As with ALL Athletic Performance Improvements, YES, Punching Power will Definitely Increase with Increased Strength. And, the Best Way to Increase Strength is to Workout with Heavy Weights. Let me explain…(this could be lengthy).
Your body adapts to Stress (for now, we are only talking Physical Stress). So, any Activity that is Difficult Enough for you (Stress) will cause your Body to Adapt. However, the Kind of Adaptation also Depends on the Kind of Stress.
First off, ANY ACTIVITY is good for a Sedentary Person…meaning, a Sedentary Person’s body will have all kinds of Adaptation to any Activity…in the beginning. However, this lasts for a very short time.
So, if a person trains by Running Long Distance, that’s what they get good at. Running Long Distance, will NOT result in a person getting Stronger (being able to Lift Increasingly More Weights in the Gym, for instance).
Let’s pick the sport of Basketball. The player needs to Practice Basketball, to get Skilled in playing Basketball. So, practicing the Sport is obviously a MUST for any Athlete and will make the person MORE SKILLED in the Sport.
Same is the case with Boxing (or with any other Martial Arts). An important part of Training for a Boxer is to use the Punching Bag. This gets him/her very Skilled in Punching.
So, sports specific Training, improves the Skill in the particular Sport… However, does NOT get the Athlete Stronger Beyond a Certain Point.
This is because, practicing the sport, Stresses the Body in a manner that does NOT make the body get Stronger. In order for the Body to Get Stronger, you will need to Strength Train. This is True Even or the Sport of Weightlifting!!!
A Proper Strength Training Program, will have Progressive Overload and Linear Progression as its Foundation. Following this program, leads to Using Increasingly Heavier Weights at the Gym. This will DEFINITELY get the person Stronger, pretty Quickly.
Another important point to note is that Strength Training is Generic and NOT SPECIFIC to any sport. So, you get Strong, following a Proper Strength Training Program as discussed above…it is NOT sports specific… (Sports specific activities, increase Skills in the Sport… does NOT increase Strength).
Please understand that we are NOT talking about a Specialization in Strength Sports, such as in Power Lifting or Olympic Weight Lifting, when we are talking Strength Training.
So, why is Strength Important? Strength is the ability to apply force to an external resistance, like the ground, an opponent, an implement, or a ball. Power is best understood as strength displayed quickly, and as such, power is dependent on strength. Therefore, if you get Stronger, you become a better Athlete, whatever your Sport is.
As a simple example, let’s take a Boxer (Boxer A), who is Strong Enough to Lift a Maximum of 30 kgs overhead. He trains everyday, and his training will definitely include a LOT of punching (and agility drills and whatnot). So, he gets more and more Skilled in Throwing Punches the Right (and more Efficient/Effective) way. While he might get a little stronger, with this kind of training…say, he might now be able to lift 40 kgs overhead, these Strength Improvements stop after a very short time. Let’s say Boxer A, who is Strong Enough to lift 40 kgs overhead, throws a Punch.
Now, there is another Boxer (Boxer B) who trains everyday…including all the punching (and other training) that Boxer A does… So, he gets just as Skilled with his Punches. However, ADDITIONALLY, he also follows a proper Strength Training Program. So, he gets Stronger and Stronger…is now able to lift say, 80 kgs overhead. Boxer B throws a punch.
Whose punch do you think will be more effective…? It is obvious that Boxer B’s punches will be far more Devastating and Effective, as he is Much Stronger than Boxer A.
Let’s take the case of Steroids. Some of the World Class Athletes, with a LOT of skill, have got caught taking Steroids. What then happens to them after they get caught…they get DISGRACED and LOSE EVERYTHING. Why then, are they taking this HUGE RISK to their Career and to their Personal Health (we all understand that taking Steroids will cause us to have Really Bad Side-Effects, right?), by taking steroids?
If I never played Tennis in my life let’s say, and I take Steroids (just for sake of argument), will it cause me to get as Skilled as Roger Federer…no way. So, what do Steroids do? It gets the person Stronger… Ohhh…so, that is why, so MANY WORLD CLASS ATHLETES take SUCH A HUGE RISK and do steroids. I am only using this to get everyone to understand the importance of Strength in Sports.
Please do NOT even THINK of doing STEROIDS. Because, it is NOT WORTH IT. And, you can get Stronger WITHOUT any of the Career Damaging, Body/Mind Damaging Side-effects that these Steroids will cause.
That’s what a Proper Strength Training Program will do for you. Will get you Stronger and make you a Better Athlete, in the most healthy way possible. And…Strength Training is 100% legal too !!!
One last point. Some athletes are born with way more Explosive Power than the average person. Agility Training, Olympic Style Weightlifting etc, can improve Explosiveness…in the untrained athlete…to a certain extent…no more.
So, put all of this together…the answer is YES…Lifting Heavy Weights (by following a Proper Strength Training Program) Will Improve Punching Power. In fact, Will Improve Performance Across ALL SPORTS.
Hope this helps!