A punching bag is an exercise tool that improves your health and fitness. It takes a lot of physical effort and stamina to hit a boxing bag. This type of full-body exercise burns calories and strengthens muscles. Getting in shape with a punching bag is one of the most effective cardio workouts – and it’s fun, so you won’t even feel like you’re doing any work. 👏
How to choose a punching bag for cardio?
When it comes to heavy punching bags, you should aim to have an item about half your body weight. You can use a 90-pound bag if you’re 180 pounds. A bag like that will offer sufficient resistance for the user. 👊
Cardio punching bags, on the other hand, can be lighter. As a result, it can swing more.
What’s the reason?
- Our goal here is not to increase our punching power but rather to do a cardio workout. Therefore, we don’t need a heavy bag that can withstand powerful blows.
- Additionally, a swinging bag forces us to move around it faster, which definitely boosts our heart rate. In other words, more footwork is needed. 🥵
- Furthermore, lighter bags put less stress on your joints and knuckles.
Are you looking for the best punching bags for cardio workouts? If so, then this review article will help you. You’ll learn about the different types of bags that are designed for cardio training.
#1. 70-Pound MMA Heavy-Bag Kit
- Hand wraps and heavy bag gloves are included in the kit.
- Up to 100 pounds can be filled in it.
- Featuring ultra-soft padded filling.
- Height 52″, making it perfect for small spaces.
- 70-pound lightweight bag.
- It can be adjusted to your liking in height with the adjustable height chain.
The Everlast 70 lb heavy bag will be your best choice if you’re looking for a piece of lightweight equipment that doesn’t feel like it’s made of concrete. You won’t bruise your knuckles with it because it’s light and soft.
Its inner shell is designed with a mixture of natural poly fibers and synthetic fabric fibers. It absorbs punches well and doesn’t wear out quickly. Outer poly-canvas construction is highly durable, keeping the shape of the bag.
Due to its 52-inch height and 15-inch width, you can set it up anywhere, whether you’re in an apartment or just want to save some space. Besides that, the punching bag comes with height-adjustable chains so you can set it up exactly right for your height.
Rather than having to go out and purchase gloves separately, this cardio heavy bag comes with a kit that includes boxing gloves and hand wraps so that you can start right away. 🥊
Reviewers have given this product high marks. This boxing equipment has a huge number of positive reviews.
To sum up, the Everlast 70-pound heavy bag kit is an excellent boxing bag for cardio that gives safe, comfortable, and effective training for anyone.
#2. Dripex Freestanding Punching Bag
Price: $119.99 | Rating:
- The cover is built from multiple layers with a buffer layer to protect the hand.
- Quite tall cardio bag, about 70 inches.
- Silent compared with other freestanding bags.
- It works on almost any floor surface.
- Mobile and easy to install.
- Great for punching, kicking to have complete cardio training.
Any homeowner looking for a quality boxing bag will find Dripex an excellent choice. Its multilayered construction boasts a punching surface that is carefully engineered to reduce bruising on your wrists and ensure efficient workouts.
Punching bags that stand upright often tip over or move. The Dripex bag provides two solutions to prevent this. The first feature is its rounded base, which can be filled with water or sand. When filled with water, it weighs about 140 lbs. When filled with sand, it weighs 180 lbs. Stability is ensured as a result of this alone. Moreover, the base has 12 suction cups that each have 176 pounds of sucking power. This gives it a firm grip on tiles and smooth surfaces.
The unique shock absorbing technology makes the bag more effective. The first benefit is that it improves rebounding, which will enhance timing, rhythm, and accuracy. Moreover, it makes the cardio workout more intense since it forces the person to react faster. The stability of the bag is also affected by the absorbing system. In addition, the system includes four heavy-duty springs designed to minimize noise.
Essentially, you can use the Dripex Free standing punching bag anywhere you like. It’s a well-built and convenient heavy bag for cardio. It is excellent for cardio boxing training, Taekwondo, Karate, and more at a moderate level.
#3. Everlast Omniflex
Price: $179.99 | Rating:
- The flexible neck lets the bag swing forward and backward, which you can use to practice head and body movements.
- The system is simple to set up and does not take up much space.
- You can adjust the height.
- Construction with high-density foam that absorbs shock.
- Durable, functional outer shell provided by Nevatear.
