Heavy Bags

[cymry]

In your opinion, how much heavier than their bodyweight does a heavy bag need to be for the average-strength person.

[White_Tiger]

In my opinion I don't think it has to do with the weight of the person. There are two styles of heavy bags...the ones that hang, and the free standing style. The heavier the hanging ones weigh the more resistance they will offer, so it would depend on your punching and kicking strength. The free standing style all seem to offer the same resistance, but you want the base heavy enough that it doesn't tip over every time you kick it.

 

I weigh 185 lbs, and I get a good workout with a 70 lb hanging heavy bag. It has sand in it, so it is pretty hard. I also have the Wavemaster XXL from Century...they are the best free standing bag I have worked on. I hope this helps.

 

Good luck!

[cymry]

Oh okay. I thought they were heavier than your bodyweight.

 

Umm.... I'm pretty thin, say 130 pounds. How heavy should a hanging bag be?

[hajime]

Hitting a bag weighing 100 pounds sounds like tough work. Maybe I'm just lazy

 

Hitting people in the face/groin is much more effective than the body

 

I've seen 50, 80, 100 and 150lb bags

[delta1]

I don't think the body weight of the practitioner has much to do with the size of the bag. I look at it more as what I want to get out of the workout. A heavier bag obviously gives you more resistance, but a lighter bag will give more of a moving target, changing both position and angle as it bounces and moves away from your strikes, then swings back at you. One gives more of a power workout, the other works dynamic angular relationships. Another thing to consider besides weight is dimensions. The standard bag offers more compact resistance, while the longer Muy Thai bag offers a longer target area and will give more with a hard strike.