Dynamic punching drill

The humble medicine ball has been used in countless gyms all over the world. You often find them in a boxing gym where they are mercilessly launched into a trainee's abdominals in order to condition the mid section. Other times the ball is used to add resistance and coordination for other midsection exercises and does that bring on the pain!

The drill conducted at the last training session was to develop some dynamic power, forcing the athlete to move, create an angle and unleash a balanced punch to knock the medicine ball out of the partner's hands. Was it hard? Not really for most but it was frustrating for others. It did highlight some elements that became very obvious:

The greater the force that the athlete is trying to generate in punching the ball away, the more his non-punching hand dropped. It shouldn't be the case as the defensive structure should be strictly maintained throughout the pre-mid-and post punching cycles.

The space (distance to the target in this case) that was lost and the footwork which left the athlete unbalanced in some instances could have remained tighter.

Punching power was observed to have come more from the upperbody (shoulders) rather than lower body (hips).

Accuracy and stamina was an issue for some people. Being able to punch on the move, with combinations to close the gap and to set up for "the" power punch to knock the ball away.




While this was a drill to work on body punches, it is a valuable drill to help the athlete understand the dynamics involved when they have a set objective: in this case, it was to punch the ball away. Some found it a problem with their stamina, others found the challenge in creating the right angle, and other such technicalities.

Be assured that working the body punches with the medicine ball will be a regular feature in future training sessions. I can't wait til the day when no one can hold onto the ball due to the mid section punching power developed!

Best training!