Advice on Heavy Bag @ Home for Training?

[Caniac Nation]

I've been taking KM about two months now in Charlotte and love it so far. I go 2-3 times/week, but would like to practice as much as I can on my own when away from class. I'm considering getting a heavy bag to use at home for punches/kicks, but not sure about what weight to buy, style, etc. Does anyone have advice?

Right now, I don't use wraps in class and I've been fine. Went to the local YMCA recently to practice punching on the heavy bag, only to tear up my knuckles up nicely. I won't be that stupid again and purchased some 16 ounce gloves that arrive today. Am I supposed to wear wraps under the gloves each time I practice on the heavy bag? I've read where wraps will help keep the wrist firm and possibily prevent injury, but I'm wondering if taking 5-10 minutes out of my limited gym time at lunch to wrap (I'm a newbie and not used to wrapping yet) is really necessary. Maybe I'm being ridiculous. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[TacticalTimmy]

Get a 50-70ib bag, make sure you have a good place to hang it up at. Do you go home for your gym time? Either way, I'd use wraps. You can buy some of the "wrap gloves" by Everlast, but I can't comment on how useful they are because I've never used them.

[bear34]

http://www.amazon.com/Combat-Sports-...parring+gloves


Try these. Protect knuckles and have great wrist support. No need for wraps.

[Don]

Some factors to consider when buying a heavy bag:
1. how much you want to spend
2. how heavy you need (e.g. how big you are, how hard you punch/kick, etc)
3. how much space you have
4. do you prefer swinging or free-standing
5. how/where will you mount/support it
6. what kind of techniques will you be working on
7. what materials do you prefer for contact/outermost layer
8. what materials/design do you prefer for inner filling/construction

Personally, I like having 2 bags - a 6' muay thai style cloth filled heavy bag and a smaller "headhunter" type bag (IIRC, mine is approx 14" diameter, 14" tall, filled with pinto beans).

I'm not a handwrap kind of guy (only times I ever wrapped was the few times I "accidentally stumbled" into a ring) but I would definitely recommend it for others. I will normally wear MMA type gloves with built-in wrist support/wraps or I will go bare knuckle. (If I'm worried about abrasions while bare-knuckle, I might put some medical tape across my knuckles). MMA style gloves will save you a lot of prep time (but if you do spend 5-10 minutes prior to actually working out, you could also look at it from "an ounce of prevention" perspective)...

I got my muay thai bag from Nazo Boxing - http://www.nazoboxing.com/heavy-bags.html they also custom made my headhunter bag to my specs...

[Caniac Nation]

Thanks for the advice. To answer some of your questions below, I'm currently 203 lbs, 5'10. (Yeah, I'm trying to lose some lbs.) I dont really know if I punch "hard." I would put the bag in the garage. More than likely, I would mount it on a designed frame instead of in the ceiling since I would need to move it frequently. Interesting thoughts on the mma gloves. I first considered buying those but read a lot from people who said mma gloves on a heavy bag would lead to certain injury.

As far as technique, I'd be practicing punches, elbows, and kicks. I know that sounds vague, but right now I'm still a beginner.

I'd like to stay under $300 for the whole setup. Not sure about swinging, but I figure a stable bag would be best, maybe mounted to a sandbag below to keep steady.

[Don]

What I'm getting at is how much you'll be moving different sized bags around when you punch and kick. If it's too light, it'll be flying all over the place... I think it can be tough to find a balance between moving frequently and having a good sturdy base or platform. If you have the room and interest, a cool set up is running an I-beam across the room, having a rolling mount attached to the I-beam and hanging the bag from that rolling mount. You could have a spring loaded locking pin fix the rolling mount in place at various points (drilling holes) along the I-beam... kinda like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTiRL_vrf-A

I've never heard that about MMA gloves and heavy bags. Did they say why it would cause injury and what kind of injury it would cause?

[t-krav]

I did a lot of research on this a few years ago when I started. I actually started with a 70# boxing bag but that was too light and didn't let me work in low kicks. Here is my $0.02 on the matter.

Here is the setup that I've settled on:
130# bag from KO Fightgear - look up some reviews and you'll find them at the top of the list. Their standard weight bag is 100# but I wanted something heavier. You can even get custom weight and size bags. Fantastic quality and customer service. CKM and RHEK have great setups but I don't like the Title bags they use, however you can find some good deals on them from time to time if they are to your liking.

