Punching Power

[SouthWind]

I realize that punching power comes primarily from form, but what are some of the best lifts for increasing power?

[chof]

push ups and dips and split squats, heres a tip you want power? try moving the other side of your body slightly in the opposite direction then follow through with the punch

[Fillythebish]

Interesting bit after 30 seconds in this clip of Lenox Lewis showing Chris Eubank how to punch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv2leT3cBOU

[Stuart H]

I realize that punching power comes primarily from form, but what are some of the best lifts for increasing power?

Your punching power comes from the kinetic chain that starts in your feet and ends in your fist. It's primarily powered by the muscles of the posterior chain, so lots of squats, cleans and deadlifts are in order. Of course, unless they are proportionately weaker than your other lifts you should be training them as part of a weightlifting program for ALL your muscles.

[Yohan]

Your punching power comes from the kinetic chain that starts in your feet and ends in your fist. It's primarily powered by the muscles of the posterior chain, so lots of squats, cleans and deadlifts are in order. Of course, unless they are proportionately weaker than your other lifts you should be training them as part of a weightlifting program for ALL your muscles.

This is correct. I would also add that one should include GHR's or reverse hypers.

[Mehrad]

Interesting bit after 30 seconds in this clip of Lenox Lewis showing Chris Eubank how to punch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv2leT3cBOU


That was an interesting video :D

[Haste]

To increase punching power, do the following;

1. Punch a heavy (start by hitting lightly)
2. Be sure to use your whole body when punching
3. Do forearm curls, wrist curls, and reverse wrist curls, in addition to other weightlifts.
4. Make sure you have good foot position.

The 3rd helps with the punch power, because you won't be afraid of jamming/injuring yourself when making hard impact. How do I know these things? Because I live them.

-Haste

[Mr Punch]

3. Do forearm curls, wrist curls, and reverse wrist curls, in addition to other weightlifts...

The 3rd helps with the punch power, because you won't be afraid of jamming/injuring yourself when making hard impact.While wrist strength can't hurt your punches for the reasons you said, I reckon the impact of punching heavy bags etc should help more.

Posterior chain, i.e. squats and deads, but especially squats as that's the push chain. Plus assymmetrical lifts: split squats, weighted lunges etc will help. Most punches involve one side of the body coming or starting forward.

[knuckles753]

Most of the power generation for just about any punch/kick comes from rotating of the hips and contraction of the abs.

[the australian]

1 Forearm training
2 Bringing hips into the punch
3 Upper arm training

[Mr Punch]

Most of the power generation for just about any punch/kick comes from rotating of the hips and contraction of the abs.Nah. Technically it's the obliques, not the abs... which is why you get a lot of good fighters with an added roll around their waist. Not attractive for bodybuilders, or unfortunately, a lot of women, but that's what you want. But, as has already been stated on this thread, squats and deads are a better all round investment. Lunges etc will help your hips and whatever in concert with you leg muscles, while twisting lunges, like reverse cable lunges etc will work your obliques too.

1 Forearm training
2 Bringing hips into the punch
3 Upper arm training1 and 3: what do you mean? You do realise this is a weight-training thread?

What forearm and upper arm training would you suggest specifically to help with punching?

BTW, it has been shown in experiments that people who did a programme solely of deadlifts also saw significant improvement in bicep curls (a pointless exercise if ever there was one), whereas those who did solely bicep curls had no improvement in their deads. I can't stress this enough, and the other people who know what they're talking about round here obviously can't repeat it enough: squats and deads are all-over body exercises - absolutely essential and will improve every aspect of your physical life, including punches.

[Yohan]

I agree with what's been said - forearm and hand strength are important for punching power. Low on the list but still important. In my opinion, the best way to build forearm strength is:

Wrist rollers
Yo yo's (http://www6.mailordercentral.com/ironmind/prodinfo.asp?number=1369)
Captains of Crush
Some kind of pinch grip training. Plate pinches or something.

[the australian]

1 and 3: what do you mean? You do realise this is a weight-training thread?

What forearm and upper arm training would you suggest specifically to help with punching?.


Forearm training would include using a wrist-roller and leverage bar, reverse curls, zottman curls, barbell wrist curls, reverse wrist curls and the isometric squeeze (find something to grab and squeeze, such as a pair of spring-loaded grippers or a tennis ball, squeeze as hard as you can for at least 10-15 seconds, take a break and repeat the desired amount of times).

