Century Heavy Bag / Speed Bag Stand

The Heavy Bag/Speed Bag stand is a good piece of equipment. The heavy bag part of it definitely requires add’l weight (hint: bags of sand are much cheaper than the amount of barbell plates you’ll need to keep this thing from moving – I use 200 pounds of bags of sand to keep it in place. I was able to get these for about $2. 50 a piece from Home Depot. Also be sure you get a double end heavy bag too (i. e. one with a bottom D-ring), otherwise you’ll get too much bag swing. Try to get a heavy bag with a foam liner. Some of the cheaper bags are like punching a rock, which won’t do wonders for your workout enthusiasm.

You can also put a true double end light bag on this portion of the unit, which is a nice change of pace from the heavy bag. (The light double end bag is the small inflatable that has two bungees holding it at about chest level and reverberates like mad when you hit it. ) It will occasionally smack the center support, which makes a lot of noise, but otherwise has no ill effects.

The speed bag platform is a bit flimsy, especially on the earlier versions of this model where the “drum” or rebound board is two pieces (the latest versions of this model use a single piece drum). If you become moderately proficient at the speed bag in any amount of time you’ll outgrow this aspect of the unit. Part of the problem is that the single vertical pole to which the speedbag drum attaches will flex when you get the bag moving really fast, and that can throw off your timing. Use the smallest size speed bag possible to minimize this inertia. Lastly, the speed bag platform doesn’t really adjust high enough for people over 6’2″ in height, and if you’re over 6’1″ or so you’re going to need to use a small or xtra small speed bag to have it hang at the correct height (i. e. belly of bag at mouth/chin level).

Rating: 4 / 5

Everlast sold an apparently identical stand, only painted black. It has the same features, base, and design. It seems Everlast has a new design, though, so I’ll review mine here.

This stand is flawed. The heavy bag holder may barely work with a 40 pound heavy bag, but that’s about it. Any strikes to a 70 pound bag and this stand will start walking around. Forget about kicks. It would run away and you would probably trip on the weight plate holders and cut your forehead. It would be embarrassing to tell people you were beat up by a heavy bag.

For additional stability, many people recommend cheap bags of sand or rocks available at the local home improvement store. I used three 50 pound bags by removing the weight plate holders and laying the bags over the legs. Definitely recommended and kicking is then possible. Hint on heavy bags: take it off and put it upside down for a few days. Occasionally hit the bottom to loosen the filler.

The speed bag platform is also a mess. Way too much sway and the swivel is a joke. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get away from the speed bag swivel. Alan Kahn (The Speed Bag Bible) recommends a simple ball swivel and I had an extra one. Much better but the sway still kills this. So I put two clamps to hold the speed bag arm to the heavy bag arm. The result is not as good as a wall mounted platform, but somewhat usable. Another option is to hang a Double End Bag or Headache Bag on this side of the stand. With the new swivel, it’s easy for me to switch between a speed bag and a headache bag.

Rating: 3 / 5

The product was pretty easy to assemble. I did it myself in about 20 mins – I’m no handy man. I didn’t bother putting up the speed bag post, so I can’t really comment on that. I put about 75 lbs of weights and I’m using a tear drop bag. No movements, maybe very little, if any.
Rating: 5 / 5

The Century “Heavy Bag / Speed Bag Stand” is a very good option for those not wanting to suspend a heavy bag from the rafters. Since we move our workout area around (inside and outside), this was the best choice for us to practice TaeKwonDo kicking and punching techniques. Our setup includes a TKO 502VNG-BK-100 Vinyl 100 lb Heavy Bag Boxing Set and a Everlast 4214 Leather Speed Bag (Small, 10″x7″). Here are my observations:

Pros -

+ Good Size Hanger; tall enough for long bags

+ Adjustable Speed Bag Platform; easy to find a good setting for us, ranging from 5’6″ to 5’11″ tall

+ Sturdy Stand; solid and well designed (but see “Cons”, below)

+ Easy to Assemble; took two of less than a half hour

Cons -

- Needs Extra Weight; taking the advice of other reviewers, we have 150 lbs of playground sand (in the bags) holding this in place

Misc -

* Since we do not use the speed bag much, there isn’t a lot that I can say about it other than it seems to be “good enough”.

This stand more than meets my expectations in design and durability.

Highly Recommended!

CFH
Rating: 4 / 5