Improve Your Punching Power

Punching is the most fundamental attack mechanism humans posses. It is the equivalent of a lion's bite, a cat's scratch, or a rhino's charge. Humans are not born with any particularly threatening or useful weapons, but we make due with the bony structure of our knuckles. There are two factors that determine the power of a punch; speed, and force. Both will be examined in this article.

Speed is intimately related to power in that a given mass (your fist) packs more kinetic energy the faster it's going. A useful example is this; a ferrari (very lightweight) going 200 miles per hour packs the same punch as a bulldozer (very heavy) going 20 miles per hour. So a small guy throwing a really fast punch packs the same kinetic energy as a big guy throwing a slow punch. Speed is most affected by the muscles of the arms i.e; the triceps and biceps, as these are the muscles that allow you to snap your arm back and forth. At this point some fitness buffs might be saying, “your bicep has nothing to do with punching power,” and it doesn't, but it is responsible for pulling your arm back to throw the next punch, thus increasing your overall speed and effectiveness.

The only way to increase the speed of your punch....is to punch. Punch speed is as much reliant on neural effectiveness as it is muscular effectiveness. You could spend the rest of your life in the gym trying to increase your punch speed and it will never work. You have to actually practice throwing a punch to get better at it. Practice on a heavy bag, speed bag, swerve ball, focus bag, or a live target, the choice is yours, but just practice hitting something. To make sure that all those punches don't go to waste, practice with proper form. Good form for a straight jab means all four of your knuckles are parallel to the floor and that the main contact points are your index and middle knuckles. Using proper form will increase both the speed AND power of your punches.

The force of a punch is how much oomph is behind the hit. The main determining factor behind the force of a punch is muscular strength and form. I doubt I need to say much on how muscular strength affects the force of a punch, but I feel a lesson on which muscles are responsible for this force is in order. Far too many people are under the impression that a huge chest and arms are responsible for massive punching power. While these muscles certainly play a key role in punch force, they are hardly the most important. Any boxer worth his weight in salt will tell you that a good punch is thrown from the floor. This means that punch force is largely determined by the strength of the legs and core, specifically, the calves and abdominals. Well over fifty percent of your punching force is developed in the rotation of the torso by your abdominals. Strong abs are what allow you to throw your weight into a punch, creating maximum force.

Once again, the best way to increase punching force is to punch. Long rounds on the heavy bag are the key to building massive power. Practice hitting that heavy bag until you can keep it up in the air, chain loose and flailing wildly. Unlike speed, lifting weights will add considerably to your punching force. Stick to simple powerlifting movements like the bench press, squat, deadlift, and bent-over rows.

Find a boxing gym near you and start training today. No gym nearby? Buy your own equipment and build that lethal punching power yourself.