Upper arm training would include punching with weights (Bruce Lee performed a drill in which he would he punched air for 12 series in a row-100 punches to a series- using 1,2,3,5,7 and 10 pound weights (in each hand) before reversing the "pyramid", going all the way back down to no added weight. This worked the delts and arms).

[Stuart H]

Just because His Holiness Bruce Lee is said to have performed an exercise it does not mean it was effective. Indeed, pyramids are a useless rep scheme for building strength and consequently muscle mass, because so much energy is expended before the heaviest sets that you will be far off your true maximum for the work set - you'll be exhausted without having stimulated your body in the appropriate manner for strength and hypertrophy. Its use might be appropriate for advanced weightlifters and bodybuilders to increase work capacity, but the fact of the matter is 90% of the general population, including forum members, are nowhere near the training advancement where they need to specialise routines and cycles. No, the average man and woman needs to build strength and muscle mass in their whole body - the whole kinetic chain needs to be stronger, and this is the domain of barbell squats, deadlifts, presses, benches and cleans.

[Arnoo]

Upper arm training would include punching with weights (Bruce Lee performed a drill in which he would he punched air for 12 series in a row-100 punches to a series- using 1,2,3,5,7 and 10 pound weights (in each hand) before reversing the "pyramid", going all the way back down to no added weight. This worked the delts and arms).

you seem to mean weighted shadowboxing wich is proven to be very destructive to your joints aka a non go

[Arnoo]

and if people say they defenitely feel alot faster after weighted shadowboxing, then ye how about i lie 500kg in the back of your car for a month and then take it out suddenly you car will feel faster then before but it really isnt ;)

[Yost]

Yeah, ditch the dumbbell punching.

[Yohan]

Just because His Holiness Bruce Lee is said to have performed an exercise it does not mean it was effective. Indeed, pyramids are a useless rep scheme for building strength and consequently muscle mass, because so much energy is expended before the heaviest sets that you will be far off your true maximum for the work set - you'll be exhausted without having stimulated your body in the appropriate manner for strength and hypertrophy. Its use might be appropriate for advanced weightlifters and bodybuilders to increase work capacity, but the fact of the matter is 90% of the general population, including forum members, are nowhere near the training advancement where they need to specialise routines and cycles. No, the average man and woman needs to build strength and muscle mass in their whole body - the whole kinetic chain needs to be stronger, and this is the domain of barbell squats, deadlifts, presses, benches and cleans.

Pyramids are good for increasing endurance.

[Yohan]

There is a thread on punching with weight in the "What not to do" section.

That should tip you off.

[Mr Punch]

Forearm training would include using a wrist-roller and leverage bar, reverse curls, zottman curls, barbell wrist curls, reverse wrist curls and the isometric squeeze (find something to grab and squeeze, such as a pair of spring-loaded grippers or a tennis ball, squeeze as hard as you can for at least 10-15 seconds, take a break and repeat the desired amount of times).Man, I love all of those exercises, plus a couple I use that are more MA specific: wringing the sword and a similar exercise with a weighted pole from wing chun. These are great for forearm strength and minimal tricep, bicep and shoulder development. But the reason I really practice those is for the relaxed springy energy I want in my punches.

All of these forearm exercises develop... the forearms! I don't want to punch just using my forearms, or even mainly using the muscles in my forearms...

They're not going to add bone density or especially increase the strength of my wrists (some of them will hit the wrists) as much as beating on a heavy bag.

Upper arm training would include punching with weights (Bruce Lee performed a drill in which he would he punched air for 12 series in a row-100 punches to a series- using 1,2,3,5,7 and 10 pound weights (in each hand) before reversing the "pyramid", going all the way back down to no added weight. This worked the delts and arms).This is an endurance exercise. It's not very good.

1) The weight goes down. The force your fist will sustain in a punch is going horizontally against the direction of the punch, so the muscles used are different and the dynamics very different.

2) Unless you're moving about and shadow boxing while you're doing it, it's doing nothing for the connectivity you need for good punching: you're only using your arms, not your whole body. And if you are shadow boxing number 3 applies doubly.

3) Punching to any kind of extension with any kind of intensity in the air is bad for your joints, assuming your doing it with as little control and as much abandon as to make it a strong punch... This effect isn't so bad: boxers etc have been shadow boxing for years, but add weights to that and you're asking for rotator cuff damage, damage to the connective muscles around the neck and the shoulder blades, and elbow hyperextensions. Some punching exercises with weights are OK, like the circling uppercut ones that some boxers do with about 2.5-5 kgs. They are not extending their arms and that movement (the uppercut) lends itself to a weight lift

4) Back to number 1: on repeating 100s of punches - after a while the fatigue will set in causing your body to compensate by recruiting muscles you wouldn't really use in punching, causing more wear and tear, and on top of that, actually cause bad punching form.

