at 11.01.06.jpeg WhatsApp Image 2021-02-17 at 10.19.50 (1).jpeg WhatsApp Image 2021-02-17 at 10.19.50.jpeg WhatsApp Image 2021-02-17 at 10.19.49 (1).jpeg WhatsApp Image 2021-02-17 at 10.19.47.jpeg

Edgar
 

Attachments

  • WhatsApp Image 2021-02-17 at 10.19.49.jpeg
    WhatsApp Image 2021-02-17 at 10.19.49.jpeg
    55 KB · Views: 0
  • WhatsApp Image 2021-02-17 at 10.19.48.jpeg
    WhatsApp Image 2021-02-17 at 10.19.48.jpeg
    33.2 KB · Views: 0
Hey @Zebra Cheeks
In my opinion, I guess there are a few factors I can think of that would depend to make best call for your boxing bag.

Is it an indoor or backyard gym? This might help guiding you into which material you'd need the bag to be. If you are planning to put up some proper work out to this bag, I'd suggest you spend a bit more and get one made of genuine leather. However, this might be driven if you will have this inside or outside.

I'm not sure if stand-alone bags have the closure available to fill it up (or remove) to add more weight to it based on your desired bouncing. Traditional boxing bags however, you can customize it to make it as hard as you may like it to be. Me personally, have added a few kg of sand into my bag, to have it in my desired comfort when punching.

I also love aqua bags, but I'm not sure these would help for kicking. I believe mostly they are made for punching in a water drop design.

My house is not such a big place, where my gym lives together with TV room and my wife's workplace. Based on that, I also had to look somehow the gym to not look bad/ ugly - what I consider as "decoration" :) -, so also tried to keep the design of it a bit aesthetic.

For the boxing bag I placed inside my house for my small home gym, there were some things I should've chosen better...
1- Getting a larger bag: Mine is actually 95 cm large, this is a bit limited for body and head punches. Might be even more limited for kicks.
2- Hanged vs standalone: Hanged bag may require a bit more effort in setting it up, but might save you some space and look better. Once you have it set up, is just about plugging in and off and you can clear that space. My opinion is standalone bags does tend to use a lot more of space and might not be so simple to store them.
3- Having it in synthetic leather: Given the price and spending capacity I had at the time I acquired this, I didn't paid much attention to it being synthetic leather. After several months of use and "decoration", quality, feeling and look of genuine leather is better.

My costs of implementation were the following:
- Iron bar in the ceiling with installation USD $140
- Boxing bag $70
- Double ended bag with bungee ropes and rope $70
- Extension chains and adapters $20

I'll drop here some pictures I've taken yesterday of my humble home boxing gym, with some measures in case it helps as a reference.
View attachment 834433 View attachment 834432 View attachment 834434 View attachment 834435 View attachment 834436 View attachment 834439

Edgar
Hi Edgar, thanks for taking the time to write that all out. I really appreciate it.

It’s indoors. In the future I may look to set something up outside, but for the foreseeable future it would stay indoors. If I were to do it outside, I’d set up a post in the ground and just take the bags on/off as I used it.

Right now I’m thinking I’ll start with a heavy bag, and look at potentially adding a double end bag dog the road, as I’ve used those before and enjoyed it quite a bit because I liked playing with the timing more than the heavy bag.

Thank you for attaching some photos. I think the other concern on my end is that I’m still figuring out what I like/want. So I’m thinking it might make sense to start with a cheaper/budget standalone bag so I can get a feel of exactly what I’m looking for. If I’m really feeling it and enjoying it perhaps I’ll invest in something like a nice leather bag, or a double end bag, and mount them. If this sucker keeps moving on me, I’m gonna feel a bit silly, but live and learn right?

The bag I’m looking at, it has the stand, which is about a foot, then there is 60 inches of bag on there. It’s a pretty hefty base, which is supposed to hold 150 of sand, so I’m hoping that, with the weight of the bag will keep it from knocking over. The flooring is just concrete, so I’m not worried about scuffing etc, I more so just don’t want to hit it, and have it fall over and make me stop whatever I’m doing to fix it. Or have it break because it fell over it that makes sense?

