Step-By-Step: How To Fill Your Punching Bag Base with Sand

Getting your at-home boxing gym set up is the first step towards taking your training to the next level. Unlike a heavy bag, which is typically suspended from the ceiling, a free-standing punching bag can be moved around to make room for other workout equipment you may want to add.

With that said, a free-standing punching bag with stand needs to have some weight so that it doesn’t topple over the minute you strike it. This guide will cover what to fill a punching bag base with so that you can complete your punching bag set up and start working out.

What Do I Need To Set Up My At-Home Boxing Space?

Before purchasing a heavy bag, there’s one important thing you need and that is to set up your home boxing gym space.

When your punching bag is filled, it’s going to be difficult to move anywhere. You’ll be able to shuffle it side-to-side, but picking it up probably isn’t going to happen. That’s why you need to plan out your boxing space before purchasing any large exercise equipment.

As with any fitness equipment, figure out where you want it to go before purchasing everything you need to set up your training space. A space as small as six feet by six feet can be more than enough to put your punching bag.

As for the punching bag, we get two common questions:

• How do I fill my FightCamp bag base?

• What do I fill the base of my heavy bag with?

To answer the first, you’re going to need to address the second. The three (3) most common options are sand, water, or both. For this guide, we recommend using sand for punching bags as it will weigh more, but a bag base filled with water will still give you a great workout. The reason we recommend sand for punching bags is that the base can fit 350 lbs. of sand, but only 250 lbs. of water. If you need more stability, sand for punching bags is preferred. Wondering where to buy sand for punching bag base? You can usually find standard bags of sand at home improvement stores.

Here’s what you’ll need to fill the base of your heavy bag:

• 4 bags (350 lbs.) of dry sand (or enough water)

• Any type of masking tape or stronger tape

• Scissors

• Funnel

Once you have the items above, grab the base of your FightCamp heavy bag or another bag, and let’s start to fill.

How Do I Fill My Free Standing Punching Bag with Sand?

Follow along with FightCamp Trainers Flo Master and Aaron Swenson as they show you how to fill punching bag base with sand and give you all of the tips and tricks to make this easy!

Step 1

First, take a towel and put it under the base of your bag in case you happen to spill some sand

Step 2

Attach the funnel to the opening of the bag’s base using tape

Step 3

If available, grab a table tall enough to be above the funnel and place the sand for punching bag on top (otherwise, you’ll have to hold the bag of sand while pouring)

Step 4

Cut open a corner of the sandbag directly above the funnel

Step 5

Start pouring the sand into the funnel, shaking the funnel slightly as the sand pours to ensure the opening doesn’t get clogged

Step 6

Once you’ve emptied the first bag of sand, shake the base of your bag so that the sand inside evens out

Step 7

Repeat steps 4-6 with the rest of your sand for punching bags and finally secure the punching bag on top

Now, you’re ready to start training!! If you’d like more weight in the base, you can top off the sand with water. This will take the base weight to 400+ lbs., which is more than enough for a workout.

After you've figured out where to buy sand for a punching bag base and have your bag all set up, consider purchasing additional boxing equipment such as gloves and hand wraps to make your boxing experience better and safer for your hands.

To learn more about equipment that can benefit your training or to learn boxing for beginners, visit FightCamp’s YouTube and website.

Train Like a Fighter

Take your workouts to the next level and train like a fighter with the at-home connected fitness solution used by world champion boxers Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather. FightCamp has everything you need to work out on your schedule, with premium boxing equipment and hundreds of on-demand strength, conditioning, kickboxing, boxing, core, and recovery classes led by real fighters. As Mike Tyson said - “FightCamp is the next level of training!” 

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