I made a vid

since you guys seldom go into the boxing forum I thought I'd post it here, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xt2Dj82CAo

would using wrist weights while working a bag be better or not? By the way my first day back in the gym training was interesting today. Did pretty good on the mat both grappling and with gloves, but I got my ass handed to me during the sparring sessions. I was a step too slow in trying to land my punches and the guy I was working with had some pretty nasty kicks. Never the less once we put it all together I got him on the ground and beat on him for a bit before landing a tasty arm bar. I really need to do some bag and mit work over the next couple of months.

Yikes...looking damned good. Did you say you've competed or not? Can't remember. If not, you should really give it a try.

Watching that, I can see how friggin terrible I've become since I quit training in earnest...punches have some power but I've lost a lot of the zip.

Do you have a simple schematic of that system, by the way? I think I might just get me one :P

And Van, from everything I've heard, weights are terrible on your wrist, mainly because of the action at the end of the punch. They do a lot of work to stop that weight from continuing forward. The nice thing about Von's system is that you work going out, it stops itself and you work the negatives taking the punch back.

If you DO use weights when training, make them VERY light ones (as in one pounders, two TOPS). You can easily do more, but you risk seriously hurting your wrists over a period of time. That said, I used to do it, and actually saw an improvement, but I've since heard many horror stories, generally with hyperextension to other worse problems.

Now, another thing I used to do was lie on my back/bench and throw punches skyward with "heavy" weights (started at 100 punches with 15, eventually got to like 100 with 35). While you can't get the whole motion you would with a normal punch, it helps get the explosive power in the arms. Not too sure how healthy it is, though, for the same reason as above.

thanks D. Appreciate the compliment! Yeah, I'll draw it out and fax it to ya.. or if you can think of a way I can get it on the computer I'll upload it, but as of now I don't have scanner. And ideas?

Van, as D said, weights aren't all that good. I see guys shadow box with them but IMO, waste of time. You can't put forth enough effort to build more power because you'll kill your joints on hyperextention. The only think I can think of is Title.com's weighted bag gloves. Re wrist weights, I've tried them and they slide. But I think wrist weights would be better than hands weights. Just my best guess.

I should note, when I normally do those exercizes, I load the weight up real good, to the point where I'm struggling after 5-7 reps. I'm really working it and starting to grunt. I just wanted to demonstrate the sytem and how it worked so I only used about 10pounds or so. I've had it up to about 35.. and trust me, that's a TON for all those little muscles that aren't used to being worked to that extreme.