I read the most recent article on the front page of this site. It basically said that you cant really build speed.... i think the best way he mentioned was to shadow box and get your own style. He also said that hand-weights dont help.....

The man has credibility, but i really dont believe some of the stuff he says in this article....

Lenny DeJesus has been training fighters for 35 years. A former amateur and professional fighter. Lenny is also a former N.Y. State Champion. Lenny has worked the corners with some of the all time great trainers as well, Ray Arcel, Angelo Dundee, Eddie Futch, Carlos Ortiz, Hector Rocca, Al Gavin, the list goes on. Among some of the fighters he has worked with in the past are, Hector Camacho, Roberto Duran, Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfredo Benitez, Edwin Rosario, Alex Ramos, Carlos Santos, and almost too many more to mention.

Lenny DeJesus is also one of the best cutmen in the business, and is most recognizable by his trademark bandanna. Teamed with Norman Bagi, Lenny and Norman form Wrecking Crew Boxing, He is currently cutman for Manny Pacquiao and works with Casamayor and many others.

Boxingscene; Lenny our members formed a forum thread asking the best way to build hand speed in the gym. Could you help us out with that a bit today.

DeJesus: It’s not a matter of hands speed it’s a matter of knowing when to shoot that jab. The Jab I call the “Mugging shot” you mug the guy to set up all the other punches. A lot of guys don’t do that in today’s fighting game. Today they want to be pretty they want to look nice and they don’t want to get hit. Duran used to put you to sleep with his lazy jab but he was setting you up for a body shot.

Wilfredo Gomez, devastating puncher, he was a left hander converted to right hander. His power shot was his left but he could put you to sleep with his jab. He would put it in your face then boom he would go down to the rib cage. Tommy Hearns had a nice jab that he injured Sugar Ray with. You could just put your jab out there fast, fast, fast but that won’t get you anything. It is just used to set your guy up for other punches.

Boxingscene; What are some of the better exercises and training methods to build the hand speed for those combinations?

DeJesus; When you are in the mirror shadow boxing, first you got to get a good posture and a good position where you are going to come up with your own style. Sometimes today they imitate a Sugar Ray Leonard or Muhammad Ali. Ali had a lazy jab and he would jab your head off, when he took out Foreman remember he did the rope-a-dope but he was bothering him with the jab all night, blinding him, then he shot that little right hand. He got him tired and dropped him. Kids today they have to set-up their own style and that’s how you create your movement of punches, and punching power.

Boxingscene; What about using heavy gloves?

DeJesus: I don’t recommend that. That doesn’t do anything for you. A lot of guys say they lift weights and I do this or that. Sometimes the structure of an individual is different from another one. Sometimes you build up muscle and sometimes you don’t. You may only build up a little power hear or there. If you have a hundred and ten pound fighter you put him on with 12 ounce gloves. If you have a heavyweight you use 24 ounce gloves. That’s just to protect the guys inside the gym. If you put a 24 ounce glove on a 140 pound guy you are going to ruin him.

Boxingscene; So the old ways are still the best, pushups with hand claps and speed bag?

DeJesus: Exactly, that’s how you build a solid athlete, some fighters want to get away with murder and do an hour in the gym. Jumping rope hitting the speed bag, hitting the speed ball, hitting the crazy ball doing the proper exercises going home satisfied that you did a days work.

Boxingscene: So a lot of it is not getting in and out of the gym in an hour? DeJesus; Right, you give me five days three hours a day and I’ll make a fighter out of you and give you the confidence you need when you are in the ring.

Boxingscene; What about working with hands weights?

DeJesus; Hand weights I don’t use very much because it doesn’t bring anything to the table. If you have power you have power if you don’t you don’t. Power comes from the hand speed. If you have speed you have power. A lot of guys are not sure of themselves and before the punch is reaching they are already backing up. So there is no power there. You have guys that can punch real hard but before they throw the punch they are pulling away because they are afraid of being hit.

Hand speed in my opinion can be improved upon, obviously the sharper and fitter you become the faster your hands become.

There cannot be a dramatic change but just as a sprinter can improve their foot speed with technique, practice and fitness then surely a boxer can improve their hand speed?

i do 5 rounds with 3lb weights heavy hands is the name of the drill pretty much just shadow boxing,then when i jump to sparring my hands feel alot faster..

i think he's partly correct. the best way to build your hand speed is to find a stance where you can comfortably throw combinations. thats just for combo speed though.

hand weights and hours of practice is the key to building hand speed, but it is possible.

handspeed is one off those attributes you cant change much.

the better technic you have the better the punches will fly so my advive would be a lot off shadowboxing.

dont believe hand weights will make you faster, stronger and more endurant but not faster.

