gaining speed?

[texasRUSH]

shadow boxing i have plenty of speed...

but when i'm hitting the bag or sparring my speed is left to be desired.  any suggestions guys? thinking of training with 5lb wrist weights on to help that out but other than that i was told to cut down in weight...but i'm not sure how much or even if i wanna do that. my body weight makes my quicker power punches brutal. told it's some of the hardest people have recieved when throwing hands for a round or so.

[kimura]

How's your technique?  The guys I know with "fast" hands, have perfect form. A ton of speed can get lost through wasted movement.

[texasRUSH]

intermediate at best...i get my ass handed to me by upper crust fighters..but most people that have trained as long as i have or alittle more don't have as good of hands as i do.


i personally think my hooks are too wide and load up way too long when watching films of myself...*shrug* i dont TRY to hit hard...when i used to it made me gas...was told to just swing with my body and it would do the work for me and it does...less forced effort and more fluid motion are giving me the same results.

[Wolverine]

shadowbox with 5lb dumbells slow and keep ur technique smooth start simple with jab-jab-right cross (for a righty) then jab-jab-r. cross-left hook-right hook- right uppercut-   keep ur feet moving and u'll get quite a workout, more speed and eep ur strength

[Migs]

i would recommend less weight when punching.  Does your gym have tension bands onthe wall?  I would punch with those and see if you start to get the results you want. 

[K-1]

shadow boxing i have plenty of speed...

but when i'm hitting the bag or sparring my speed is left to be desired.  any suggestions guys? thinking of training with 5lb wrist weights on to help that out but other than that i was told to cut down in weight...but i'm not sure how much or even if i wanna do that. my body weight makes my quicker power punches brutal. told it's some of the hardest people have recieved when throwing hands for a round or so.

Could be form. Could be shoulder strength. Maybe weight. I know exactly what you are talking about. I had this same problem when I moved up in weight though from 175-180 range to 200+ back in the day.

What is your style? Do you shoot your punches from the hip or shoulders? Are you on your toes and slick? Do you sit down on your punches, twist the hips and deliver bombs? Depends. Record your shadow boxing on tape and then record your work on the bag. Notice how your style/form changes slightly...that could be the reason not sure.

I'm more of a shoulder guy so I developed the deltoids..etc,etc since my form is somewhat unorthodox to compensate for my bad form. I punch in bunches as I exhale. I can maintain that style for a long time at the lower weight and keep good power as well as excellent hand speed. I'm a counter puncher primarily though.

When I moved up my style suffered greatly. Especially my JAB which was key to my entire style......I was more flat footed, my counters were slow, I couldn't maintain the same punch output as I did before. I fatigued quicker.....etc,etc my shoulder felt like I had dead weight on them after a few rounds...and I damn sure wasn't going to change my style to that heavyweight slow wagon a$$ style, so I moved back down.

You may have to move down in weight imo. Sounds to me like you have excellent power in your hands. That's a gift. Moving down shouldn't harm that, plus you'd pick up a step in speed and reflex and start KTFO of mofo's.

Give em hell dude! 

[texasRUSH]

i do both...my power comes from both my shoulders AND My hip because i do turn with the hooks and the crosses but my jabs and straights come from my shoulders...and believe me when i say my shoulders are plenty strong...i think it's just me judging distance and timing too.  my hooks aren't exaggerated but i do think i sit on my power punches...i strike and there's like a split second that my hand stays on the bag too long and i feel like i'll get caught trying to feel it blow through the other side instead of covering up...


as far as work outs we dont have power bands..so i use the cable machines to work on crosses and over hands and upper cuts...i think that's where i've learned to put my hips and body into a shot to move through it. like "choppers" on the cables for body shots...i started doing those for ab work and noticed how much it resembled a cutting shot to the body...and how much harder my body shots got when i incorporated them into my workout.

i'm thinking it's gonna hafta come down to a combination of me learning not to squat on a good shot and dropping weight..going from 211 to 190-195 should be a nice change...and help with my over all stamina as well.

[Scimowser]

shadow boxing isnt a problem because you arent meeting any resistance, i.e. a partner or a bag. Most people will subconciously go for more power when hitting a bag than when they are shadow boxing, hence the decrease in speed because the emphasis has shifted. Personally, i too have pretty good speed when shadow boxing but when im hitting a bag i dont want to fanny tap it, i wanna knock the shit out of it.

[kimura]

You should just drop the stand-up and start grappling.

 

[texasRUSH]

lol just start toss'n midgets?
 

i'm trying to get away from knocking the shit out of it directly..i want it to be a product of good fluid body movement and technique which is great...i don't wrap my wrists or wear gloves when bag training "toughin up" my wrists and make the more stable and stronger...plus i get a sharp pain in it if my form is off so it keeps me straight i think.