I think also with legs people confuse quads and hamstring/glutes. When you run your quads act as breaks for your femur but your hamstring/glutes propel you forward. All athletes need a strong ass and core pretty much no matter what sport. For sure 70-80% 1 rpm as explosive as possible for low reps and get volume from more sets. Two things I think would be interesting to try would be power jerks because you would be transferring force from your body to your hands directly. I also wonder that holding an isometric contraction at the position you make contact for 5 second sets and max force against a wall would pay dividends over time with no weight gain. Wrestlers are extremely strong for their weight and partially because of all the isometric work being done grappling against another person.
Squats, chinups, pushups, situps, sprints and medicine ball workouts. Work your full core, but keep most focus in your legs / lower body strenght.
Well.... It´s always good to be strong as long as it´s usable strength. By usable i mean that the strength can be translated to speed. Proper tech is always king, adapted strength/power training is "always" needed. If looking for powerful punches then there are ways to build up to that kind of power. Basic strength training combined with more specific starting strength, reactive strength, training. As an example, after performing a set of cleans immediately go on to perform high bench jumps. (this is a buildup exercise) Another example could be after performing bench presses (barbell och dumbell) immediately go to doublehanded chestlevel pass (build up complex) Next level, more sport specific, could be landmine punch or kettlebell punchspecific startstrength followed by slamball "punch". Just my two cents.
IMO leg throwdowns work well. Those kind of look like leg lifts but you have a trainer standing above you throwing your legs back down. A lot of your punching power comes from your abdomen.
"I'm a firm believer that punchers are born, not made," Freddie Roach. "Fatigue makes cowards of us all," Evander Holyfield. Power gets you knockouts but conditioning wins fights. Having power may not be the alpha and omega of boxing. A volume puncher who can throw a large amount of punches with leverage behind them may just be as likely to KO an opponent as a power puncher, plus a volume puncher who puts leverage behind the majority of his punches may be more likely to win a decision. That being said here are some exercise various strength and conditioning gurus think develop power. Leg throw downs ( this one is really my opinion ) Plyometric X push ups Boxing specific exercises; heavy bag, hand pads, body protector, impact shield. See BoxingScience above post for even more. Dumbbells; Dumbbell hang cleans with standing broad jump ( don't ask me, I never did them ) Dumbbell push press Single arm dumbbell bench press Dumbbell Farmers Walk ( I feel this actually helped me, not so much generating power but strengthening my wrists to withstand throwing hard punches ) Single arm split jerks ( dumbbell ) Dumbbell/ kettlebell swings Rotational side plank variations Box jumps Fancy stuff "Landmine" punch press ---landmine being specialized equipment "Core Stix" punches---again fancy expensive equipment but I have seen world class fighters train on the stuff. I can't say that any of this added to my power. Power is just something I never had to worry about.
What was the key takeaway from Louis' book that helped you? I read it and, tbh, didn't see much of value at all in it. Am I missing something?
This is just mainly to give you an idea of how to punch with power. Be careful not to break your hand or anything else. Find an open door. Place the palm of your left hand on the inside of the door frame. Back up a little bit but keep your hand touching the inside of the door Get into a boxing stance. Put a good bend in your knees, probably a little bit deeper than you're used to doing. You should feel your thigh and left buttock working to support most of your bodyweight. Keep your upper body upright and start twisting your upper body at the waist so that your right shoulder is over your left foot---don't let your upper body lean forward, keep it straight up. Feel that load that's in your left glute and one your waist? That's going to be transferred to what you punch with your left hook. It's kind of like a rubber band being stretched. Now start extending your left arm forward, palm open, be careful but get an idea what would happen if you explosively turned your left foot to your right and completely shifted the weight you had stacked on your left side to the heel of your right foot the instant your left palm touches the door frame where you started. If you're doing things right your body weight ought to be on the end of that hook when it hits its target. The more acceleration you have, the more power you'll have in that hook but really with proper timing and proper technique it ought to get the job done. A good trainer might be able to alter your timing of throwing a hook to increase your acceleration. It's a subtle move some people get, some people don't. But it's the same principle practically every pro golfer uses to increase his club head speed. You got to move your body in two different directions at the same time at the right instance with the proper tension in your left arm and pectoral. Basically while your lower body starts going towards the target, the upper body is still going away from the target. If you do it right, it's like a wound up rubber band being let go, or snapping a rubber band after pulling it back. It is a subtle move some people find hard to learn. If you notice practically all the muscles used in doing this are what Boxingscience's post trains plyometrically. ( excellent post BTW ) If you want to see more you can always youtube left hook Lamon Brewster where he shows you close to the same thing and gets more into its practical application.
