My grandson, he come to me the other day, say he want to hang a boxing bag in his apartment. That city boy, always getting into something new. I tell him, I don’t know nothing about no boxing, but I know a thing or two about hanging things up. So, here what I told him about how to hang a boxing bag in an apartment.
Find the Right Spot
First thing you gotta do is find a good spot. Now, in them city apartments, space is tight, like a chicken coop in July. You can’t just go putting a big ol’ bag anywhere. This bag, it heavy, like a sack of taters. It gonna need something strong to hold it up.
That boy, he looked around, all confused like. I said, “Look up, you gotta find them ceiling joist things.” They like the bones of the house, hold everything up. They the strong part, not like that flimsy drywall. That stuff just crumble like an old biscuit if you put any weight on it.
- Find a spot with enough room to swing.
- Look up, not down.
- Ceiling joists are your friends.
The Ceiling Joist Thing
These ceiling joists, they the key. They like big wooden beams, run across the ceiling. They what you need to hang that boxing bag. You can’t just hang it from the ceiling itself, no sir. That just like hanging a picture on a piece of paper. It ain’t gonna hold.
You gotta find one of them joists. I told him, sometimes you can see where they at, little lines or bumps. Other times, you gotta use one of them stud finder doohickeys. Them things beep when they find a joist. City folk and their fancy gadgets, I swear.
He went and found a stud finder from who-knows-where. Beep, beep, beep it went. He say, “Grandma, I found one!” I say, “Well, good for you. Now you almost there.”
No Ceiling Joist, No Problem?
He look at me, all worried like, and he say, “But Grandma, what if I can’t find a good joist?” I tell him, sometimes that happens. Them apartments, they built all different. Sometimes they don’t put them joists where you need them.
I say, you can see if your apartment building has any beams or rafters. But city folks don’t have rafters. If no ceiling joist, you gonna have a little bit of trouble. You can find other way to hang a boxing bag but it ain’t the same.
Get the Right Stuff
Now, you can’t just use any old rope to hang that bag. You need strong stuff, like the chains we use to tie up old Bessie. You need a good, strong mount. Go to the hardware store, they got all kinds of them. Get one that strong, can hold a lot of weight. More than that bag, even. You don’t want that thing falling on your head, do you?
- Strong chains, not rope.
- Heavy-duty mount from the store.
- Make sure it can hold more than the bag’s weight.
Putting it Up
Once you got your spot and your mount, you gotta put it up. This where it get tricky. You gotta drill holes into that ceiling joist. Big holes. Make sure you use the right size drill bit. Too small, the mount won’t fit. Too big, it won’t hold.
Then you gotta screw that mount into the joist. This ain’t no easy task. You need a good, strong wrench. And you gotta put some muscle into it. Make sure it real tight. You don’t want that thing coming loose.
Hang that Bag
Finally, you can hang that boxing bag. Attach the chains to the bag and then to the mount. Make sure they good and tight. You don’t want that bag swinging around and hitting something, or someone. Once hung up it gonna be like a big ol’ pendulum, swing back and forth, back and forth.
And that, my grandson, is how to hang a boxing bag in an apartment. It ain’t easy, but it can be done. Just remember to find that ceiling joist, get a strong mount, and put some muscle into it. And be careful. You don’t want to hurt yourself, or that pretty apartment of yours.
Be a Good Neighbor
One last thing, that boxing bag gonna make a lot of noise. Boom, boom, boom, all day long. Them city folks, they ain’t used to that kind of racket. So be a good neighbor, don’t be boxing at all hours. Maybe put some padding on the walls, keep the noise down. They’ll thank you for it, probably.
It is hard work to hang a boxing bag. City life is sure different from the farm. Back on the farm, if you wanted to hang something up, you just nailed it to a tree. But in the city, you gotta deal with these ceiling joists and heavy-duty mounts and all that rigmarole. It sure is something.
Anyway I hope this helps someone out there tryin to figure out how to hang a boxing bag in an apartment.
