Hey fellas
Whats the best way to increase your punching power?

Hit the heavy bag, thats the best way to increase power.

Depends on the individual. If your technique is bad, that's the obvious thing you want to improve. This is not an easy place to explain that, since a trainer would have to see you specifically, to see what areas of your technique you need to improve. Other than that, a strength training and plyometrics program could help your punching power.

Depends on what you need to work on. Trainer can help on that. There are people with power but no snap, snap and power, and guys who are bazookas. It could be a speed problem, snap problem, power problem, footwork problem, or form. It takes a trainer to decide what punchs need to be worked on and how.

A few pointers.

Use the legs, hips and body a bit more. Focus on keeping your current form. You don't want to throw your body, you want to use more of the body in how you already throw your punchs. Do this in front of the mirror and try doing it slowly 50% speed and concentrate.

On the heavy bag don't push the bag, pierce it. You want to rip a hole in it, not swing it around.
Focus power from balls of your feet all the way past your fist. Yes, past the fist by an inch.

Use more of the lower body. Cross and uppercuts start from the feet up. Hook uses more a little more waist and legs. Remember proper form is important.

Focus on the footwork and range of power in a punch. You need to be at the right position to throw the strongest punch. Being out of postion or range can weaken your punch.


I had a 195 lb police officer once you had 18 guns and huge legs and threw a ***** slap uppercut. Mine was 10x hard than his and I was only 130 lbs at the time. I could never fix it even though he had the form down so it's very complicated. He never had any snap in his punch but they had power. 2-3 months and he never fixed it before he quit and he already had training from the police.

My left uppercut was not as close in power as might right and I nevered fixed that.

Workouts. do some high speed high-stepping jump roping. The knees go 90 degrees. 10 mins replacement over regular jump roping.

Lunge squats with medical ball over your head. As many as you like and concentrate and your legs when you go up.

Get into runners squat and push against a wall for 5 mins. Repeats 3x.

cicular medicine ball pass. Have someone stand behind you, face opposite direction, pass the ball left to right/ right to left/ and under legs over the head.

Depends on what you need to work on. Trainer can help on that. There are people with power but no snap, snap and power, and guys who are bazookas. It could be a speed problem, snap problem, power problem, footwork problem, or form. It takes a trainer to decide what punchs need to be worked on and how.

A few pointers.

Use the legs, hips and body a bit more. Focus on keeping your current form. You don't want to throw your body, you want to use more of the body in how you already throw your punchs. Do this in front of the mirror and try doing it slowly 50% speed and concentrate.

On the heavy bag don't push the bag, pierce it. You want to rip a hole in it, not swing it around.
Focus power from balls of your feet all the way past your fist. Yes, past the fist by an inch.

Use more of the lower body. Cross and uppercuts start from the feet up. Hook uses more a little more waist and legs. Remember proper form is important.

Focus on the footwork and range of power in a punch. You need to be at the right position to throw the strongest punch. Being out of postion or range can weaken your punch.


I had a 195 lb police officer once you had 18 guns and huge legs and threw a ***** slap uppercut. Mine was 10x hard than his and I was only 130 lbs at the time. I could never fix it even though he had the form down so it's very complicated. He never had any snap in his punch but they had power. 2-3 months and he never fixed it before he quit and he already had training from the police.

My left uppercut was not as close in power as might right and I nevered fixed that.

Workouts. do some high speed high-stepping jump roping. The knees go 90 degrees. 10 mins replacement over regular jump roping.

Lunge squats with medical ball over your head. As many as you like and concentrate and your legs when you go up.

Get into runners squat and push against a wall for 5 mins. Repeats 3x.

cicular medicine ball pass. Have someone stand behind you, face opposite direction, pass the ball left to right/ right to left/ and under legs over the head.


good stuff man.
I have a question, I was a former football player. Is any of my 'football strength' going to translate into punching power (bench, incline, squats...)? just wondering that's all

good stuff man.
I have a question, I was a former football player. Is any of my 'football strength' going to translate into punching power (bench, incline, squats...)? just wondering that's all

They will, if you achieve the proper technique, certainly. Power is power, but technique is needed to transfer that power.

Depends on what you need to work on. Trainer can help on that. There are people with power but no snap, snap and power, and guys who are bazookas. It could be a speed problem, snap problem, power problem, footwork problem, or form. It takes a trainer to decide what punchs need to be worked on and how.

A few pointers.

Use the legs, hips and body a bit more. Focus on keeping your current form. You don't want to throw your body, you want to use more of the body in how you already throw your punchs. Do this in front of the mirror and try doing it slowly 50% speed and concentrate.

On the heavy bag don't push the bag, pierce it. You want to rip a hole in it, not swing it around.
Focus power from balls of your feet all the way past your fist. Yes, past the fist by an inch.

Use more of the lower body. Cross and uppercuts start from the feet up. Hook uses more a little more waist and legs. Remember proper form is important.