Im absolutely just starting out; so I may be completely misguided. If that’s the case feel free to let me know!
 
@Edgar Martinez @Zebra Cheeks just a brief comment you both talk about moving the bag putting it on and off the chain my heavy bag weighs around 85kg and it is not that easy to do at all by yourself and I can lift fairly heavy weights

You are right @RDL81 . I was only speaking on behalf my experience with my 20~ kg bag.
 
The bag I’m looking at, it has the stand, which is about a foot, then there is 60 inches of bag on there. It’s a pretty hefty base, which is supposed to hold 150 of sand, so I’m hoping that, with the weight of the bag will keep it from knocking over. The flooring is just concrete, so I’m not worried about scuffing etc, I more so just don’t want to hit it, and have it fall over and make me stop whatever I’m doing to fix it. Or have it break because it fell over it that makes sense?

Im absolutely just starting out; so I may be completely misguided. If that’s the case feel free to let me know!

The stand on mine is taller and the sand makes it really heavy and hard to move around. When I bought it, getting it into and out of my car & into the house was murder. But I can't knock it down with a single shot.

If I hit it with a good combination of power punches, then I've knocked it over a few times - when it's momentum shifts and I hit it while it's swaying. But it bounces back up.

Even then, that is sort of satisfying.

DOn't get me wrong - if I could choose, I'd prefer a traditional heavy bag. But I've been surprised by how good a Free-standing bag can be.
 
The stand on mine is taller and the sand makes it really heavy and hard to move around. When I bought it, getting it into and out of my car & into the house was murder. But I can't knock it down with a single shot.

If I hit it with a good combination of power punches, then I've knocked it over a few times - when it's momentum shifts and I hit it while it's swaying. But it bounces back up.

Even then, that is sort of satisfying.

DOn't get me wrong - if I could choose, I'd prefer a traditional heavy bag. But I've been surprised by how good a Free-standing bag can be.
Perfect. That’s about what I’m looking for. I don’t mind pulling off a bit of power on the follow up punch etc to prevent it from knocking. I just don’t want to hit it with a single strike and have it fall over. at that point, why even bother? Right?

Thank you my friend
 
I started out with the double end and still think that's a great idea to start. Maybe one of the 'peanut' shaped ones if you're kicking as well. If you do go with hanging a heavy from the rafter, I had one in my old place in the basement that rattled the whole house. The new setup is a million times better in terms of noise and vibration. Plus no drilling or permanent hardware.

From bag to beam: Four nylon straps instead of chains from the bag leading to a carabiner. Carabiner attached to a silent swivel. Relatively thin bungee cord instead of a spring so I could control the amount of bounce. (I did originally get a bag spring but it was too stiff). Finally another carabiner connecting the short bungee to a more robust nylon strap that goes over the beam.

PACETAP Tree Swing Straps Kit, 2 Set 5ft Swing Hanging Strap with Heavy Duty Carabiners and Swivel Hook, Hold 2200 lbs with Tree Protector for Tire, Disc Swings, Hammocks: Amazon.ca: Patio, Lawn & Garden

SAIVEN Safety Rotational Device Swivel Rotator for Rope Climbing Hammock/Swing Setting/Aerial Dance (Color-1): Amazon.ca: Sports & Outdoors
 
If you've got the capabilities to fix something to the wall outside your house. I'd definitely consider making you own "aqua bag" for £80/$120 you could make your own. That price includes bracket, buoy/fender, chains and swivels. It would be cheaper if you could hang it from a joist.

If your a big guys your going to want something that's got a bit of heft to it to withstand your kicks to reduce swing. The reason I mention aquabag is for the cost you get a nice heavy solid bag. A big heavy bag could set you back a few pennies.

I'm a penny pinching tight bastard if you haven't notice haha
 
I’m looking to get a bag I can throw some punches on, and a couple kicks here or there. I’m a pretty big guy so I need a sturdy set up that won’t slide/shift on me if I hit it with a big punch/kick.

I have a wooden rafter I “can” hang a bag from but I’d like to avoid it if I can. And recommendations on either a stand, or a bag designed to stand that won’t move on me for an in home set up?