Swingarm mount from Fighting Sports - I got it on sale for $120. Its mounted on the inside of an exterior wall in my garage and let's me swing it out of the way when not in use. The only downside is that I don't have 360* of movement around the bag. I also put some bits of duct tape on the bag to serve as targets that represent the nose, chin/jaw, liver, and round kick targets (ribs), thighs.

Regarding Wraps - If you are hitting a heavy bag you should always wrap your hands and wear at least 8 oz gloves. You don't want to injure a fist or wrist training - that kind of defeats the purpose. When that bag gets slippery from your sweat and you start moving around it, its easy to tweak a wrist.

Also, Bas Rutten has a great training workout for heavy bags. You can choose 2 or 3 minute rounds. Punches only or Punches, Kicks and/or Knees.

Finally, there a friend of mine just released an app in the iTunes store called FightTrainer which lets you setup rounds and strikes - and them calls them out to you.

[mara_jade]

My 2 cents- forget the gloves but the bag's solid and so's the stand. One thing -did get weights to put on the stand so we could do heavier whacking

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Everlast-1...ndingMethod=rr

At the tine we got it, it was free shipping

[Caniac Nation]

Originally Posted by Don

What I'm getting at is how much you'll be moving different sized bags around when you punch and kick. If it's too light, it'll be flying all over the place... I think it can be tough to find a balance between moving frequently and having a good sturdy base or platform. If you have the room and interest, a cool set up is running an I-beam across the room, having a rolling mount attached to the I-beam and hanging the bag from that rolling mount. You could have a spring loaded locking pin fix the rolling mount in place at various points (drilling holes) along the I-beam... kinda like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTiRL_vrf-A

I've never heard that about MMA gloves and heavy bags. Did they say why it would cause injury and what kind of injury it would cause?

The I-Beam sounds cool, but that's way more "contruction" than I want to put in for this, especially considering we may only be in our house another year or so.

From what I'm reading, the MMA type gloves often don't offer enough padding on the knuckles, as well as not enough wrist support to prevent injury. (Reading product reviews and MBs) This might all depend on the individual though... Truth be told, I'd rather use MMA gloves so I can do open palm strikes, etc as well as straight and hammer punches. I just don't want to have to wait 2 weeks for my knuckles to heal like I'm doing now. Here's the MMA type "heavy bag" glove I'm looking at

http://www.amazon.com/Everlast-Advan...verlast+gloves

[Caniac Nation]

Originally Posted by mara_jade

My 2 cents- forget the gloves but the bag's solid and so's the stand. One thing -did get weights to put on the stand so we could do heavier whacking

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Everlast-1...ndingMethod=rr

At the tine we got it, it was free shipping

Thanks for the recommendation! I think I saw your similar post in another thread. Looks like a good deal, but I'm the kind of person who'd want to touch and feel a bag before I buy it. Went to my local Walmart to check one out this weekend, but they didn't have it. Was told I have to go to a Supercenter. To be continued... Thanks again.

[catapult]

There are 2 basic styles of MMA gloves -- 4oz fight gloves with individual fingers and not much padding, and 8oz training gloves with thick mitten-style padding. The latter, like the ones Bear linked above, have as much padding as a boxing glove. Other good brands besides Combat Sports include Hayabusa and most any made-in-Thailand muay thai brand (Fairtex, Twins, etc.) I'd steer clear of Everlast gloves except for their best (most expensive) models.

[Don]

YMMV with wrapping and/or different types of gloves/bag gloves. The "newer" you are, the harder you are hitting or going at it, and/or the more tired/fatigued you are, the more I would recommend wrapping and using gear that supports your wrists and protects your hands. My experience/opinions on Everlast are the same as Catapult.

Re: the everlast bag stand. YMMV also. My YMCA has one just like it. For me, that particular stand isn't sturdy enough and the bottom supports are in the "wrong" place (interfere with my footwork/stepping, especially when you put weights on them and the weights take up more space down there).

Here is my home set up. It's really cluttered right now because I'm injured and can't do much heavy bag work (or anything else fun). Long story short, I've most likely torn ligaments in my right knee and ankle (freak accident while grappling) - just waiting to get an MRI to figure out exactly what's torn and how bad... The the little tan/orange bag in the back is my first custom headhunter bag - 2 layers of cotton canvas, triple stitched, filled with pinto beans. The muay thai bag is from Nazo ($100 filled, picked up there at the shop). The bag stand and square sandbags are by Biltuff (looks like their website is down right now - they're located in Alhambra, N/W corner of Mission and Atlantic).

