Building a Home Gym

[vision1]

Hi Guys,

I'm sure I could find these answers if I did an adequate search but figured this is easier

I've been making myself a home gym during the pandemic. So far it's only strength equipment but I have space to start filling it with boxing equipment. I've got plenty of space and I can build a rack or reinforce the ceiling as needed to hang bags. Here are my questions:

1) If you were building a home gym, in what order would you buy bags? I'm thinking standard heavy bag, then double-end bag, then maybe different style of heavy bag / water bag / slip bag. Speed bags seem to be pretty popular but I'd put them no higher than #4 on my list

2) Assuming I get a heavy bag first, what size? I never knew how heavy the ones at my gym were. I would guess between 100-200 lbs would be ideal for someone my size (215)

3) What are some of the top manufacturers for reasonably priced heavy bags? Obviously durability is much less important for a home gym with less frequency of use. I'm in Canada if that makes a difference. I also have access to rags and old clothing so could buy unfilled.

4) For a double-end-bag, the upper mount needs to be equal distant to the bag as the floor, correct? I have high ceilings which is my concern.

Thanks

 

[Hotdog666]

Id get the heavy bag first and build everything around that, placement wise.
100lbs -150lbs should be fine. I guess it depends on what your use will be. Power shots? or kinda working around the as it sways and swings. How high will it be mounted? Kinda has to do with how much it moves.

The double end bag needs to be same distance. Just measure the distance from floor to ceiling, and I divided by 30% and cut the bungie cord to that measurement twice. It ended up working perfect.

 

[vision1]

The double end bag needs to be same distance. Just measure the distance from floor to ceiling, and I divided by 30% and cut the bungie cord to that measurement twice. It ended up working perfect.

Thanks, good to know. I'll have to build a structure to mount the top at a lower height.

I'd like my heavy bag to be able to take power shots without swinging out of control. Not sure how high I'll be mounting yet. What's ideal?

 

[Hotdog666]

Usually the lower the bag, the less swing. Of course it depends on how heavy the bag is. Mount with a heavy spring so the spring sucks up most of the movement.

 

[Robocok]

I've heard good things about outslayer heavy bags.

 

[BADBOYKILLA]

cobra bag , end to end

 

[vision1]

When you will finish give us photo report. I need some inspiration for my personal home gym.

Will do.
Right now it's just weights. Axle, Bench, Dumbells, T-Handle, Farmers Handles, Sled

 

[vision1]

cobra bag , end to end

What does "end-to-end" mean?
I assume cobra bag is like what Ryan Garcia uses? Might be a good idea, easier to setup than a double-end bag but I've never used one.

 

[Fahcough]

I've heard good things about outslayer heavy bags.

Can't like older post but this. They have excellent quality and warranty. Spend a few extra bucks and be set for years. Fully customized.

 

[vision1]

Anyone here ever buy from the Outslayer website? It sketches me out because the website is "not secure".
I also contacted customer service but they never responded, which seems strange. I was wondering if a bag labelled "150 lbs" is 150 lbs with compressed rags only. Based on the dimensions I would assume it is.
Black Friday seems like a good time to buy a bag

 

[Edgar Martinez]

Hey @vision1 - don't know how to tag, I'm new into participating in this forum
Nice topic you've started here, I have also set up my home gym for training during this pandemic, given that I haven't been into a boxing gym since almost a year now that all these began. I'm mexican, living in Mexico, where the "garage" room is not a common space we have for storage or gym.
I started with a boxing bag (small/medium size), a double ended bag and an indoor cycling. I then realized, I should've had a heavy bag first, which now I'm into adding it. Also had a newbie mistake, and while hitting my heavy bag, it dropped from the ceiling - Ha.

If you have IG, add me and might be able to see my actual gym set up, and perhaps help me with your comments on how to improve my skills Instagram profile as @theboxingcollector

 

[Kendodsworth]

An angle bag maybe a better option over a standard heavy bag for a home gym. Id definitely get a double-end bag too if you have the space.

I'm not a fan of the cobra bags I had one as a kid in the early 90s. Hated it haha

 

[vision1]

If you have IG, add me and might be able to see my actual gym set up, and perhaps help me with your comments on how to improve my skills Instagram profile as @theboxingcollector

You have a nice setup. The double-end bag looks very clean.
I'm not a boxing coach by any means, my only suggestion would be, when you roll under your straight right, make sure you keep your chin tucked and shoulder high. Right now you're fully exposed when rolling under your cross.

 

[vision1]

I finally got my 150 lb Outslayer Boxing Heavy bag mounted. It's awesome.
Filled it myself with cut-up t-shirt rags (and a few small bags of sand in the middle). I wasn't able to get it up to the quoted 150 lbs but it's pretty close (maybe 140). Saved a lot of money stuffing it myself but cutting that many rags was brutal - at least 6-8 hours of cutting and several scissor blisters. One of the best bags I've ever used though. Nice and heavy but good feel and absorption. It's been a full year since I've thrown a punch so I'll need to give it a few more sessions for a proper review. This was also my first time using my TB Alien Gloves that I purchased an entire year ago.
Will post pictures later.

 

[Edgar Martinez]

You have a nice setup. The double-end bag looks very clean.
I'm not a boxing coach by any means, my only suggestion would be, when you roll under your straight right, make sure you keep your chin tucked and shoulder high. Right now you're fully exposed when rolling under your cross.