Really interested to hear your preference for your own set up, and things I should avoid. Thank you.


Not sure what area you reside in. I got something like this made by a metal fabricator locally(Toronto). It costs $400 CAD. I am sure one can get it made for cheaper in the States.

Here are the details in dimensions if you decide to go this route - 8’ High x 3’ wide with 3” square tubing and bottom 12” x 12” x 3/8” thickness plate weld with 5/8” size holes
 
I built an A frame from 4x4s, 2x6s and 2x4s with lag bolts and screws. Lasted so far for 30 years. Use chains to keep the training items separated. Use a 6" step stool and ladder to remove and install the 130 lb long bag and a 2 pulley system and counter weights (50 lbs of weight plates) to remove and install the 100 lb boxing heavy bag. My ceiling height is 8 feet so barely works for the long bag. Is cumbersome but metal was too expensive back then. Has worked better than expected for COVID and Zoom workouts with my trainer.
 

Attachments

  • A Frame.jpg
    A Frame.jpg
    1.3 MB · Views: 9
I built an A frame from 4x4s, 2x6s and 2x4s with lag bolts and screws. Lasted so far for 30 years. Use chains to keep the training items separated. Use a 6" step stool and ladder to remove and install the 130 lb long bag and a 2 pulley system and counter weights (50 lbs of weight plates) to remove and install the 100 lb boxing heavy bag. My ceiling height is 8 feet so barely works for the long bag. Is cumbersome but metal was too expensive back then. Has worked better than expected for COVID and Zoom workouts with my trainer.
Good job there well done
 
Hey @Zebra Cheeks
So what it ended up being? Have you got your bag and trained on it now? Looking forward to hear how it ended up being... pros and cons.
 
Hey @Zebra Cheeks
So what it ended up being? Have you got your bag and trained on it now? Looking forward to hear how it ended up being... pros and cons.
Hi Edgar. I got some flooring tiles similar to the texture of a yoga mat. $20 for that. I use that for the flooring so I can go barefoot. It’s nice because at doubles for a training area but I can also stretch, push-ups, sit-ups etc... comfortably.

I got a boxing stand. I’ve used it every single day for about 3 weeks now. I definitely went with budget, less permanent options.

The stand was $179. So decent, but certainly could go nicer. The stand I got is nice, the top hits well, and is starting to break in so that it’s a little more soft to hit.

It does not hit over unless I go for something like a front push kick etc...Or if I load up a cross and try to catch it in rhythm. I can make the bag swing more based on if I hit it higher or closer to chest level.

Body strikes...for some reason the “body” level is a bit uncomfortable to hit. I think it’s harder and has less padding then the top. I’ve tweaked my hand once or twice in it. Nothing too bad but I just have to be careful when hitting it.

So far for my use, I’m content. If I go with something like a double end bag down the line I might try to mount it. It’s an unfinished side of the basement so it’s not too important that it’s aesthetically pleasing. But it still looks decent.

I really appreciate your help, it guided me a lot in my decision making process
 
Nice! It sounds you've now got it all in place and working well.
I'm always happy to chat and discuss on boxing!

Edgar
 
I don't really have an appropriate space in my house to hang a heavy bag, unfortunately.

I've got a Gallant Free-standing bag. This one:

https://www.gallantsports.co.uk/pro...QcTqL5fPRDXMM_6MlYoRo89YmOzM8HQxoCJ5sQAvD_BwE

Bought it during lockdown 1 last year - it cost me around £90 on eBay, and its the best money I ever spent. The base was filled by the previous owner with sand, so it barely moves at all. I'm heavy handed and it'll inch around the floor over 10 rounds, but nothing problematic.

I've used it 2-3 times a week over the last year, so that must be around 1500 rounds, and apart from some cracks in the surface (bound in traditional fashion with black tape), it has been terrific. Never thought I'd say that about a free-standing bag.

This may sound like a strange question but does it make a lot of noise if you hit that? I'm asking because I had a standing one where the construction was some kind of metal and it was loud as hell.
 
Back
Top