At most boxing gyms, you’ll find several heavybags. Usually, they range both in weight and in height. That makes it easy for you to find your favorite bag and stick with it.
When you hang a heavybag at home, you obviously want to make sure it’s hanging at the ideal height.
How high should the heavybag be?
Heavybags have a sweet spot. When you punch this spot, the bag jumps backwards. Hit it above that spot and it just sort of rotates around its center of gravity and doesn’t provide very much resistance. Hit it too low, and it will be like punching a brick wall: unforgiving and unrealistic.
Hang the punching bag so the label is at eye level
The height of the sweet spot should be around eye level when you are in your normal boxing stance. Many punching bags have a label at the level of the sweet spot. If in doubt, try hanging it so the label is at eye level; you can always adjust it up or down if it’s not quite right.
Benefits of hanging the punching bag at the right height
- It will feel just right when you hit it. It won’t be too hard or too spongy.
- Body shots will go into the harder part of the bag — lower down — and give you more resistance, just like they should.
- If you are consistently hitting it too high (up near the chains), it won’t move realistically and it’ll be too soft.
- Properly hung, it’ll “jump” when you strike it. You can use your footwork to follow it around like it’s a live opponent.
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Please let me know how far away hanging bags should be from one another. We want to put four up in a work out area. Thanks.
In this video, Coach Kenny Weldon touches on your question. I defer to him: Heavybag Video. Basically, he says you need a 10-foot circle around the bag; of course, his bags swing on long chains so they move a bit more than heavybags hung at home.