Heavy punching bags are a great training tool for boxing, kickboxing, MMA, and other martial arts. They allow you to both practice technique, work on your power, and improve your cardio.
Quick Overview
- Lifelike design helps train accuracy of punches, kicks, and elbows
- Base allows for usage where hanging a bag isn’t possible
- The XL has a longer torso than the original version
The Century BOB XL is one of the best punching and kicking training tools, but it’s not quite the same as a heavy bag. “BOB” is an acronym for Body Opponent Bag. It has it’s own unique design which will keep you going even when your sparring partner is not available.
Quick Century BOB XL Specs
The Century BOB XL is a simple yet unique idea for a heavy punching bag.
What makes the BOB different is the life-like upper torso which helps emulate striking a real opponent. It’s also considered a freestanding bag as it comes with a base unit.
Here are some interesting features:
- realistic striking surfaces around the face and the body
- made of high-strength materials
- a strong base that keeps the punching bag in a freestanding position
- multiple height settings to meet everyone’s needs
- easy portability thanks to the rolling feature
This punching bag is packed with a lot of useful features that will take your training to another level. On top of that, it’s very reasonably priced when you consider what you are getting in return for your money.
Major Benefit
The Century BOB XL punching bag can’t replace the feeling or learning from a real sparring partner as it doesn’t move or hit back. However, if you’d like to take your training sessions to another level at home or in a training center, this would be something for you.
The major benefit of this punching bag is the similarity to the dimensions of a real opponent. You can aim your strikes at real sensitive targets such as the ribs, throat, chin, and even eyes. Directing kicks and punches to those body parts on a standard heavy bag is just not nearly as accurate.
Additionally, no matter how short or tall you are, you can adjust the height of the BOB to reflect they height of the opponent you want to mimic. Just keep in mind that the higher you set the BOB’s height, the louder your strikes will be.
For those interested in more than striking, BOB is perfectly suitable for practicing chokes too. And, when you aren’t working on your martial art skills, you can use it for different purposes such as CPR training since the torso of this punching bag is removable from the stand.
What’s Great
The great thing about this striking dummy is that it’s soft enough to be punched and kicked hard without protective gear, though if you are an elite striker you’ll still probably want to use some protection. At the same time, this punching bag is hard enough that it will take even the heaviest hits you throw at it regardless of the amount of force you use.
The base of the punching bag is supposed to be filled with either water or sand. When the base is filled with sand, it will weight approximately 250 lbs which will keep the punching bag in place throughout the training.
Also, the adjustable height won’t only let you adjust the punching bag to your height, but it will also allow you to create a real-life situation where the opponent might be taller than you.
What Needs Work
The BOB XL punching bag is almost perfect as it does what it’s designed to do. While there are many positives, like any product is does have a few minor downsides which might bother some people.
This punching dummy isn’t the ideal bag for instep kicks to the groin area because the stem of the bag is located in that area. You might accidently kick the base and not the bag, and that will hurt.
Also, even though the base and dummy weigh around 250 lbs when full, it can still slide around from heavy strikes when resting on a fairly smooth surface. Therefore, you might want to consider placing a rubber mat underneath to prevent slipping.
Another minor thing that is worth mentioning is the filling port of the base. The hole is small so it takes a while to pour water or sand in the base. If it was bigger, it would definitely be easier and less time-consuming.
But, this is truly a minor inconvenience as odds are you’ll only fill the base once and then you’ll forget about it.
BOB XL vs Heavy Bag
There are many different styles of punching bags, yet the key is to choose the one that will suit your needs the best.
The BOB XL is a human-torso shaped punching dummy that is great for many purposes. It’s great for kickboxers, MMA practitioners, and martial artists who would like to improve accuracy, strength, and speed.
On the other hand, the BOB XL isn’t necessarily made for boxers. It’s geared more for many martial arts which can’t be practiced on a heavy bag, such as Krav Maga or Kenpo Karate. It can even be used for CPR training since it’s easy to remove the torso from the docking base.
While a heavy bag will suit the training regime of most boxers, it might not be the greatest and the most realistic training practice for real life situations as you won’t be wearing bulky gloves.
The BOB offers a realistic human punching dummy as opposed to a punching bag. Also, it has both a torso and a head that you can practice your kicks on.
The Final Word
If you had a hard time choosing between the BOB XL and a traditional heavy bag, you should take how you plan to use it into consideration. If you plan on just practicing some standard boxing combinations, a heavy bag is fine. But, if you want to work more on accuracy, BOB might be a better option.
Last but not least, if you plan to train either with no gloves or small 4 ounce MMA style gloves, nothing beats cracking BOB right on his chin.
Now, enough reading. Get training champ!