Focus on the footwork and range of power in a punch. You need to be at the right position to throw the strongest punch. Being out of postion or range can weaken your punch.


I had a 195 lb police officer once you had 18 guns and huge legs and threw a ***** slap uppercut. Mine was 10x hard than his and I was only 130 lbs at the time. I could never fix it even though he had the form down so it's very complicated. He never had any snap in his punch but they had power. 2-3 months and he never fixed it before he quit and he already had training from the police.

My left uppercut was not as close in power as might right and I nevered fixed that.

Workouts. do some high speed high-stepping jump roping. The knees go 90 degrees. 10 mins replacement over regular jump roping.

Lunge squats with medical ball over your head. As many as you like and concentrate and your legs when you go up.

Get into runners squat and push against a wall for 5 mins. Repeats 3x.

cicular medicine ball pass. Have someone stand behind you, face opposite direction, pass the ball left to right/ right to left/ and under legs over the head.


Good tips bro, just got a query about piercing or pushing the bag. guys like George foreman, Tuaman and big heavy punchers in general cant help launching the bag in a push like fashion, becos they are so big, less mobile and little slower to recoil the punch.

George foreman, Tuaman and big heavy punchers in general cant help launching the bag in a push like fashion, becos they are so big, less mobile and little slower to recoil the punch.


Those guys do that to the bag because they can squat 500+ pounds. When you have serious leg strength for your weight/size, you can just drop mean bombs..it's because all power punches start in the lower body..

when i was a little kid i always jumped on this trampoline we had ,...for years...i think thats why i have a pretty good punch because i developed strong lower body early in life

then i advanced to football etc doing squats so that plays a large part in my boxing im sure

What about phisicly, like pushups or chinups wil it help?

Remember, physical parts is not as important as the mental portion and technique. You aint got the last two, the first means squat. The stronger you are helps but you want to be (strong+fast)=explosive

Do push ups everyday. If you are serious twice a day. Ideal, set of 75-100 reps 3-4 sets or 500 of them total. mix them up at the last 10 with fast explosive pushups, very slow ones, or jumping two hand or one handed. Develops larger range of power.

Chinups. You want to reach 10-15 reps for for 5 sets. When you reach this you reach peak power to weight ratio. If you cant you need to loose weight or get stronger.
Situps do as many till you get good definition
There are so many more things but I believe in mastering the simple stuff first then moving to the next level.

the piercing vs. push idea is like the skin is superficial, you want to hurt past it and cut the guy. You remember Klitskho and Lewis fight. Both guys are strong but klitskho punchs are strong but slow, they hurt but never cut Lewis. Lewis threw one fast and hard right and that open that cut.

Remember, physical parts is not as important as the mental portion and technique. You aint got the last two, the first means squat. The stronger you are helps but you want to be (strong+fast)=explosive

Do push ups everyday. If you are serious twice a day. Ideal, set of 75-100 reps 3-4 sets or 500 of them total. mix them up at the last 10 with fast explosive pushups, very slow ones, or jumping two hand or one handed. Develops larger range of power.

Chinups. You want to reach 10-15 reps for for 5 sets. When you reach this you reach peak power to weight ratio. If you cant you need to loose weight or get stronger.
Situps do as many till you get good definition
There are so many more things but I believe in mastering the simple stuff first then moving to the next level.

the piercing vs. push idea is like the skin is superficial, you want to hurt past it and cut the guy. You remember Klitskho and Lewis fight. Both guys are strong but klitskho punchs are strong but slow, they hurt but never cut Lewis. Lewis threw one fast and hard right and that open that cut.

That was one super clean punch by Lewis, and it won him the fight as much as any KO punch would. Shows what clean punching can do. Great stuff. :)

Push up and sit ups will help. You can also do medicine ball routines. One right on top of my head involves you lying down on the floor. Have somebody drop the ball right on you chest and you push it back at the guy like a chest pass like in basketball and repeat. Try to limit the time the ball in your hands. Have him walk around you to work different angles of the muscles. Try doing it for 2 minutes. Oh yeah, after your throw the medicine ball back up, make sure you get your hand back to your temples. Also make sure to pass the ball right at the person and not straight up.

So does a punch that snaps have more power impact than a heavy pushing punch?

Does that mean that boxers with fast hands like Floyd or Roy Jones have greater impact with their punches than slower punchers (all other things being equal)?

Force = mass x acceleration. If you're in a given weight class, you can't change your mass (well, not everybody gets their weight behind their punches), so more speed will actually create more force.

I understand what you're saying PD but how come when say Floyd fights Gatti assuming they fight at the same weight (I know Gatti likes to dry out before fights) Gatti is thought of as the bigger puncher and Floyd the weaker despite having faster hands?

Wrist flexions/extensions with barbells, curl bar or straight bar (which I prefer) can help in your punching power by assisting in the snap factor, not necessarily in the overall arm strength or speed.

Punch, agreed. But speed with at least some degree of form/technique behind it.

