Exercises to Make You Punch Harder

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Exercises to Make You Punch Harder
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• Whether you're hoping to improve your
  self-defense skills, planning to join a local
  boxing gym or considering a professional martial
  arts career, punching power is key. Your
  coordination, balance, timing and ability to
  anticipate your opponent's moves play significant
  roles in the quality of your punches. No matter
  how well-timed your punches are, though, they
  won't have much of an impact if you can't punch
  hard enough.

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Weight Training
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• Building strong muscles in your upper body can
  give you the necessary strength to land hard
  punches. Much of the power in your punches comes
  from your shoulders and back, so do push-ups,
  pull-ups and shoulder presses to target these
  muscles. Strengthen your arms with bicep curls
  and target your chest with bench presses. Because
  your abs act as stabilizers, focus on these
  muscles by performing sit-ups and crunches. 

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• Work to stabilize your core -- which plays a key
  role in both punching and balance -- by doing a
  captain's chair. Position yourself in your gym's
  captain's chair, gripping the handles with your
  elbows bent. Bend your knees and, using your abs,
  slowly raise your legs off of the ground, holding
  for five seconds and then lowering yourself back
  down. Start slowly, aiming for five or so reps of
  each exercise and then gradually build up to more
  reps and several sets.

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Working on Form
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• Exercises that encourage you to improve your form
  while boxing can help you improve your punches.
  First, you'll need to determine your reach and
  ensure you never try to land punches that fall
  outside of this reach. More importantly, though,
  is spending lots of time in a dynamic practice
  situation with a trainer who can spar with you or
  move a punching bag for you. 

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•  During these training sessions, focus on keeping
  your hands up and your back straight and keep
  moving. As you gain proficiency with proper form,
  you'll improve your coordination and your punches
  will become stronger.

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Cardiovascular Exercise
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• Particularly during a tournament, cardiovascular
  strength can mean the difference between being
  too exhausted to land a single punch and expertly
  nailing hit after hit. Don't neglect your aerobic
  workouts and consider incorporating them into
  strength training by circuit training. Aim to do
  30 to 60 minutes of running, jumping rope,
  swimming and other forms of similarly intense
  cardio on most days of the week.