Thread: Heavyness/Loss of Power In Jab - Whats Up?

Wondering if anyone's got any advice or any previous experience they can share on this.

Basically, ive been training about 4 times a week since november, with a few weeks off in jan when i got home from uni and the gym there was shut. For the last month it feels like i've been loosing power in my jab (right arm) originating from a sort of heavyness in the shoulder. There's no pain in the shoulder really, just seems like i struggle to keep my arm up, especially when ive got 16's on but realy all the time. Its had to describe the type of feeling it is but as i say, just like heavyness and loss of power in the jab....its not something i can just work through either as there's really just nothing there.

I went down to a physio the other day and basically they didnt have a clue. Said there was nothing physiological there, which i was sort of expecting as medical practicioners only seem to be able to find something wrong when they can put pressure on something that makes you wince. They told me to do some exercises but i got the feeling that it was just so i didnt get sent away empty handed and i really cant see how strength is the issue when it was fine a month ago.

Sorry for the long post, but any ideas? Its starting to P*** me off a bit now as i cant really train properly.

Cheers

It may be a slight dislocation, or something called frozen shoulder(which is a calcium build up I think in the shoulder area).The best thing to do is rest your arm. Put some ice, if its dislocated you will need to have a doctor pop it back in the joint. Do you have total flexibility?

Flexibility and everything is fine thats why it seems so weird, its just heavy, not really noticeable during the day but when i train there just seems to be no power there and i struggle to keep my hand up. Also when i do sprint sessions the motion on my shoulder seems to give the same effect.

Do you get pins and needles in your hands

Sounds like it could be common muscle fatigue. How are you holding your arms? If you are holding them unnaturally high they will tire much faster. How do you feel like on a fresh day? How much are you training? some guys can't do 5-6 days a week because they are not in the condition to do so. If you could tell us if there's any particular pains/soreness we could tell you how you can adjust your stance, or the way you throw your punches.

There's a couple good barbell/dumbell exercises that come mind when increasing shoulder/arm endurance. But first I'd like to know how your arms feel when you are working the speedbag if you do so.

no pins and needles in the hands scrap.

When im hitting the speedbag over the top of the right shoulder just feels a lot more tired than the left and just doesnt feel right holding the hand up. Theres no pain or soreness in it at all thats what's so strange about it, it literally just feels tired very very quickly into a session and there's a lack of power in my jab resulting from this.

I normally train 4 times a week....this has only really come on in the last few weeks and there's been no change to my training schedule so i dont know whether to just stay out of the boxing gym for the next few weeks but get back weight training and doing road work to try and stay in shape while im out. I dont think i hold my hands particularly high either, jab hand normally sits just on my cheek bone. The physio did say something about using the wrong muscle to hold it up but i think that was just a load of b****ks to be honest as he didnt seem to be able to give me any answers.

Thanks for all your advice so far.

BoB It might be that your Pecks have tightened up with the weights its a different movement biomechanically from the right cross Ive known it to happen it stops the shoulder from working as it should I had a power lifter with the same problem. I cant remember if the stick stretch is up or not if it is try it works wonders for the problem

Good thinking Scrap cc. BoB does your shoulder blade stick out where it is closest to your spine (winging)? If it does, the nerve for the deltoid can be impinged near the boney bit above the shoulder joint leading to weakness in the muscle.

Now let's not jump gun. Weakness in the shoulder can come from different things such bad coordination, problems with the nerves, muscles or tendons.

If it is caused by bad coordination, then stretching and proper strength training should help, along with more attention to punching technique.

If the surrounding muscles and nerves are fine then it may be joint related, say the rotator cuff which is more common, which also could be caused by weaker back.

Bad punching technique can cause problems, with the straight punches, don’t raise your elbows before you punch because that would cause more strain on your shoulder joints. A bad stance such as raising your shoulders or hands higher than natural can cause muscle soreness, and fatigue, especially when it comes to punching and keeping your hands up.

Overtraining can also cause problems say for instance your are serious weightlifter who’s also undertaking a boxer’s regimen a few days a week, happened to a good friend of mine, it destroyed his shoulder, now he can’t train for boxing anymore.

If it’s simply a weak shoulder muscle than it’s pretty straight forward, if train your shoulders and the surrounding muscles (chest and back) the symptoms will be gone.

Correct me if I’m wrong, you’ve never had right shoulder banged up, or an infection in your shoulder. You don’t feel stiff or tight in your shoulder, back or chest. If not then great then we can move on to what you can do.
Let’s cover all the bases.

Step 1. Stretching:

A couple good ones, front crossover pulls. You’ve probably seen this one before, what you gotta do is put your right arm behind your head and with your left hand, grab your right arm above the elbow and pull it to your left. Hold each stretch for about 10 seconds and repeat 3-5 times.

The next one is squeezing your shoulder blades together. Start by bending your elbows together with your forearms sticking it infront of your body, push your elbows back to squeeze your shoulder blades together. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat 3-5 times.

There’s other stretches that’ll help too. What you want is to loosen up your chest, upper back and shoulder muscles, so they won’t have any more trouble working together.

Step 2. Boxing Technique.
Stance: Make sure that your hands are not at head level unless it’s an emergency. Keep your shoulders relaxed, and don’t raise them or tuck your chin into the side of your shoulder unless it’s emergency. That should help your shoulders but if you want a detailed explanation on proper stance take a look at the expertise of “greynotsoold” his example is literally straight out of the textbook. http://www.saddoboxing.com/boxing_fo...-t30092.0.html
Also make sure you don't raise your elbow early this will literally destroy your shoulders.

As for strength training I think there’s a couple good free-weight exercises that should help strengthen your shoulder. Look them up lateral raises, isometrics/static- holds (free-weights). Make sure your work is progressive in which you are building up range of motion, strength and endurance.

Wow did I write that much? If you’re reading this far you must be 110% serious. If that doesn’t resolve it be a rotator cuff problem, joint, or something else entirely. I couldn’t tell you then until you know what the cause is. Doctors will have better odds taking you through hoops of tests of finding out what it could be. You can also get a second opinion.

im gonna ask a non homo question if thas the hand u choke the chikcen with then stop