Best Heavy Bag 2023

By purchasing the best heavy bag for your home gym, you're giving yourself the tools you need to practice your technique at home.

Fortunately, we've put together a list of top picks for your home gym based on features, price, and reviews, to kick off your search in the best way possible.

Whether you're after something freestanding, like this Everlast Powercore, or you're after something hanging, like this Ringside Boxing Bag, for a garage gym, we've got you covered right here.

That said, you'll need to team your heavy bag with a top pair of boxing gloves to protect your hands and wrists so you can fight harder and train longer.

Make sure you stay tuned until the end as well, as we've gone into more detail on heavy bags by answering some of the most commonly asked questions so you can pick out the right bit of kit for your style of training. With that in mind, here's our list of the best heavy bags available now...

Best heavy bag

1. Everlast Powercore
2. Title Boxing Greatest Heavy Bag Ever
3. Ringside Boxing Bag
4. RDX Punching Bag Set
5. Century BOB XL

Credit: Everlast

1. Everlast Powercore

Best freestanding heavy bag

Everlast's Powercore heavy bag stands as an exemplary embodiment of the brand's expertise in the field.

This piece of training equipment features a freestanding mount that can be easily filled with water or sand, offering an impressive 250 lbs of stability for your workout sessions. What truly sets it apart though is Everlast's innovative air-foam chamber, designed to provide an authentic and responsive feel. Its rounded design also ensures that you can effortlessly manoeuvre around the target without any hindrance.

Ultimately, the Powercore heavy bag from Everlast is an outstanding choice for those seeking a high-quality freestanding training tool. It brings together stability, realism, and versatility, making it an ideal addition to your boxing regimen.

Credit: Title Boxing

2. Title Boxing Greatest Heavy Bag Ever

Best hanging heavy bag

If you're in the market for a hanging punching bag, consider the impressively named Greatest Heavy Bag Ever by Title Boxing. This professional-grade piece of equipment is designed to elevate your training experience.

Crafted with a triple-ply synthetic leather cover, it encases a blend of shredded poly-micro fibre filling, ensuring exceptional durability and density. This combination of materials is tailored to maximise the effectiveness of your workouts.

Adding to its appeal, the bag features a reinforced bottom and the option to attach a tie-down D-ring for enhanced stability. So, if you're seeking a training partner that will push you to your limits, this 150 lbs Greatest Heavy Bag Ever deserves some serious consideration.

Credit: Ringside

3. Ringside Boxing Bag

Best heavy bag for home gyms

The Ringside Boxing Bag presents an excellent choice for beginners in the sport. This slightly lighter option offers a balanced blend of strength enhancement, conditioning, and technique improvement if used correctly.

Notably, the Ringside Boxing Bag prioritises safety, featuring a 2" foam liner designed to absorb the impact of each strike, thus safeguarding your joints during training sessions.

Additionally, this heavy bag boasts a convenient D-ring located at the bottom, allowing you to secure it at two points, ensuring that it remains perfectly centred during your workouts.

All in all, the Ringside Boxing Bag stands as an optimal selection for those in search of a lighter, beginner-friendly bag to kickstart their training journey.

Credit: RDX

4. RDX Punching Bag Set

Best budget heavy bag

The RDX Punching Bag Set looks to be great value for money as it not only comes with a 4 or 5-foot heavy bag, but also includes gloves and wrist straps so you can get started right away.

The bag itself is made from leather which should be extremely durable, and it attaches to the ceiling with the accompanying steel hook and chains.

Also, the bag is filled with soft materials which, combined with the gel foam padding in the gloves, should ensure your hands and wrists remain injury-free whilst training.

All in all, we think this RDX Punching Bag Set is a strong option to consider that shouldn't break the bank with its price tag.

5. Century BOB XL

Best heavy bag for MMA

The Century BOB XL is a uniquely designed punching bag that resembles the upper torso of a human, thus making it the ideal bit of kit for targetting specific areas.

Century boasts its high-strength plastisol body is filled with urethane foam, designed to make it both tough whilst also relatively soft to strike, with the aim of keeping you injury-free.

Furthermore, the freestanding polyethylene base can hold up to 270 lbs of water or sand to help ensure it remains sturdy and upright whilst you train.

Overall, the Century BOB XL could be the heavy bag for you if you're after something to help with targeted strikes so you're ready for MMA.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

People often have a tonne of questions about heavy bags, but we're here to clear up a few common queries before you make your purchase.

Are heavy bags worth it?

While mainly designed for combat sports, training with a heavy bag offers a great way of improving your strength, power, and cardiovascular fitness.

You will also likely engage your entire body whilst hitting a punching bag, thus making it an effective full-body workout.

It may not beat weight training for building muscle and size, but we think if you're looking to improve your cardio-based training at home, a heavy bag is definitely worth it.

What is a good weight for a heavy bag?

A general rule to follow if you're unsure as to what size heavy bag you need is to select one that is roughly half your body weight.

For example, if you weigh 200 lbs, then a 100 lbs hanging bag should be a good weight to go with.

Most adults will likely require a heavy bag that weighs at least 80lbs for it to be challenging enough to make the workout worthwhile.

Do heavy bags help you build muscle?

As previously mentioned, a heavy bag can provide an effective full-body workout that should also build some muscle in the process as you engage a large number of muscles during a punch, particularly in your upper body.

If you're a beginner, you'll likely see the biggest improvement in muscle mass if you're training for the first time, however, if you're a seasoned weight lifter, we wouldn't recommend solely relying on the heavy bag to put on size.

The heavy bag's biggest benefit is how effectively it can improve your cardiovascular fitness due to the amount of energy required to move your entire body during each punch.

How do you keep a heavy bag from swinging?

There are a few ways to keep a heavy bag from swinging, one being to properly distribute the weight. Make sure that the weight inside the bag is evenly distributed. This will help keep the bag balanced.

You can also use a stabilising strap to anchor it to the ground or a nearby object. Some heavy bags come with these straps as standard.

That said, it's important to hang the bag from a stable point. Make sure you're attaching it to something that won't move or sway, like a metal hook.

Finally, if the bag is still swinging, you can place a sandbag or weight plate on the base of the bag to keep it steady. This will add extra weight to the bag and prevent it from moving around as much/

How long will a heavy bag last?

A good quality heavy bag should last a good few years providing you maintain it accordingly.

For instance, giving the outer material a clean every once in a while followed by treating the material should prevent it from drying out and cracking. Moreover, you may need to redistribute some of the filling to avoid it losing its shape and developing some spots that are harder to punch than others.

However, due to the nature of the sport, a heavy bag won't last forever, especially if used regularly. Therefore, we'd recommend starting your search for a replacement if you notice any cracks or damage to your bag, or if there's a significant drop-off in how cushioned the filling is.