Strengthening the opposite motion of punching increases punching speed?

I remember reading on one of Martin Rooney's article stating that the body will only go fast as the body can stop a motion.


SO basically strengthening the biceps and back could potentially increase your speed?

 

not exactly, just training certain muscles isnt really going to increase your speed immensely, it'll help with punching a little bit, but really, with punching, you just gotta practice it over and over, it doesnt come right away...

 

If that were the case, metro sexual bicep curlers would pwn me in a fight.

 

theoretically, it's true - strengthening your bis/back should increase your potential for punching with greater speed and control. but given that there is a lot of technique involved with punching for power, focusing on technique should give you better/quicker results than focusing on increasing bis/back strength.

 

strenghtening your back will help alot with punching power, not so much with speed. The speed comes alot from triceps, obliques and hips if you are talking specifically muscle groups.... but the only way to really train speed is repetition and plyos.

 

I would imagine strengthening the back would help immensly with punching power but not so much with speed.

Oh, don't worry about getting pawned by the bar star metro's, if you've ever seen them fight, (which is quite comical) very few of them even know how to throw a punch. If you know how to throw a straight punch and keep your hands up your going to be better off than 75% of the population, IMO.

 

other then strength training, how is speed usually trained

 

PB, I am no expert, but my guesses, specific to punching, would be repetition and plyometric work.

 

Reasoning behind this?

 

it works but the best way to train the right muscles is shadowboxing

 

Yea but how much can you get out of training like that?

I remember Rjkd saying something along the lines that you improve due to the lack of punching in your daily life and after that and getting the technique down it's extremely hard to improve it.

I mean how much can natural and no weight training actually make you go farther you are naturally apt for?

I mean in terms of a person who did all the boxing drills and techniques for?

 

You quoted me close. I think I said that you quickly will see gains in the beginning, but after that they will slow down. I think you shouldn't lift for punching power, you should work on technique. You should lift for strength which will indirectly increase your punching power. I still think that you should work mostly on whole body stuff as your shoulders and trunk muscles will contribute a lot more to the power than the triceps.

That theory that the body will only punch as fast at it can slow you down sounds specious to me. It is a pretty sounding theory but doesn't make sense. Two reasons. First off slowing down a punch is eccentric work, and we all know a person can create a lot more strength with eccentric work. Second, even assuming your biceps were 2x or more your triceps you still have connective tissue and bone that can absorb the energy to stop a punch.

Increasing power but not speed is ludicris considering power is work/time, which is speedXdistance/time. Even if you didn't mean the words to be used with their exact definition, it still doesn't make sense.

 

Interesting...

I was thinking about the theory and I felt my bicep contract when I was punching. And I was doing push ups and tricep presses I didn't feel it really contract. I was thinking maybe it isn't totally eccentric at all. Yes I know it's stupid, presumptious, speculative and primitive at best, but I at best have a barely touching the surface knowledge about kinesiology.

 

This could be irrevelant that it only relates to what the muscles is capable of.

Very unlikely but could be.

 

Have you tried punching with weights, that helps me punch faster

 

Your must love your joints.

 

i know most guys dont care about endurance but the reason shadow boxing and stuff like that is the best because even if you had the strongest muscles in the world.. they would be useless once they tired out which wouldnt take long for most people. you want to be able to keep the speed that you had throwing your first punch because thats where a lot of the power comes from, the speed.

 

Whoa really? That is absolutely atonishing!!! I didn't know that at all!!!!

Sorry but that wasn't I was asking for.

 

I didnt know that was bad for your joints

 

Its not stupid, presumptious, speculative or primitive. Well, it is haha, but so are many theories. Congrats on wanting a better understanding of things rather than reading information as gospel. Keep an open, but skeptical, mind and you'll learn a lot. Then, after studying it and learning it write a few books based on stupid, presumptious, speculative, primitive and don't forget specious theories and make a killing selling it.

With my connective tissue/bone/tendon comment I just meant that a muslce related feedback system for stopping punches would, IMHO, be pointless because you have those other things to take care of an imbalance. Since you have connective tissue there why would the body need/invent/evolve a system to limit how fast it can extend its limbs?

Don't punch with weights, it can extend your limbs and stretch out your ligaments. Ever miss the bag and hyperextend your elbow? Know how much that hurts? You are kinda doing that to your elbow, shoulder, and wrist when punching with weights. Wraps and 16oz gloves should be the most you have on your hands.