Like on ringside last week. What are the benefits of this? Is it purely heart rate? How does it help? Does it not ruin your punching mechanics. Please only answer if you know.
I know that T.O (football player) used resistance bands rather than weights. I guess it could be the same for a boxer
Well, I don't claim to know but I will give you my thoughts anyway ... I attach the bands to a post (or something similar). This means the resistance is applied to the whole body rather than just the arms. You can work the reverse / return of punches too by attaching the band to a post that is in front of you - changing the direction of the resistance. I use them with our lads with two aims in mind: 1) A very sport specific conditioning drill i.e punch out type drill with a relatively low resistance. If the band are attached to a post then resistance is applied to the whole body. 2) To increase 'starting' strength with a high resistance which should increase speed. Basically, I make sure the boxer is stood in their stance and with a high level of resistance applied from the band and get them to focus on exploding at the start of the motion. After the start of the punch I'm not convinced bands actually increase the speed of the remainder of the action in the way that many people seem to think. Many studies seem to show that to increase speed, the movement needs to be performed at near to or faster than the speed required in competition. For example, sprinters use over speed training and baseball players have used lighter balls (less resistance) in training to improve speed with a normal weight ball. If the above is correct, then we would have to use the bands applying resistance in the opposite direction to increase speed after the start of the motion i.e having the bands attached to a post in front so the resistance pulls the punch out at a faster speed than normal towards the target. If the resistance is applied from behind then the speed of return should be increased. I doubt this will affect punching mechanics for more experienced lads who have their technique well "ingrained". Also, this exercise is only likely to be used for a few rounds, a few times per week so the effects should be negligible provided other sessions focus on technique. The above is basically speculation and basically how I see things but I thought I would throw it out for discussion. I would be interested to know if I am on the right track. Scrap / Dealt - Any comments?
I don't use them my self. Personally never have liked them but friend of mine uses them and says to watch how you throw your punches or else it can harm your punching mechanics but again I don't use them my self so I don't know for sure
