In this article, I’ll tell you what you need to do to increase the speed of your punches, whether it’s for boxing, Thai boxing, or mixed martial arts. One thing to keep in mind is that punch speed is much more than the time it takes for your fist to go from A to B, anyone with experience knows that. To increase the speed of your punches you have to look at your game in general, there are no quick fixes and the painful truth is that everything that is gained in the art of combat involves a lot of hard work. Now, hard work doesn’t mean you have to rule out being smart, and you may be currently focusing your efforts in the wrong way. So read what I have to say, make the necessary adjustments and I guarantee you will increase your drilling speed.
1) Throw twice the number of punches you currently throw per workout: To punch fast you need to punch efficiently, and throwing a lot of punches is the only way to communicate with the muscle fibers that do this. It’s a shame he couldn’t just send them an email telling them to pick things up, but unfortunately, in order to become more efficient, he has to throw thousands of hits. To hit efficiently, he needs to activate the fewest muscle fibers to execute the action, and he needs the surrounding muscle fibers to relax so the necessary fibers can function without restriction. Sport-specific repetitive movement is the only way to accomplish this.
I would say that most good amateur boxers throw around 200 punches per 3 minute round, some of the best can go as high as 300 punches per round. If you’re putting 6 rounds into the heavy bag, some double ended bag work, speed bag, shadow boxing, and focus mitts, then you’re probably going to hit somewhere in the 2500 hit range. Now consider that some of the top pros throw 5,000 to 6,000 punches per workout. If you want to punch fast, throw a lot of punches. At the end of the day, efficiency = speed
2) Hit fast when training: Imagine running four 400m sets against some of your friends. Let’s say they consistently run it in 1:15s and while you could run it in 60 seconds, you opt to run each set at 85% and get there in less than 1:10s. You could probably do this all day and not get tired. Now throw a guy who executes it in under 55 seconds and see what happens to your energy levels as you try to catch him. I guarantee you’ll be blown away in a couple of tries. Everyone has their speed threshold, and if you consistently train at 85% of your maximum hitting speed, you can expect to hit at 85% of your potential. Too many fighters hit 85% in the gym and get exhausted in the fight when everything is on the line and speed really counts. Try to constantly push your speed threshold. To be fast, you have to train fast.
3) Work on your footwork – Some people don’t realize this, but there is a difference between hand speed when throwing combinations on the inside and shot speed when closing the distance from the outside. Some fighters can line up combinations at lightning speed, but miss out when out against an opponent with fast feet. If you’re fighting from the outside, your hand speed is limited by the ability of your feet to carry you to your target, in other words, if your feet can’t carry you fast enough, your punch will be short. Invest in rounds improving your footwork.
4) Increase your total combat rounds – I recommend 3 combat sessions a week if you are not at that level yet. Sparring is the ultimate in simulating a real fighting situation where speed is paramount. In addition, all other aspects of shot speed come into play, such as timing, distance, reaction, feints, and setups.
Depending on your level and your sparring partners, it can be a bit difficult to do that much sparring, but you don’t have to train like this all the time. Set a period of a few weeks and stick to an improved schedule. Needless to say, there are some gyms that advocate fighting 5 days a week until fight time. I’m okay with this as long as the fighters do the rest of their work and don’t just leave the gym once the fight is over.
5) Sprints/Tabatas: It’s easy to get up to speed in the first minute of a fight, but the best fighters can maintain their punching speed through the rounds as the fight goes on. One of the best ways to achieve this is simply to be in better shape overall and have your body conditioned to deliver speed over and over again. The most effective way to do this is to incorporate speed work into your training. Try to do two speed workouts per week. My recommendation is the Tabata sets; this is where you run for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds. Traditional testing has kept this at 8 total sets per Tabata workout, which is already challenging enough, but you can eventually try to build up to 14-16 total sets and possibly more. If you’re just starting out, then 6 sets is a good way to get into the groove.
6) Flexibility: This is the most overlooked aspect of speed. But tight muscles are like tight rubber bands all over your body, they will only slow you down. The more flexible you are in your hips, hamstrings, chest, shoulders, and upper back, the less restrictions you will have on your movement. The only thing that restricts a flexible body is gravity and the air around you.
