A punching bag system is provided for determining the position of a punching bag. A punching bag is suspended by a coupling from a stand which permits the punching bag to travel between an up position where it is in contact with a contact area on the stand, and a down position where it is free from contact with the stand. Light-emitting devices and light-receiving devices are radially positioned on the stand between the coupling and the contact area. Light is emitted from the light-emitting devices and reflected into the light-receiving devices when the punching bag is in the up position. The light-receiving devices generate an output proportional to the amount of light received therein which is analyzed to determine if the punching bag is in the up position. A metric is determined based in part on the determined position and is presented by an output device.