Update
A bit of an update. As my hands become progressively worse for the wear, I decided to step back and evaluate. Keeping in mind that this bag is my first foray into anything boxing, and I haven't done a lot of reading -- I was making two big mistakes.
First -- I wasn't wrapping my hands. I guess in retrospect that ****'s Sporting goods sales clerk was not the authority he claimed to me (I should have known better).
Second -- the gloves I bought initially were Century Heavy Bag gloves, a whoppping 10 dollars and almost no padding. And impossible to get on to boot.
So on my way home on Friday I stopped back in Dicks, asked if I could return the gloves, was informed that yes I could, so I bought some better
gloves. Which when combined with my new handwraps makes a world of a difference compared to before.