Can You Fill a Punching Bag with Water?

The short answer is no, you can not fill a punching bag with water because they are not designed to hold water. However, you can buy a specialist water-filled punching bag.

Freestanding Punch Bags

The average punching bag weighs about 70-80 pounds. This is the weight of most heavy bags, which are designed to be filled with sand or water.

Punching bags are typically made out of leather or vinyl, but can also be made from canvas. 

These materials are much stronger than cloth, which means they can hold heavier weights.

A punching bag that's filled with water would weigh around 100 pounds based on the same size as a regular heavy bag.

Since your punch might not have as much impact if you're hitting a water-filled punching bag rather than one filled with sand or another material, you'd need to hit this extra-large resistance hard enough to cause pain in your hands and wrists because swinging at air doesn't provide any resistance.

The water-filled bag would also be difficult to hang without help.

Water-Fillable Punching Bags

There are specialist water-fillable punching bags on the market that are designed to take repeated blows from your fist or feet while still providing you with resistance when hitting them. However, these products are more expensive than the typical heavy bag.

Some people have also found that these specialist equipment are far too big to fit in most homes, so it's not easy to find a spare space where you can use them.

They're more practical if you have your own gym or training room, for instance at work or in a sports club.

Water-filled hitting bags are usually made from vinyl instead of canvas because they hold up better when filled with water.

While some models are designed with handles on the side so you can move them around, others are available in shapes that include balls, pyramid boxes or cylinders.

You'll be able to choose different sizes and levels of resistance depending on how much water you fill the bag with and what you're trying to practice with the bag.

However, this equipment is so heavy that you'll probably need help when moving it or filling it with water.

If You Want More Resistance...

To get more resistance in your workout when hitting a regular heavy punching bag, consider buying wrist weights to strap around your wrists.

These weights are designed for wearing when running and jogging in place, but they can also be used for training by adding them to your punch. If you want more intensity than this, try using ankle weights too.

Weighted Gloves

Weighted gloves work much like weight vests because they add extra weight to whichever part of your body they're strapped onto.

They're often filled with sand or some other filler material so you can adjust the weight depending on whether you want to use them for light training or increased intensity.

In addition to punching, they're ideal if your wrists are injured and you want a way of increasing resistance in your full-body workout routine when lifting weights or doing other activities.

Weighted Gloves provide more pressure on bones and ligaments than hitting a heavy bag with bare fists.

They're not safe to wear every day because of this constant extra weight pressing down on your wrist joints--do so too many times and this could result in a stress fracture.

As with a water-filled punching bag, if you wear these gloves it will be difficult to make contact with the target without causing pain in your hands and wrists because they add extra weight to your punch.

FAQs

Is it better to fill a punching bag with sand or water?

You are far better off filling the base with sand if you are looking at increasing the weight of the actual punching bag. In this way you have a larger volume to hand and can add more sand.

If you fill with water, you may find that the water sloshes out so it is not as effective in terms of weight increase.

How do I stop my free-standing punching bag from moving?

To prevent your punch stand from sliding, place foam tiles beneath it. To keep your punch stand from moving, use two packs of interlocking non-slip foam mats to assist hold it in position and prevent it from sliding.

Place the flooring coverings in the area where you intend to use your punching bag and then set up the stand on top of them.