How to Throw a Powerful Hook In Boxing, From the Ground Up

If someone told you to throw a punch, you’d probably whip out a jab or cross—the two basic boxing punches that shoot straight forward at your opponent or a punching bag. But if you’ve ever seen a live fight (MMA, boxing, Muay Thai, etc.) there’s a good chance you watched a powerful hook take someone down.

The hook, a punch that arcs out to the side before making (theoretical) contact with the side of an opponent's head, is a more complex punch than the jab or cross, but an important one to master if you’re learning to box—even if you’re only punching air. Here’s everything to know about throwing hooks.

What Is a Hook Punch In Boxing?

“A hook is a power punch that’s normally thrown in combination with other punches,” says Peloton instructor Rad Lopez. To do a hook, you rotate your body while swinging your arm in a horizontal arc toward your target. Because your whole body is rotating with the movement, you can channel a lot of oomph into the punch. “Hooks in a boxing class would be thrown when you're really trying to unleash some of your power, or aiming at the sides of your target rather than straight on,” Rad says. 

A hook is one of the foundational punches used in boxing, along with jabs, crosses, and uppercuts. You can throw hooks with both your left and right hands, so they’re sometimes called left hook/right hook, front hook/back hook, or lead hook/rear hook. Some boxing instructors will use a numbered system to label their punches; lead hooks and rear hooks are typically number three and four, respectively.

Boxing Basics

You’ll want to understand some boxing basics before you start throwing punches. For starters, you should do a comprehensive warm-up before boxing just as you would for any other workout. Use this time to get yourself in the right headspace for boxing, too.

If you’re shadowboxing (boxing with an imaginary target) as you’d do in Peloton’s boxing classes, you can tackle a boxing workout with nothing more than your usual gym gear. However, if you’re going to box with a bag, you’ll likely need to gear up with gloves and potentially hand wraps as well. 

Otherwise, the number one thing to know is the proper way to stand. Here’s how to set up a boxing stance: 

How to Throw a Boxing Hook

It’s important to understand how to throw a hook properly so that you don't end up hurting yourself, Rad says. “The hook is standardly thrown with a 90-degree bend at the elbow and with the hands in a fist, palms facing you. It's also important, in order to generate power, to rotate your hips into the hook.”

It’s true: You don’t get your punching power from your arm or even your shoulder, but from something called ground reaction force (the force exerted by the ground onto your body), explains Tony Ricci, scientific advisory board member for the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and lead subject matter expert for NASM's MMA Conditioning Specialist program. The power starts down in your feet and travels up your body’s kinetic chain. Your arm gathers all these rotational forces and transfers it onto, for example, a punching bag.

Here are detailed breakdowns on how to throw a lead/front hook (using the arm that’s on the same side as your front foot) and back/rear hook (using the arm that’s on the same side as your rear foot), according to Rad and Ricci.

How to Throw a Front Hook

How to Throw a Back Hook

Keep in mind that, in practice, these steps happen fast. Hooks may feel awkward at first and that’s totally OK. Keep drilling the punches, and soon you’ll be able to feel your power. 

Hook Punch Variations

There are plenty of ways to switch up hooks in boxing, but it’s important to master the basic punching technique first, Ricci says. “The hook, like all punches, requires full body execution and superb timing for proper execution,” he says. Translation: It’s not easy to perfect, so you may be best drilling basic hooks for a while before it’s time to add a challenge.

When you are ready, the first way to up the ante is by changing where you’re striking on your "target". You can throw hooks higher or lower, Ricci says, or tweak the angle at which you’re throwing the punch. In addition to changing your height or angle, you can also play with your speed. For example, you can throw hooks at a quick tempo, two or three in a row, or slowly, focusing on power. 

If you’re shadowboxing, you can also add light resistance (via dumbbells or wrist weights) to make it more difficult. “You can add weights to your punches to make them more challenging and up the resistance as you throw them,” Rad says. “I always suggest grabbing onto hand weights anywhere from 1-3 lbs.”

Remember that one of the biggest mental and physical challenges of boxing comes from stringing punches together, so keep in mind that you can make hooks harder by doing them in combination with other punches.

Benefits of the Hook In Boxing

There are some pretty hefty benefits to boxing, in general. “Boxing and striking adds complex cognitive and motor skill demands to a workout, which not only builds cardiovascular and local muscle endurance, but builds excellent balance, coordination, and kinesthesia (body space awareness),” Ricci says. By throwing a hook in combination with other punches in a boxing workout, you’re engaging in a mentally and physically challenging training session that, at the same time, can be very fun, he says. 

What Muscles Does the Hook Punch In Boxing Work?

The hook might seem like an arm movement, but it actually gets your whole body involved. To do a hook properly, you need to transfer force through the body’s kinetic chain, starting at the floor and going all the way to your fist, Ricci explains. The force needed to throw a hook is first transmitted from the feet through the lower leg (including the ankle complex and calf muscles) and through the upper legs (including the quadriceps and glutes), he says. It continues through the pelvis, which plays a huge part in contributing rotation and speed to the punch. Then it moves through the core (the transverse abdominis, obliques, serratus anterior, and muscles around the spine) and then, finally, through the shoulder complex (the lats, rotator cuff, and deltoids). That means all those muscles are involved in throwing a hook.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Throwing Boxing Hooks

Perhaps the biggest mistake people make when throwing hooks (or any punch, for that matter) is that they forget to rotate through the foot, hip, core, and shoulders, Ricci says. “Punching without using the hips and core, and swinging largely from the arm, is a common mistake in all strikes. Not only does this significantly reduce power but it can put too much strain on the shoulder and arm and lead to potential injury,” he says. 

Another hook mistake that Ricci sees even at advanced levels is when people allow their elbow to fall below the height of their hand. “Generally, the elbow and hand rotate parallel to the ground and must be aligned during the strike,” he says. If they aren’t aligned, your punch will lose power and you’ll also put yourself at a higher risk of injury. 

Finally, no matter which punch you’re throwing, if you’re shadowboxing or working with a punching bag, remember not to shortchange your punch length. “I like to say ‘punch through your target’ rather than at your target—a saying that was heard from the great Mike Tyson,” Rad says.

Takeaway

Hooks are one of the foundational boxing moves you’ll drill if you’re learning the sport—and they’re worth mastering, even if they feel awkward at first. “A hook adds the element of power into your punch combinations and is a great way to mix up your targets as you punch,” Rad says. Go ahead—give it a shot.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized advice. It is not intended to replace professional medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician for questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. If you are having a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.