Hand/ankle weights for kickboxing training?

Ush1

Just wondering what peoples opinions are on practicing kickboxing with hand and ankle weights?

I know some people say it can lead to bad habits and potential injuries but others really think they help with speed.

cletus

Adding resistance to a movement can help improve power and speed, but normally you'd have to be performing a specific movement/set of movements.

It could also have a detrimental effect, depending on where the load is placed. If you have an ankle weight on while practising round house kicks, say, the added weight is at the end of the lever, but what is the effect on, for example, the knee joint at full extension of the kick. The knee is a hinge joint, but the added resistance would put pressure laterally on the joint.

As regards wrist weights, I never saw much benefit for punching. IMO, you would need to be pushing against the resistance, so bands attached behind your back/cable machines etc would seem to be more useful.

RoboRat

Much better to use resistance bands and specific movements IMO.

A small amount of extra pressure on a joint in the wrong place can do a lot of damage over time such as grinding bone and stretching ligaments and in some cases, it can tear them over time..... see Archimedes' Law of the Lever :-)