Tips to strengthen my punch?

[MrBanky]

Ok I'm not a practitioner of a martial art right now, but I have dabbled in some in the past. What I'm looking for is a way to strengthen and increase the power of my fist. I already bareknuckle my heavy canvas bag and am looking for other ways to strengthen them. Especially strengthening my wrists because they seem to be the weakest part effected by my punching. Keep in mind my arms are very large but my wrists and hands are pretty small in comparison to the rest of my arms, so theres a lot of concentrated force in a small area.

I want to avoid any training method that could have negative repercussions on the health of my hands. I don't want arthritis or carpel tunnel I would like to be able to actually pick up a pencil when I'm older lol.

Any tips? Right now all I'm doing is whaling away on my heavy bag with no set routine.

[bushido_man96]

You could do grip training and forearm training. Those may help you out. When you punch the heavy bag, you should probably wrap your wrists, to keep them from getting injured.

Welcome to the Forums!

[Kajukenbopr]

if you feel your wrist and/or hands are getting hurt(even if a little) while hitting the bag, maybe you should take a look at how you position ur fist at impact with the bag.

Bushidoman is right about telling u to wrap your wrists as it will help you endure the force against your arm bones and joints.

if you take the fist out of alignment with your arm(at the time of impact), the harder you punch, the more you will hurt your hand and wrist. Make sure you start moving slow and build up the speed and strength.

most exercises to strengthen ur fists are associated with arthritis because when bones get hit, calcium covers the bruised bone automatically; this calcium could deposit on ur joints causing arthritis.

however, if you want to train ur hands to be harder- pushups on ur fists, on different angles ill not only strengthen your fists, but ur wrists too as they will show you when your fists arent aligned with the rest of your arms -you wont be able to do the fist-pushups if you are not properly aligned-

Also, you might want to pick up boxing or kickboxing books that will give you tips on doing your own routine instead of just punching the bag without footwork or form.

[MrBanky]

Ya I have noticed at times some pain. When it's in my wrists it is almost always the result of hitting the bag at an odd angle. I've been working on positioning my punches better and haven't had that problem lately. My knuckles occasionally feel sore so I'll generally give them a days rest between workouts.

I'll have to try the knuckle pushups, sounds like a good idea. I've been doing regular pushups and I had felt some weakness in my wrists so I'm working on building that up too.

The books thing is probably a good idea too. A lot of the technique I have now I learned on the internet. Proper stances, best position to punch at. My friends say my punch has gotten more powerful, I can even hit my 250lb friend hard enough to make him lose his balance and almost fall down.

[Kajukenbopr]

Ya I have noticed at times some pain. When it's in my wrists it is almost always the result of hitting the bag at an odd angle. I've been working on positioning my punches better and haven't had that problem lately. My knuckles occasionally feel sore so I'll generally give them a days rest between workouts.

I'll have to try the knuckle pushups, sounds like a good idea. I've been doing regular pushups and I had felt some weakness in my wrists so I'm working on building that up too.

The books thing is probably a good idea too. A lot of the technique I have now I learned on the internet. Proper stances, best position to punch at. My friends say my punch has gotten more powerful, I can even hit my 250lb friend hard enough to make him lose his balance and almost fall down.

footwork is as crucial as arm strength. why? because with your footwork you can shift your weight so it can go with the punch, thus hitting harder.

the bigger(weight) you are, the harder you punch- but you gotta use your legs.

if you get problems with weak joints(any part of the body) go with a Glucosamine supplement.

[Jeet Kune Do]

Punch a punch bag, it should help good

[MrBanky]

Pardon my ignorance but what is a punch bag?

[marie curie]

Hold hand weights/dumbells in your hands and do punches in the air.

[Hwa Rang Warrior]

however, if you want to train ur hands to be harder- pushups on ur fists, on different angles ill not only strengthen your fists, but ur wrists too as they will show you when your fists arent aligned with the rest of your arms -you wont be able to do the fist-pushups if you are not properly aligned-

quote]

Push ups using differnt rates of speed will help greatly as well for example, slow up fast down, slow down fast up, all fast, all slow.. you get the idea

[bushido_man96]

Pardon my ignorance but what is a punch bag?

A heavy punching bag, like for boxing.