Hands and Neck Training…the uncommon exercises that make a world of difference

A strong punch to your chin can snap your head back. In this precise moment, your central nervous system sends signals to your brain telling it to shut down. This is why you get ‘knocked down’. We are all different in the fact that some of us can take a punch better than others. Look at the Klitsckho’s. Vitali took full on deadly shots from Lennox Lewis, a beast of a Heavyweight and one of the greatest ever, and did not even wobble. He has never been down in his entire career. But take his brother Wladimir. He has been down more than ten times in his career! Some of us can take punches better than others, that is fact. But you can train yourself to at least be a bit more punch resistant and that ‘bit’ could make all the difference.

You can't train your body to completely resist concussion but you can somewhat improve on punch resistance. Look at some of the past fighters that had great chins like Hagler, Holyfield, and Duran. They all had thick necks and upper- backs. That's because they all trained their necks, traps and lats because it absorbs the impact of a punch.

If you get hit clean on the chin at full speed and power, no matter who you are, there's a chance you are going to sleep. The training won't stop that; it will just reduce the chance. You see a lot of the time, especially when uppercuts are connected, the head snaps back. A strong and stable neck can prevent this. This is why I recommend just 5-10 minutes of neck training 2-3 times a week.

Many fighters are suspect to broken hands. Like any other part of the body, the stronger it is, the fitter it is, the less likely it is to get injured. Not only that, strong hands, wrist and forearms can add snap to your punch and assist with other exercises (e.g. Press-ups, Pull- ups, Power Cleans). It is an often neglected body part. A good fighter is a well-rounded fighter. If you are exactly equal to your opponent, then it might be the little things that make all the difference. Below are short example workouts for hand and neck training:

Hand Training Circuit

3 Rounds

Wrist Roller x30 seconds

Finger Press-ups x20

Towel Hold x30seconds

Hand Grippers x max

Neck Training Workout

Wrestler’s Bridge 3x12

A1 Circle Bridge 3x8 (each side)

A2 Reverse Bridge 3x15

5 kg Neck Curls 1x max