article on punching power

Discussion in 'Boxing' started by Adam, Jul 13, 2003.

  1. Infrazael

    Infrazael Banned Banned

    I know - however, don't they sell those bracelet thingys that have a tiny bit of weight on them you can wrap around your forearm???

    It seems that would be slightly better than using dumbells, and alot more efficient as well (even tho the idea is very much the same, you still get to punch basically the same).
     
  2. Maverick

    Maverick New Member

    If you think about it, punching with dumbells is stupid. Because the added resistance you oppose is working mainly in one direction - down. So you'll just tire out your shoulders. Besides, you can seriously injure your joints by doing it, if you hyperextend your elbow.

    A better method is using a resistance band, which pulls your arm back instead of down. Or just hit heavier and heavier bags.
     
  3. tommy

    tommy New Member

    I disagree that punching with dumbells is stupid. I do agree however about being cautious regarding hyperextending elbow and shoulder.

    When I do dumbell punch training. I start with 3 lbs. then up to 5 then up to 7 lbs.for 2 minutes per. 30 second rest. I Then drop the weights and shadowbox .

    Just one method among many. Cross training I believe is by far the most effective.
     
  4. redsandpalm

    redsandpalm shut your beautiful face

    It's not stupid! It just won't help you punch any better :D .
     
  5. tommy

    tommy New Member

    dumbells

    Well I guess we just disagree...it may not help with your technique, but it will aid in your quickness, and thus power....
     
  6. CobraMaximus

    CobraMaximus Banned Banned

    Punching with dumbells only damages tendons when you tendons are weak. They give you lots of good form and build plenty of speed
     
  7. redsandpalm

    redsandpalm shut your beautiful face

    The only possible use I can see for it is punching someone while they're resting their gaurd on you... and that's a stretch. Think about it logically, muscle training is highly specific and this exercise targets the wrong muscles the wrong way. If you want faster more powerful punches - hit a bag with speed and power.
     
  8. LilBunnyRabbit

    LilBunnyRabbit Old One

    If you lock out while punching with dumbells you will damage the joints. However if you're just punching and not locking out there shouldn't be too much risk.
     
  9. CobraMaximus

    CobraMaximus Banned Banned

    Not meaning to be an **** but your use of the word FORCE in that article is entirely wrong. The term you are looking is IMPULSE. It is IMPULSE that knackers your legs hwen you jump off a wall or a punch lands.

    If I remember its Force / Time so if you hit with a force of 500 Newtons and the punch is really fast and is only in contact for 0.5 seconds then you find thats a lot of power.

    Just to be pedantic ;)
     
  10. EndlessNerd

    EndlessNerd Valued Member

    plyometrics

    from what I've read, the only reason you'd punch with weights is to develope endurance in the muscles around your shoulder and elbow joints.
    I do plyometric excercises to increase power. I do a clapping pushup where I push off the ground quickly and clap between each rep, as well as a medicine ball excercise where I lay down and my back and have a friend drop a medicine ball at my chest and I quickly catch and throw it back up to him. I also do some leg routines. the results work well for me, but maybe I'm just different
     
  11. lucas2411

    lucas2411 New Member

    Im on holidays at the moment and have been in a pool most days, try some punching and kicking combos in the water, its extreme resistance and speed increases and the punching 'through' effect increases also. If anyone has a pool give it a go and tell me if it cause an effect on them at all. :rolleyes:
     
  12. Infrazael

    Infrazael Banned Banned

    Weights work wonders for my style, Choy Lay Fut, especially the huge, arcing Sao Choys (they do hit downwards, you know). However, I've found that the resistance you have really develops your speed.

    Plus, why is a downwards force a bad thing??? Everday you are experiencing forces going downwards. The only difference is that without dumbells, it is your "normal force", ie your weight (mass, gravity, won't get into it). With dumbells, it only adds to the normal force. Therefore, after you gain strenght, your endurance should increas alot, since your resistance to your normal force is much greater (greater muscle fiber and such).

    But. . . let's not get into physics.
     
  13. Cantwell

    Cantwell New Member

    As a note, I have read that for speed trainning you can get the desired effect by using decent sized weights but doing very low reps with many sets. (say, 3 reps, by 7 or 8 sets). By making sure you put full muscle force on the weight when you lift it, you work the correct muscles for speed.
     
