Would powerlifters/bodybuilders be able to hit hard with correct technique?

[Dick_Stillhard]

I know this discussion has been had many a times before, but when I look at powerlifters and bodybuilders, I often wonder why they wouldn't be able to hit as hard as many would think. I mean, with the correct technique, surely these guys could pack a punch?

The same could be said for NFL/Rugby players. They are big, bulky guys who use explosive power, so surely the majority would have an advantage of being able to hit hard due to their constant use of explosive muscle work and bulk?

I know there are a few NFL/Rugby players who have transitioned over into boxing with success, and tend to have good power, such as Sonny Williams of NZ and Gerald Washington. I'm not saying it's a guarantee big powerful weight lifters would be a dead cert to hit hard and take shots, but it's always strange to see guys that size and not think they could do well.

Do you think a low level professional boxer at a weight of, say, Middleweight, would be able to land a harder punch than a 200lb+ Powerlifter or NFL/Rugby player?

 

[Hagler]

It's all in the technique. Lots of strong dudes throw arm punches. How to use your feet and hips properly matter a lot. Think of it as a golf swing. It all depends on the middleweight, though : some have pop and some don't. I guess Julian Jackson hits harder than a NFL linebacker in a bar fight. Proper training makes it different, of course, but it takes time.

For the record, hitting hard in boxing is tough. No disrespect to Connor as he is a strong puncher in MMA, but we all could see him land big punches on a 40 yrs old, smaller boxer and fail to hurt him.

 

[Boxiana]

I sparred with a bodybuilder once and what I really noticed was how slow his punches were - no explosive power whatsoever. Could just have been him, but I can imagine it would be a problem for most bodybuilder types.

 

[Jonny Ninja]

I know this discussion has been had many a times before, but when I look at powerlifters and bodybuilders, I often wonder why they wouldn't be able to hit as hard as many would think. I mean, with the correct technique, surely these guys could pack a punch?

The same could be said for NFL/Rugby players. They are big, bulky guys who use explosive power, so surely the majority would have an advantage of being able to hit hard due to their constant use of explosive muscle work and bulk?

I know there are a few NFL/Rugby players who have transitioned over into boxing with success, and tend to have good power, such as Sonny Williams of NZ and Gerald Washington. I'm not saying it's a guarantee big powerful weight lifters would be a dead cert to hit hard and take shots, but it's always strange to see guys that size and not think they could do well.

Do you think a low level professional boxer at a weight of, say, Middleweight, would be able to land a harder punch than a 200lb+ Powerlifter or NFL/Rugby player?

I’ve trained with ex rugby players and none of them hit any harder than other guys in the gym of similar size. Technique makes all of the difference but most of the rugby guys I know that moved in to boxing are very stiff, and try to force the punches, which actually has a negative effect

What I will say is they are all hard as fckin nails

 

[Julius_Caesar]

Anybody can hit harder with good technique but also good power is genetic. You can increase to a certain point but some are just born with raw power.

 

[UL]

If they started from young and had good technique {boxing}

maybe

depends on the size of the guy
hard to say to be honest
from personal experience

I've been hit by some big guys (rugby players) who are quite muscular and didn't feel much (though I like to think i have a decent chin)

Usually they are not the fastest so you can land a few shots before they land yours, that being said, if they they throw a cheap shot close up
you probably will be going down

 

[aries]

Technique includes being able to coordinate your whole body in a seamless fashion. The stiffness of these big guys is what hurts them the most because they stiffen up at the wrong time and it kills their power. Kinetic chain linking is vital for power and they often don't have it.

 

[Shoemaker]

I sparred with a bodybuilder once and what I really noticed was how slow his punches were - no explosive power whatsoever. Could just have been him, but I can imagine it would be a problem for most bodybuilder types.

There was a guy I used to spar regularly who was the same. Probably the biggest looking guy around, but the one you worried about the least. No snap on his punches at all. If he touched you it was hard not to feel it because of his size, but it was more like running into a wall than getting hit with something.

There was another guy with a similar build, but huskier. Now that sob could punch. He and I were sparring once, and everytime I'd catch a punch of his on my glove, I'd lose vision for a moment. Then he told me "you're taking that pretty good so I'll go a bit harder." God damn that day sucked.

 

[JayE]

Gerald Washington isn't a good puncher.

 

[tekkennlee]

I know this discussion has been had many a times before, but when I look at powerlifters and bodybuilders, I often wonder why they wouldn't be able to hit as hard as many would think. I mean, with the correct technique, surely these guys could pack a punch?

The same could be said for NFL/Rugby players. They are big, bulky guys who use explosive power, so surely the majority would have an advantage of being able to hit hard due to their constant use of explosive muscle work and bulk?

I know there are a few NFL/Rugby players who have transitioned over into boxing with success, and tend to have good power, such as Sonny Williams of NZ and Gerald Washington. I'm not saying it's a guarantee big powerful weight lifters would be a dead cert to hit hard and take shots, but it's always strange to see guys that size and not think they could do well.