From my sparring experience, when i wasnt in the greatest condition my jab was the first thing to lose speed and start to 'droop'

hand weights and hours of practice is the key to building hand speed, but it is possible.



do "exercises" that build up finger and wrist strength, daily vigourous masturbating is one of the best ways to improve
hand speed

I personally think hand weights are not very beneficail simply because you are wasting enegy on the motion resisting gravity. I have developed three methods for increasing hand speed. With hand weights all you are doing is putting your shoulder muscles in a biomechanically unsafe postion actually doing more harm than good even on 3-5lbs. The methods I've develped are simple, yet effective, and they train the body, yes the body, not just the arms the way the movements patterns and skills of the sport requires.

than let us hear your methods

Boxing is the only sport that believes that performance is simply genetic and there nothing that can be done to improve.

ummmm

your going to far with that statment we believe it can be improved but we dont believe you can get the speed,power,stamina at all time greats level without the right genes.

but ofcours trining help

quickest way to make your hands faster is simple - relax. that's the key.

a great fighter once said "speed is just fast. one only needs to go as fast as one's opponent."

and as far as improving on things versus born with so-called gifts, no such thing. michael jordan wasn't exactly born a great basketball player, he had to work non-stop at getting better.

alot of times speed in natural born which mean if u got it u got it. and u can improve on it

alot of times speed in natural born which mean if u got it u got it. and u can improve on it

yeah, muhammad ali was slow and uncoordinated as a boy, but he worked at it had became extremely well coordinated and quick.

well, like i was saying, hand speed is just being fast. but what if you have no power behind it? what if your opponent has better timing, or position. would that make it a detriment? you have to ask yourself these questions.

but, for fun, i'll explain a little bit of what i know about handspeed. it mostly comes down to being able to effeciently move your body through a certain pattern of movement. relaxation is a key ingredient.

so what about the people who are supposedly born with a genetic quickness gene or whatever. i disagree. just like i disagree with teddy atlas that punchers are born. ****, even jack dempsey disagrees with teddy. and who would you believe, teddy atlas, an amteur boxer for something like six fights(please correct if wrong) or jack dempsey, a champion professional boxer? read "championship fighting" by jack to get the full scoop on born punchers. in fact, he does have a whole chapter dedicated to just this myth

point is, you may have been aware of certain things when younger that others didn't pick up on, and in some ways fine tuned it where it looks as though you were born with it.

i believe in "You cant teach power, your born with it or not".
im not sayin a power puncher is born with a power gene or sum****, im just sayin dat sum ppl have for example, stronger hip muscles or sumthing and they can create more force becoz of many factors. Power could probably be taught if they got some type of computer hooked up to u to see wat ur doin wrong or sumthing. but there are sum ppl who can never be hard punches for many reasons like 2 much weak endurance muscles, technique is crap and they just cant perfect it and other **** im not aware of. if there was sum type of computer dat they hooked up to u dat cud tell u in detail why ur punching weak or slow, then every1 wud be KO artists, it aint gona happen.

hey pug, you don't need no computer, just a competent coach/trainer/teacher.

I say fundamentals help with both speed and power.
Speed is mostly reflexes and repitition in boxing where power is the technique of your punches when and how you throw your combos and the angles of when you throw them. for instance Frazier had ppw but was more effective against ellis than chuvalo the angels your opponent gives you can amplify of neutralize you ppw.

In Ali frazier 1 that angle ali gave frazier was perfect and joe capitalized. but couldnt in any of the prior fights.

what about wieghtshifting to gain power from your punches.
how could you wieghtshift effectivly?
another question

I read in IronMan Magazine that using ankle wiegh might injure you hip because its a sensitve part is that true or not?

If you are talking pure blazing hand speed, yeah you can't develop it. Sometime you cant overcome genetics. But saying you can't get improve on hand speed is silly.

Saying you can't punch faster is hokey. You can punch faster. You can concentrate on better delivery and returning the hands. You can learn to throw combos better, faster, smoother, and with more power with practice. You can learn how to just use speed in punches and remove some of the power.

You can learn how to anticipate punchs and how to react.
You can learn how to punch harder
You can learn how to put snap into a punch
You can learn how to conserve energy and relax in the ring
BUT You can't learn how to punch faster....

If it was simple as "builing a strong athelete" many people would've been champion boxers.

some of you guys think punching power isn a natural gift. but ofcoarse it is, if it wasnt, every boxer would be a KO artist. every one in the world can improve, but theres a limit, some peoples limits are higher, dats it

they say 10% is genetic and the rest is hard work.

Most of the tihng is hard work and nobody can deny that

I understand what you are saying pug.

For some people it is easier to KO people and some people have extremely fast hands. Some people have natural talent. I understand that but saying you can develop some hand speed at all is silly.

Some guys will never have KO power, no speeds, or footwork. For some guys you can improve on all three areas.

In boxing, never say never. Anything is possible. That was one of the biggest things i learned from my boxing trainer.

I say its focus and repition for me anyway. Try to move as fast as you can for a minute than pause and repeat it. If when you shadow you throw punches with precision you should be ok.

I think speed comes from youre motor skills alot more than muscles and youre physical conditioning, wich do have alot to do with talent. I like to believe you can train anything though, but the fact remains that even if you can, having to train for 6 days a week for something that comes natural to talented peoples might not be worth it. It's propably better to box at the speed you got and do the best out of it. This only starts becoming a issue after you are a semi established boxer though, as a rookie there are alot of things you can do to increase speed and power.