  14. JinkokMike

    JinkokMike New Member

    Nice article thanks for posting :D
     
  15. JinkokMike

    JinkokMike New Member

    Here you make a good point of what realy Bruce lee was making a point of that you need to be specific in your training and so to develop a puch one wants to puch not swim or play baketball ect.
     
  16. JinkokMike

    JinkokMike New Member

    That's what I always do it's great the only problem is that there's no gravity resistance so you can't realy strenghten your side kicks :( but you can practice the technique well which is great :D
     
  17. watto86

    watto86 Nah brah I'm not gone

    .:*subscribed*:. Sorry for such a useless post. Its just that I'm busy right now. But i'll read it all later on, and didn't want to forget about it and not come back to it later.
     
  18. The Kaiser

    The Kaiser New Member

    Well, someone already brought up F=ma, so I'm a bit late on that, but thats only for objects in a straight line. For objects moving in a circular path, its F=9mv^2)/r. So, if you look at this from a physics standpoint, you can increase the force behind your punches by increasing the mass, or the acceleration. You want your fist moving as fast as possible as soon as possible. I'd also like to add that follow through is important. If you don't follow through, the accelleration is smaller, because your speed is reduced. Speed is important because the accelleration in the force is the mass of your fist times how quickly your fist slows down. If you have a higher speed, then the fist slowing down in the same period of time will give you a more negative accelleration. Unless you follow through, you are slowing your arm down before it hits the target, which means less force is transfered to the target. I'd like to continue with physics, and talk about pressure. There are two or three classic physics demonstrations on pressure. The first is lying on a bed of nails. The second involves smashing a cinder block on someones stomach with a sledge hammer. The third takes the previous two and combines them. What I'm trying to say is that it is more important to concentrate the force behind the punch. You can easily pierce someones skin with a needle, but it takes a whole lot more work to do it with a 2x4. If nothing I say makes sense, then you can ignore me.
     
  19. someotherguy

    someotherguy Valued Member

    Yes, someone should have told the guy who wrote that article that measures of FORCE implicitly include both mass and velocity. Measures of change in momentum (impulse) and force provide the same insights since the equations are essentially just rearrangements of the same factors

    Impulse = mass x change in velocity
    Force x time = mass x change in velocity

    and this can be rearranged to provide:

    Force = (mass x change in velocity)/time

    This is the same as the F=ma equation, since accerlation = (change in velocity)/time.

    Once you see this it is obvious what should be done to maximise "power" of punches or kicks. One of the most apparent applications is when boxers relax their necks and allow the head to move backwards upon impact ("riding the punch") to extend the impact time of the glove to their head and so reduce the acceleratory force experienced.

    The area over which this force is transfered is also important in determining the damage a punch will do (as should be obvious given the different affects bare fist or gloved fist strikes). For this you can use the pressure equation:

    Pressure = Force/Area

    Obviously, in reality the situation would be complicated by energies being absorbed by soft tissues etc (or bones - the ribs have evolved to deform rather than snap like a femur would, for obvious reasons given the location of ribs).

    The article is rather simplistic as many people have already argued.

    I really don't agree with this. I'll explain what I think. Why would not following through mean that you are slowing your arm? The follow through is additional energy following impact (where most of your energy should be transfered to the target).

    A follow through in ballball confers more energy to the ball because the impact time is extended (as the ball deforms on the bat) and so using the above equations you can see that for a given force the greater the time the greater the velocity of the target (the ball). The mass of the ball is also tiny compared to the overall mass of the bat and body weight behind the swing.

    In fighting the target is at least of equal mass to you and it is unlikely that you will be shifting your ENTIRE body weight behind the punch. So, at the point of impact you should have transferred all the energy in your punch into the target, and additional energy afterwards is more of a "push" - imagine punching a wall.

    Being prepared for the next punch and maintaining your structure is also more important than following through after a strike, because the lack of follow through does not mean that you have slowed your fist down before impact.
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2005
  20. pgm316

    pgm316 lifting metal

    The article contradicts itself a bit?
     

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