How to Change the Sandbags in a Punching Bag

Many boxing bag manufacturers fill standard heavy bags with sand because it is dense enough to anchor the unit and yield enough to safely absorb the impact of strikes. Swapping out the existing sand for more or less weight lets you customize the bag's resistance as your skills evolve over time. While any type of sand is okay for the job, filling your bag with fine silicon-rich sand provides a smoother and gentler striking surface.

Things You'll Need

  • Sand
  • 4 heavy-duty trash bags
  • Scale
  • Duct tape
  • Cloth rags or old clothes
  • 1-inch thick carpet foam
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Instructions

  1. New Sand Bag Preperation

    • 1

      Pour the new sand into a heavy-duty trash bag.

    • 2

      Weigh the bag of sand on a scale. Pour out or add sand until the sandbag holds the desired weight.

    • 3

      Roll the filled bag into a spherical shape.

    • 4

      Put the sandbag inside three trash bags while maintaining its spherical shape.

    • 5

      Wrap a layer of duct tape around the entire spherical surface of the bag.

    Existing Sandbag Replacement

    • 6

      Take the punching bag down from its hanging hook and stand it on end.

    • 7

      Unzip the zipper on the top of the bag.

    • 8

      Extract the bag liner material that surrounds the old sandbag. This is a also a good time to replace your liner material with 1-inch deep carpet foam cut to fit the bag. This eliminates liner bunching and provides a smoother, more professional surface.

    • 9

      Reach inside the half-empty punching bag to remove the old sandbag.

    • 10

      Remove the old liner material that the sandbag sat upon and replace it with multiple layers of new liner fabric -- if you're upgrading your liner at this time. Otherwise, leave the base liner intact in the bottom of the bag.

    • 11

      Lower your new sandbag down into the bottom center of the bag, then push it down into the base liner until it settles in place.

    • 12

      Stuff more lining into the punching bag so that the liner material surrounds the sand sphere on all sides.

    • 13

      Pull the bag liner fabric as tight as possible to smooth the surface of the punching bag.

    • 14

      Fill space at the top of the bag with old clothes or cloth rags until the bag is completely stuffed.

    • 15

      Zip the bag closed, then reattach it to its hook or stand.