I work out with dumbbells (a straight-man set-up if ever there was one), and I use them to develop punching power. I hold a pair of dumbbells in my hands while shadow boxing…usually they’re light weight, although I move on to heavier ones when working on uppercut punches. I’ve seen plenty of professional boxers use DB in their conditioning routines, but some of my friends tell me that this is wrong. They say that punching power cannot be improved (with the exception of uppercuts) by punching with dumbbells. They use the concept of gravity like it’s a law or something.
Can you set the record straight without giving me a bum’s rush?
Punching power isn’t a matter of strength so much as it is torque. Develop your forearms, and get a heavy bag and practice your technique rather than focusing on strength.
I’ve heard recommendations from all sorts of trainers, including Olympic boxing trainers, and the general consensus seems to be to avoid heavy weights for shadowboxing. For one, throwing heavy weights out at full force while shadowboxing is asking for injury to the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. For another, throwing heavy weights is the opposite type of muscle memory the boxer needs. Fighters need to punch explosively, engaging the hips and legs, accelerating the fist as quickly as possible, and telegraphing nothing. Practicing punching slowly with a heavy weight will train you to punch slowly with a heavy weight, to push punches slowly rather than to snap them explosively. Dumbells and kettlebells can be useful, but in full body exercises like clean and presses or woodchoppers. For shadowboxing, 16 ounce gloves are plenty of weight.
More explanation than I provided but very accurate.
If you want to learn how to develop a powerful punch then make sure your legs are strong, work on footwork, and then find a competent trainer that can adjust your mechanics.
Caution: these days in the martial arts, especially boxing, it can be very difficult to find a competent trainer. There are a lot of professional fighters that have been thrown to the meat-grinder by incompetent trainers. Many of them have very poor fundamentals and have suffered serious head injuries because of it.
Analogy: Why do professional golfers have swing coaches? Why do MLB baseball players have hitting coaches? The answer is that the good ones can detect even the minor flaws and help the athlete correct them.
It’s not the muscle behind the punch, it’s knowing how to throw the punch.
Is there any role for throwing punches against resistance bands as one small part of the overall training plan, in addition to the explosive movement exercises, the long endurance bouts with bags both light and heavy, the technique work, etc.?
I’ve trained in some well known boxing gyms but I have never used resistance bands so I’m not going to comment one way or the other on them. I think it was Evander Holyfield that was using stuff like that in his training which went beyond standard boxing training at the time. He was cited as the best conditioned boxer ever and he was good, no doubt about that.
But, I’ll make an analogy (I love analogies): Weight training will not make you a good athlete in any sport other than weightlifting. However, if you are a great athlete in a sport, the right weight training can make you a whole lot better. In other words, sheer strength is no guarantee of success in football, but if you know how to play football, strength can make the difference as to making you really good.
When I was in the boxing gym the guys with the best physiques were usually ground chuck for the guys that knew how to box. Also the trainers often categorized the ones with the best physique as “head cases”.
So back to the OP. You want to be a “power” puncher? Develop you legs, work on you footwork, learn defense (you don’t throw punches off the canvas) and get your mechanics down. Forget the dumbbells until all of that is working like a well oiled machine. Even then, a wrist weight is probably more effective than a dumbbell. It’s not that strong arms and shoulders aren’t involved in throwing power punches but they are just an addition to the process. Power comes off the balls of the foot, through the legs and then is delivered with the arms and hands.
I do know a couple of trainers who use a couple of drills (often burnout drills) with resistance bands. Chuck Liddell’s trainer John Hackleman mixes them into his workouts, and there are some videos online of Pacquiao and Mayweather using them. Other trainers completely eschew them, as well as any sort of weight training. Some guys won’t use any equipment or training in their gyms that wasn’t being used in the 1920’s.
Wow, thanks for all the incredible information! I’ve been practicing reality-based combatives for over 40 years, and I’ve trained in a wide variety of combat styles and combat sports. I have boxed, kickboxed (PKA, WKA, & Muay Thai rules). Plus I have been involved in Filipino martial arts for over 30 years.
I understand the mechanics of punching, and have thrown literally millions of punches in my training over the years. I have pretty good acceleration & quickness, and I can generate solid power. But when I pick up even light DB in the gym, someone invariably tells me I’m doing it wrong. I believe, although I haven’t yet thoroughly researched the science behind my belief, that punching with DB (jabs, straights, hooks and especially uppercuts) will in fact improve power.
Too much weight is not good, nor is doing a lot of sharp, snapping motion, but nice easy movement with the DB as part of a well-rounded regimen seems beneficial. (I’m getting close to 60 and definitely don’t want to damage my joints). One can train to deal with the fatigue of keeping one’s hands up, develop strength in the power & support muscles (i.e., lats, delts, traps), improve strength in the muscles, tendons & ligaments associated with punching, add resistance in the full range of motion, and benefit general toning and proprioception. If you literally ‘throw’ a dumb bell, releasing it at the end of a punch (best performed outdoors of course), you can develop explosiveness and deal with even more resistance.
Based on sound scientific knowledge, biomechanics, and or empirical data, am I on the wrong track here?
