4 Ways To Hang A Punching Bag

Not a fan of going to the gym, but want to take up boxing?

Adding a heavy bag to your home gym means needing a proper place to hang it for workouts.

The best way to hang a heavy bag is Using The Ceiling Joist To Hang The Bag

Interested in seeing if one of these will work in your home?

We’ve got tips for 4 ways on how to hang a punching bag at home in your garage, basement, or other workout room.

See if any of these tips work for you.

Before You Get Started

Even if you don’t have a basement or garage, there are still some great ways to hang a punching bag for home boxing workouts.

In order to know how you can hang the bag, you need to know a few things:

• how much does the bag weigh when filled?
• what kind of ceiling do you have in the area where you want to hang it?

You see, heavy bags can be installed in your home a few different ways.

You might be able to just hang it from the ceiling joist or use one of those specially designed heavy mounts in the ceiling before you get right to work on your boxing form.

Or if you can’t hang it from the ceiling (either due to structural reasons or because you’re a renter instead of a homeowner), you can use one of those freestanding supports.

So, let’s look at this in a bit more detail to help you decide the best way to approach this so that you don’t end up with a big hole in the ceiling.

How Much Does The Punching Bag Weigh?

To prevent any installation mishaps, it’s important to know how much weight needs supported before you try to hang the heavy bag.

Though punching bags come in a variety of different weights, your average home punching bag has a weight of 70 pounds.

Of course, some models weigh more than that.

The typical home gym heavy punching bag weighs between 70 pounds and 100 pounds.

If you end up with one of those heavy duty bags like you see at a boxing gym, then it will weight a LOT more.

In fact, commercial heavy bags weigh around 200 pounds.

Knowing how much the bag weighs is only part of the equation of knowing how much weight needs supported.

When you punch that bag, all of that force that you are exerting and hitting that bag with has a weight as well.

Plus, the bag will start to swing, resulting in centrifugal force.

That force can be more than the bag actually weighs.

So your 100 pound bag now needs at least 200 pounds of support.

Don’t forget that the bag will also move up in the air a bit with the force of your punch, and then all of its weight it come crashing back down on the anchor.

This happens every time you punch the bag.

Every time.

That’s a heck of a lot of impact that your heavy bag mount has to be able to withstand.

Once you get all this figured out, it’s time to look at the ways to get that bag hung for your first home training session.

Option #1 – Using The Ceiling Joist To Hang The Bag

Probably the best way to hang a heavy bag at home for your boxing workouts is to chain it over a ceiling joist.

The ceiling joist is what supports your ceiling. It’s typically a 2×6 board that is spaced out every 16″, but you may find them further apart and made of different size boards.

Ideally, you’ll have an open joist that you can hang the bag from, such as in your garage or basement.

If that’s not the case, you’ll have to actually find the joist before you can use it.

How To Find The Joist

If you don’t have a textured ceiling, like a popcorn ceiling, then it’s easy to find the joist.

All you need is a stud finder.

With the stud finder, start at the edge of one wall and start looking for the joist 16″ out, and if it’s not there try 24″ out.

Still not finding any?

You’re probably in line with them, so just try again from the adjacent wall and you should have better luck.

Tip: For a textured ceiling, you need to get above it and visually inspect. Look for nail heads depressed in wood and you’ll find the joist.

Once you find the joist for hanging the bag, you need to find the center of the joist.

You can use a thin nail to poke through the ceiling to find the center.

If you’re not really the handyman-type, or handywoman, then it’s a good idea to pay a contractor or general handy-person to come to your home and help you out with this.

It’s better to pay someone else and make sure that you’ve got the ceiling joist, and it’s center, located than to end up with a hole in your ceiling.

You may even be able to pay this person to finish the installation for you! Either way, you’re at least going to need the assistance of another person to finish this up.

Installing The Hardware To Hang The Bag

Okay, you’ve found the ceiling joist and located its center.

Now you’re ready to get the hardware installed on that joist so that you can mount this bag and get started with the punching.

According to RDX Sports, you’ll need the following items:

• Power drill
• Eyebolt
• Wrench
• Bag and chains
• S-hook

They suggest that you take the following steps to get this bag installed and hanging from the ceiling joist.

1. Drill a hole in the ceiling joist beam.
2. Twist an eyebolt into the hole, tighten it with a wrench.
3. Connect the chain to the bag and then the chains to the S-hook.
4. Lift the bag up, with help from another person, and hang the S-hook to the eyebolt.
5. Give the bag a few test punches to test if it is securely in place.

It’s a good idea to use an eye bolt instead of hooks in step #2 because the bag can easily slip out of the hook during workouts.

Option #2 – Mount It To The Ceiling

If you’re not interested in using the method above to chain the heavy punching bag to the ceiling joist, then you might want to consider using a ceiling mount instead.

Ceiling mounts for punching bags come with all the hardware that you need to get the bag installed in your home.

You just need to find the ceiling joist or support beam for the mount’s installation.

Tip: The place where the joist meets the support beam is the location with the most support for the weight of the bag.

To get the ceiling mount installed, you need:

• Power drill
• Screw driver
• Wrench
• Bag and chains

Here’s the basic steps of installing a heavy bag ceiling mount:

1. Hold mount in place on the ceiling so you can mark where the bolts go.
2. Drill holes in ceiling in the areas that you marked.
3. Use a screwdriver and/or wrench to put the mount in the ceiling.
4. Step 4: Attach the chains to the bag and the S-hook.
5. Lift the bag, with the assistance of another person, and hang it on the mount with the S-hook.

Once you have the punching bag in place, you need to test how secure it is in the mount.

Give the bag a few test punches to test if it is securely in place.

Option #3 – Mount It To The Wall

If you can’t, or just don’t want to, install the bag from the ceiling, then you might prefer using a wall mount for the heavy bag.

Like the ceiling mount, you’ll have all the hardware that you need when you purchase one of these mounts.

The most important thing to know here that you should never put a wall mount for a heavy bag in drywall.

Only use this installation method for masonry walls.

To get the wall mount installed, you need:

• Power drill
• Screw driver
• Wrench
• Bag and chains

Here’s the basic steps of installing a heavy bag wall mount:

1. Hold the mount in place on the wall and mark out the placement of bolts.
2. Drill holes in the wall on the marked areas.
3. Place the mount over the holes and install it with the included hardware.
4. Attach the S-hook and the bag to the chain.
5. Hang the bag on the wall mount, with the assistance of another person.

Once you have the punching bag in place, you need to test how secure it is in the mount.

Give the bag a few test punches to test if it is securely in place.

Option #4 – Use A Freestanding Heavy Bag Stand

If you’re a renter, or just don’t want to put holes in the wall or ceiling, then your only other option is one of those punching bag stands that is a freestanding type of support.

However, you should really view this option as a last resort sort of solution because these stands aren’t always stable.

As you punch the bag, the stand may wobble and move, or even tip over.

To prevent this, you need to weigh down the stand.

Even weighed down, these things can still be a bit of a safety hazard.

So, if you have other options, then definitely go with them instead of this one.

If you do decide to use one of these freestanding punching bag supports, then hanging the bag is very simple.

Just attach the chain to the S-hook and bag and hang it on the stand.

The Takeaway

You have several options for hanging your heavy bag for your home boxing workouts.

Whichever method you choose, make sure that the bag is securely in place before you start throwing those punches.

Before you know it, you’ll be yelling “Yo, Adrian!” and showing off all those toned muscles.

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