Are you a boxing enthusiast wanting to know what muscles generate punching power? Then we caught you up because here in this ultimate guide, we are about to tell you how you can increase your punching power. You can find out which muscles need to get a boost and eventually make you a sturdy boxer.
What Muscles Generate Punching Power?
Not just your arms; your entire body needs to be engaged while throwing a punch. Punching power initially starts from the lower body muscles and then passes through the upper body muscles until it reaches the end of your arm.
Following are the main body muscles that generate punching power:
- The Lower Body Muscles
In the lower body, the muscles that produce punching power include the hamstring, glutes, and calves. These parts are used to transfer power from your feet to your waist.
- The Upper Body Muscles
The muscles that help to generate punching power in your upper body are the oblique muscles of your core. The responsibility of your core muscles is to allow rotational energy.
- Arms And Hands Muscles
Biceps, triceps, deltoids, and forearms, these four arms and hand muscles are also beneficial to generating punching power.
So, to maximize the power of a strike, you must rotate your body, provide momentum, and put your whole body into the punch. To throw a maximum punch, you must find a good balance between speed and power.
Now we are about to share some exercises which are the best ways to increase punching power.
Best Way To Make Punching Power Muscle Stronger
Many exercises help in making your punching power stronger. Some of the practices can be done with equipment. However, if you don’t have the equipment, you can follow exercise that doesn’t require any kind of equipment and increase your punching power muscles.
Exercises That Increase Punching Power (With Equipment)
Following are the best to increase punching power exercises that can be used by equipment:
A Medicine Ball Throw
Take a 10 to 15-pound heavy medicine ball. Lay down on your back and throw the medicine ball using your chest, shoulders, triceps, and back to just throw that ball as far up into the air as you can. Try to keep the medicine ball straight so it will come back straight back down so you can catch it and then just explode right back up.
Moreover, these motions are similar to the punch in which you use the same muscles in the arms, chest, and back boom to explode forward. Therefore using medicine is best for a punch power workout.
Additionally, you can do this exercise with another variation like, Standing upright or sitting on the floor with a lighter/ smaller medicine ball and throwing it into the wall. Let it bounce back, pick it back up, and then boom. Keep both arms working on the right and the left, and also try to keep the opposite hand up like you are fighting or throwing a punch.
Workout With Heavy Bag
The second exercise to increase punching power and speed is a workout with a heavy bag. Strap your hand with the 14 to 16-ounce boxing leather gloves and hit the heavy bag as hard as possible. Rip into the heavy bag with the most significant and potent punches for about 10 seconds.
Furthermore, you need to take a rest for 10 seconds to do your best to recover and catch your breath. Once the 10 seconds break is over boom right back into ripping that bag. Follow this exercise for up to three minutes.
Don’t have a reliable heavy punching bag? Don’t avoid this compulsory workout equipment. Here is a detailed analysis of the best heavy bags on the market.
Snatch
Snatch is a full-body exercise that is done with heavy-weight dumbbells. In this exercise, you are working with your legs, your core, your back, and your shoulders, and it’s all about the explosives, significant, quick, violent movement.
You have to throw some heavy weight using your hips, using your legs to explode forward, raise that weight above your head, then reset and come back down and go right back into it. Do 3 sets with a right hand and 3 with a left hand to get the highest punching power.
You can also do this exercise with a straight bar, but we recommend doing it with the dumbbells. Beginners can start with light weight.
This exercise takes a lot of practice and can be done with complete precautions; otherwise, you could hurt yourself badly. Therefore, do as much training as possible to gain overall strength and explosiveness to fire off big powerful punches.
The Ax-Chops
The fourth-best exercise to increase your punching power is Ax-chops. You have to do this exercise with the resistant band. All you will do is keep your arms completely straight and locked out and keep your feet more comprehensive than the shoulder-width apart.
Once you feel the resistance, pull the band out, twist your hips quickly, and don’t pivot your feet. Do this exercise on both sides, left and right.
Moreover, if you don’t have a resistant band, you can do this exercise on a cable machine. Grab the handle right, keep your arms completely straight, and start pulling it.
These exercises increase punching power and speed that work the muscles, work the explosiveness and get you more powerful punches.
Exercises That Increase the Punching Power (Without Equipment)
If you don’t have access to the gym or any equipment, then follow these exercises that also aid to increase punching power at home or anywhere. These can all be done without equipment and are enough to increase punching power.
180-degree Jump Squat
In this exercise, you have to drop down just like a regular squat, and you will explode up and twist 180 degrees to face the opposite direction. Keep your knees as high as possible, then stick your feet on the ground while landing. Try not to bounce, try to bam, hit the ground with both feet perfectly balanced, and then repeat. Do this 12 to 20 reps of 3 sets to get the best punch power of boxers.
