Becoming a skilled martial artist can be an extremely time-consuming goal. It’s an activity that requires a tremendous amount of dedication; both in mental study and physical practice. The phrase “drillers make killers” is commonly heard in most martial arts gyms, boxing rings and wrestling mats. Drilling, or practicing one movement repetitively is essential to be able to create muscle memory and make the body comfortable doing new movements. Although technical drilling is most conducive to gaining skill, the physicality involved in martial arts shouldn’t be ignored.
Any physical ability can be improved if the body is trained for that specific purpose. Punching power is a great example of this. Although some are born with seemingly other-worldly power in their hands, power can also be developed through time and hard work. You may never be able to hit like Tyson, however through the appropriate strength and conditioning routine you can absolutely improve your punching power, as well as other attributes. Explosive plyometric exercises such as medicine ball slams and jump squats and great for improving punching power. Sprinting is amongst my favorite exercises for aspiring martial artists. Not only is sprinting a great way to improve your cardio, but it also develops explosive power in the legs. Poughkeepsie boxing academy Precision Boxing and MMA keeps these things in mind as they guide their students to not only improve technique, but improve their physique as well.
However, too much of anything can be detrimental. As a martial artist, most of your time should be spent drilling techniques, sparring and studying footage to improve your techniques. It’s important to implement strength and conditioning sessions to improve your athletic performance, but it’s important to keep it in moderation. If strength and conditioning is making you too sore to for martial arts training then you’re doing too much. Overdoing strength training can also bring the body to exhaustion and injury. It’s a fine line to balance technique training and strength training, and everyone’s body will react differently. If you’re new to working out, start implementing small sessions of strength and conditioning just a couple times a week. As your body adjusts, you’ll be able to increase you’re the amount of strength sessions and advance the level of exercises.
At Precision Boxing and MMA, not only do we have the largest boxing and mixed martial arts academy in the Hudson Valley, but we also offer a fully equipped weight room, complete with everything one would need for martial arts strength and conditioning. If you want to become the best version of yourself, call us today at (845)392-8495 or click HERE!
About the Author
Oliver Swanson is a boxer training out of Precision Boxing and MMA in Poughkeepsie. He was never involved in athletics during his youth and teen years, but discovered martial arts in his adulthood and fell in love. This led him to educate himself on strength and conditioning to become the best version of himself possible. He is now a NASM certified personal trainer and assistant boxing coach at Precision Boxing and MMA
