My setup

[Tim]

Here's my home gym. As you can tell by the lack of carpet and oil stains on the floor, this is the garage. It's the Everlast heavy bag stand. The price was right (100$ on sale from sports authority over a year ago) but it's not the most stable thing. 200 pounds of sand and 160+ pounds of weights keep it in place. The drum sways and moves way too much for my tastes, but I've found that my expedient bracing and the use of a smaller speed bag helps minimize that as much as possible. If you're over 6'2" this unit isn't for you, in this picture the drum is set as high as it will go (it's still actually about an inch too low for me, but once I move to a smaller speed bag that problem will correct itself).

[Tim]

Update - I've got a new Title 8x5 speed bag, and I really like it. And an autographed picture from Speedbag aka Alan Kahn



I also have a Ringside 9x6 speed bag, it's not leather but I like it. Nice and smooth texture so it's easy on the hands. I like the streamlined feel of unwrapped hands. You can tell in this picture that I have one of the early Everlast units with a 2 piece drum The newer ones I've seen have a much sturdier one piece setup.

Also note the metal swivel - the only way to go, no plastic for me.

[Tim]

Extra bracing to keep vibration down It sort of works A wall mount unit would be better, but I have to make due with what I have.

[Tim]

Double end bag. It quite frequently hits the wall (Hence the empty pegboard). The top bungee is attached to the garage door frame and the bottom is an anchor drilled into the concrete. Both bungee ends are lubed with a generous dollop of chassis grease to keep squeaking to a minimum.

[Tim]

Front view. Notice the TKO bag for the kids, extra lighting on top of the cabinets for late night workouts, and the GE under cabinet kitchen CD/Radio that also serves as a round timer The fridge is stocked with lots of drinks, and the toolbox is conveniently located in case of a swivel change or other adjustment.
Also note the convenient location of the speedbag and door. It gets hit everytime I go in and out

The Everlast 80lb heavy bag is hard as a brick at the bottom, and virtually devoid of any filling at the top Makes a nice kick target though, I just have to be careful and not miss and hit the bag stand supports.

[Tim]

The ring side free standing heavy bag. I love this thing, I prefer it over a "real" hanging heavy bag. It has a nice thick foam layer so it's like punching a pillow (compared to that everlast bag). The bag doesn't really weigh much at all, the secret is the spring at the bottom. It has 200 pounds of sand in the base , but I can still move it around pre-workout to get 360 degree action. My only complaint is that the "powerhide" (aka fake leather) is showing signs of age and much cracking after 3 years (it seems to develop more cracks in colder weather). Ringside if you're listening, make this thing with real leather and you've got at least one sold already.

[Tim]

In the cabinets, we've got tools, spare swivels (nothing worse than a mid-workout swivel explosion), backup speed bag, misc. fitness equipment, and Alan Kahn's The Speed Bag Bible - the information in this book could take you a lifetime to master, but more on that later.

[speedboy]

great equipement i will post my speedbag soon

[Tim]

Cool. Do you know how to upload them? There is a paperclip icon where you can attach images and other files.

[Speedbag]

Speed Bag Setup.

Hello Tim.

first, let me say how impressed I am with your devotion to speed bag training, and your forum. Very nice indeed.

AS for your setup, I have a suggestion for your free standing floor frame, with the single vertical pole. This are shaky, no doubt about it. In your third picture down, (top of your free standing floor unit) there appears to be a middle spar of channel iron. You have wisely laid wood around it to add weight and reduce vibration, but you might consider trying some support straps connected to this bar to add stability. you can see a sample of how I used them on my own home free standing speed bag unit

you can see how these help in the following video links. ( they should play in the browser)

Mortal combat * you can see the straps on either side of the board.

Danger zone * (again, see straps from the board down behind me)

Note this free standing floor frame is a single vertical pole - And I am stationed from a side facing position. Without the straps, the unit would easily topple with this amount of force. The straps hold it fairly still. A little vibration is seen in the board, but much better than without the straps.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My unit is an older model made by Ringside with the three floor pods, which I attach the bottom strap hooks. On yours, you would have to figure a way to hook the bottom rung to the rear of your unit. I haven't tried this personally a free standing unit like yours. If it was mine, I would create a way to attach bottom hooks about 3 inches in front of the weight plates by the heavybag side. That might give you enough of an angle from the center channel iron over the board down to the floor to tighten the straps. I believe that will reduce the vibration substantially. Without the straps, I find it very difficult to do any side punching combinations with making the units sway violently side to side (due to single vertical pole).

Try the straps if you can. Here is a sample of what I mean. Straps like these are often available in department stores in packs of two or four.

