MOST boxers and combat athletes crave the ability to punch/strike harder, to have the knockout power to dominate their opponents or have the ability to change the fight in a single blow.
Many believe that you’re born with it or you’re not. There is an element of truth in that punching relies on genetics. However, the skill and technique of punching is the biggest contributor to a hard punch. This is developed from hours of learning your craft in the boxing gym.
However, are you maximising your potential?
As well as technique and skill, there are physical characteristics that contribute to a hard punch.
We can help improve our punch force by developing characteristics using optimal strength and conditioning training methods.
Studies have suggested that punching forces in amateur boxing are around 2500 N. If you weigh 70kgs (11 stone or 154lbs), you’ll exert about 700 N of force just stood still. That makes punching force about 3.5 times body mass. To make that even more impressive your punch takes around six-hundredths of a second (~60 ms) to throw.
Furthermore, nearly all boxing coaches will coach you to use your lower-body and rotation of your core to deliver punches – and there is a backlog of research that supports this.
So in order to produce fast and explosive punches we need to develop force and transfer it through the body as fast as possible.
Dr Alan Ruddock explains more here:
This can be achieved in four simple steps…
Move Better
Improving mobility can unlock tight areas and activate key muscle groups to optimise the transfer of force from foot-to-fist.
Get Stronger
Strength training can improve rate of force development – important for fast, explosive punches.
Stronger Core
Increasing lean mass of the core, strength and stability can play a big role in transferring force during a punch.
Punch Specific
Punch specific exercises can help transfer strength gains into a stronger, faster, and more explosive punch.
Want help with these steps?
Boxing Science can help you put these training methods in place with our NEW E-book ‘Punch Harder.’
This 20 page guide will explain more about each stage, and provide visual demonstrations of 15 different exercises to set you on your way to a harder punch.