Split Jump Lunges
This exercise is pretty tough, especially for beginners. Start it with the regular jump lunge, now jump up, spread your legs even farther than where they were at the ground, and then switch to the opposite side. Alternate your legs, jump back up your legs spread out further, rapidly and violently rip them back, and alternate towards the other side.
Besides, if you can’t do this exercise, make only regular jump lunges and work your way up to it. We recommend doing this on the carpet, grass, or any soft area to prevent hitting your knees. Always land on your feet in a balanced position because you are not only working the leg drive but also your balance.
Plyometric Push-Ups
The next exercise we are about to discuss is plyometric push-ups. This exercise works for the upper body, chest, shoulders, and triceps with plyometric push-ups. Plyometric, explosive, fast-twitch is what you are working for acceleration and working on the velocity that is advantageous to extend the arm quickly and violently strike the target.
Get into the push-up position and spring up as fast as possible. Push the floor away, popping off the ground from where you can clap your hands, lift your arms forwards, or spread your arms outside during push-ups. Keep your hands far off the ground and then catch yourself and repeat.
Moreover, beginners can start by lying down on their knees, keeping their back straight, and the hips won’t get up in the air. Start push-ups, clap your hands again, and raise your hands forward out to the side or just pop off the ground as far as you can, then repeat. Do this exercise with about 12 to 20 reps with three sets.
Chin-Ups Reps
Do chin-ups by the branch, pole, or bar with three sets of 10 to 15 reps. Jump up to the position where your chin is over the bar/pole/branch, and then as slow as possible, release and drop it down. This exercise is beneficial in developing muscles of the forearms.
On the other hand, if you can’t do chin-ups, just do dead hang by the pole/branch/bar and keep a hold on as long as you can before your grips give out.
Shadow Boxing
Shadow boxing is one of the essential parts of boxing training. It is beneficial in increasing the punching power as its main focus is on technique and proper execution. Start with any technique, such as a Jab, and do it 100 to 1000 times (Yes! You can do it). Then go down the list, do your cross, hook, rear hook, lead uppercut, and so on.
Do it in front of a mirror and pay close attention to your punch’s techniques. Just make sure you are not pulling the punch, not whipping the punch; you are hitting and penetrating through the target.
Now, you may know what muscles generate punching power as all the above exercises are enough to increase the punching power of an average man.
Additional Training Tips And Techniques (Ways To Increase Punching Power)
- It’s essential to strengthen your legs because the punch’s power comes from them. Therefore, do running, cycling, squats with medicine balls, and plyometric workouts to increase aerobic endurance in your legs. It will also increase kicking power.
- In boxing, your hands must be solid and sturdy. So, to make your fist rock-hard and powerful, take a tub of rice and dig your punch constantly in it. You can also use sandbags or punch through water or place a stack of papers against the wall and start punching gently a few inches away from the wall.
- Strengthen your upper body by swinging a medicine ball left to right for a significant punch power increase in all directions.
- Learn to plant both feet firmly on the ground to gain good balance and maximize your punching power.
- Make sure to bend your knees during punching.
- Don’t overextend your punches, as it will reduce your punching power, or you may also get injured.
- Improve your hand speed because the punches that come fast do the most damage.
- Don’t exert a lot of energy during punching. Try to stay relaxed; it helps increase your punches’ velocity.
- If you want to knock out your opponent, keep your punches accurate.
Conclusion
As we mentioned before, a punch starts in the feet and travels up the leg into the core of the back, down the shoulder then to the arm, and then to the fist, at last landing on the target. Nevertheless, if there is a broken link anywhere in the kinetic chain, you will lose that energy. This means that if we don’t get that initial drive or lose it with the core in the shoulder, it will not transfer right into the target. Consequently, we are not going to get that intended result.
That’s it; now you should understand what muscles generate punching power. We also shared some exercises that will let your punching power skyrocket. Also, our additional tips and tricks will help to learn some key points to get the best out of your boxing and enable you to break the punch power world record.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How to improve punch power?
Following are the best punch power training that helps in improving your striking:
- Throwing medicine ball
- Heavy bag workout
- Snatch
- The Ax-Chops
- Rotational torque
- 180-degree jump squat
- Split jump lunges
- Plyometric push-ups
- Chin-up reps
- Shadow boxing
Q2: What muscles affect punching power?
Following are the muscles groups that increase the punching power:
- The quads (front of the thighs)
- The abdomen (abs and obliques)
- The calves.
- The chest and shoulders.
- The lats.
- The triceps.
- The forearms.
- Hamstring
- Glutes
- Core
- Biceps
- Deltoids
- Quadriceps
Q3: Do squats increase punching power?
Yes, squats help boxers a lot in improving punching power. Back squats strengthen both glutes and quadriceps, the two largest muscle groups of our bodies.