Wrist flexions/extensions with barbells, curl bar or straight bar (which I prefer) can help in your punching power by assisting in the snap factor, not necessarily in the overall arm strength or speed.

Punch, agreed. But speed with at least some degree of form/technique behind it.

Definitely. That's where mass comes into the equation. Without proper technique, you don't get full leverage, and therefore don't utilize the full potential of your weight.
Also, you can have a physical potential for speed, but you also need proper punching technique to punch fast.

I understand what you're saying PD but how come when say Floyd fights Gatti assuming they fight at the same weight (I know Gatti likes to dry out before fights) Gatti is thought of as the bigger puncher and Floyd the weaker despite having faster hands?

first of all, I don't know that he IS the bigger puncher? It's just people's perception, and we'll see come fight time.

IF Gatti's a bigger puncher, it's probably because he's the naturally bigger man. You also have to remember, that if you're defensively minded, like Mayweather, you can punch real fast without putting too much weight into the punches, so you can pull back real quick. There's a lot more to this... Wat kind of punches you're throwing. Are they all out punches everytime, or just quick taps, to score points? (Try it on a bag, and see how big the difference is.) To me, it seems like Gatti's punches are GENERALLY the former, and Mayweather's GENERALLY the latter. I have no doubt that Mayweather can punch, when he wants to.
Question is, how big of a puncher he is agains a guy who's a jr. middleweight when he gets in the ring? :)

Smart question ;)

My example of the Lewis punch was his so much faster and not like thud from Klistkho. Even a top heavyweight can learn how to throw a better right hand.

Force = work / time. Work = mass x distance.
Force = (mass x distance) / (time)
Distance/time = acceleration ie hand speed.
You want good mass with good hand speed into a punch

In general you want your entire body to go into a punch, not just the arms or shoulder or upper body. The more you know how to use the entire body the stronger your punches get. That requires good form and understanding how to put the body into punchs. It helps when you are stronger and more explosive but not always the biggest key.

Mayweather has fast hands but most of his punches don't use most of his body. Gatti uses his body in more of his punches that is why he's the bigger puncher. It's not the weight, it's how you apply the weight or use it and where forms comes in.

I'd still say that Gatti's 15 extra pounds at fight time is a factor in that department. :D

If you want to know how to get your body behind your punches - i'd watch Naz in his prime...

I'd still say that Gatti's 15 extra pounds at fight time is a factor in that department. :D

FORSURE IT WILL! Gatti will use it because he's a power puncher and that 15 pounds is like give him extra bullets in a gun fight. Gatti will use that 15 pounds but I bet he couldn't make use of 50 pounds.

My main point it is a balance of speed and power (Force = work / time). Not everyone can use that extra 15 pounds. Example Mosley. After awhile the weight didn't help him, he couldn't apply it correctly with his hand speed to get knockout punches, even though he thought he could. IMHO opinion, it made him slower, alot slower and that was Mosley's edge.


Naz is the worse example!! That guy threw punch that left him wideopen and when a good fighter faced him he got dissected like a frog in Bio lab.

FORSURE IT WILL! Gatti will use it because he's a power puncher and that 15 pounds is like give him extra bullets in a gun fight. Gatti will use that 15 pounds but I bet he couldn't make use of 50 pounds.

My main point it is a balance of speed and power (Force = work / time). Not everyone can use that extra 15 pounds. Example Mosley. After awhile the weight didn't help him, he couldn't apply it correctly with his hand speed to get knockout punches, even though he thought he could. IMHO opinion, it made him slower, alot slower and that was Mosley's edge.


Naz is the worse example!! That guy threw punch that left him wideopen and when a good fighter faced him he got dissected like a frog in Bio lab.

Not quite agreed on Mosley. You have to realize Mosley went up in weight A LOT, but so did his opponents. There's a big difference between fighting a guy weighing 140, being 155 yourself (Gatti-Mayweather), and being a blown up lightweight fighting in the 154 pound division. Mosley's not supposed to be that big, his power is at lower weights. If he had stayed at lightweight, or only gone up to 140, he probably would have been an undefeated legend by now.

And Gatti sure could make use of 50 extra pounds if he's still fighting a guy weighing 140. :)

For the original question: look up some stuff on plyometrics, it trains speed and power quite simply. I know it has been mentioned before, but i thought id repeat it cos not that much emphasis was put on it.

If you are not that strong in general, I suggest build some natural power before going into pylometrics. It will be a produce an larger initial increase in punching power than pylometrics (speed + power). In the end pylometrics is the best for boxing. I still believe boxing is 80% mental and 20% physical and prefer building punching power though boxing training.

Plyometric info if you like.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0880117842/104-3030964-9235162?v=glance
High-Powered Plyometrics by James C. Radcliffe, Robert C. Farentinos

I skimmed thru this once. I already was doing 15-25 of the excercises in there. The rest are to time consuming or have little potential.

http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/plymo.htm

Very similiar program to what i did but lacks a few excercises. Something you can do everyday if you haven't
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/plyometrics.html