Actually, when i started boxing i was slow and weak, now i have only being in from sep ( last year ) i have become faster, and more powerfull so in my case and from my opinion it can be done it just takes time!
And belive me it does work, just be patient…
No way is it a myth tho if you can build up muscles then anything is possible!
You would need a good trainer if you had to build up your speed obviously…and thats my bit said!

they say 10% is genetic and the rest is hard work.

Most of the tihng is hard work and nobody can deny that


hahaha. i'm 1 lazy mother ****er. but i can still move ppl and punish them with every single hit.And thats with head gear. or as my coach said"u have a gift u have really heavy hands. so u should come to the gym everyday so we can make it" :D

hahaha. i'm 1 lazy mother ****er. but i can still move ppl and punish them with every single hit.And thats with head gear. or as my coach said"u have a gift u have really heavy hands. so u should come to the gym everyday so we can make it" :D

I think he is right.

For me i dont know any boxing gym next to me and i am 20 years old so the times is out for me

some people have talent, some dont. but get me the most talented boxer in the world and get me an average guy. the average guy will beat up the talented guy if the talented guy is lazy. hard work has alot to do with it, but it can only go so far.

some people have talent, some dont. but get me the most talented boxer in the world and get me an average guy. the average guy will beat up the talented guy if the talented guy is lazy. hard work has alot to do with it, but it can only go so far.


sorta like tyson. when he got lazy the less gifted guys started beating him. but when he was dedicated along with gifted he was unstopable

i still think that when ppl say u cant build speed. i mean i was born with speed. but i've increased it alot by shadowboxing and my restraints so thats BULL****!! :D

What he said. Hand speed can be improved somewhat, but it's got to be there initially for the most part. The ratio of fast twitch muscle to slow twitch is pretty much fixed in each person. On the other hand, hand speed is way over-rated. Foot speed and body speed are just as important. Roy Jones was the personification of hand speed, but his boxing skills weren't so good. On the other hand, you've got guys like Roberto Duran who had great movement and power, but not so much speed. Both were good, but Duran had a longer career. The important thing is maintaining the right distance, e.g. close enough to make them miss and staying close enough to counter. Also reflexes and the ability to anticipate what the other person is going to do. I don't think Jones lost hand speed but, when his reflexes left, his career was over. He doesn't have the skills to box well. On the inside, it is mostly sensitivity by touch to the other person's movements, rather than hand-eye coordination. You never saw Jones fighting inside. Boxing is an art and science. There is so much more to it than simply "hand speed."

hand speed is mainly a natural asset. it all depends on style, body weight and the way you tend to throw a certain punch! i have impecible speed for my wieght, but my power suffers due to this as i have a lighter heavy wieght weight. im 6ft5 and 215 - 220 pounds! i an toned all over but not built in a body mass way. so really speed depends on your physice and style.
p.s style is a hard thing to alter never mind change. if you want to gain speed, loose wieght and develop your punches to suit your fighting weight and style!

When I went up from 210lbs to 220lbs over a few months my punchers did seem faster and harder once I reached 220lbs! Might be just an illusion but I do a lot of speed training so the extra muscle must be a bonus!

Although a person only has so many fast-twitch muscle fibers, hand speed can be improved in other ways, such as those I mentioned before, but also by losing fat weight and by practicing the specific punches, giving up all power and working for speed only. Aside from the fact of the sheer weight of the fat slowing one down, some say the fat in the tissue interferes with muscle contraction. Also, muscle fibers don't necessarily fire all at the same time. Working the punches is going to strengthen the neural connections and get them firing at the same time, which means the muscle fibers will contract at the same time which will mean more hand speed. Sometimes a person's form slows them down. For instance, tightening up when punching causes the antagonistic muscles to tighten as well, slowing down the hand. In other words, you are basically using your triceps and pectorals to shoot the hand out. If you tighten up the biceps, this will have a braking effect and slow the punch down. The only time to tighten the arm is at the point of contact (or presumed contact). Another thing is "50 mph in, 100 mph out". The faster you get your hand back, the sooner you can release another punch, so hand speed works both ways. Again relaxation is key, since the biceps will then be pulling the arm back. Also you need a relaxed stance with the arms laying down flat on your sides, e.g. "close the windows". If you get your hands out to far forwards or sideways, you'll be tight and get tired easier. Since fast twitch muscle has little endurance, it will slow down quick when overused....

**** genetics. If someone works hard and has determination, anything is possible.

Live Righteous.

So someone answer this...


At what age does your speed stop increasing...

you get stronger and faster as you get older.... if you lift weights you get alot stronger....

Is speed capped off at a pre-set mark of age? with no way of contributing to it?

Can you really think of it that way... ???

So someone answer this...


At what age does your speed stop increasing...

you get stronger and faster as you get older.... if you lift weights you get alot stronger....

Is speed capped off at a pre-set mark of age? with no way of contributing to it?

Can you really think of it that way... ???

ive been learned that speed and reflexes decreases in your late 20s( varies of course)