Back in the Ring

I started boxing again last night, after an almost one year hiatus. I train with Whitebrook Boxing Kinetics (WBK.CA). It's actually boxing training. There's no ring, and no sparring. It's not boxercise... it's a high-energy lactic threshold circuit-training workout. Not for the weak.

The coaches motto is "You get out, what you put it." Me, I'm stubborn, I put in 110%, always. I felt like crap almost the whole 60 minutes. When it was over, I was ready to curl up in a ball and cry. I loved it.

A typical session goes like this:

2.5 Minutes of skipping... easy pace.
5 Mins of warm up punch techniques
5 Mins of various warm up stretches
5 Mins to review the stations and what drills are going on at each station.
30 Mins Main Set (2.5 Mins @ each station x 10 + 0.5 Mins rest)
10 Mins Punch Out (4 sets of 2 mins + rest)
2.5 Minutes of cool down punches / breathing exercise

Last night's main set went like this:

1. Skip (front/back 10 secs, side/side 10 secs, cross-overs 10 secs, double skip 10 secs... repeat until bell goes for last 30 secs... last 30 = 15 secs high knees, 15 secs hard high knees).

2. Speed Bag (Practice easy technique, left & right double hits, emphaisis on side-side motion).

3. Heavy Bag (For me, shake of rust-- from Right side: 5 x Left Jab, 5 x Jab + Right hand, 5 x Jab + Right + Left Hook combos... repeat until bell at 30 secs. Last 30 = move and hit, any combinations)

4. Heavy Bag again (same as #3)

5. Speed Bag again (same as #2)

6. Skip again (same as #1)

7. Shadow Box (From left side: Right Jab, Jab + Left, Jab + Left + hook ... repeat until 30 seconds, at 30 seconds switch to right side and throw any combintations)

8. Shadow box again (same as #7)

9. Heavy Bag (Switch to Left side, use same combinations as in Shadow box)

10. Heavy Bag again (same as #9)

A "Punch Out" is probably the inspiration for a hard-core spin class. You know, one where the instructor is yelling at you, to keep you motivated. We split up into groups of 2 per heavy bag and take alternating 15-20-30 second sessions on the bag. A set lasts about 2.5 mins, you usually take about 4-6 sessions at the bag per set. The instructor is on the megaphone the whole time, "Keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, come on Phil, hit it higher, elbows in, keep it up, keep, it up, keep it up, keep it up... and switch... "

If you have any juice in the tank after a punch-out... you're either super-human, or you cheated yourself.

Last night's punch out went like this:
1. 50% effort "Standing In" from the left side
2. 75% "Standing In" from the right side
3. 100% "Standing In" from the left side
4. 100% "Standing In" from the right side

The "Gym" is actually the rectangular mezzanine area that surrounds the pool I swim at.



The top shot, shows the skipping station I started at last night, in the back (behind the pace clock) is a large mirror, where the shadow box stations are, beside it are 2 of the 4 heavy bag stations.

In the bottom shot, a student is at the first speed bag station, the other 2 heavy bags follow it, and a second speed bag is in the far back corner.

Week 1 is always the easiest of the 8 weeks in a block. I'm going to try and wear my heartrate monitor for week 3 - but I'm not sure, if my monitor can read past 220!

I can honestly say, that the effort required to complete a class exceeds a 10K race, and perhaps even a sprint triathlon.