Training for speed

[Alan White]

Hi Guys,

I'm Alan from the UK and I'm wondering what people's takes are on training for greater punch speed, I had a big discussion on this with a couple of guys down at the MMA gym and the weight training gym I go to, along with some of my PT friends and we all had very different idea's of what you could do to improve speed, and also whether it is down to your genes and or training. People had varying ideas on band resistance exercises, weights, aerobic training and cardio but I'm struggling to come to the bottom of what is good to do and what is not good to do. I guess being less muscle bound is probably the answer but there are some big guys out there with some quick hands so is it just down to DNA....

...Any how I'm currently 85kg and 6'1 train in weight lifting 4-5 times a week (Hypertrophy/strength).
MMA/BJJ 3-4 times a week, Cardio/running 3 times a week.

HELP?

Kindest regards,
Alan

 

[NurseKnuckles]

Practice. Then practice punching faster.

 

[ripskater]

Get a stronger core. - Your limbs will only move as fast as your core can handle

Get quicker feet and more agile.- Everything starts with the feet. Agility ladders, sprints, footwork drils, jumps, jump rope etc.


Substitute these things for some of your lifting. You're probably doing too much lifting if you want to get more speed and quickness.

Also relax. A relaxed athlete will be quicker and react quicker.

 

[InertiaTraining]

Practice. Then practice punching faster.

/thread

Same as max velocity sprinting, weights and resistance training is barely going to affect your punching speed at all. Learn good technique, then learn to do it faster.

 

[Alan White]

Get a stronger core. - Your limbs will only move as fast as your core can handle

Get quicker feet and more agile.- Everything starts with the feet. Agility ladders, sprints, footwork drils, jumps, jump rope etc.


Substitute these things for some of your lifting. You're probably doing too much lifting if you want to get more speed and quickness.

Also relax. A relaxed athlete will be quicker and react quicker.

Thank you for your helpful reply, So essentially limit the hypertrophy work and concentrate on strength to get a stronger core along with agility work like sprints and overall speed movements?

 

[ironwolf]

What sort of speed are you talking about? Running?

 

[Alan White]

What sort of speed are you talking about? Running?

Sorry I mean punch speed/kick speed, and all around speed of movement in MMA

 

[ripskater]

Thank you for your helpful reply, So essentially limit the hypertrophy work and concentrate on strength to get a stronger core along with agility work like sprints and overall speed movements?

Yes. Your hypertrophy work is probably holding you back in this area. Back way off on it and substitute what I said in it's place.

 

[DrBdan]

Yeah, practice your technique. The smoother and cleaner your technique is, the faster you will be. And practice doing your technique faster, even when you aren't going full power.

I see this all the time when I play hockey. The fastest, most agile guys just make it look effortless. They don't have huge legs (at least not at my amateur level, at the NHL level they are all decently strong) but they are so smooth and there is minimal wasted movement.

 

[MandirigmaFit]

I think another thing that people are forgetting is to stop when your speed starts to slow.

For instance, if you were to focus on throwing a jab-straight combo, you would want to do that as fast as you can, maybe for 5-6 repetitions, while making sure that you reset after each 1-2. Once you have used most of your readily available ATP-PC, then it is time for a break, before beginning your next set.

To train for speed, it has to be been as powerful and as quickly as you can. Once you start to slow down and you continue, then it turns into speed-endurance/speed-strength-endurance & conditioning.


BUT ABOVE ALL:

TECHNIQUE.

 

[Alan White]

I completely agree technique is key to maximising the speed of an individual, and I also see many guys who gain size but in doing so then lose their speed due to "muscle boundness" but there are always those guys that are big but also freakishly mobile and fast do you think this is down to the technique and the way they throw their shots or genetics? If say you wanted to stay the same size and muscle mass do you think it would be possible to increase speed without hindering size and muscle mass for weight class as decreasing weight sessions would also surely make my muscle mass drop significantly?

 

[ripskater]

I completely agree technique is key to maximising the speed of an individual, and I also see many guys who gain size but in doing so then lose their speed due to "muscle boundness" but there are always those guys that are big but also freakishly mobile and fast do you think this is down to the technique and the way they throw their shots or genetics? If say you wanted to stay the same size and muscle mass do you think it would be possible to increase speed without hindering size and muscle mass for weight class as decreasing weight sessions would also surely make my muscle mass drop significantly?

Some have size due to genetics. It's partially diet also. Many athletes are born with bulk. Bo Jackson for example.

My brother knew a guy that did some type of steriods, he bulked up and got freakishly athletic. He started running up the walls sideways. No joke. And he got really bulky. Off topic and sad, this friend died of a drug overdose. Anyway, don't compare yourself to guys who are cheating.

I think you may lose a little mass going from what you were doing. But you can still look good.

Look at 100m sprinters. They look like perfect specimens. They're extremely quick and have speed. They also don't weigh very much either.

My approach would be to get a strong core, get great posture by working on some muscles to improve posture. That makes you look good even if you aren't bulky. There are many examples of that. For example, I would not call actor Jason Statham bulky. But he has perfect posture, and a strong athletic physique. Perfect alignment and posture makes you look more impressive than you might otherwise be.

I think being light in weight helps you to be light on your feet and allows you to have quicker hands if that makes sense. So I'm a proponent of keeping your weight and bulk at a healthy mark.

 

[Blackjack]

T

Hi Guys,

I'm Alan from the UK and I'm wondering what people's takes are on training for greater punch speed, I had a big discussion on this with a couple of guys down at the MMA gym and the weight training gym I go to, along with some of my PT friends and we all had very different idea's of what you could do to improve speed, and also whether it is down to your genes and or training. People had varying ideas on band resistance exercises, weights, aerobic training and cardio but I'm struggling to come to the bottom of what is good to do and what is not good to do. I guess being less muscle bound is probably the answer but there are some big guys out there with some quick hands so is it just down to DNA....

...Any how I'm currently 85kg and 6'1 train in weight lifting 4-5 times a week (Hypertrophy/strength).
MMA/BJJ 3-4 times a week, Cardio/running 3 times a week.

HELP?

Kindest regards,
Alan

To develop great speed one must train very intensely and very briefly. This is because the intensity of effort required will prevent you from being able to train for long periods of time! The longest dash in Olympic competition is the 400 meter dash. Why isn't there a one mile dash? Because it is impossible to run as fast as possible for that long!

Have you noticed that the legs of sprinters are invariably highly developed while the legs of long distance runners are strongly and small? That's because only high intensity training, which by its nature must be brief, is what stimulates the development of very strong, fast muscles! If you overtrain, the growth which your workouts stimulate will not be able to take place because before your body compensates with muscular growth, it must first recuperate from the stress applied to the body from training. it is only while resting that muscles get bigger and stronger. If you don't allow sufficient rest, all your rest time will be devoted to simply recovering from the stress the workout imposed on your recuperative system, leaving nothing left for growth and gains in strength and speed!