What type of training bag to buy?

Water bags are nice because they have a realistic feel to them, but they don't seem right to some people. Make sure you check it out first. How heavy the bag should be depends on what you're looking for. Lots of people like big 80 lb bags because it forces you to really have good stance when you hit. Others like smaller bags because they move around more and help you work on footwork much more. If you get a water bag, make sure you wrap your hands because you glance hits alot more because of its consistency and you can really mess up your wrists. Lots of people don't use wraps and that can cause serious injury in the long run. Use wraps and bag gloves definitely. Honestly, you just have to figure out what you want out of the bag because they're all good for something.
http://www.ringside.com/store/prodinfo.asp?number=SPBB% 20S&variation=...

Hi Dave.

Why not get a 'water filled' bag, and then you can put more water in or out to adjust weight. They are also easier on the hands and feet. By the way, getting a 'belly band' (big tummy sweat band for weight loss...) and wrapping it around the bag is a great way to protect your body contact surfaces and the bag.

Also, you might consider a speed bag. You can do hands, elbows and kicking on that one also. Of course, I'm biased about that....

train safely

AK author, The Speed Bag Bible

SBB Book & 2HR VIDEO: http://www.ringside.com/store/prodinfo.asp?number=SPBB% 20S&variation=...

The water filled bags, from my experiance, are not a good choice. The one that we used a while back had a tendency to cause injury to our wrist. This was even with wrapped hands and wrist. I think there is just a little to much give with the water bags. Everyone stopped using it after about a few weeks.

Yeah.. this is the problem we were having with the water bags.. the glancing blows.. they hurt like heck! Even after my first experience with them i took extra extra care on my wrist wraps and still hurt myself.. after that and see others get hurt we didn't use it anymore.

Water-filled bags are among the worst of choices in a heavy bag. They might seem forgiving and easier to hit, but they will mess up your wrists and fingers, and give an unrealistic contact surface. It's like hitting a bag of jello. If you can really hit, your fist caves it in, and then bounces out.

I've owned just about everything out there in training equipment over the years, and the best choice in heavy bags is a quality 6 ft. Muay Thai banana bag. I & I makes an excellent one. There are other producers of banana bags which are also very good (Fairtex, etc.).

The I & I 6 ft. bags never settle