Punching Power

Job · 03-01-2006, 11:35 AM

What are some exercises that increase the overall strength of your punches or techniques that lead to better punching? Thanks in advance.

Purple Haze · 03-01-2006, 04:26 PM

I would look to weight training for punching power.. sure it makes you punch with a greater force but thats nothing if you don't have the technique, most of the punching power would be wasted in the movement.

But it you want a harder punch I'd say work on you lats. Boxers generally don't have very big arms, aside from heavyweights.. but most have excellent lats.

Steve Schade · 03-01-2006, 04:36 PM

-- Bone Alignment --

With good form, you derive your power from proper bone alignment. From there, any of the other key attributes you develop will just multiply this effect. This is not to blow my own horn, but I've knocked the wind out of people holding the heavy bag for me as I punched it. It came from proper alignment.

-- Leverage --

It starts in your base. Many people neglect this. You need a pivoting, weight-shifting base if you want real follow-through punching power. This pivoting base is what transfers weight down at the feet and legs, which in turn sends the hip, which in turn sends the shoulder. When you throw a cross, for instance, turn your rear heel out (pivot on ball of foot), and shift your weight onto your front foot (toes pointing forward at this time).

-- We Lose Leverage At Our Joints --

One of the most common faults in a person's punching technique (which results in lost power) is that POWER IS LOST IN THE JOINTS. This usually means the shoulder, elbow, or wrist. All bones function as perfect transmitters of force, but where one bone ends and another begins is where we tend to lose it. Misaligned, over-tensed, or under-tensed joints will vent off your power. People who wing their punches, for instance, will tend to lose power at the shoulder and elbow.

People who bend their wrist when they hook, for another example, will tend to lose the power of that punch at the wrist.

-- Never "Lock Out" Your Punches --

Power in a punch also comes from follow-through. You don't lock out your punches. Same goes for kicks (although they look "prettier" when you do them that way). I know a lot of classically trained martial arts teach you to lock out that "reverse punch", but I would differ on that methodology. I spent a lot of years in traditional martial arts, and I've spent a lot of years training around boxers and such. The latter hit much harder. A lot of it has to do with the follow-through allowed by a mobile, pivoting, weight-shifting, bent-knee base.

Steve Schade · 03-01-2006, 04:37 PM

-- Muscle Grouping --

I'll be succinct.

You need:

Strong lats (pull-ups, seated row maching, shadowboxing, bag work, sparring).

Strong shoulders and traps (upright rows, standing flyes, skipping rope, LOTS of shadowboxing, etc.).

Strong Abs and Lower Back -- for conveying hip torque to the sweep of the shoulders.

Strong Quads and Calves -- Legs and abs should be seen as a pyramid which generates your power and shifting.

Strong Forearms -- for keeping the wrist aligned, and for a dense fist (underrated aspect of power punching). Wrist curls, hand squeezers, fingertip pushups, etc.

etc.

Secondarily:

Strong Pectoralis Major -- this can help in your power (projecting and aligning the shoulder of the punching arm) if you already have good form. People who start with large pec's, though, tend to throw shoulder punches (like a bench press). No real power there.

You DON'T need:

Strong Biceps -- these do NOT add to your straight punching power, and only help in holding the angle of the elbow in your hook, and drawing it in on the end (that's the french curve I talked about before). Same for the uppercut. People with huge biceps are usually the easiest ones to slip.

-- Relax --

I always tell my students that "tension" is the opposite of everything good or favorable in your performance. Tension is the opposite of speed. Tension is the opposite of POWER. Tension is the opposite of nontelegraphy. Tension is also the opposite of mobility. Tension is a drain on endurance. Etc.

In the case of punching power, which is the subject at hand, it is TENSION IN THE SHOULDERS that most often diminishes not only one's power, but also one's ability to land the punch on an opponent -- because of its effect on the aforementioned aspects of a successful punch (speed, nontelegraphy, mobility, etc.).

Steve Schade · 03-01-2006, 04:38 PM

-- The Body Is What Punches, Not Just The Arm --

When you hit someone, it should feel like a piano fell out of a second story window and hit him on the end of your fist. This is in keeping with info provided earlier in this post about shifting the weight, etc. The reason why you're shifting your weight is SO THAT HE FEELS YOUR WEIGHT IN YOUR PUNCH. There's a Chinese saying that a person who really knows how to hit moves fluidly but his touch is as heavy as a mountain. Sounds like good boxing to me. If your weight is settled on your feet, then that mass is not going into the punches.