Even if you take Bruce Lee as the pinnacle of common sense, scientific training and fighting, which I don't, he was constantly looking for better ways to train and innovations, so even he might well have been the first to admit that it's frankly, a bit crap.

Like I said, and various others have agreed: arm strength is useful, but the big compound lifts are way way more useful.

[Stuart H]

Pyramids are good for increasing endurance.

Which is exactly the same goal as increasing punching power right? Wrong.

[Yohan]

Which is exactly the same goal as increasing punching power right? Wrong.

Oh snap. You've totally proved me wrong now. When did I make or even imply that claim?

[Stuart H]

Oh snap. You've totally proved me wrong now. When did I make or even imply that claim?

You implied it by posting pointless exercises made popular by one dead man from the 70s to increase endurance when you're in a topic on punching power.

[Yohan]

You implied it by posting pointless exercises made popular by one dead man from the 70s to increase endurance when you're in a topic on punching power.

You must have me mixed up with someone else. Quote me, big dog.

[MuayInsane]

As a novice to the MA scene,im not to sure on workouts to increase punching power.....however i have had no shortage of practice in the art of cracking some one real hard,my father always told me that when punching some one always treat them like a pain of glass and what your aiming for is directly behind them....in other words punch through them.Of course there is a correct way to punch but when it come's to power i tend to put my weight behind it.This is flawed i know and is probably not the correct way but it has always worked for me."Power and weight is everything son" to quote my father.So swivel from hips,then once hips are in motion swivel the shoulders and before you reach maximum on shoulders make sure punch is on its way and lock the fist at the exact same time as shoulders reach the full swing.I will get flamed liked hell i know for this but this way has always worked for me.I will no doubt be corrected over and over on this style of punching once i start MT training because MT is about explosive power and fast hand speed.Also if people feel the need to correct me with the correct way to punch im always open to constructive correction.

[Dillon]

As a novice to the MA scene,im not to sure on workouts to increase punching power.....however i have had no shortage of practice in the art of cracking some one real hard,my father always told me that when punching some one always treat them like a pain of glass and what your aiming for is directly behind them....in other words punch through them.Of course there is a correct way to punch but when it come's to power i tend to put my weight behind it.This is flawed i know and is probably not the correct way but it has always worked for me."Power and weight is everything son" to quote my father.So swivel from hips,then once hips are in motion swivel the shoulders and before you reach maximum on shoulders make sure punch is on its way and lock the fist at the exact same time as shoulders reach the full swing.I will get flamed liked hell i know for this but this way has always worked for me.I will no doubt be corrected over and over on this style of punching once i start MT training because MT is about explosive power and fast hand speed.Also if people feel the need to correct me with the correct way to punch im always open to constructive correction.

I'm not sure what you think exactly is wrong about this. Explosive power is all about delivering your weight in your punches, and the way to have fast punches that ARE powerful is to use your mass instead of just your arms.

[fighting13]

just my 2-cents (now 1.45 cents due to inflation :( )


i've found that the 3 most effective things for strong punching power are the following

1) use every muscle in your body properly while throwing a punch. the most power in your punch comes from your legs, then your abs and arms in that order. i know i used to severely neglect leg workouts during MA practice and training but i was still one of the strongest punchers in my dojo simply because i was able to put all the energy of all my muscles into each punch. and now that i've started running training my punching power exploded. running for distance and sprinting are great to build up that explosiveness in your legs. squats and deadlifts are great as well, particularly deadlifts cause the weight is in your hands working your forearms and grip at the same time as opposed to having the weight rest on your shoulders. but squats are also an amazing exercise.

2) wrist strength. it doesn't matter if you punch with the power of ivan drago if your wrists buckle and break under your own power. wrist curls, hammer curls, and reverse curls are great for building those forearms. and as an added bonus they are probably the muscle that is visible more than any other and the ladies like strong arms ;)

3) aim for about a foot away behind what you're trying to hit. follow through with your punch. imagine a glass pane behind him and aim to hit that pane(think someone used that example earlier.) this will help ensure that you won't stop short and will help you with number 1 as well.



hope it helps!

p.s. im no physician or anything so if im wrong im open to correction,