{"id":7523,"date":"2017-08-09T21:56:09","date_gmt":"2017-08-09T21:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/?p=7523"},"modified":"2017-08-26T11:29:07","modified_gmt":"2017-08-26T11:29:07","slug":"why-bodybuilders-cant-punch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2017\/08\/09\/why-bodybuilders-cant-punch\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Bodybuilders Can’t Punch – Increase your Punching Power"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know, I know,<\/p>\n

MMA Bellends are always sharing stuff on social media about ‘He lifts but he can’t fight’ etc.<\/p>\n

\"liftweights\"<\/p>\n

So it’s getting old, apologies…but I lifted weights and attempted to be a (very poor) bodybuilder years before doing MMA, so I have had all the ‘bad mechanics’ to overcome, and I’ve just worked a few things out – after 12 years of MMA training, and 2 years of doing JKD before that…I’ve literally just worked this stuff out:<\/p>\n

Bench Press – the killer of Punching Technique<\/h2>\n

Why bench press is bad for punching technique and power<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You learn to use the chest & triceps in isolation<\/li>\n
  2. You ‘lead with the hand’ when executing any chest movement<\/li>\n
  3. You don’t extend the joints fully in order to save your elbows<\/li>\n
  4. Your shoulders remain ‘stiff’ in order to stabalise and protect the joint<\/li>\n
  5. Force = Mass x Acceleration<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. \n

      “Train movements not Muscles”<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      So the issue with bodybuilding exercises is that the neuromuscular system learns not to fire any other muscles or movement when engaging the chest and triceps.
      \nThis makes it harder to throw a punch which engages the feet, hips, shoulder and then the arm.
      \nTo build the ‘pathway’ for punching effectively, you need to keep repeating the movement, not building muscle-strength in isolation.<\/p>\n

      2. Lead with the Foot Not the Hand – Pushing Vs Punching<\/h3>\n

      In the bench press exercise, the movement is initiated by moving the hands, and so the bar upwards.
      \nTo punch with a ‘whipping’ action, you need to move the feet, then the hips, the retract the shoulder in a relaxed state and then finally engage the chest and then extend the elbow.
      \nPeople who bench press a lot, look stiff because they engage the hand and arm and are not relaxed around the shoulder.
      \nFor more on this see the Conor McGregor Punching Power <\/a>blog post.<\/p>\n

      \"Conor<\/p>\n

      The body moves first and then the hand ‘whips’ behind it. The shoulder must be relaxed in order for this to be achieved – another issue with bodybuilders.<\/p>\n

      3. Joint Extension<\/h3>\n

      Even if you use a light weight and lift explosively, you can’t fully extend your elbow-joint because you’ll injure it. This is why you see boxers shadow boxing and just lightly punching with a whipping motion – adding weight and power would injure the shoulder and elbow joint.
      \nTraining using a medicine ball is more effective, as you need to fully extend the elbow and accelerate at the end, not the start of the movement to generate more power. I would not like to take a punch of a shot putter for this reason!<\/p>\n

      Lack of flexibility can also be an issue, for optimal hook-punch-powder for example, the chest needs to be stretched and extended to generate elastic-recoil energy.
      \nSame goes for the overhand right, look at fatty Roy Nelson torquing his body first then looping the right hand over the top:<\/p>\n

      \"Overhand <\/a>
      Roy Nelson V Kongo <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
      \"Johny <\/a>
      Arm fully extended to increase the force Picture Source:Joe Camporeale-US PRESSWIRE <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

      I’ll just leave this here:<\/p>\n