Why Your Arms Get Tired When Boxing
If your arms are dying a few rounds into training, the first thing I look at is whether you’re arm-punching: using your smallest muscles instead of your largest ones.
Most likely, that means you’re not pivoting enough through your shoulders and hips. Pivoting is what puts your body weight into the punch. Without it, your arms and shoulders end up doing work that the rest of your body should be helping with.
Are you arm-punching?
Your arm is the last part of the punch, not where all of the power should come from.
When you pivot your shoulders and hips, you’re putting your body weight into the strike. If you don’t pivot, you’re relying much more heavily on the muscles in your arms and shoulders. Do that repeatedly and your arms are going to burn out much faster.
That’s why, when someone’s arms are getting tired early, technique is one of the first things I look at.
You still need tension at impact
Having said that, staying loose doesn’t mean throwing a soft punch.
Your arm still has to go rigid at the point of contact to transfer your momentum into the strike.
Think of the punch like a whip: stay loose until you “crack” on impact, then relax again.
The goal isn’t to eliminate tension. It’s to use it at the right time.
Are you staying tense between punches?
The other common issue is simply staying too rigid, too often.
People often find themselves exhausted because they’re carrying unnecessary tension in their arms and shoulders even when they’re not actively striking, clinching or defending.
Your legs should be active and ready, with your weight on the balls of your feet, generally feeling like you could hop or sprint at a moment’s notice. But check your upper body in particular.
Can you easily bounce your shoulders around? Can you wiggle your fingers?
If not, you’re probably carrying more tension than you realize.
Try this between combinations
A simple exercise is to throw a few fast punches and then immediately wiggle your shoulders, elbows and fingers.
Make your arms almost noodley between strikes.
Then throw again.
You’re practicing the transition between being loose, creating the strike, becoming rigid at impact and immediately releasing that unnecessary tension afterward.
Loose doesn’t mean unprotected
Relaxing your arms doesn’t mean dropping your guard.
Keep your hands close to your face and don’t let your elbows stray too far from your body. Your arms can stay lightly moving without leaving you exposed.
Occasionally tapping around your temples is a simple self-check to make sure your hands are still high enough to actually protect your head.
What should you fix first?
If your arms keep burning out, start with two things.
First, look at your pivot. Are your shoulders and hips actually turning and putting your body weight into the punch, or are your arms trying to generate everything themselves?
Then look at what happens between punches. If your shoulders, arms and fists stay tense the entire time, you’re spending energy when you don’t need to.
Those are two of the first things I’d look at when someone tells me their arms keep dying during training.
– Matt, owner of FightFit Personal Trainers, Los Angeles
Arm-punching and unnecessary tension can be hard to spot when you’re the one doing it. Having a coach in front of you makes those little technical problems much easier to see and correct.
FightFit offers one-on-one boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing and MMA training throughout Los Angeles. Your first session is $100.