I finally got my 150 lb Outslayer Boxing Heavy bag mounted. It's awesome.
Filled it myself with cut-up t-shirt rags (and a few small bags of sand in the middle). I wasn't able to get it up to the quoted 150 lbs but it's pretty close (maybe 140). Saved a lot of money stuffing it myself but cutting that many rags was brutal - at least 6-8 hours of cutting and several scissor blisters. One of the best bags I've ever used though. Nice and heavy but good feel and absorption. It's been a full year since I've thrown a punch so I'll need to give it a few more sessions for a proper review. This was also my first time using my TB Alien Gloves that I purchased an entire year ago.
Will post pictures later.

Thanks for your feedback @vision1 , always appreciated .

Good to hear about you filling up your bag, I've been wanting to do this since time ago, but haven't yet encouraged to it. I've been wanting a heavy bag for a long time, just because shipping is not an option for a filled bag, I've just been thinking in buying an empty heavy bag and filling it up. Even thought I've watched videos or tutorials on the Internet, haven't yet went into it.
I might be good at some things, but definitely not a handy man - Ha. So even the more basic things to do, I might be very dumb at it.

Some questions for you my friend...
1- How many t-shirts did you needed to fill your bag? I'm not sure I may have enough wasted cloth to put into my bag.
2- Did you just threw the sand in it with or without the sand bag?
3- Any special type of sand you suggest?

 

[RDL81]

Thanks for your feedback @vision1 , always appreciated .

Good to hear about you filling up your bag, I've been wanting to do this since time ago, but haven't yet encouraged to it. I've been wanting a heavy bag for a long time, just because shipping is not an option for a filled bag, I've just been thinking in buying an empty heavy bag and filling it up. Even thought I've watched videos or tutorials on the Internet, haven't yet went into it.
I might be good at some things, but definitely not a handy man - Ha. So even the more basic things to do, I might be very dumb at it.

Some questions for you my friend...
1- How many t-shirts did you needed to fill your bag? I'm not sure I may have enough wasted cloth to put into my bag.
2- Did you just threw the sand in it with or without the sand bag?
3- Any special type of sand you suggest?

I researched this but have not don’t it myself but I have been told if you want to add sand it’s best to do this via a filled pvc pipe in the centre and middle of the bag. In the uk I would use what we call kiln dried sand

as for rags in the UK you buy cheap scrap rag by the kg you might want to research that where you are I am sure it’s possible if there is local fabric recycling

 

[vision1]

Some questions for you my friend...
1- How many t-shirts did you needed to fill your bag? I'm not sure I may have enough wasted cloth to put into my bag.
2- Did you just threw the sand in it with or without the sand bag?
3- Any special type of sand you suggest?

Tomorrow I’ll post some photos with some more detail.

You definitely do not have enough old clothes lying around. I got a bunch of old clothes from family and friends and it only added up to maybe 30 lbs. I ended up buying t-shirt rags, 4x25lb bags. It’s precut into medium sized pieces but I still cut it smaller into hand sized pieces. Most industrial suppliers should sell rags meant for cleaning. It costed me $90cad for the 100 lbs. Buying a filled bag from Outslayer would have been $300usd extra + way more in shipping.

In terms of sand, I only used 10-15 lbs of sand, very little compared to the amount of rags I used. It was just the leftover sand I had from a homemade medicine ball. I split the sand into 6 small bags and wrapped those bags in gorilla tape, then as I filled the bag I placed some sand bags in the middle at even intervals. The bags were small and I made sure to surround them well with rags so I’ll never end up punching sand. I also put a piece of towel, the size of the heavy bag cross-section under each sand bag to help prevent the sand bags from sinking over time.

Hope that helps

 

[Nonducor]

I did something very similar to vision1. I had an old 4ft Everlast bag that kept coming apart at the bottom stitching & was starting to tear where the chains attached. Finally got tired of taping it and bought a new 5 ft bag.

I weighed the old bag in at just under 90 lbs. It had about 80 lbs of filling when you subtract the weight of the shell and chains. It had 6 x 5 lb bags of sand placed between layers of shredded fabric. I bought a 40 lb bag of sand and made a few more 5 lb bags using Ziploc bags (doubled-up) and then used Gorilla tape and hockey stick tape to wrap them up for good measure. Several of the old 5 lb sand bags were leaking and had to be repaired/replaced. I didn't use anythjng special for sand - I live in Canada and bought a generic bag of sand normally used for extra weight for winter driving.

In the end, I placed 10 x 5 lb bags of sand evenly spaced between layers of shredded fabric. I've cut up at least 10 old shirts in addition to the fill I already had. I will have to add some more as it compacts further. Right now it weighs just under 120 lbs.

Cutting up the shirts took up a bit of time and was tedious. I also had to repack the bag more than once as the sand bags kept sliding away from the center. In the end, it was a matter making sure I had something to pack the fabric after each sand bag was placed. If they shift again, I will try vision1's small towel idea.

Another option for fill is shredded foam. I checked around afterwards and found a local company that makes foam products. They indicated they would sell a queen size mattress bag of foam scraps for $40 CAD. However, they were not sure how much the scrap bag would weigh and I would still have to cut the foam into smaller pieces.

In the end, my cost was about $200 CAD for the new heavy bag and $8 CAD for the sand. I already had tape , ziploc bags, and old clothes.

 

[vision1]

Here’s a pic of mine. I didn’t do a great job of taping my sand bags but figured they’re well protected and worst case some sand trickles into the rags.

 

[vision1]

Do any of you guys have experience with setting up a matted area (for grappling, stretching, etc.)?

I’d like to get a good area for stretching, something at least 4’ x 6’. 6’ x 8’ would be even better. Good quality tri-fold mats seem to be pretty expensive. What’s the best bang for your buck? Any good brands out there or home made suggestions?

I currently just have a yoga mat and I don’t see how anyone over 100 lbs can find those supportive or comfortable.