Boxing Blog

    Training when Injured, Membership Special, New Gloves

    Hi and welcome to another week,

    I was really pleased with the way last week’s classes came out – when I was finally able to jump back into a session (which was Thursday) it was just so much fun to be back involved…training with a group, hitting the bags, all the things that I love so much about training at Round 1.  It is a funny thing – between being away in Melbourne the week before AND injuring my knee I was having some serious withdrawals, yet at the same time I have got to say that before jumping into the class on Thursday afternoon I really did have a ‘I just cant be bothered doing this attitude’.  If I was to be completely truthful, I would say that if it wasn’t for the challenge I probably would have given the Thursday class a miss.  My knee was hurting, I was tired…the excuses were coming thick and fast inside my head.  And if I had missed Thursday, who knows if I would have trained Friday?  As it turns out I did the Thursday session and have managed to do a class (in a modified way of course) each day since – so that makes four in a row!  Happy Days!

    Training when you are injured is really, really hard.  I know for myself that it takes a lot of willpower to do things when I am restricted – primarily because when you are hurt you need to avoid ‘certain’ activities (which of course means you have to do ‘MORE’ of other stuff).  And to be honest, it doesn’t really matter what the things that you have to do ‘more’ of are – after a while it just gets hard…and when you are thinking about your workout – whether it is one that you have planned or one that has been put together for you – all you can think about are the elements that you wont be able to complete.  (Or maybe it is just me???).  I know that I managed to do some exercise every day last week despite my knee continuously blowing up to twice its normal size – yet every single session seemed way harder that it ought to have been and right throughout each one there was a little voice in my head insisting that was ‘enough’.  Let’s face it – because I had a sore knee is no excuse not to do some bench press and upper-body stuff, but in my head even that was becoming a big issue.

    So.  The question is, how do you keep going when you are injured?  How do you keep training and remain focussed when your inner voice is just telling you that you need to rest, that enough is enough, that you are going to hurt yourself?  Well, this is the little strategy that I try to use.

    First, remind yourself why you train at all.  I like to remind myself of what I am trying to achieve – and generally make it a long-term goal.  If I keep doing ‘x’ then I can still achieve ‘y’ by the end of the year even if I can’t do ‘z’.  So for me at the moment, if I keep doing my upper body lifting, I will still be able to hit my goal of 30 chin-ups (no kip) by the end of the year even if I can’t do any squats for a few weeks.  This is a good ‘just get started’ reminder.  You can still achieve SOMETHING today.

    Secondly, I try to focus on the things that I can do rather than those elements I can’t.  So rather than going into a boxing class with the ‘I am not going to be able to do any legs’ approach, as I put my wraps on I have been saying to myself ‘Big chance to get stronger here – whenever he says squats, do pushups’.  Think about the BENEFITS, not the negatives and have a clear plan.

    Last, I remind myself of the importance of maintaining mobility through the joint that is injured.  So at the moment, whilst my knee is giving me (a lot) of pain, I know that if I allow it to become completely immobile my recovery is going to be a LOT harder.  So whilst I have been avoiding doing heavy gears on the bike, I haven’t been avoiding the bike – the consistent range of motion and ‘push/pull’ action is actually helping with my recovery, and will help in terms of maintaining musculature around the joint which will mean when I am able to start running and squatting again, I wont be starting from quite so far back as I otherwise would be.

    So – that’s been my strategy for training whilst injured for a long time now.  Focus on the long-term, take advantage of one weakness to really develop in other areas and try to ensure that you maintain a level of mobility because it will really help in your recovery once you are feeling better.  I know that being hurt kind of sucks but if you are going to train, there are going to be times when you have little sore spots and ‘niggles’ whether you like it or not – and if you are really unlucky you might get hurt to the point where you need to get a doctor involved.  However frustrating these things might be at the time they occur, they are certainly not the end of the world and you don’t need to let your injuries take over your life!

    See you at Round 1,

    Michael.

    Gym Update #1 – Membership Super Special

    We have an AWESOME special running this month.  I may have perhaps lost my mind just a little…

    If you join for 3 months, you get 4 months membership.

    If you join for 6 months, you get 7 months membership.

    If you join for 12-months, you get 13 months memberships.

    This special applies to new memberships AND to renewals…and yep, if you want to renew early to take advantage of this you certainly can…after all, why should our most loyal clients be the ones to miss out when special offers come along?

    Gym Update #2 – Whole Life Challenge – Weekly Challenge

    As mentioned in the last couple of blogs, the October 2013 Life Challenge is ‘GO’ and there are about 75 people in the gym currently battling with sugar withdrawal…or at least they are if they haven’t been a cheating McCheater in the first week!  Remember guys, if you have committed to the challenge then it is a CHALLENGE!  Just losing a food point ‘because’ is not OK – you should be really pushing yourself to go through the month without losing a single point.  I guess – if you have a special occasion (birthday, anniversary etc) then slipping is OK – but to me ‘slipping’ should be a planned thing this month, not just something that happens because it is the weekend!

    Regardless of all of that, each week from now on there will be a ‘challenge’ within the challenge…and each time you complete it you will receive an ‘EXTRA’ point (up to a maximum of ‘3’ points).  Enter these points into the ‘Challenge’ column of the spreadsheet.  This coming week, the challenge is:

    Complete the following Bodyweight ladder:  10 Pushups/Squats/Burpees/Situps – 9 Pushups/Squats/Burpees/Situps – 8 Pushups/Squats/Burpees/Situps – … – 1 Pushups/Squats/Burpees/Situps.

    Good luck!

    Gym Update #3 – New Gloves

    Great news everyone – we have new designs of both our weightlifting gloves ($25) and MMA gloves ($30) in stock.  I am really happy with the new products – and the way that these products have evolved over the last couple of years.  Much like our classes, whilst I was really happy with them when we started the gym they are simply a lot ‘more’ now.  A lot better.  The Weightlifting gloves in particular are the same – just so much improved on our originals…

    Remember as well, the WL gloves can be used as inner gloves/speedball gloves if you like – they have a great wrist support and for those of you who don’t like wearing wraps could be a great solution for giving yourself some additional protection.

    Facebook Highlights

    Due to my new laptop blues, a bit of a quieter week on FACEBOOK:

    Harcourts bike ride for charity:  https://www.facebook.com/harcourtswacharitycycle

    Lot’s of pics from the 300 Burpee Challenge:  http://perth300challenge.eventbrite.com.au

    Supercharge your spine:  http://www.t-nation.com/training/supercharge-your-spine-and-your-lifts

    Barbell training:  http://www.t-nation.com/powerful-words/pick-it-up-and-bleed

    Great site for health foods: http://cheapsuperfoods.com.au

    Enjoy!

    Link of the week

    Lift before you lift… http://www.catalystathletics.com/articles/article.php?articleID=138

    See you in the gym!

    Michael.

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