Rip it good

Aiming to get more power into your shots? Your five-point plan is below

Twist

“Focus on a long jab and cross. Fully extend your arm with each shot, and pull the opposite shoulder back when punching,” says Willoughby. “This’ll help you generate power and rotation through your core.” Imagine you’re grinding out a cigarette on the ground with your rear foot – it’ll help you get the twist you need.

Relax

Sounds counterintuitive? Find a Roy Jones Jr highlight reel, and watch how chilled out this great is before throwing his shots. “Relax your arms,” says Willoughby. “Power comes through the transfer of body weight, along with core engagement and rotation of shoulders, knees and ankles. It’s also important to hit with the first two knuckles of each hand.”

Throw

Want to throw harder shots? Medicine ball wall throws teach the right dynamics. Grab a 3-5kg ball, stand in your normal fight stance and throw it against the wall with your rear arm, using a straight-arm throw with the same back-foot pivot as you use for your punches. For hooks, throw the ball like a rugby pass.

Hammer

If you can source a sledgehammer and a tyre, it’ll help you build strength across all the same core muscles that let you throw a knockout shot. Start with your hands wide on the handle, then “choke up” with your lead hand as you swing. Go for quality, not quantity: five sets of ten swings on each side is enough to build power.

Jump

Every good punch starts in the legs, so building up your fast-twitch fibres is the smart way to make big returns fast. Add box jumps to your sessions when you’re still fresh: warm up with two 60-second bursts of skipping, then go for two sets of five explosive jumps onto a 24in (61cm) box. Bonus: it’ll neurally wake you up for the rest of the session.