How To Weigh Down Your Heavy Bag Stand

Written by Austin in Boxing Equipment GuidesLast Updated April 11, 2023

There is not much worse than consistently having your boxing workout interrupted because your heavy bag keeps sliding around the floor. Often times, you’re getting into a rhythm of your exercise and through the use and weight of the heavy bag. The stand is shifting and sliding. Luckily, there is a few options that would keep your punching bag stand from moving and make sure you have a smooth workout from now on.

When a heavy bag and stand is shifting or tipping during use. The quickest and most efficient way to solve this issue is by adding weights or sandbags to the legs of the stand. If possible, do both. Most heavy bag stands come with pegs on the legs, where you could fit standard weight plates securely. Sandbags could be placed over the legs itself to also help weigh down the bottom of the stand.

Some of the time, the swinging of the heavy may be the reason for the unwanted movement. In this case, check the bottom of your heavy bag. Some bags have an anchor or a strap that you can use to tie down either to the floor or the stand. This would help alleviate any wide swinging that comes with punching a heavy bag.

How To Stabilize A Heavy Bag Stand

There are a few options you can try if your heavy bag stand is still tipping and sliding too much when being used. Weighing it down, placing a “grippier” flooring underneath or give the bottom of the stand itself more grip. Are good options to use. Although you likely would not have to, but using all the suggestion in this article would help in making sure your heavy bag stand stays in place.

Check out our article of how much space you should leave for a punching bag.

Here is a short list of options that can help keep your heavy bag stand from slipping around.

  • Floor Mats – Depending on what your flooring is currently like. Investing in a good quality rubber floor mat would make a world of difference. The surface of rubber mats have extra grip to it too, which can “hold” the base much better than concrete, tile or even carpet flooring. If you don’t have any type of mat for your workout space, you should be getting some anyway. A layer of protection for your floors, and a extra cushion for your body is a win win when working out at home.

    Our recommendation for home gym floor mats on Amazon
  • Sand Bags – A quick and easy way to get the punching bag base heavier is with sand bags. They’re relatively cheap, and easy to manage when you need to move the punching bag around. The same sand bags used for film and photography will work great. They have a loose handle that you can link together with rope or yarn and tie it to the top of the base. Placing them on the sides around your punching bag, will also help reduce movement and any type of sliding.
  • Position It Against The Wall – This may not be the best option if you like moving around your bag. But it definitely would help it from moving around. Push your bag up against the baseboard of a wall. You can even put a towel or an old shirt in between to prevent any damage.
  • Anti Slip Tape – Sticking adhesive tape, or anti slip tape underneath the stand of your heavy bag is another way to create some extra friction. Depending on the type of flooring you have there are quite a few different options of tape that can be suitable.
  • Change Your Technique – When using a heavy bag, having a large sway in the bag causes weight distribution to be uneven. And resulting in movement with the stand. If your heavy bag is swinging wildly during use it can get a dangerous and risk injury. Change your hitting technique that will help control the swinging of the bag, which not only lowers the risks but also gives the boxer more control.
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How Heavy Should A Free Standing Punching Bag Be?

When setting up your heavy bag with the stand, to avoid improper use, be sure to have the right weight of a heavy bag. Bags that are too light or too heavy could be another reason why you training experience hasn’t been optimal.

Choosing the weight of the bag should align with what your exercise goals and what your routine will be. As a rule of thumb, the weight of a punch bag ideally should be half the weight of the user. In other words, if your weight is 200 lbs. a good sized punching bag for you would be 100 lbs. Any training bag that is under 70 pounds have a likelihood of resulting in a poor experience. The reason for this is that the bag may be too light, therefore causing too much movement in the bag.

Heavy Bag Stand That Doesn’t Shift, Slide Or Move During Use

For those that just want to set up their heavy bag and stand and not worry about having to do some DIY projects to keep it all from moving or breaking down. Century Martial Arts, the originators of the free standing punching bag, have a heavy duty stand made for you.

heavy bag stand that does not move
Century Martial Arts – Cornerman Heavy Bag Stand

The Cornerman is it a lot sturdier than other products on the market. The frame is made out of heavy metal, and the legs are widespread which helps with distribution of force and prevents tipping. It also allows a full 180 degree use of your heavy bag. Most stands come narrow and only allow one angle of attack before the leg stands get in the way.

Because of the size of the heavy bag stand and the wide frame design. Placing The Cornerman in a corner of your home gym is a must. Be sure to measure out your area first before installing.

Do heavy bag stands need weights? Find out in our in depth article.

Which Type Of Floor Is Best For A Heavy Bag Stand

The great thing about heavy bag stands is the ability to have it placed anywhere in your home. As opposed to a heavy from the ceiling. If you have tile, carpet, concrete or wood floors available to use, it is suggested to still put a layer between the stand and the floor.

Reason being, you want to protect your floor from any damage from using the bag. And you want to protect the bottom of the base itself to help ensure longevity and quality. Scratching and small scrapes would almost certainly happen to both the floor and base without some sort protection.

Because the stands are typically made of metallic material, if you’re not looking to use mats, then the suggestion would be place the bag stand on a concrete floor. It’s likely that there will be some sliding that will happen when using the punching bag. And if thats the case you would want to avoid ruining floors such as carpet, tile and hardwood.

Conclusion

Having a heavy bag stand that moves around more than an opponent does is not only annoying, but it takes the rhythm out of your workout. Having to consistently fix and adjust the position doesn’t allow you to fully commit to your workout.

Hopefully we have helped you find some ways in keeping the heavy bag and stand stable enough to bring back the joy of boxing training at home. Not only does a making a heavy bag stand more enjoyable, it also will help it create less noise.

You can check out our full article of how to make a heavy bag and bag stand quieter, here.

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