Improving your hand speed in boxing is a highly desirable trait because it correlates with how effective your punches will be. As a result, if you want to improve your hand speed in boxing, you must tackle this issue and thus solve it deliberately.
So, if you want to learn how to improve your punching speed in boxing, here are 3-ways boxing trainees can do so.
- Shadowboxing
- Boxing training
- Combining footwork with punching
Next, I’ll brief the 3-ways each in its sentence. Following that, I’ll expand further on each method in depth. Thus you can save yourself from reading the entire post and skipping to the parts that mostly speak with you.
Shadowboxing- Shadowboxing is when you practice boxing techniques against thin air.
Boxing training- Boxing training involves practicing boxing techniques in a qualified school or with a coach.
Combining footwork with punching- Creating momentum with your lower body, hence hips and legs, to generate more force and speed.
As I previously mentioned, I’ll dive into each method so you can understand how to involve that way into your training routine. Eventually, you’ll improve your punching speed even if you add one.
#1- Shadowboxing
The first way is shadowboxing, which is practicing boxing techniques in thin air. Although it may sound foolish, it’s one of the best ways to improve your boxing abilities.
Shadowboxing improves hand speed because it allows you the platform to train your weaknesses and build muscle memory. As a result, throwing a real punch will be much stronger and quicker since you trained your technique many hours before.
Let’s say you want to add shadowboxing into your training routine. Well, what’s next?
To shadowbox, find a relatively empty space, such as everywhere outdoors or even your local gym, and start by being in your fighting stance.
Once you’re in your fighting stance, practice the basic punches, such as the jab, hook, and cross. You’ll build muscle memory by consistently doing so, contributing to your agility and speed when throwing punches.
Eventually, shadowboxing can be a highly effective training method since you’ll train your skills while going through a physical workout. You can even practice your weaknesses, whether it is pivoting or head movements.
I wrote an article explaining the best head movement methods for boxing, and I highly encourage reading it.
#2- Boxing training
The 2nd way of improving your hand speed is by doing boxing training. Eventually, it’s somewhat simple to understand; but your hand speed will improve if you constantly punch and strike.
Boxing training is a suitable way to improve your punching speed because you’ll improve your technique and build muscle memory. As a result, once you throw a real punch, it’ll be fierce and quick. Eventually, the best way to improve your punching speed is by honing your technique and practicing.
Honestly, I don’t want to add too much about this because it’s somewhat clear and so it should be concise.
Nonetheless, if you want to learn to cook, it’ll be best if you cook every day, as that’ll be the quickest way to improve.
Additionally, if you can afford boxing classes, which often aren’t that expensive, you’ll progress faster since an instructor will be able to correct your mistakes. As such, you’ll hone your boxing abilities faster than if you don’t have a coach or a qualified instructor working with you.
#3- Combining footwork with punching
The last way of improving your hand speed is a method that’s more related to honing your technique: combining footwork with punching.
When you combine proper footwork and weight-shifting methods with your punching abilities, you’ll become capable of generating more force through your hips and legs. As a result, you’ll also throw the punches faster and with greater strength.
As much as this method sounds easy to implement, it’s not.
Learning appropriate footwork abilities will require hard work, consistency, and dedication. Therefore, beginners may find it harder than learning the basics, as it requires knowing more advanced techniques, such as weight-shifting.
Eventually, when you combine proper footwork with fierce punching, your boxing ability will skyrocket since your strikes will be much faster and more powerful.
If you ever saw a professional boxer hit a punching machine, you’ll understand what years of training will look like in terms of agility and strength.
So, I did some research and found this piece of art. I highly encourage watching because it demonstrates perfectly elite boxers punching incredibly fast.
How do boxers punch so fast?
Boxers punch quickly and are powerful because they habituate the punching movement and make it muscle memory. As a result, they could hone their skills while automating the process and thus not have to think about it. Therefore, their punches are more fierce and quick than the average boxer.
If you follow the tips- I listed in this article: shadowboxing, boxing training, and combining footwork, your punching speed will improve consistently over time.
Does punching with weights increase hand speed?
Common sense says that if we add resistance to our training, we’ll improve faster. While that might be true in some cases, in others, it’s not. In fact, in our case, the opposite is true. Let’s consider whether you should add weights to your boxing workout to increase your hand speed.
Punching with weights isn’t the most effective way of increasing your hand speed, as it’s not the best way to build muscle memory for the punching movement. As a result, if another boxer focuses on the technique and its execution rather than the weights, he’ll better his hand speed faster.
Do heavier gloves make you faster?
Heavier gloves don’t make your punching faster because it doesn’t build muscle memory as effectively as punching with as little weight as possible. Consequently, don’t bother to train with weights or buy heavy gloves if you desire to improve your punching speed.
Again, adding weight won’t influence your hand speed in the long term. Instead, practicing boxing and honing your technique- is critical for bettering your punching speed.
To clarify, buying heavier gloves may influence your punching speed. Nonetheless, there are better ways of doing so, such as working on your footwork and weight-shifting movement.
Does shadow boxing make you faster?
Shadowboxing will make you faster because you train your weaknesses and focus on honing your boxing skills. As a result, boxers who involve shadowboxing will find it more natural to throw a fierce punch since they perfected their skills by focusing on their weaknesses.
In my eyes, if you’re interested in improving your overall boxing abilities, shadowboxing is a must. In fact, I bet that all elite boxers involve it to some degree in their training routine.
Essentially, you can work on your technique and put in plenty of repetitions to ensure you build muscle memory. So, it’ll be like second nature when you need to throw a real punch.
Final words
Improving your hand speed is highly desirable in martial arts and boxing. Consequently, if you involve one or all the methods I listed in this article, you’ll find that your punching speed will improve with time.
Honestly, I don’t see enough boxers prioritizing honing their footwork rather than solely focusing on punching and striking. Eventually, your defensive and offensive game will improve drastically with proper footwork.
If you want to learn boxing at home, I wrote a complete guide on doing so, and I encourage you to read it.