Hit Harder with Training
This post gives you 3 exercises you can do in your training that will make you stronger and allow you to transfer that power at once over to striking harder.
Sledgehammer Workout. Swinging sledgehammers for building muscle, strength, conditioning and punching power was an incredible secret of the old time martial artists. Men who could hit ACTUALLY hard. It’s also symbiotic with the kettlebell swing. Training a total body explosive movement with heavy emphasis on the shoulders, wrists and abdominals. Teaching your body the correct explosive sequencing to hit harder while at the same time building its physical powers.
Isometric Strikes. There are many tactics to try this, but I am going to share with you one way. I put a chain around a static object (low for kicking, high for punching), and attach either a strap to put around my foot or a handle to grab with my hand and then as closely as I probably can I simulate the precise trail a properly thrown strike would take pulling against the chain. I make certain that my body as well as the limb that I am striking with follows all the actions that a correctly thrown strike would take. I’m employed the isometric along multiple parts of the path of the strike starting at the generation and going out along a link or 2 on the chain till I get to the finish. Be certain to work both hands or legs. And you can hold for whatever time or reps you see fit, just work it tough.
The Dennis Rogers Lever Wrist Curl. I’m potentially not intended to let this cat out of the bag, but I’m going to sneak around and share it with you. Dennis is as you know, possibly one of the planet’s foremost authorities on hand strength. He’s got some totally original exercises that you’ll be hearing about from him pretty shortly. I’m going to share with you a variation of one he taught me, because I believe it’ll be one of the greatest hand and wrist strengtheners you will ever do and because it will be a big key toward strengthening your hand and wrist movement to protect it and power it for incredible hitting.
Dennis does it with a short barbell, but I prefer to do it with a dumbbell just for convenience sake. What you essentially do is overload one side of the bell by 3 to 10 pounds depending on your strength and the length of the bell you use. You then perform a standard one arm wrist curl with it. Alternating between the overloaded side being on your thumb side or on the pinkie side. By doing this you are bolstering the wrist, but in essence performing a levering and wrist curl at the same time. The unbalanced load puts additional stress on the fingers as well making it an especially complete hand strengthening movement. Powerful and lots of bang for your buck.
Add these into your routine and you’ll be able to double your punching power.
Bud Jeffries is the owner of Strongerman. You can explore more on his site on strongman training program to martial arts strength training.
