A tight-lipped question that you often hear when looking for a punching bag is, are inflatable boxing bags good enough to use for professional training?
Whether a martial artist, an MMA fighter, or a beginner, it is important to have knowledge about the best punching bag you should opt for among the various types.
Nowadays, when everyone is confused between buying an inflatable boxing bag or a heavy bag, we are providing you with a detailed article on inflatable punch bags and things to consider before buying them.
So, with no secrets to conceal, brace yourselves to digest the factual information about these inflatable punching bags.
What are Inflatable Punching Bags?
Inflatable punching bags are those bags that are inflated with air. They mostly have a water or sand base. Although found in many gyms, the primary function of these punching bags is to help the users distress after a long, tiring day at the office. They are the best option for children who want to start boxing.
But the question arises, are these adult punching bags too? If not, then why? We have shed light on the factors and points to consider while buying an air punching bag.
Things to Know Before Buying An Inflatable Punch BAG
Gaining more and more importance nowadays, inflatable punch bag comes in different sizes and designs. But here are the factors to keep light on before deciding, “Are inflatable boxing bags good enough to buy”
Portability
The distinguishing fact of inflatable boxing bags is that they are lightweight and hence easy to carry. It won’t be wrong to say that this is its unique selling point too.
Being lightweight, these punch bags are highly portable. Therefore, it is pretty easy to move them from one room to another without any hustle. Moreover, you can also deflate them and carry them wherever you want to.
It is the only plus point of these types of punching bags.
Enhance Your Accuracy
Another factor that makes these bags worth their cost is that they help boxers in building accuracy and not miss their shorts.
Yes, these bags are very light. They keep on moving from left and right without stopping at a point. So, it will train you not to mix the target when boxing against your opponent in a ring.
Cheap in Price
Inflatable boxing bags are filled with only air. Therefore, they are light on your budget.
So, if you are on a tight budget yet want to buy a punching bag, these inflatable kickboxing bags are not going to disappoint you.
Improves Speed
If you are not good with speed while hitting your opponent, these punch bags are an excellent option to go for as these are a constantly moving target.
Filled with air, inflatable bags are not fixed at a point, and hence keep you active and focused on hitting as soon as it comes back. So, if you want to stay better focused on punching speed, buy air-inflated punching bags.
Resistance
Next point that gains importance is the resilience and resistance of your punching bag.
It is the most frustrating moment when your punching bag bursts and starts to lose air in between your practice. It completely destroys the flow of the practice.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to always check the resistant nature of your inflatable bag by checking its mass and weight. It is a universal rule; the more the mass, the higher the resistance of your bag.
Can’t Withstand Power Techniques
The reason that makes them a wrong choice as an adult boxing bag is that they can’t stand power strokes like jabs and uppercuts with footwear.
Made of light material, mostly vinyl, and filled with air, they are easily damaged whenever given any of the boxing techniques with full power.
They can start to learn with time if they hit strongly more and more often. These punch bags can get out of order easily. These bags are a big no to power techniques.
Therefore, for professional boxers and even trainers, it is better to buy a heavy bag rather than an inflatable bag.
Water Base-Leakage
One of the most significant setbacks of these bags is that they mostly have a base containing water. So, it can easily start to leak when something pointy touches it, making them useless.
The water base causes the punching bag to rebound back. So, if the base isn’t there, your bag is no longer effective.
Need an Automatic Pump to Fill
The air-punching bags are filled with air. Therefore, are cheap. But the fact that turns them into a bad option is that you can’t fill the air manually.
Yes, you can’t fill the punching bags with air by blowing in or even with a manual pump. It requires an automatic pump to fill the air.
Therefore, inflating this inflatable kickboxing bag at home is nearly an impossible task. It is necessary to buy an automatic pump too.
Easy to Damage Material
These punch bags are mostly made of vinyl. On the other hand, leather is used in making heavy bags.
You all know that vinyl is a soft material that damages and starts to leak air easily. As a result, it becomes deflated.
Not only will you lose the air quickly, but since it is not patchable, you will need a need inflatable boxing bag within no time. Therefore, it is not good to go option, and if not used properly, it can actually cost you bucks instead of being cost-friendly.
Risk Assessment
Since the inflatable boxing bags are very light, they can damage your room decoration if placed near them because a single strong hit will make it move a lot.
Therefore, they are not at all room friendly, and you need to place them in open space so that you don’t end up breaking anything.
Heavy bag Vs Inflatable Bags – The better option
When choosing between a heavy bag and an inflatable boxing bag for proper boxing training, heavy bags are the only option that fits your requirements. Enlisted below is a short comparison of the facts that place airbags in the category of bad inflatable boxing bags:
• Material
The material used in making inflatable boxing bags is vinyl, while that for heavy punching bags is leather.
Leather is a more hard material and, therefore, resistant to tear. Therefore, professional boxing training can be practiced on these bags. Boxers doing strength training of throwing jabs and punching a hole in the wall can’t use vinyl-made inflatable bags at any cost.
• Heavier and More Resilience
A random approximation is that a boxing bag should be half of the weight of the boxer for more efficient practices. But, in the case of inflatable boxing bags, they are not even 20% of an adult’s body weight.
• Developing Balance
Being harder and heavier, the heavy boxing bags help you develop balance while hitting the bag, using various boxing styles. A heavy bag helps you practice maintaining balance after hitting the bag. Ultimately, you can grip better in the ring while in an actual match too. But that can’t be achieved using an inflatable boxing bag. A good inflatable bag only helps you improve the speed of throwing punches and accurately hit your target only.
Conclusion- The Last Thought
Now you are well aware of the ins and outs of an air-punching bag and in what terms it lacks from a heavy punching bag. So, it is totally up to your preference to decide whether are inflatable boxing bags good enough to meet your demands.
There is a variety of punching bags to choose from. But we must have to admit that when it comes to applying boxing tricks and styles, using high power techniques, and getting satisfaction, too, nothing can compete with the heavy punching bags. Heavy punching bags are the best punching bag to opt for in any scenario.
