Everlast Punching Bag
When most people talk about a punching bag, they mean a heavy bag. A
heavy bag is a bag about 4 feet tall and 18 inches across. My
Everlast 4008 Traditional Heavy Bag
weighs 80 pounds. The other type of punching bag the people think of is a speed bag.
A
speed bag is a small punching bag about the size of a basketball that is attached to a wooden platform. You punch the speed bag and it bounces back rapidly. My Everlast speed bag provides good hand-eye coordination training and aerobic exercise.
Everlast Heavy Bag
A heavy bag is about the size of a person's torso- just right for punching as hard as you can. I wear
Everlast Neoprene Heavy Bag Gloves
when I punch my heavy bag.
Punching a heavy bag is great exercise, both for building upper body muscle and for aerobic exercise. I have been working with a heavy bag for about 10 days and the difference is noticeable. I look and feel stronger already.
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Everlast Heavy Bag installed in my basement
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher |
A heavy bag work-out is intense. I do one exercise where I rapidly punch the bag and keep it lifted up with my punches for perhaps 30 seconds or so. I also spend some time working on jabs. I know almost nothing about boxing. The punching bag was a Christmas present for my teenage sons and I use it just for fun.
Installing an Everlast Heavy Bag
Punching Bag Stand
If you don't want to mess with attaching hardware to your ceiling, you can get a free-standing heavy bag stand such as this
Everlast Heavy Bag Stand
. The main advantage of using a stand over permanent mounting is that a punching bag stand allows you to easily place the heavy bag anywhere you want to work out. You can move the bag without installing or uninstalling anything- just move the stand.
The main disadvantages of a stand are that it is an extra item to purchase, and that it restricts your movement and access to the heavy bag somewhat during a workout. For some people, using a punching bag stand is more convenient than attaching a heavy bag hanger to the ceiling.
Ceiling Attachment
I installed my Everlast traditional heavy bag using lag bolts to attach it to a joist in my basement ceiling. I used a
Everlast Wood Beam Heavy Bag Hanger
to mount my heavy bag to the ceiling joist.
My house is new construction- usually a good thing. However, the joists are engineered material rather than solid wood. The joists use what looks like OSB and plywood rather than solid wood.
Since the joists are not solid wood, I wanted to beef the area up a bit before hanging the heavy bag. I used deck screws to attach 1x2 pine boards above the bottom edge of the joist. I screwed the 1x2's from the sides and also screwed through the bottom edge of the joist into the 1x2's to add some strength. I did not want the lag bolts to pull through the bottom of the joist, and I did not want the bottom board of the joist to separate from the 3/4" OSB part of the joist. If you look closely at the pictures below, you can see two of the four green deck screws that I used to strengthen the board on the bottom of the joist by screwing it into the 1x2 bracing through the bottom.
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Added Bracing (1x2 boards) to strengthen bottom board of engineered joist for heavy bag hanger
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher |
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Installation of Everlast Heavy Bag in Ceiling Joists using Heavy Bag Hanger
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher |
After hanging the bag, I noticed that the joist would flex side-to-side as the bag was swinging. I did not want to fatigue the joist, so I added some 2x4 bracing to stabilize the joist. I cut some 2x4 scraps to length to get a friction fit, and I nailed the bracing in place so it wouldn't fall out when the bag is swinging.
Using the Heavy Bag Hanger along with some bracing did the job.
Everlast Speed Bag
My kids also got an
Everlast Leather Speed Bag
and
Everlast Elite Adjustable Speedbag Platform
for Christmas. They must have been really good all year!
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Everlast Speed Bag installed in my basement
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher |
The speed bag was simpler to install than the heavy bag. I have exposed wall studs behind a vapor barrier in the basement wall. The lag bolts were not included with the platform kit, so a quick trip to the hardware store was required to pick up 4 lag bolts. I drilled out holes so that the lag bolts could be installed without cracking the studs. The picture below shows a close-up of the installation of the speedbag platform to the wall studs.
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Everlast Speed Bag Platform is attached to the wall using 4 lag bolts. One of the 4 is shown at the far left.
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher |
The Everlast Speed Bag Platform allows about 8 inches of height adjustment. My first attempt to install the platform resulted in the speed bag being too low for anyone to use. The bottom of the speed bag should be about chin high. I had to take the platform off of the wall and re-install it with the top board near the ceiling to get the platform high enough. The height that worked for me was with the top board installed 90 inches (7' 6") from the floor.
Everlast Boxing Gloves
But wait, there's more! My kids also got
Everlast Neoprene Heavy Bag Gloves. These work with both the heavy bag and the speed bag. I got tired of borrowing my kids' gloves, so I ordered my own pair.
Punching a heavy bag would be hard on the hands without gloves. These gloves work great. I use the heavy bag gloves on the speed bag as well.
Everlast Punching Bag Gym
I am surprised how much fun it is to have punching bags in my basement. I like to alternate between the speed bag and the heavy bag. Sometimes I use the heavy bag at the same time as one of my kids, punching from the opposite side. I like the quick workout you can get from punching bags- it only takes a few minutes to get some serious exercise.
Recommended Reading:
The Perfect Multi-gym Pull-up Bar- with installation tips
Cheap Bikes For Sale- How to Get a Bike for Almost Free!
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