Are you ready for another DIY boxing gear project? We’ve tackled homemade heavy bags in this blog, now it’s time to talk about making your own speed bag and making your own speed bag stand for at-home boxing training.
The good news is that making the speed bag itself will likely be easier than building a whole heavy bag. The less good news is that building the platform for your new DIY speed bag can be a little more of a challenge. The whole process will take some time, patience, and basic carpentry knowhow. Depending on your materials and construction and sewing skills, the finished product might not be exactly like the speed bags and speed bag stands on the market. (Like we said in our DIY heavy bag blog, we still recommend investing in professionally made boxing equipment for the best results.) But if you have the time, interest, and gumption, you can build a functional speed bag setup that will add yet another new dimension to your at-home boxing and martial arts training.
Let’s take a look at the basics of making a DIY speed bag setup, some different options for the kings of bags and stands you can make, and some alternatives if you decide that you’d rather not make your own speed bag.
How do you make your own speed bag?
If you have decent hand-sewing skills — or you’re willing to learn — Instructables has an easy-to-follow guide for making a decent and durable looking speed bag. For this project, you’ll need industrial leather, glue, heavy string, normal string, a single shoe string, scissors, and sewing needles in assorted sizes. The construction process involves tracing and cutting out the individual pieces of leather (six for the sides, a hexagonal bottom, and a rectangle for the hanging attachment), glueing them together, and following up with saddle stitching to reinforce the seams. Once all of the seams are firmly in place and the top is laced up, the bag can be inflated with a bicycle pump.
For step by step instructions and templates, click here.
There’s also a video guide for visual learners:
If you don’t want to try your hand at sewing, don’t have access to the right materials, or if you’re curious about how to hack a speed bag out of things you might have lying around the house, there is another option. All you’ll need is an old t-shirt (or another piece of stretchy fabric), a kid’s soccer ball, a carabiner, and a lot of electrical tape. Just put the ball in the middle of your fabric, wrap the fabric around the ball and collect the ends together at the top, loop a carabiner around the ends, and tape it all into place. Use the extra tape to wrap the entire ball, making a smooth and sturdy punching surface.
How do you make your own speed bag platform?
The basics of making a DIY speed bag platform are simple enough. You need a few pieces of wood, some nails and screws, and a place to mount it. Designing and building a speed bag platform that’s right for your training needs and your training space does require a little more planning and care, though. First, you need to find the right space in your home. Then you need to determine what kind of platform will best suit your space and where and how to build it. You’ll need to develop a design that safely supports the platform and the bag, won’t do any structural or cosmetic damage to its surroundings, and allows you enough space to train.
It’s a lot to take into consideration, but you don’t have to do it alone. Making your own speed bag platform is a popular project for boxing, martial arts, and DIY enthusiasts, and many of them are happy to share their designs in step-by-step instructions and videos. Some are even open to questions on boxing and DIY forums if you’re really stuck.
Feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start? Here are a couple of popular and effective options: Boxers and exercisers who are looking to incorporate a speed bag into their home gym setting, or looking to include one in a new home gym setup can build a speed bag platform that connects to their power rack. If you’re building a boxing space in your garage, this DIY enthusiast offers a comprehensive look at how he built a speed bag stand that he can stow away when not in use. And this video offers a detailed look at how to build a speed bag mount with shelf brackets:
Still not sure? Here are some alternatives to making your own speed bag:
If making your own speed bag and/or making your own speed bag stand doesn’t sound like the DIY project for you, AWMA and ProForce® have you covered! You can find a wide selection of quality, affordable boxing training bags and training bag access products on AWMA.com, including the ProForce® Leather Speed Bag, and a variety of hangers, wood beam attachments, swivels, and coils to ensure your bag is suspended clearly. The ProForce® Leather Double End Ball, which fastens to the ceiling and floor, is a great alternative for anyone who doesn’t want to commit to a permanent speed bag setup. AWMA.com also has a full selection of the boxing gear you’ll need to train with your new speed bag, like boxing gloves and handwraps.