For an example, look at Vitor Belfort's debut UFC performance in slow motion. Notice how his body catapults into his opponent as he hits the person, catching him on the end of his punches (not jamming himself).

-- Tight Fist --

At the tail end of execution, the last place you can either add or lose power in a punch is in your fist itself. It should stay loose through most of your execution and tighten up just before impact.

-- The Snap - The Right Time and Place --

The power of your punch is right on the end, where it snaps. This is true of ALL punches -- not just your linear punches. The art of punching then becomes the art of coordinating your own body mechanics (which is most of what I've talked about here) with the placement of your target AT PRECISELY THE RIGHT RANGE AT THE RIGHT TIME, where you hit target as your punch is snapping on the end. When you don't get this right, your power is either jammed because the range and timing weren't right, or it falls short or misses for the same reasons.

This, by the way, is one of several ways in which KEY attributes come together to equal success in your hitting. As far as the above paragraph, you get this ability from essentially two areas of training: sparring and fighting. Partner drilling will never in a million years give you this ability. Secondarily, you can get some aspects of this ability from focus mitt training and the top and bottom bag -- in both cases because they simulate either the chaos or the predictable flow of sparring and fighting, where through timing and range you get your punches to meet up with the target properly.

Ed E Brock · 03-06-2006, 03:32 PM

Work your shoulders and abs more to increase punch power.

medicine balls help a lot. Shadow box with dumbells or weighted gloves. That'll improve speed, but will strengthen the areas you need to naturally.

But yeah, make sure you're set right punching aswell too. A lot of people don't get what they can out of their punches because they'll punch lifting their rear foot. Stepping into punches isn't as good as setting into punches. Hard to type what i mean...

style-rip · 03-06-2006, 08:24 PM

ya, just get a pair of dumbells and keep punching the air. if u want power, use heavier weight. if u want punching endurance, use lower weight

Steve Schade · 03-06-2006, 08:36 PM

I'd advise against using weights as you can damage your rotator cuffs, just get heavy gloves, like 18 ouncers.

style-rip · 03-06-2006, 08:45 PM

18 ounces is barely over a pound. thats nothing and wont really improve your power, just endurance

Steve Schade · 03-06-2006, 08:48 PM

I still wouldn't risk using weights.

style-rip · 03-06-2006, 08:57 PM

its extremely difficult to injure anything with 5 - 10 lb dumbbells, unless your form is out of control and u are going too fast

C.G. · 03-07-2006, 04:16 PM

how much uweigh? if u punch right, u can put all ur weight into it. its hard to explain, id say get boxing lessons, helped me alot.

thaRooster · 03-07-2006, 04:39 PM

learn the proper forms, from there shadowbox with lightweights in your hand. also hit the heavy bag. when shadowboxing just learn simple combos and do them constantly

C.G. · 03-07-2006, 05:42 PM

^ yea, jab cross hook is a really good 1, nice and swift

Soreno · 03-07-2006, 06:53 PM

damn iwant a jump rope and speedbag.
i think that will be my birthday gift.

Steve Schade · 03-07-2006, 07:05 PM

I've got a good jump rope, leather with ball bearings, think I got it from Title Boxing. And I broke my speed bag.

the Prince · 03-09-2006, 01:22 AM

what the fuck?

power comes from the legs

Purple Haze · 03-09-2006, 02:54 PM

I noticed alot of boxers have chicken legs. Maybe the legs just helps transfer the force?

03-01-2006, 04:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
Purple Haze Thelonious Monk, son Join Date: Jun 2000 Posts: 9,995	I would look to weight training for punching power.. sure it makes you punch with a greater force but thats nothing if you don't have the technique, most of the punching power would be wasted in the movement. But it you want a harder punch I'd say work on you lats. Boxers generally don't have very big arms, aside from heavyweights.. but most have excellent lats. __________________ 18-1* best served chilled.

