3 Ways to Improve Movement and Mobility
There is a huge emphasis on strength, speed and fitness when structuring a physical training plan for a boxer.
However, a Boxer is required to have fast hands, footwork, co-ordination, balance and great lateral movement. This means that a boxer needs good movement, mobility and flow to use the right muscles at the right time.
Movement and mobility training helps reduce muscular imbalances, this helps reduce likelihood of injury. This doesn’t often get boxers excited… but what about if we told you it will improve your punching force?
Move Better Jab Harder
In boxing, it is commonly said that the most effective tool for a fighter. It definitely is the most used, so wouldn’t every boxer want to develop a killer jab?
Champions such as Wladimir Klitschko and Kell Brook are well known to master the art of the jab, but how can mobility help?
Following our 10 week training cluster, our experts found a 11% increase in estimated P4P punch force for the left punch, used as a jab for our orthodox fighters.
This resulted in a 16% reduction in punch imbalance. In a separate comparison, a professional boxer showed a massive 32% reduction between left and right punches.
Impact
Our boxers become more balanced and throwing bigger punches with both hands.
The jab is the most often used punch in boxing.
The jab is thrown at a higher speed than a backhand shot. Although hand speed is the biggest contributor to punch force, the jab is found to produce less punching force than the back hand.
This is due to less rotation of the body, therefore less contribution from hip and torso rotation.
The Imbalanced Boxer
Due to this altered movement pattern being repeated thousands of times a week, a boxer can suffer from mobility and strength imbalances.
A functional movement screen (FMS) of 10 amateur boxers showed tighter left hips and shoulders than their right hand side.
Balancing the boxer
In the summer of 2014, Combat Conditioning delivered a movement clinic at Sheffield City ABC. Following 8 weeks of movement training, mean overall FMS scores increased by 9%. Standout improvements were seen in overhead squat (2.1 vs 2.6 out of 3) left shoulder mobility (1.62 vs 2.8 out of 3) (pre vs post).
How can I move better?
There are a number of ways we use to get a boxer moving better. Here we will be sharing 3 ways in how you can improve your movement and mobility.