Hey Team,

I hope you’re all doing well and staying active! It’s been pretty amazing in the gym lately and I’m really excited to see how this August block of boxing sessions goes – there is certainly some cool stuff in there and I hope you’re enjoying it so far!  From a gym perspective, we are also running our ‘Half-Price-Trial’ promo so if you’ve been trying to get a friend or family member to come along, then NOW is the time – just $29.50 for 2-weeks-unlimited sessions…they can sign up from the website @ round1fitness.com.au (the link is half-way down the homepage).

In this week’s blog I want to dive into how exercise can be a powerful tool for managing stress, focusing on the benefits of group training, boxing, and strength training. Again – work and family stress seem to be primary issues people are dealing with in 2024.  In this highly connected world it really does seem as if the new 24-hour workday is causing all sorts of issues – stress being #1 – and I honestly believe that the best way to relieve stress is by getting your heart rate UP and doing some ‘stuff’ that forces you to concentrate and search for a mind muscle connection.

I’m going to try something here – I want to try and paint a couple of pictures to illustrate how these activities can help alleviate stress and boost your mood.  Now – I’m gonna paint some pictures of morning strength training and after work boxing training…either or team…I quite literally flipped a coin to come up with the scenarios (boxing was heads!) and I think whether you box early or late OR strength train early or late the benefits really are both REAL and measurable!

Overcoming the Stress of a Busy Workday with Boxing Training

Picture This: You’ve had a hectic day at work—deadlines, meetings, and endless emails. Your stress levels are through the roof. When home-time comes, Instead of heading home to unwind in front of the TV, you make your way to the gym and from the moment you step inside, you 100% feel the change. No-one – NO-ONE – is the least bit interested in the problems you are having at work…but they are all happy to see YOU!  You make a couple of jokes about some of the exercises on the schedule for the day, laugh about the likelihood (or not) of achieving the cardio targets and chat about which trainer is taking the session…there is already a change in your energy and whilst ‘work stuff’ is still ‘there’ it’s definitely moving down the priority list!

You gear up, wrap your hands, and the bell rings.  You get into your boxers stance and step up to the bag.  You start throwing your punches – steady at first as you feel the bag, feel your punches…and with each punch you feel just a little bit better.  You build your POWER with every punch – the mind-muscle connection builds and you feel the satisfaction of hitting something as hard as you can.  Your mind clears, and you walk away feeling lighter, both physically and mentally.  By the time you get home, somehow those work problems don’t seem quite as insurmountable – you might have even worked through solutions to a couple of them – and any petty conflicts with customers or co-workers really don’t seem important any more.

Benefits of Training at the end of your workday:

• Immediate reduction in cortisol levels.
• Endorphin boost for an improved mood.
• Better sleep quality.

The Morning Energy Boost from Weight Lifting

Picture This: The alarm rings early, and instead of hitting snooze, you spring out of bed. LOL.  Spring out of bed??  Let’s go with unwillingly drag yourself out of bed.  You grab yourself a drink of water, throw on your workout gear and head to the gym…It’s dark outside and I think it’s pretty fair to say that right now you have some regrets in your head about your decision making…but you arrive at the gym and ‘Your Crew’ are arriving – you guys do this every day and you nervously read the white board…what’s in store for today??

You work through the warmup and the soreness/tightness in your back and hips starts to ‘release’…you feel better.  Your heart-rate starts to increase and thoughts of sleeping in drift away – you start focussing on what you’re doing NOW – the day ahead is a blur…that isn’t important right now.  You begin to focus.

The strength part of the session starts – you build through the rep range finding ‘YOUR’ working weight…you chat with the coach and your crew…how much today?  More than last week!!  Let’s go!  Each rep challenges you – you KNOW you are getting stronger…a month back this weight wasn’t on the horizon.  Now?  It isn’t easy, but it IS happening!  The sense of achievement from lifting something you’ve never lifted before is empowering. Your muscles wake up, your blood pumps, and your confidence soars. This early morning victory sets a positive tone for the rest of your day.

Benefits:

• Boosted energy levels that last all day.
• Enhanced mood from the release of endorphins.
• Increased confidence from achieving lifting goals.

Incorporating These Strategies

At Round 1 Fitness, we’re all about helping you manage stress and enhance your mental well-being. Our Boxing for Fitness program, BoxPlus, is perfect for unwinding after a stressful day. Meanwhile, our Functional Fitness program provides a structured environment for morning strength training. Join us and discover how these effective exercise strategies can transform your stress management and overall well-being.

See you in the gym,

Michael.