Whether you are training for a fight, or you just want to get in fighting shape, a high-quality pair of punch bag gloves are a must to keep your hands and knuckles protected. I’d recommend using a pair of 14oz gloves for hitting a heavy bag. If you have a lighter bag, or a Bob style punching dummy, you can probably get away with using 10 or 12oz gloves.

What weight should punching bag gloves be?

Ah, a controversial one to get started. If you search for punching bag glove size guides online, most of them will state that people of different sizes, should use gloves that are different weights.

This is not correct in my experience. Boxing gloves, tend to be like caps or hats – one size fits all. The different weights are used for different purposes.

Boxing Glove Size Chart

You can use 10 or 12oz gloves on a heavy bag, but you’ll probably want to use hand wraps, unless you are looking to condition/toughen your hands.

I’d personally opt for 14oz gloves for use on a punch bag, or 12oz gloves with hand-wraps. 16oz gloves are a little bulky and can throw your range/distancing off slightly.

Can you hit a punching bag without gloves?

Yes, you can hit a punch bag without gloves, but you’re likely to scuff and cut your hands. You can also damage the bones in your hand or your wrist if you punch awkwardly at any point. If you want to hit a bag without gloves, you should look to build up to it, by conditioning your fists. You can do this with knuckle or fist press-ups, hitting a bucket with sand and hitting pads.

If you don’t want to wear gloves, wraps are always a good idea to prevent cuts and damage to the wrists.

Are MMA Gloves Good for Punching Bags?

Not, not really! Unless you use hand wraps and some type of wrist support, you’re likely to injure your hands. If you are going to compete in MMA, then there is some merit to doing pad work wearing MMA gloves, so that you get the right range and feel for punching in the gloves you’ll be fighting in.

MMA gloves, without wraps, don’t give your knuckles or wrists much protection. There are some MMA gloves available with wrist wraps and a “shock absorbing bar” in the palm (the old-school Harbinger gloves had these), but standard MMA gloves are not advised for bag work.

I personally use 12oz Reebok gloves for pad work, and 16oz for the heavy bag. I wear no gloves or MMA gloves for using the “top and bottom” or “floor to ceiling” ball.