Home boxing equipment advice

teamvic

Hi all, I want to add a bag of some kind at home to do boxing workouts. Anyone recommend a good budget heavy bag, wall hangings and gloves/wraps? I live in the Uk. Cheers

MyFreakingNameIsScott

We have an Everlast heavy bag in our basement. My son actually bought it late last summer/early fall with Grandma money and I think it was less than $80 on Amazon. He, of course, never used it so I started to and haven't stopped. We hang it from the ceiling. It came with gloves and wraps (elastic). I don't use the wraps but will be purchasing some gel wrap gloves, soon. Even with the gloves some of my knuckles are worn down.

Warning: Learn to hit that bag properly and consistently. I suspect wraps would have helped stabilize my wrists but early on I took a couple of bigger swings and soon realized a full swing and soft wrist can hurt....a lot. It's easy to lapse on form when one gets a full head of steam rolling early on.

Have fun. I go at that thing for 30-35 minutes 5x a week and it became my favorite cardio exercise. Added 8 'rounds' of Tabata in the middle. Love it even more. I just posted my typical routine on another thread so this is a bit redundant. I workout to music and in between songs, I throw in 10 push-ups. That along with the addition to the tabata and I'm punched out by the time I end.

CaffeinatedConfectionist

I have a Century Wavemaster. I would not recommend it unless you're a pretty small person (I'm 5'2 and I basically have to wedge it into a corner because it moves so much). I wish I had gotten a Century Wavemaster XXL, which is not all that much more spendy. I like having a stand-alone bag instead of a hanging bag because I know I can find a place for it no matter where I move.

I just use a pair of standard UFC women's gloves - they're light and use gel padding, but I prefer them over heavily-padded gloves. I got them as part of my membership in my krav maga classes, and they definitely do the trick. They are also, thank goodness, machine washable. Not really familiar with men's gloves, sorry!

ETA: I agree with the previous poster that it's great cardio. I like to add it in at the end of a round of barbell complexes, to keep my heart rate up, or to warm up for or cool down from a lifting session.

mreichard

One thing to think about is straight canvas versus canvas covered with vinyl. If you are going to use gloves, it doesn't matter that much, and canvas is cheaper. Back when I did a lot of karate, I developed pretty caloused knuckes to the point where I could pound on a vinyl covered bag without damaging my knuckes, and there is something weirdly satisfying about hitting a heavy bag full force repeatedly with your bare fists. But.. that takes a while.

Also, take care of your wrists. If you are just looking for exercise, you can wrap them, but if you want to develop the technique, strength and form, you can learn to hit without wrapping your wrists. Just start slowly and be careful. Knuckle pushups are good for developing the alignment and getting the feel of keeping your wrists straight --- done on the first two knuckles of each hand.

It might also be worth getting some lessons. Most people punch from the shoulder, and they expend more energy to get a tiny fraction of the power that they could get from their hips. Again, doesn't really matter, but it is very satisfying to hit hard, and you can hurt your shoulder if you are not punching with it raised. I actually got kicked pretty hard in the shoulder a couple of years ago, and the next day I was hitting the bag and threw a very hard hook with my shoulder up and tore something, and that shoulder has never really been the same. So be careful.

gdyment

I make the mistake of getting a heavy bag and hanging it from a joist in the basement. Even with a 2x10 cross it still shook the house when I hit it (and I'm not He-Man).

Next time will be bag that hangs from a stand that rests on the concrete floor.

MalcolmX1983

teamvic wrote: »

Hi all, I want to add a bag of some kind at home to do boxing workouts. Anyone recommend a good budget heavy bag, wall hangings and gloves/wraps? I live in the Uk. Cheers

Everlast bags are ok.

Get two or even three sets of wraps and make sure you use them every single time.

14oz/12oz gloves, I recommend 14oz gloves for bag work.
Twins or sandees.


Boxing shoes.
Flat running shoes are also ok if you don't want to get a pair of boxing boots.

I'd highly highly recommend getting a coach to teach you the basics as well.
Jab, cross, footwork etc.
I've seen guys mess themselves up with just a few wrong hooks to the bag.

I love working the bag and I'm pretty sure you're going to as well.

teamvic

Thanks for all your advice. Can't wait to get a heavy bag and start training.I did various styles of Karate for over a decade but tore my Achilles in a football tournament of all things and never went back. Looking forward to learning more about boxing.Thanks again everyone

cgvet37

When I studied Tae Kwon Do, I had one you filled up with water. So no need to worry about hanging it, and it worked great. I think back then they were $100.

justinrye

Double end bag . Love it and a reasonable price