Tips for Picking the Ideal Boxing Bag

Whether you’re a boxer, MMA fighter, or just want a fun and engaging way to exercise and get fit, a punching bag can be the ideal piece of accessory to unleash your energy on. Punching things is one of the purest, unadulterated ways to have some fun and release all your anger at the same time. Nobody gets hurt, and no mess is made in the process. Plus, you can get a pretty great workout out of it as boxing and kicking activate every major muscle in your body.

Imagine yourself circling around a boxing bag constantly and using different punching combinations while breathing properly. This alone can help you burn a ton of calories, and help you improve your focus, reaction time and balance. However, not all boxing bags are made the same, which is why when buying your first one, you need to decide what you want to do with it so that you can pick accordingly.

When the topic of boxing bags arises, most people envision a heavy cylindrical bag hanging from the ceiling. But these bags aren’t for everyone. If you’re looking to improve your strength, then hitting a bag that weighs anywhere from 30 to 80kg will definitely do the trick. However, since these bags are heavy, they’re less mobile than others, and you need to worry about whether your ceiling can sustain their weight. The ideal heavy bag for you weighs half your weight. So if you’re 80kg, you need a 40kg bag. You can round it up to the nearest available weight if you’re in between two sizes.

On the other hand, there are free-standing bags, which come in a similar weight range like heavy bags, except, as their name implies, they stand. With that said, they’re shorter and stand on a sturdy base that’s typically filled with sand or water. Due to their placement, these bags are ideal for kicking. Further, they’re more mobile and moving them isn’t as inconvenient.

Lastly, there are speed bags. These move fast and are specifically designed to snap back. They’re lighter, smaller and filled with air. The main goal of these bags is to improve your rhythm, timing, and hand-to-eye coordination. Although they offer less resistance, you can still get a lot of exercises done with them. You can easily activate your core, legs, arms, and back. Pick a bigger speed bag if you’re new to them, and work your way up to smaller, faster bags.