Improving hand speed is essential in boxing, enhancing your ability to strike with speed, precision, and power. This guide provides a structured approach to some of the most effective drills to increase hand speed for boxing. Each drill is designed to maximize hand speed, helping boxers become faster and more agile in the ring. To follow a full 5 day structured training camp focused on hand speed, check out this Training Camp that is available at Level 4 of the Membership.
Drills to Increase Hand Speed
1. Shadow Boxing with Speed Focus
- How to Do It: Shadow box without gloves, ideally in front of a mirror or in an open space. Keep your guard up, practice different punch combinations, and keep light on your feet. Prioritize fast, sharp punches and precise movements.
- Benefits: Builds muscle memory, improves timing, and enhances movement fluidity, all crucial for fast punches. By shadow boxing without gloves, you can concentrate solely on speed without the weight of gloves.
- Protocol: Perform 3-4 rounds of 3 minutes each, emphasizing quick movements and incorporating defensive slips, ducks, and pivots.
2. Speed Combo Drills
- How to Do It: Work on set punch combinations (e.g., jab-cross-hook-uppercut) at maximum speed. Use a timer to throw as many clean, fast punches as possible within short intervals (30 seconds to 1 minute).
- Benefits: Enhances hand speed and accuracy under pressure, while also building endurance and coordination.
- Protocol: Use 1-minute intervals, focusing on a single combo per set. Complete 6-8 sets with 1 minute of rest between rounds.
Check out this short video of my top 3 drills for hand speed.
3. Resistance Band Punches
- How to Do It: Secure a resistance band to a fixed object behind you, then stand in your boxing stance holding the other end of the band. Throw jabs, crosses, and hooks against the resistance, maintaining balance and form.
- Benefits: Builds explosiveness and speed by strengthening muscles engaged in each punch. The resistance enhances endurance, conditioning your body to move faster when the band is removed.
- Protocol: Perform 3-4 rounds of 2 minutes each at full speed, resting for 1 minute between rounds to recover.
4. Double-End Bag Drills
- How to Do It: Practice combinations on the double-end bag, which rebounds quickly after each punch. This setup demands fast reactions and precise punches to keep hitting the target effectively.
- Benefits: Enhances hand speed, timing, and accuracy, as the bag’s unpredictable movement forces you to adapt to each punch’s response.
- Protocol: Aim for 3-5 rounds of 3 minutes each, working on different combinations and defensive moves. Focus on maintaining high speed and precise execution.
Learn hot to hit the Double-end Bag HERE!
5. Speed Ladder Drills
- How to Do It: Lay a speed ladder on the ground and perform rapid footwork patterns, throwing punches while moving. Combining footwork with punches integrates body coordination and reinforces quick, fluid movements.
- Benefits: Improves hand-foot coordination, allowing you to maintain power and stability while moving at a high speed.
- Protocol: Complete 5-6 rounds of 30 seconds each, focusing on seamless transitions between foot and hand movements.
6. Shoeshines
- How to Do It: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, throw continuous rapid-fire uppercuts in a small circular motion. Keep your elbows close to your body and rotate your torso slightly with each punch.
- Benefits: Builds endurance and increases hand speed with rapid punches. Shoeshines train you to throw multiple punches without sacrificing speed, stamina, or form.
- Protocol: Use a Tabata structure—20 seconds of maximum speed followed by 10 seconds of rest, for 8 rounds (4 minutes total).
Learn how to do the Shoeshine HERE!
7. Running Punchouts
- How to Do It: Stand in your boxing stance and throw continuous straight punches as fast as possible, mimicking a running motion with your arms. Keep the punches light and snappy, prioritizing speed over power.
- Benefits: Improves endurance and quick-twitch muscle response, training your hands to maintain speed over extended periods.
- Protocol: Use a Tabata structure—20 seconds of high-speed punching followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 8 rounds (4 minutes total).
8. Interval Bag Work
- How to Do It: Hit a heavy bag with short, intense bursts of punches, followed by short rest intervals. Focus on sharp, fast punches, maintaining form throughout.
- Benefits: Builds explosive hand speed, power, and stamina, training your body to perform at high intensity even under fatigue.
- Protocol: Perform 10-15 seconds of fast punching, followed by 10-15 seconds of rest. Continue for 3-4 minutes per round, with a 1-minute rest between rounds.
Basic Protocol for Drills to Increase Hand Speed
For optimal results in increasing hand speed, follow this weekly training outline:
- Day 1: Shadow Boxing, Speed Combo Drills, Shoeshines
- Day 2: Resistance Band Punches, Double-End Bag Drills, Speed Ladder Drills
- Day 3: High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with Interval Bag Work and Running Punchouts
- Day 4: Rest or Active Recovery
- Day 5: Comprehensive Speed Circuit (Combine drills from Days 1-3 for a challenging circuit)
About the Author: Jason Van Veldhuysen
Jason Van Veldhuysen has been coaching boxing for the past 20 years and has been an online boxing coach for the past 15 years. He is the founder of the Precision Striking Youtube Channel (over 1 million subscribers), as well as the founder of the Precision Striking Membership, an exclusive program that helps fighters train to their highest levels while refining their boxing skills and technique. With years of experience as an amateur boxer and a passion for teaching, Jason specializes in footwork, combinations, and drills that elevate a boxer’s overall game. Known for his clear and practical training methods, Jason has helped boxers at all levels—from beginners to competitive fighters—reach their full potential.