Are you an up and rising MMA fighter?
Or a seasoned boxer looking to up your authority in the rings and command your opponent like batting an egg?
While a tough mental toughness, a bolting-speed, together with a strong stamina can all put you at the top of your game, in most cases all you need to knock out your opponent is one powerful punch thrown at the right place.
Therefore, in this article, I will show you 4 simple exercises to improve your punching power. You may need to grab your punching bag over at punchprime before we get started.
Flying or Plyometric Push-Ups
By increasing your pectoral strength, upping your shoulder power, and ramping up the toughness of your arms, you can increase both the speed and toughness of your punches, the two essential powers to beat your opponent hands-down.
And to achieve this, the plyometric push-up is an effective tool, though an exercise. This bodyweight workout is done in three steps;
- Start with your regular pushup position
- Press down like you usually do
- And lift yourself, including your hands and your feet, off the ground, leaving gravity to do the job of returning you back to your starting position in bulletin 1
You can repeat this for as long as your training session allows.
Throwing Medicine Balls
While packing more potentials to the explosiveness of your punch is at the core of it all, throwing medicine balls as explained down below through the next two bulletins will greatly help to increase endurance, arm joint integrity, stability, and muscular strength.
- Start on the floor by lying on your back and throwing medicine balls up and rising slightly to catch them as they fall back towards you. Repeat this process and never start counting until you start feeling pain and fatigue. Remember; no pain, no gain.
- Stand in your boxing position and throw punches away from you with a medium-sized medicine ball in your hand. Or if you have a trainee partner, release the ball at them as you throw each of your punches for them to throw it back at you, then the process repeats. The latter option trains your targeting accuracy.
Punch That Bag
Injuries are common in boxing and MMA. But fist injuries happen more often in the boxing ring. So, it is essential to train your fist to remain active even when injured. And that’s where your punching bag gets used the most.
Not only does punching a sandbag, or whatever punching bag you choose to use, increases both the toughness and adaptability of your fists but it also makes the direction of your punches laser-focused.
Another option is to constantly dip your fist into a deep container of rice from top to bottom starting with a finger.
Strengthen Your Legs
According to most heavyweight champions, the power of a punch is determined by the power of the legs and how deeply planted those legs are to the ground. Other than increasing the legs’ strength through jumping, running, and squatting, train yourself to always keep your legs perfectly planted on the ground before throwing any punch.