03-01-2006, 04:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
Steve Schade Bears>you Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 2,977	-- Bone Alignment -- With good form, you derive your power from proper bone alignment. From there, any of the other key attributes you develop will just multiply this effect. This is not to blow my own horn, but I've knocked the wind out of people holding the heavy bag for me as I punched it. It came from proper alignment. -- Leverage -- It starts in your base. Many people neglect this. You need a pivoting, weight-shifting base if you want real follow-through punching power. This pivoting base is what transfers weight down at the feet and legs, which in turn sends the hip, which in turn sends the shoulder. When you throw a cross, for instance, turn your rear heel out (pivot on ball of foot), and shift your weight onto your front foot (toes pointing forward at this time). -- We Lose Leverage At Our Joints -- One of the most common faults in a person's punching technique (which results in lost power) is that POWER IS LOST IN THE JOINTS. This usually means the shoulder, elbow, or wrist. All bones function as perfect transmitters of force, but where one bone ends and another begins is where we tend to lose it. Misaligned, over-tensed, or under-tensed joints will vent off your power. People who wing their punches, for instance, will tend to lose power at the shoulder and elbow. People who bend their wrist when they hook, for another example, will tend to lose the power of that punch at the wrist. -- Never "Lock Out" Your Punches -- Power in a punch also comes from follow-through. You don't lock out your punches. Same goes for kicks (although they look "prettier" when you do them that way). I know a lot of classically trained martial arts teach you to lock out that "reverse punch", but I would differ on that methodology. I spent a lot of years in traditional martial arts, and I've spent a lot of years training around boxers and such. The latter hit much harder. A lot of it has to do with the follow-through allowed by a mobile, pivoting, weight-shifting, bent-knee base. __________________ "It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." - Einstein Health and Fitness

03-01-2006, 04:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
Steve Schade Bears>you Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 2,977	-- Muscle Grouping -- I'll be succinct. You need: Strong lats (pull-ups, seated row maching, shadowboxing, bag work, sparring). Strong shoulders and traps (upright rows, standing flyes, skipping rope, LOTS of shadowboxing, etc.). Strong Abs and Lower Back -- for conveying hip torque to the sweep of the shoulders. Strong Quads and Calves -- Legs and abs should be seen as a pyramid which generates your power and shifting. Strong Forearms -- for keeping the wrist aligned, and for a dense fist (underrated aspect of power punching). Wrist curls, hand squeezers, fingertip pushups, etc. etc. Secondarily: Strong Pectoralis Major -- this can help in your power (projecting and aligning the shoulder of the punching arm) if you already have good form. People who start with large pec's, though, tend to throw shoulder punches (like a bench press). No real power there. You DON'T need: Strong Biceps -- these do NOT add to your straight punching power, and only help in holding the angle of the elbow in your hook, and drawing it in on the end (that's the french curve I talked about before). Same for the uppercut. People with huge biceps are usually the easiest ones to slip. -- Relax -- I always tell my students that "tension" is the opposite of everything good or favorable in your performance. Tension is the opposite of speed. Tension is the opposite of POWER. Tension is the opposite of nontelegraphy. Tension is also the opposite of mobility. Tension is a drain on endurance. Etc. In the case of punching power, which is the subject at hand, it is TENSION IN THE SHOULDERS that most often diminishes not only one's power, but also one's ability to land the punch on an opponent -- because of its effect on the aforementioned aspects of a successful punch (speed, nontelegraphy, mobility, etc.). __________________ "It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." - Einstein Health and Fitness

03-01-2006, 04:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
Steve Schade Bears>you Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 2,977	-- The Body Is What Punches, Not Just The Arm -- When you hit someone, it should feel like a piano fell out of a second story window and hit him on the end of your fist. This is in keeping with info provided earlier in this post about shifting the weight, etc. The reason why you're shifting your weight is SO THAT HE FEELS YOUR WEIGHT IN YOUR PUNCH. There's a Chinese saying that a person who really knows how to hit moves fluidly but his touch is as heavy as a mountain. Sounds like good boxing to me. If your weight is settled on your feet, then that mass is not going into the punches. For an example, look at Vitor Belfort's debut UFC performance in slow motion. Notice how his body catapults into his opponent as he hits the person, catching him on the end of his punches (not jamming himself). -- Tight Fist -- At the tail end of execution, the last place you can either add or lose power in a punch is in your fist itself. It should stay loose through most of your execution and tighten up just before impact. -- The Snap - The Right Time and Place -- The power of your punch is right on the end, where it snaps. This is true of ALL punches -- not just your linear punches. The art of punching then becomes the art of coordinating your own body mechanics (which is most of what I've talked about here) with the placement of your target AT PRECISELY THE RIGHT RANGE AT THE RIGHT TIME, where you hit target as your punch is snapping on the end. When you don't get this right, your power is either jammed because the range and timing weren't right, or it falls short or misses for the same reasons. This, by the way, is one of several ways in which KEY attributes come together to equal success in your hitting. As far as the above paragraph, you get this ability from essentially two areas of training: sparring and fighting. Partner drilling will never in a million years give you this ability. Secondarily, you can get some aspects of this ability from focus mitt training and the top and bottom bag -- in both cases because they simulate either the chaos or the predictable flow of sparring and fighting, where through timing and range you get your punches to meet up with the target properly. __________________ "It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." - Einstein Health and Fitness

