A heavy punching bag is an essential part of martial training. Whether it is boxing, MMA, jiu-jitsu, or any other martial arts, you will need to get a punching bag for your workouts. They support and help you condition your core and strengthen your body. The punching bag, or heavy bag, is a staple of anyone training for boxing or martial arts. Many companies offer pre-filled punching bags but the charges for them are a lot higher than what you will get for an unfilled punching bag.
You can fill heavy punching bag with many materials including sand, wood dust, soft plastic, and even old clothes, or may be a mix of all these together combined. The materials most commonly used for the purpose are mostly sand and wood dust.
How to Fill Your Heavy Punching Bag At Home?
You would need sand, punching bag cover, and that’s all you need to fill the punching bag at home. Just make sure that the punching bag is half your size.
Here is a step by step process to fill your heavy punching bag at home. To know about punching bag filling that doesn’t sink, here is a good article.
- Purchase your punching bag from a sporting-goods store or an online retailer. The bag should be of high-quality vinyl, canvas or leather that will withstand years of abuse.
- Next, you will need to purchase the filling for the punching bag. Again, it is available at many sporting goods stores. If you purchase it separately, that will also cost you less than if you had purchased a pre-filled punching bag.
- Purchase the stuffing for your bag. Heavy bags normally come with up to three inches of foam padding. The amount of padding of the bag will determine how much stuffing you will need. If the padding is less, you can use scraps and clothing to fill the punching bag prior to filling it with bag filling.
- To fill heavy punching bag, it is better to add a PVC pipe of a cylinder in the middle of the punching bag and wrap it with foam. Use a tape to stick the foam around the PVC and then place it in the center of the punching bag. This will help it retain its shape and not deflate. If the PVC pipe is not available, use a cardboard tube, with rice or sand.
- Now, fill the punching bag with the stuffing of your choice. The filling should fill the punching bag fully so that no uneven spaces get left inside the bag. If there is some space left in the bag, add sand or wood dust on top and then move the rest of the bag with the stuffing of your choice. If you are using cloth, add the cloth in even layers, weighing it down every couple of layers. Make sure the spaces are properly filled. Pick the bag and give it a few jerks so that the sand or wood dust settles in gaps inside the punching bag. This will spread the sand inside the punching bag evenly to the sides and give you a firm space when hitting.
- Now, give the bag a few more jerks and then seal the top of the punching bag with laces or a rope. Now, you can hang and use the heavy punching bag in your home.
See how easy it is to fill the punching bag properly without any professional help?
A few things you will need to get this feat done are:
Things Needed to Fill Heavy Punching Bag
- Hollow cylinder, such as PVC pipe
- Sand or rice
- Cloth
- Weight
- Laces/Rope
Note: You can start with sand and wood dust for the punching bag. If you think that is too stiff, then get cardboard and paper clothes for the punching bag. They are a lot softer and perfect for beginners. Go to sporting-goods stores and see what you prefer before purchasing and filling a bag on your own.
It is important that you… not use a bag that is too heavy for you. It can seriously injure your hands and feet and will not provide a well-learned workout.
Punching Bag Weight – Rule of Thumb
The rule of thumb for filling the punching bag is that it should be at least half your weight. So, let’s say you are 60KGs, then the punching bag should be 30KGs or more. But this is for adults only. If you are with kids, the punching bag should be their weight/3. So, a 40 KG kid will need a 20KG bag. That’s fine.
You can increase the wright of the punching bag with time when you get conditioned and are in ready shape to work out everything.
