The Best Heavy Bags

(Scroll down for your choices.)

"In conjunction with a set of gloves, a heavy bag is the single most important piece of martial arts equipment that you can own."

A good heavy bag will enable you to build power and speed in every single striking technique available, while also building your footwork as you chase down/ run away from a swinging bag.

Think about it... what other object can you find that will give you an object to rip into with your fists, that actually mimics the relative weight of a human body.

In addition to building impressive upper body musculature and jaw shattering power, you are FORCED to move with the bag, the whole time while throwing strikes.  Now not only are you simulating a human target, you are simulating human movement.

Combine those things with a whole lot of hard work, and you will build gnarly fighting skills, and a hell of an impressive physique.  If you do enough heavy bag work, even the strikes that your opponent BLOCKS will scare the crap out of him.

A good heavy bag will enable you to build power and speed in every single striking technique available, while also building your footwork as you chase down/ run away from a swinging bag.

Think about it... what other object can you find that will give you an object to rip into with your fists, that actually mimics the relative weight of a human body.

In addition to building impressive upper body musculature and jaw shattering power, you are FORCED to move with the bag, the whole time while throwing strikes.  Now not only are you simulating a human target, you are simulating human movement.

Combine those things with a whole lot of hard work, and you will build gnarly fighting skills, and a hell of an impressive physique.  If you do enough heavy bag work, even the strikes that your opponent BLOCKS will scare the crap out of him.


In addition to building impressive upper body musculature and jaw shattering power, you are FORCED to move with the bag, the whole time while throwing strikes.  Now not only are you simulating a human target, you are simulating human movement.

Combine those things with a whole lot of hard work, and you will build gnarly fighting skills, and a hell of an impressive physique.  If you do enough heavy bag work, even the strikes that your opponent BLOCKS will scare the crap out of him.

"In conjunction with a set of gloves, a heavy bag is the single most important piece of martial arts equipment that you can own."

1. The bag absolutely must hang from the ceiling.  If it just stands in place like the "Wave Master" or that stupid thing that looks like a torso, you don't get to build your footwork, and you end up reinforcing a FAKE idea of what fight movement actually feels like.  Then, when you actually need to move around in a fight, you're tired because your legs have no idea how to move yourself around. Your entries and exits are arguably more important than your punches.  A bag that swings will build them.

2. The bag must hang to a few inches above the ground.  Many traditional boxing heavy bags only hang to the waste... but that doesn't help you build your LOW KICKS.  It takes months of shin conditioning to be able to throw that strike with reckless abandon, heavy bags give you that ability.  After years of clubbing on the bottom of a heavy bag, your shins become hardened weapons of absolute destruction.  That's what you want.

3. Your bag should be shipped STUFFED already.  People get confused when they see a great deal on a heavy bag, and they get a shriveled empty sack in the mail.  A flaccid heavy bag is depressing. Yes, you can stuff a bag with shredded clothes from a thrift store, but you'll probably never get around to it, and just end up with your shriveled sack sitting in a corner collecting dust.  That's no way to build your skills.

4. Your bag should be hung properly.  A heavy bag attached directly to a joist (ceiling beam) can make it sound like your house is being torn down.  These vibrations will make your other family members hate you, and it creates an unpleasant training environment.  Plus, it's bad for your house, and it's bad for your bag.

Here are the bags that I recommend:

I've always liked Outslayer's stuff.  They make bags with a large circumfrence, which tends to distribute impact well for beginners, and allows the bags to be heavier.  They are truly a 'pleasure' to kick... which is great... assuming that's what you're looking for.  

I grew up kicking a much harder, and much more painful, Combat Sports / Ringside bag... which probably did a better job of conditioning my shins for the disgusting reality of shin-on-shin impact. 

You will still get plenty of shin conditioning from an Outslayer bag, and certainly a much more even filling distribution, which often makes for a better punching surface.  

But the choice is yours.  Do you want a big, beautiful bag that you will be 100% likely to kick and punch because it's comfortable like a new pair of socks... or do you want to risk a cheaper bag, which will certainly result in a more painful kicking surface, but might do a better job of preparing you for reality?  

I've inadvertently trained with just about every brand of equipment in the past 20 years... and when it comes to the items that absorb abuse, Fairtex makes the best stuff.  It lasts forever, and it's incredibly well made.

This heavy bag is no exception... you will never have to buy another for the rest of your life, and it's an absolute pleasure to strike.

Plus the brown leathery style matches my gloves and other gear... which I like.

I've beaten the hell out of a lot of Ringside stuff, and while the gloves may fall apart, the bags stand the test of time.

This heavy bag isn't squishy or comfortable to strike.  The padding will not be evenly distributed, and tends to sag to the bottom of the bag... so at the top, you're punching a leathery sack, and at the bottom, you're kicking a rock.

That's the nature of this beast.  If you want to spend $200 instead of $300, this is about as good as you can do.

I've beaten the hell out of a lot of Ringside stuff, and while the gloves may fall apart, the bags stand the test of time.

