A basic understanding of physics can lead to an improvement in athletic performance.\u00a0 One concept from physics that is especially relevant to boxers and other combat sports participants is “power.”\u00a0 The colloquial term for power in the context of sports is “explosiveness.”\u00a0 Power is defined as the rate at which work is done.\u00a0 For example, if you watch Mike Tyson’s boxing matches from early in his career you will see explosiveness or power in action.\u00a0 The ability to quickly apply enough force to knock someone out before they knew what hit them is “power.”\u00a0 It requires strength and speed.<\/p>\n
In physics, work is defined as force times the distance an object travels.<\/p>\n
For example, if I lift a heavy weight from the ground to over my head I am working.\u00a0 If I am a defensive lineman and I push an offensive tackle who is trying to get to my quarterback\u00a010 yards back, I am working.\u00a0 Work requires strength.\u00a0<\/strong> The bigger the object or person I am trying to move or knock out in the case of boxing, the more force or strength I need to apply.\u00a0 However, it is not enough to simply be strong enough to deliver a hard punch when boxing.\u00a0 The punch must be delivered quickly before your opponent has a chance to evade, block, or parry it.\u00a0 That is where velocity or speed comes into play.<\/p>\n Velocity is very similar to speed.\u00a0 In physics, the definition of velocity includes both speed and direction.\u00a0 Direction makes a difference.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n For example, a straight punch may move your opponent’s head backwards, while a hook punch may move your opponent’s head sideways.\u00a0 This is good information to have to plan for follow-up punches.\u00a0 As mentioned earlier, power is defined as the rate at which work is done or work per unit of time.\u00a0 However, in physics, power can also be defined as force times velocity.\u00a0 In this case, force is the strength applied and velocity is the speed and direction at which the force is applied.<\/p>\n Now that our brief review of physics is done, the more important question is how can an athlete improve power or explosiveness?<\/p>\n It is obvious from the various definitions of power that you need strength and speed.\u00a0 Of course, you could train those two attributes separately.\u00a0 For example, you can improve your strength by lifting weights.\u00a0 You can also do various drills and exercises to increase your hand or foot speed.<\/p>\nWhat is Velocity?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
How to Train for Power<\/strong><\/h3>\n