Recently bought some small 0.5 kg hand weights and have been using them for shadow boxing. Feels quite beneficial but I recall reading somewhere that its bad for joints..was wondering if anyone could shed some light on whether this is good/bad? Thanks
First off, 0.5 kg is ok because it is roughly the same weight as gloves. But for anything much higher, 5 lbs etc... It is a myth that it increases speed. It may help you tone up some, but overall I don't see the risk worth the reward. For it can also cause lower back damage. Part of the why people feel/felt it makes you faster is that right after using weights for punching, when you take them off you "feel" faster then with them. But this isn't true. Sports scientists recently proved in baseball that players who use the donuts before stepping in the box, or 2 bats, w/e...extra weights, as they have been for 100 yrs + aren't in fact increasing their bat speed at all, but lessoning it. So therefore not hitting as far or as hard, but less. Being tricked by an illusion of feel.
I was always told to never shadowbox with anything over 3 lbs. I personally shadow box with 1.5llb hand weights regularly. I also use elastic bands regularly.
What exactly do you do with elastic bands? I've heard about using these before and it sounds very interesting.
I'll have a single band, grab either end with either hand and put it around my back then punch that way (if that makes sense). That way there is a little resistance to your punching. Or another way I've seen is you can take two, one in each hand and tie the other ends to a pole or whatever, step a couple feet away from it and punch the opposite direction.
Anything could be bad for joints if you tend to overtrain or do moves that shouldn't be done with heavy weights. 0.5kg are peanuts, so if you feel comfortable why not?
Good on ya, strong exercise by the end of the rds. Just don't let them relax your focus on technique.
