Does powerlifting increase punching power? It does - but there are other ways to add power to your punches. The fact of the matter is that being skilled at punching is much better than actually being strong.
*to be completely honest I thought that being strong made you a strong puncher not too long ago, that wasn’t correct.
The logic makes sense since you are using the same muscles you’re using when you’re punching when you perform certain powerlifting movements like the bench press and the overhead press. However, apparently having a good technique is much more important than being able to throw fists around - which isn’t something I knew.
Backstory
I once told a gentleman who was training (boxing trainer) that I lifted weights. You know what his response to me was? You need to stop lifting weights and start doing pushups and pullups - those weights are going to make you stiff and that’s not good for boxing. He also said that you want to avoid injury and lifting weights (especially the weights I was lifting) isn’t really good for that purpose.
Why exactly aren’t weights the best way to punch harder
- Muscles need to be relaxed to effectively punch
Being able to snap a punch requires relaxation which is definitely not something that weight lifting is designed to allow your muscles to do. When you lift weights you’re basically training your muscles to be able to contract - which is why muscles are able to stay hard when you press on them. I won’t say that I can tell you how to punch but I can say that a good punch (or a snapping punch) is one where the body is relaxed until the final twist that brings your lower body and upper body into one and you apply all the force generated from that into a punch.
- Punching requires snapping not pushing
Whenever I got into the ring to hit the mitts or got to a heavy bag I would make sure I hit the bag as hard as I can - what I began to notice while doing this is that the bag would just go flying everywhere. I would then look away from my bag and see other, more experienced fighters would hit the bag ( I could tell that the punches were had but) and the bag would simply nidge a bit and say in place. I did some research and found out that it’s because he in’t really putting all of his force into the punch but he’s waiting until the end to put force into the punch.
I then realized that what I was doing was wrong (at least when I punched the bag) and that the trainer was right. I was basically pushing on the bag with my punches and not really putting a snap into it. Every punch that the other boxer was doing was like a small explosion on the bag, which was caused by his snap (and the guy was nowhere near as large as I was). His punches were quick, not strong and at the end of each of his punches was a snap.
The strength from the snap doesn’t even come from the muscles of the upper body - the strength comes from your entire body weight and is generated from the legs on up. Not only is this true but when you push instead of snap punches you waste energy (which explains why I was so tired all the time when I did any training).
- Just because you’re strong doesn’t mean you’ll deal damage
The majority of the damage dealt by a punch comes from things that are learned in training not from a person’s physical condition. This means that the majority of functional punching power comes from a person’s technique, accuracy, timing, accuracy, and angle. These are definitely things that a person learns and dictate what a person is able to do when they punch in the ring with another human being.
Conclusion
Does powerlifting increase punching power? Yes but not as much as actually knowing how to snap a punch does.