For those desiring to advance their physical balance, coordination and maximize their workout experience, the speed bag can be joined with other popular types of fitness equipment.

 

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You don’t have to stand up to use a speed bag. Depending on your speed bag setup, either wall mounted or free standing frame, you can join a stationary cycle with your bag. This creates a very unique workout called “Punch & Ride”.

 

 

Upright Cycles. Depending on your style of upright cycle, these can be used with wall units. The secret is to adjust the height of the cycle so the belly of the bag is as close as possible to the correct position.

 

This setup is also slightly unstable. Because of the narrow seat and narrow cycle width, it may sway sideways during side punching techniques. It is recommended to only use front and back punching techniques with upright cycles.

 

 

Recumbent Cycles. Recumbent cycles are lower and probably will not work with a wall unit, but they may match up with a free standing floor frame. The trick is to match up all the parts on the floor of the bag stand and the bike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a more comfortable set up due to the wider seat. But stability of the speed bag unit is often a problem for freestanding frames. Some type of strap support may be needed to increase the stability of the speed bag frame.

 

 

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Joining a bag and bike allows for four workout options: First you can simply ride the cycle, ignoring the bag, or second you can just sit and punch the bag. A third option is to create an interval workout, where you can ride for a pre-determined time interval, then punch for that time interval. And fourth, you can punch the bag while you are pedaling the cycle. Doing both together creates a unique body coordination experience, since the upper body punching and lower legs pedaling are doing separate and different movements at the same time. You will find the legs and arms will find a natural speed to “sync” these motions together. But the larger muscles of the legs tend to dominate.

 

Advanced Coordination. You can also maximize the body coordination effect by adjusting some variables of the bag and bike. On the cycle you can vary the pedaling force required by some tension adjustment method, requiring your legs to push harder to move the pedals. Basically you can increase pedal pressure to ride “hard & slow” or reduce pressure to ride “fast with reduced force”. You may also adjust pedaling speed to move your feet faster or slower. On the bag, you can increase bag size to add more punching force required, or adjust your punching speed to go faster or slower.

The following adjustments will isolate your upper and lower body, making the legs and arms work at opposite extremes of force and speed at the same time:

 

Variation 1. On the cycle, increase pedal force to maximum. For the speed bag, use an 8x5 or smaller bag. This set up will allow your lower body to push slow and hard while your arms swing small and fast. Basically you are riding hard and punching fast. At these settings, you can expect your legs to give out before your arms will. Tip: the larger muscle group (legs) tend to dominate. You must fight the natural feeling to let your punching speed slow down to match your legs. * This is an extremely physical workout, and will severely test your cardio ability. Keep your time interval short on this one.

Variation 2. Reverse the last setup. On the cycle, removal all pedal pressure so no force is required. For the speed bag, use an 11x8 or larger bag. This set up will allow your lower body to pedal very fast with no force while your arms must punch harder and slower. Basically you are riding fast and punching hard. Tip: Now you must fight the natural feeling to let your riding speed slow down as your arms tire.

 

 

 

 

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A freestanding unit may also be joined with a stepping exerciser. This is an extremely physical workout and requires exceptional balance and coordination. Your punching motions must be coordinated with the up and down motion of your stepping. *Warning: there is a board over your head! You may also want the bag a little higher than normal, to allow your head to come up and not contact the board. Stabilizing straps are definitely warranted in this set up. You do not want the speed bag stand to sway when fully extended. Your stepping and punching together will find a natural rhythm and will quickly “sync” together. This is similar to the bag and bike. Also similar to punch and ride, you can adjust the stepping force and speed against your punching. The upper and lower body isolation will not be so dramatic here, but the shear physicality of this workout is enough on its own.