Do you think a low level professional boxer at a weight of, say, Middleweight, would be able to land a harder punch than a 200lb+ Powerlifter or NFL/Rugby player?

It depends on if the Bodybuilder is on Steroids, because if he is, he has very limited motion and movement in his arms and this will takeaway allot of his punching power.

But if he's all natural, then yes he can punch with power.

No way your generating punching power with this limited body motion with those oversized unnatural arms and Lats, you just can't generate allot of punching power, because you can't snap your arms and you have no flexibility.

Natural bodybuilder, no problem punching with power and knocking someone out.

Natural Boxers conditioned body, using weights or natural body-weight exercise or both.

 

[Lots]

I mean, a lot of them probably can hit hard just not as hard as people trainined in the sport. Just like an NFL football player who can clean and jerk 400 pounds is really impressive until and Olympic weightlifting 140 pound woman does the same thing.

I think the fact that they are powerlfiters or football players is irrelevant. They might as well be balarinas.

More importantly they are newbie boxers. Some people start off a little more talented.

Punching the bag is a skill. Landing a punch on a man who’s trying to avoid getting punched and punch you back is a more difficult skill.

Take something technically simpler like a barbell squat. A two hundred pound man new to squatting would likely squat something around 200 pounds his first time. With only a couple years of PROPER coaching he could realistically squat over 500 pounds. I think the raw world record is something like 700-800 pounds. That’s pretty high up in the overal spectrum of squat strength.

We also don’t really have a good way of measuring punching power. I honestly doubt if you lined up top 25 boxers in each weight and measured their power on some sort of machine it would vary that much.

 

[wilddeuces]

Sure, there is weight to the punches, and if they are given correct technique then they can probably inflict some real damage. But they'll be slow and tire faster than other builds.

A body at its natural weight, conditioned to punch is gonna be preferable. Just look at Tommy Hearns. Praying Mantis like frame with unreal power.

 

[opie]

Sure, there is weight to the punches, and if they are given correct technique then they can probably inflict some real damage. But they'll be slow and tire faster than other builds.

A body at its natural weight, conditioned to punch is gonna be preferable. Just look at Tommy Hearns. Praying Mantis like frame with unreal power.

agreed.

power is something you’re born with. you can improve it a little bit with training and technique, but punchers are born not made. being strong has little to do with it.

 

[AJBG]

This has more to do with physics, or more specifically, with biomechanics. Firts, consider Newton's 2nd law: it says force is the product of the mass times the acceleration. Now, based on this law, the bigger, more massive an arm, the harder it punches provided the acceleration remains constant. However, punching requires the combined functions of multiple muscles (not only the ones that compose your arms and shoulders, but those in the torso and legs; by puching you convert the stored energy in these muscles into the mechanical force delivered by the punch -in a way you punch with your entire body). But in reality, bodybuilder grow their entire musculature, and the inertia represented by such increased mass may be detrimental to the effective acceleration delivered in the punching action.

Furthermore, power is proportional to the force produce (say, contained in) the punch times the velocity/speed in delivering such punch. So, if the mass increase at the expense of acceleration and/or speed, the result may be opposite to what our eyes may anticipate/predict.

 

[rb3b3]

power comes mostly from your hips and legs. I know this because i once had the world record on the punching bag arcade game at my local dave and busters.

 

[Sunfish]

power comes mostly from your hips and legs. I know this because i once had the world record on the punching bag arcade game at my local dave and busters.

I brokenthat record last week hitting it with my schlong.

 

[rb3b3]

I brokenthat record last week hitting it with my schlong.

hahahaha

 

[KillerIsBack V2]

Y did u choose bodybuilders out of every other sports...
why not a sport that has something to do with strength like powerlifting/strongman competitions... as obviously, bodybuilders don't try to get stronger/faster with their training programs.

There are people who hit hard without ever training a sport too... this thread is meaningless, and should be wastelanded after reading the title alone.

 

[AJBG]

There are people who hit hard without ever training a sport too... this thread is meaningless, and should be wastelanded after reading the title alone.

The real challenge for researchers and trainers would be trying to understand the dynamics and all parameters that determine the effectiveness of the punch, so it can be improved. And this is not so simple. You see, if we are content with the axiomatic observation that some people hit hard naturally and other don't, we wouldn't be able to resolve the underlying tautology, e.g., that s/he has a weak punch because s/he doesn't punch hard, and vice versa.

There has been some research that show certain proportionality between the circunference of the wrist and the punching power of an individual. This observation seems proper since the larger and heavier the bone structure, the harder the force delivered (as per Newton's 2nd law) by it. Researchers and therapists argue that this structure can be improved with training...

However, there are other non-technical factors that needs to be further understood, as well as the methods most efficient to use during training intended to optimize the punching power of an individual. So, in my opinion, the question raised in this thread is highly important, very complex, and with lots of practical implications.

 

[aries]

It depends on if the Bodybuilder is on Steroids, because if he is, he has very limited motion and movement in his arms and this will takeaway allot of his punching power.

What does being on steroids have to do with it? Do you think no boxer has ever used steroids for an advantage?