This heavy bag isn't squishy or comfortable to strike, but that in turn allows you to condition your shins on this thing... and you'll save some $$$.  The padding will not be evenly distributed, and tends to sag to the bottom of the bag... so at the top, you're punching a leathery sack, and at the bottom, you're kicking a rock.

This is the nature of the beast.  If you're already going to open your wallet and spend $200, in my opinion, get the BEST bag that you can.  It can be a once in a lifetime purchase.

Now HANGING your bag properly is insanely important... especially if you don't want the entire building to shake.

Chains won't absorb shock, so it will sound like the whole house is coming down. Bungee cords always stretch and break.  The solution is in the correct hardware!

So the first thing that you need is a heavy duty ceiling mount that rotates. 

And the next thing that you need is a Heavy Bag spring.  


I have not had the luxury of using this mount, since I use a heavy bag rail system... but it looks wonderful.  A system of ballbearings will control the rotation of your bag which eliminates a lot of the general wear on the metal hardware.  If you don't allow the bag to rotate, eventually your spring or mounting hardware will wear through, and that bag is coming down.  The only question is 'when'.  ,

The 'pin' system on this mount is pretty convenient and it even comes with a couple of lag screws / concrete anchors for mounting.  This one is also low profile, so if you're restricted by ceiling height, it's not unnecessarily 'tall'.  Highly rated, checks all the boxes. 

(If your bag doesn't include chains, get the option with the chains... but confirm that the length will work for your installation!)


I have not had the luxury of using this mount, since I use a heavy bag rail system... but it looks wonderful.  A system of ballbearings will control the rotation of your bag which eliminates a lot of the general wear on the metal hardware.  If you don't allow the bag to rotate, eventually your spring or mounting hardware will wear through, and that bag is coming down.  The only question is 'when'.  ,

The 'pin' system on this mount is pretty convenient and it even comes with a couple of lag screws / concrete anchors for mounting.  This one is also low profile, so if you're restricted by ceiling height, it's not unnecessarily 'tall'.  Highly rated, checks all the boxes. 

(If your bag doesn't include chains, get the option with the chains... but confirm that the length will work for your installation!)


Heavy Bag Spring

The bag spring absorbs all of the jolts and general mayhem caused by the bag getting smashed, and jostling around.  This spares your ceiling joists, and the mental peace of everyone else living in the same building.  Every part of your bag will wear more quickly without this spring, and you might just tear it out of the ceiling without the extra shock absorption. 

The bag spring absorbs all of the jolts and general mayhem caused by the bag getting smashed, and jostling around.  This spares your ceiling joists, and the mental peace of everyone else living in the same building.  Every part of your bag will wear more quickly without this spring, and you might just tear it out of the ceiling without the extra shock absorption. 


You might also need a stud finder, carabiners, and some 3/8 washers... so I'll include some links for those as well.  


Sometimes bags come hung from some leather straps with two closed loops, in which case, you'll need on of these to attach to your bag spring, and since they come in packs of 2, you can throw one on top of your bag spring to avoid disassembling the pin on your mount... or you can just have an extra hook ring carabiner.  

Sometimes bags come hung from some leather straps with two closed loops, in which case, you'll need on of these to attach to your bag spring, and since they come in packs of 2, you can throw one on top of your bag spring to avoid disassembling the pin on your mount... or you can just have an extra hook ring carabiner.  

I put this link up before I realized the mount had some screws included.  Whatever.  I'm keeping it. 

I put this link up before I realized the mount had some screws included.  Whatever.  I'm keeping it. 

It doesn't look like the mount includes washers.  You should get some washers.

It doesn't look like the mount includes washers.  You should get some washers.

Zircon makes a good stud finder.  They depict the width of the 2x4 or joist on the display so you can actually tell when you're in the middle.  This is the one that I own, and I like it very much. 

Zircon makes a good stud finder.  They depict the width of the 2x4 or joist on the display so you can actually tell when you're in the middle.  This is the one that I own, and I like it very much. 

1.  Find your ceiling joist with the stud finder.

2. Mount your rotating bag mount using the lag bolts.

3. Hang your carabiners, bag spring, and bag.

4. Profit. 


You now have the single best power building striking tool that there is... and a source of endlessly challenging, yet fun, cardio. 


Enjoy!

Here's the comment section:

Humans like to talk about things:

  • “The bag absolutely must hang from the ceiling. If it just stands in place like the “Wave Master” or that stupid thing that looks like a torso” If a hanging bag is literally NOT an option such as living in a rental/appartment then a stupid thing that looks like a torso is better for practicing strikes compared to having nothing and punching the air.

  • I’ve spent 45 years training in the Martial Arts. I can’t train as hard as I did for many years. However I learned many years ago that it is a good idea to mentally control the situation before it begins. I love the videos, great training exercises very efficient and effective Awesome humor. Truly life saving advice if trained correctly. I must add though and I’m certain most would agree, making friends sure beats having enemies.

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