Shadowboxing with weights

[Sanitarium]

Punching with one of those stretch band things is better, because the resistance is against your fist/hand, not weighing DOWN your arm.

You hold one end behind your back, it loops up over your shoulder, along your arm and then into your punching hand. And you throw punches to full extension with it. This develops the actual punching muscles, and not the muscles which keep your arm in the air.

[dbok1]

The whole point of using weights is NOT only for punching power and speed but also keeping your arms UP!

I don't know if you ever been kicked in the arms and shoulders repeatidly but it hurts!! And after awhile your arms will Drop no doubt. The Arm bands are good too but nothing replaces using weights OR weighted Gloves!!!! You have to be able to with stand heavy gloves so that when you fight with 10 or 12oz gloves they will feel like nothing. This way you should have no problem keeping your hands up, along with having much more speed and power.

[Umaa]

I started shadowboxing with 1lb hand weights about 7 months ago. I give total credit to those weights for doubling my hand speed and tripling the number of punches I can throw.

You should shadowbox with 1lb, or at the very most 2lbs unless you're a heavyweight where you can use 3lbs weights. The benefits have nothing to do with strength. The benefits are hand speed and arm endurance. Every time I train, I shadowbox. And every time I shadowbox I use the hand weights. I have not strained anything. If you shadowbox with light weights for this purpose you will see the benefits without any injuries due to using the weights.

I know this because I have done it and seen the results first hand. I am a competitive fighter and have fought before and after I started using the weights. My hand speed has doubled and I can throw 3 times the amount of punches I could throw before I started shadowboxing with weights. I give 100% of the credit to the weights.