03-06-2006, 03:32 PM	#6 (permalink)
Ed E Brock RM's version of this guy Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,594	Work your shoulders and abs more to increase punch power. medicine balls help a lot. Shadow box with dumbells or weighted gloves. That'll improve speed, but will strengthen the areas you need to naturally. But yeah, make sure you're set right punching aswell too. A lot of people don't get what they can out of their punches because they'll punch lifting their rear foot. Stepping into punches isn't as good as setting into punches. Hard to type what i mean... __________________ I'm not waving. I'm drowning. I'm not waving. I'm drowning. I'm not waving. I'm drowning. I'm not waving. I'm drowning. ... .. . ... .. .

03-06-2006, 08:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
style-rip Lakers. 73-9 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Northridge Posts: 11,957	ya, just get a pair of dumbells and keep punching the air. if u want power, use heavier weight. if u want punching endurance, use lower weight __________________ Lakers. the only relevant team in the league.

03-06-2006, 08:36 PM	#8 (permalink)
Steve Schade Bears>you Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 2,977	I'd advise against using weights as you can damage your rotator cuffs, just get heavy gloves, like 18 ouncers. __________________ "It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." - Einstein Health and Fitness

03-06-2006, 08:45 PM	#9 (permalink)
style-rip Lakers. 73-9 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Northridge Posts: 11,957	18 ounces is barely over a pound. thats nothing and wont really improve your power, just endurance __________________ Lakers. the only relevant team in the league.

03-06-2006, 08:48 PM	#10 (permalink)
Steve Schade Bears>you Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 2,977	I still wouldn't risk using weights. __________________ "It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." - Einstein Health and Fitness

03-06-2006, 08:57 PM	#11 (permalink)
style-rip Lakers. 73-9 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Northridge Posts: 11,957	its extremely difficult to injure anything with 5 - 10 lb dumbbells, unless your form is out of control and u are going too fast __________________ Lakers. the only relevant team in the league.

03-07-2006, 04:16 PM	#12 (permalink)
C.G. C.G. Mothafucka Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: NJ Posts: 2,858	how much uweigh? if u punch right, u can put all ur weight into it. its hard to explain, id say get boxing lessons, helped me alot. __________________ Hotter Beats For Cheaper Prices Myspace Email: CG0890@gmail.com AIM: CGMothafcka

03-07-2006, 04:39 PM	#13 (permalink)
thaRooster hahahahahhaha NO! Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 2,678	learn the proper forms, from there shadowbox with lightweights in your hand. also hit the heavy bag. when shadowboxing just learn simple combos and do them constantly __________________ GET OFF MY DICK LAY OFF AND STAY OFF

03-07-2006, 05:42 PM	#14 (permalink)
C.G. C.G. Mothafucka Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: NJ Posts: 2,858	^ yea, jab cross hook is a really good 1, nice and swift __________________ Hotter Beats For Cheaper Prices Myspace Email: CG0890@gmail.com AIM: CGMothafcka

03-07-2006, 06:53 PM	#15 (permalink)
Soreno this shit right here Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: 413 Posts: 10,218	damn iwant a jump rope and speedbag. i think that will be my birthday gift. __________________ We disinfect then check the monologue, turn your system up Twist them up, and indulge in the marijuana smog

03-07-2006, 07:05 PM	#16 (permalink)
Steve Schade Bears>you Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 2,977	I've got a good jump rope, leather with ball bearings, think I got it from Title Boxing. And I broke my speed bag. __________________ "It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." - Einstein Health and Fitness

03-09-2006, 01:22 AM	#17 (permalink)
the Prince - Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 7,802	what the fuck? power comes from the legs

03-09-2006, 02:54 PM	#18 (permalink)
Purple Haze Thelonious Monk, son Join Date: Jun 2000 Posts: 9,995	I noticed alot of boxers have chicken legs. Maybe the legs just helps transfer the force? __________________ 18-1* best served chilled.

03-09-2006, 07:35 PM	#19 (permalink)
style-rip Lakers. 73-9 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Northridge