Using the Microsoft Band for Heavy Bag Workouts

A lot of people consider me just a runner, but I take fitness pretty seriously and spend a good amount of time doing other things like weight lifting and biking. I’ve mentioned a few times that I also regularly perform heavy bag and speed bag circuits as part of my overall training (sometimes daily, but most times every other day). These types of activities are great for loosening up the entire body, making it more flexible, and sneaking in some additional cardio. When I do heavy bag or speed bag work, I usually do it while streaming Seinfeld from Hulu, so the activity seems much more effortless than it really is.

Each time I mention it, folks ask how I do this in conjunction with the Microsoft Band. One of the more challenging pieces is finding a pair of bag gloves that are protective but also not restricting, considering the Microsoft Band sits firmly against the wrist. A lot of bag gloves try to protect the wrist by providing built-in wrist wraps. These types of gloves are good for beginners, but defeat the long term purpose of strengthening the wrist and forearm because they immobilize the wrist – and of course, the wrap confines the Microsoft Band and can cause damage.

Fortunately, I’ve found a pair that provides just enough knuckle protection, is odor eliminating, and isn’t restrictive – particularly for the Microsoft Band. And due to the wrist design, allows you to still view the Microsoft Band screen during the workout.

I’ve purchased the Everlast Neoprene Heavy Bag Gloves several times over the years. They may not look like much, but they make the perfect complement to the Microsoft Band, or any wrist-based fitness activity track, for that matter (works equally well with the Garmin vivoactive HR). The other cool thing about these gloves is that since the thumb is exposed, I can also easily grip a jump rope to use to break the punching monotony.

These gloves are always available from Amazon for less than $20.

As for using the Microsoft Band for tracking my heavy bag and speed bag activity, I have a custom exercise type called "Boxing/Martial Arts" that I use.