If you have taken up boxing recently, a punching bag is a must-have in your home.
Not only will it help improve your boxing skills, but it will also serve as an excellent piece of exercise equipment to better overall health and relieve stress. Punching bags aren’t for everyone since you need a proper place to hang them. Not to mention, even the lightest of punching bags can tear ceilings apart if not hung properly.
So, before you go ahead and purchase one, you must learn how to hang it correctly. Otherwise, it might cause severe structural damage to your home when you hit the bag during a workout.
This informative article will take you through the various ways to hang a punching bag. So, if you are ready, let’s jump right in!
Things To Keep In Mind
After you get yourself a punching bag, look for an appropriate place to hang it. Ideally, it should be in an area with ample space for boxing, such as your basement or garage. Remember that to have a satisfying workout session, you’ll need 360-degree access to the boxing bag, so choose a place accordingly.
Weight Of A Punching Bag
To prevent any accident, you must know how much the punching bag weighs. More often than not, punching bags for home use weigh somewhere between 32 kg and 45 kg.
However, if you have bought one of the heavy-duty punching bags, those which are used in gyms and training centres, expect them to weigh no less than 90 kg. It’s important to note that every time you hit your punching bag, it goes up in the air for a few seconds and then comes crashing down.
That’s a lot of weight on the anchor, so purchase a durable punching bag mount that can easily withstand the impact. So, once you have figured out all that, including the bag’s weight, you can hang it.
How To Hang A Punching Bag
We have included only the most popular ways of hanging the bag in this guide. So, let’s take a look.
1. Mounting It To The Wall
Mounting the punching bag to the wall is one of the most popular ways to hang it. For this, you’ll require a few mounting hardware:
- Nuts and bolts
- Wall mounts
- Chains
- Wrench
- Screwdriver
- Power drill
- Marker
Once you have gathered all the mounting hardware, you can proceed with the installation.
First, you need to casually hold up the mount against the wall and use a marker to highlight where you will drill holes for the bolts. Next, drill the holes using a power drill and place the wall mount accordingly. Also, be sure to tighten the bolts with all your strength so they can withstand the weight of the punching bag.
Lastly, attach the chains and the S-hook to the bag and place them carefully on the mount.
2. Hanging It From The Ceiling (Ceiling Mounts)
Another common way of installing a punching bag is to hang it from the ceiling. It is similar to the previous process; instead of mounting it to the wall, you are mounting it to the ceiling using a ceiling joist. Just ensure you are hanging it on a supported area of your roof, or you may damage the ceiling.
To begin with, you will need to hold up the mount to the ceiling to mark out exactly where you’ll drill the holes. Next, use a power drill to drill the holes and a screwdriver to install the ceiling joist or mount.
After installing the ceiling joists, you need to attach the chains and the S-hook to the bag and hang it from the ceiling. If required, ask your friend for help and once you have hung the punching bag, check if it’s secure by striking it.
3. Using A Support Beam
If you have a support beam in your home, use it to hang the punching bag. Using a support beam to hang your punching bag provides you with enough mobility, which is an absolute must while training hard.
However, ensure that it’s a strong one. So, you must have all the necessary equipment to use a support beam to hang the punching bag:
- S-hook
- Chains
- Wrench
- Eyebolt
- Drill bits and power drill
Once you have everything at arm’s length, you can start by drilling a hole in the support beam. Now, place the eye bolt into it and use a wrench for a tight fit.
After that, attach the S-hook and the chains to the bag before lifting it to hang it using the S-hook. Once you are done, check if the bag has been adequately secured by throwing some punches and kicks.
4. Using A Stand
Consider using a stand if you live in rented accommodation and cannot drill holes in the ceiling or the wall. However, this must be kept as a last resort measure because a bag stand is usually not that stable, as it might wobble and even roll over.
You’ll need to put some weight on the stand to avoid this. But even after adding weight, stands can be hazardous to use.
Hence, we would strongly recommend going with other options if possible. But if they don’t seem feasible, you can hang the bag on the stand using a chain and S-hook.
Different Types Of Punching Bags
Now, let’s look at the different types of punching bags available on the market.
1. Free-Standing Bags
Free-standing bags are suitable for those who don’t have too much space in their homes. These punching bags sport a fillable water base and can be placed anywhere per the user’s choice. However, it’s important to note that they don’t offer much in terms of flexibility as compared to hanging punching bags.
2. Wall-Mounted Punching Bags
As far as wall-mounted punching bags are concerned, they are a perfect choice for those who train regularly. So, if you want to build a home gym, wall-mounted punching bags could be what you need.
3. Wrecking Ball Bags
Next, we have wrecking ball bags that are also a great addition to home gyms because of their versatility. They allow boxers to move around and work on their punches, especially hooks and uppercuts, which are essential boxing skills to learn.
4. Heavy Bags
Heavy Bags are the most common punching bags out there. They measure between 38 cm and 40 cm in diameter, allowing good strikes without swinging too much. A heavy punching bag may help users work on their conditioning, power and technique.
You can easily hang a heavy bag from the ceiling, just ensure you purchase a heavy bag ceiling mount.
5. Standard Bags
You can find standard punching bags easily in your local sports stores. They are lighter than heavy bags and swing a lot when struck. But still, they are a good choice, especially for home use and those who have taken up boxing recently.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We have tried answering a couple of the most frequently asked questions in this section. Hopefully, we will clear all your doubts about punching bags once you go through this.
1. How high should a boxing bag be kept?
It should be between 80 and 120 cm, sufficient for normal day-to-day boxing. However, if you intend to practice kicks, it should be slightly higher, ideally a bit over 150 cm.
2. What’s inside a boxing bag?
In general, most boxing bags are filled with cloth, rags and sandbags. However, some are filled with sawdust and shredded rubber, making them heavier and difficult to hit while punching.
Time To Hang Your Punching Bag
So, that brings us to the end of this informative guide. We hope you have learned how to hang a punching bag by now.
But before we wrap up, we have a final word of advice for you. Firstly, ensure that you invest in a durable mount that can withstand the weight of the punching bag and the impact of your strikes. A low-quality and wobbly mount can damage your ceiling and keep you at risk of sustaining injuries.
Also, avoid going with a heavy bag if you are new to boxing; start practising with a standard bag and then slowly make your way up to a heavy bag. If you need assistance purchasing a punching bag, get in touch with our team! We are happy to help.
On that note, we will take your leave for now. Until next time, keep boxing!