A Nevatear outer lining makes the exterior tearproof, as its name implies. An absorbing foam surrounds the bag itself, which absorbs the impact of your blows. Boxing gloves are recommended, even with this foam.
Due to their design, freestanding heavy bags rely heavily on their bases. A sturdy base at the center of the Everlast Omniflex can either be filled with sand or water. This base ensures that it won’t topple or slide along the floor as a result of repeated attacks.
There are numerous benefits to the Omniflex flexible neck joint. The bag will swing forward and backward when you strike it. As it swings towards you, you can duck and weave from side to side as you practice your head movement. This allows you to practice boxing defense techniques and increase the intensity of your cardio workout.
The flexible neck joint has a downside since it cannot take the impact of extremely powerful kicks and can sometimes fall over or even break.
The Everlast Omniflex can serve as the ideal home heavy bag. Besides being affordable and of high quality, it takes up little space. As its flexible neck makes it prone to falling over with too much power though, the Omniflex is not suitable for training high-powered strikes. Omniflex is thus best used for cardiovascular exercises instead.
#4. Aerobic Wavemaster
Price: | Rating:
- Excellent shock-absorption properties.
- Minimal footprint.
- Height is adjustable between 53.5″ and 65.5″.
- Transportable.
Unlike punching strength, Century Aerobic Wavemaster is designed to train cardio. The smaller footprint is best suited to a low-impact cardio exercise that accelerates the heart rate. Instead of using raw force as you would with heavy bags, it is best to kick and strike it quickly and accurately.
Featuring high-density foam fill and solid vinyl cover, this freestanding bag is designed for portability. With a height adjustment range of 53 to 65 inches, the bag can fit people of all sizes. It can also be ordered in red, blue, and black.
This bag is intended for cardio workouts and not for strength training. It is smaller and lighter. Since it isn’t stable enough, you shouldn’t kick or punch it with high force. For a more powerful workout, opt for other Wavemaster punching bags.
This Aerobic Wavemaster is an excellent investment for those looking to tone their arms and legs with its low price.
#5. Double End Punching Bag for Cardio Workout
Floor-to-ceiling bags are small, circular balls attached on both ends by an elastic cord to the floor and ceiling. The rebound elasticity can be adjusted, and they come in different sizes and shapes. There are tons of punching skills workouts you can do with it.
With a double-end bag, your goal should be to improve your hand speed and timing; therefore, focusing on volume punching should be your focus. With just three minutes of hitting the double-end bag quickly and consistently, it is a great cardio workout that builds your arms and legs’ endurance.
Maybe it isn’t the best punching bag for cardio training. It teaches you how to punch effectively. Plus, it’s enjoyable boxing training.
Why are punching bags good for cardio?
Learn more: Cardio Weight Loss with Heavy Bags
- Improves the technique of boxing. 🥊 You improve your boxing technique by hitting the punching bag. You can’t just throw punches in boxing; you have to execute every move exactly and with precision. The bag will help you improve your punches, movements, and performance. That means a lot of intense activities leading to increased heart rate.
- Strengthens your muscles. 💪 It is an excellent exercise for enhancing power and strength because you will be working as many muscles as possible. As such, heavy bag training is a perfect full-body cardio workout since all of the body’s major muscles are engaged.
- Increases your endurance. 🏃♂️ Punching bag workouts require a lot of effort. Your endurance will grow over time as you are pushed beyond your comfort zone.
- Boosts coordination, stability, and balance. 🏋️♂️ You don’t just stand still and punch when you do heavy bag cardio workouts. As you move around the bag, you’re incorporate footwork.
To sum up
Training with a punching bag is better for your cardio workout as it provides better exercise than free weights such as dumbbells. It burns fat, keeps your overall wellness strong as well as giving a healthy cardiovascular system.
To conclude, the best punching bags for cardio workouts are designed with cardio exercises in mind. These types of bags ensure that you can stay safe and fit during intensive workouts.
Sources
- Kravitz, Len, et al. “Cardiovascular response to punching tempo.” The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 17.1 (2003): 104-108.
- Shultz, Sarah P., et al. “A boxing-oriented exercise intervention for obese adolescent males: Findings from a pilot study.” Journal of sports science & medicine 13.4 (2014): 751. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4234943/