I know, I know,
MMA Bellends are always sharing stuff on social media about ‘He lifts but he can’t fight’ etc.
So it’s getting old, apologies…but I lifted weights and attempted to be a (very poor) bodybuilder years before doing MMA, so I have had all the ‘bad mechanics’ to overcome, and I’ve just worked a few things out – after 12 years of MMA training, and 2 years of doing JKD before that…I’ve literally just worked this stuff out:
Bench Press – the killer of Punching Technique
Why bench press is bad for punching technique and power
- You learn to use the chest & triceps in isolation
- You ‘lead with the hand’ when executing any chest movement
- You don’t extend the joints fully in order to save your elbows
-
“Train movements not Muscles”
So the issue with bodybuilding movements is that the neuromuscular system learns not to fire any other muscles or movement when engaging the chest and triceps.
This makes it harder to throw a punch which engages the feet, hips, shoulder and then the arm.
To build the ‘pathway’ for punching effectively, you need to keep repeating the movement, not building muscle-strength in isolation.
2. Lead with the Hand – Pushing not Punching
In the bench press exercise, the movement is initiated by moving the hands, and so the bar upwards.
To punch with a ‘whipping’ action, you need to move the feet, then the hips, the retract the shoulder in a relaxed state and then finally engage the chest and then extend the elbow.
People who bench press a lot, look stiff because they engage the hand and should first and are not relaxed around the shoulder.
For more on this see the Conor McGregor Punching Power blog post.
The body moves first and then the hand ‘whips’ behind it. The shoulder must be relaxed in order for this to be achieved – another issue with bodybuilders.
3. Joint Extension
Even if you use a light weight and lift explosively, you can’t fully extend your elbow-joint because you’ll injure it. This is why you see boxers shadow boxing and just lightly punching with a whipping motion – adding weight and power would injure the shoulder and elbow joint.
Training using a medicine ball is more effective, as you need to fully extend the elbow and accelerate at the end, not the start of the movement to generate more power. I would not like to take a punch of a shot putter for this reason!
Lack of flexibility can also be an issue, for optimal hook-punch-powder for example, the chest needs to be stretched and extended to generate elastic-recoil energy.
Same goes for the overhand right, look at fatty Roy Nelson torquing his body first then looping the right hand over the top:
KO punch
" data-orig-size="400,226" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-image-title="OverhandRight" data-orig-file="https://seoandmma.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/overhandright.gif" aperture="aperture" />I’ll just leave this here:
But then there’s the likes of Yoel Romero and Stipe Miocic who look like national level bodybuilders and hit harder than anyone.
I think if you build strength and muscle, then build explosive power, flexibility and train the specific patterns required for punching power, you’ll hit harder than a non-weightlifter by a significant amount.
If you’re doing weight for MMA – just think about what weights your doing and how you’re doing them!
As a bonus, I’ve created 2 gifs demonstrating a pushing punch:
Pushing punch. Arm extends first
And a whipping punch
I don’t have a punch bag so had to use the wardrobe! #Improvisation
Admittedly I’m a little stiff around the shoulders still in the punch that’s supposed to be ‘whipping’
If anyone wants to send me a punchbag to review so I don’t have to use the wardrobe next time, I’d appreciate it!
If you’re a bodybuilder, please don’t punch me to prove you have KO power – see the nice things I wrote about Yoel Romero et al above