I hope this helps you with your sway problem.

[Tim]

Hello Tim.
first, let me say how impressed I am with your devotion to speed bag training, and your forum. Very nice indeed.

Glad you like it.

but you might consider trying some support straps connected to this bar to add stability

Thanks for the advice. I'm in agreement with that, some straps are definitely in order. Once I upload some video, you'll see how much it moves I may just go with a wall mount unit and avoid the problem altogether though.

you can see how these help in the following video links. ( they should play in the browser)

Wow, that bag is really flying. Do you recall what size bag that is?

[Speedbag]

Bag size

Wow, that bag is really flying. Do you recall what size bag that is?

The bag used on the recumbent cycle is an "old style" Ringside 8x5. You can also see that specific bag in the opening of Bluegrass music sample.

Video opens with me hitting to "contrast" by 2-unlimited on the red/black 8x5. Ringside changed the "bag shape" from teardrop to bananna (now 7x5) several years ago, and you can see that newer bag in the "bluegrass" piece, hitting to "rolling in my sweet babies arms..". I find their newer bag styles very "heavy" to hit, and don't use them right now.

In the rest of the video, I'm hitting a yellow 8x5 from Titleboxing, (a very sweet bag..), with a black magic marker line on the belly.

I do have several 8x5 teardrop shaped bags that I like. Right now I have a Title red 9x6 on my #1 hook.

(...I have three speed bag units in my house. #1 is my wall unit in bedroom. #2 and #3 are side by side in the garage, allowing for my newest craze, hitting two bags side by side.... not doing well on that one yet )

[Tim]

The bag used on the recumbent cycle is an "old style" Ringside 8x5. You can also see that specific bag in the opening of Bluegrass music sample.

What a clip... you make it look so easy...

Video opens with me hitting to "contrast" by 2-unlimited on the red/black 8x5. Ringside changed the "bag shape" from teardrop to bananna (now 7x5) several years ago, and you can see that newer bag in the "bluegrass" piece, hitting to "rolling in my sweet babies arms..". I find their newer bag styles very "heavy" to hit, and don't use them right now.

In the rest of the video, I'm hitting a yellow 8x5 from Titleboxing, (a very sweet bag..), with a black magic marker line on the belly.

I do have several 8x5 teardrop shaped bags that I like. Right now I have a Title red 9x6 on my #1 hook.

Interesting, those title bags definitely have a rounder shape, much like some of the everlast models. I'll have to try one of those.

The magic marker line is an "aiming point" ?

hitting two bags side by side....

Can't wait to see that

[Speedbag]

Yellow bag marking

..The magic marker line is an "aiming point" ?

Nah. I didn't like the way the plain bag looked on video. the yellow was boring, so I thought "stripping" the seams up and down with a Black Magic Marker would give it more definition on video.

The black line at the belly is another story. It is not an aiming point. I'm designing an "electronic drum" rebound board by adding drum triggers to sections on the board and running them to a drum machine. I eventually want to tune the rebounds so each trigger could be a different pitch. The black circle around the belly of that yellow bag marks the contact point where that bag hits the board. with the bag attached to the swivel, I could roll that bag on the board and leave a faint black line where the belly contacts the board, and then place a trigger just beyond that point. I don't want the bag to actually hit the trigger, for it alters the rebound.

I also liked the effect of the "belly line" in video when I'm punching. Anything to give a little contrast to that boring yellow color. I much more prefer the red color of their 9x6 bag. But that yellow 8x5 hits very nicely.

[Speedbag]

Free standing frame straps

Extra bracing to keep vibration down It sort of works A wall mount unit would be better, but I have to make due with what I have.

Considering this picture, you could make the wood bracing strips on top of the board slightly thicker than the middel channel iron of the free standing unit. That way, the wood would be up slightly above the channel iron, and you could attach a piece of flat iron (cross-bar) across the tops of the wood. Drill holes in the flat Iron and have several of the bolts holding the wood also hold the iron in place.

This flat iron cross-bar could be long enough to reach over your floor pods. The far ends of the flat iron could have some type of hook, U-bolt or eye-hook attachment on it, and you could then attach adjustable ratchet luggage straps to the floorpods. This would apply downward tension to the board and reduce it's ability to sway back and forth, yet be out wide enough to not interfer with any side punching techniques, particularly the Sideways-Triple Elbow Strike, which takes the widest sideways motion. The flat iron cross-bar with straps will stabilize the board and single center vertical pole. Addtionally, You could also run a third adjustable ractchet strap from the top of the single vertical pole down to the floor. It might necessitate taking the heavybag off.

just a suggestion for adding stability.