[mara_jade]

Nice setup Don! Sorry to read about your injury

[Don]

Thanks MJ!

[Caniac Nation]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. After running it by my instructor, I've decided to go with the Muy Thai bag similar to Don's set up below. I'm getting two pairs of gloves- 16 ounce for heavy bag and mma type gloves for light sparring and in-class stuff.

Hope you heal soon, Don!

[Don]

Thanks CN. Have fun training!

[Caniac Nation]

Ok, sorry...one last question. Anyone have experience with freestanding bags like the Wavemaster? Seems like these would be cleaner, etc.

http://www.ultimate-mma-equipment.co...hing-bags.html

[bear34]

Originally Posted by Caniac Nation

Ok, sorry...one last question. Anyone have experience with freestanding bags like the Wavemaster? Seems like these would be cleaner, etc.

http://www.ultimate-mma-equipment.co...hing-bags.html

I prefer the wavemaster myself. They are much easier on the hands and feet as they are considerably softer. However,keep your location in mind as moving them around can be hell on your floors. Have you considered BOB?

http://www.amazon.com/Century-BOB-XL...punching+dummy

[Caniac Nation]

Originally Posted by bear34

I prefer the wavemaster myself. They are much easier on the hands and feet as they are considerably softer. However,keep your location in mind as moving them around can be hell on your floors. Have you considered BOB?

http://www.amazon.com/Century-BOB-XL...punching+dummy

The Bob is interesting, but I want to be able to do low sidekicks as well as straight punching. The biggest complaints I've read about the Wavemaster are: 1) It moves when you hit it, even when filled with sand; and 2) It's too soft. I want something that I can forecefully move into and out of a corner of the garage when I want to use it, but stable enough to sustain punches and not move around or tip. As far as the softness, I want something that is soft enough to kick, but hard enough to help develop more punch force. Something more firm than a pillow or foam. I hit/kicked against the heavy UFC bag at my local YMCA and it was great for punching but kicking it was like kicking a cement block at the bottom.

It sounds like since I require frequent base movement and have limited garage space, there is no great solution for me. I am determined to try to make a frame hanging muay thai bag work but we'll see. To be continued..... Thanks again for all input!

[bear34]

Originally Posted by Caniac Nation

The Bob is interesting, but I want to be able to do low sidekicks as well as straight punching. The biggest complaints I've read about the Wavemaster are: 1) It moves when you hit it, even when filled with sand; and 2) It's too soft. I want something that I can forecefully move into and out of a corner of the garage when I want to use it, but stable enough to sustain punches and not move around or tip. As far as the softness, I want something that is soft enough to kick, but hard enough to help develop more punch force. Something more firm than a pillow or foam. I hit/kicked against the heavy UFC bag at my local YMCA and it was great for punching but kicking it was like kicking a cement block at the bottom.

It sounds like since I require frequent base movement and have limited garage space, there is no great solution for me. I am determined to try to make a frame hanging muay thai bag work but we'll see. To be continued..... Thanks again for all input!

I will disagree on the Wavemaster. I think it is stable enough and I have gotten to the point where I avoid the XL MT bags like the plague. The ones in our gym are stuffed to the point they are like hitting and kicking a tree. If I ever get the room I will get a Glideboxx(or build one).

[catapult]

Originally Posted by Caniac Nation

stable enough to sustain punches and not move around or tip

Tipping over is bad of course but the bag moving around when you hit it is a good thing. People don't stand still and let you hit them in a fight -- they bob, weave, shuffle, etc. I've only hit a Wavemaster (I think it was an XL) a couple of times but I liked it.

[Don]

+1 Bear! I would love to have a Glideboxx set up!

[t-krav]

This is something like the heavy bag hanger I use. It mounts to the wall in my garage and let's me swing the bag out of the way to make room for my car.

http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CGkQ8wIwAw
http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CGkQ8wIwAw

[Caniac Nation]

Not to resurrect a dead thread but after much deliberation, etc I decided to get a Century Bob xl. Picked up a like-new one from Craigslist for half price this weekend. I should have little more space in the garage than I thought so I'm probably going to also get a bag on a free-standing stand to supplement the Bob for more kicking, etc.

[CJs Dad]

Originally Posted by Don

+1 Bear! I would love to have a Glideboxx set up!

The ultimate footwork drill!

[Childish///AMG]

I was wondering the same thing? I use "Wrist Wraps" for lifting weights. Perhaps I should start wrapping my hands?