Train at Home Part 2: Tsunami Workout

This workout is a little more advanced than the dumbell workout in Train at Home Part 1. Perform the following workout with the active rests listed below.

EXERCISE
Round 1: Interval Skipping (Jump Rope) for 2 min as follows
-20 sec slow pace
-20 sec medium pace
-20 sec fast pace
-repeat

Active Rest:
Medicince Ball Toe Touch for 10 reps
Dive Bomber or Judo Pushup for 10 reps
-try to execute each active rest at a slow pace

Round 2: Interval Skipping for 2 min

Active Rest:
Pike up for 10 reps
Burpees for 10 reps

Round 3: Interval Skipping for 2 min

Active Rest:
Medicine Ball Triangle Crunches for 10 reps
Medicine Ball Pushups for 10 reps

2 minute rest

Then Continue Workout with following dumbell circuit:

1. DB Swing for 10 reps
2. DB Squat and Cling for 10 reps
3. DB Row and Twist for 10 reps
4. DB Corkscrew for 10 reps

2 min rest (get your body hydrated)

1. Pullups for 8 reps

2 min rest

1. DB Curls 10 reps
2. Tricep Extensions for 10 reps
3. DB Shoulder Press for 10 reps

2 min rest

1. Straight Leg Crunches for 10 reps
2. Straight Leg Raises for 10 reps
3. Box Crunches for 10 reps

2 min rest

1. Shadowbox for 3/2min rounds

2 min rest

Finally static stretching.

This workout is for more advanced people. Before you begin this workout I recommend you start off with Train at Home Part 1 first. Also, build up your cardio by interval running and aerobic running.

Discipline is key,

Alex

The Purpose of Flow Drills

I know many of you may wonder why we review flow drills over and over again. one simple reason can answer your question: muscle memory.

What is a Flow Drill?
For those of you who have never heard of a flow drill, a flow drill is a choreographed sequence of movements that are practiced between two partners. Making every movement become an instinct which cuts the time for you to react.

SEE->PROCESS->REACT

Ultimately, flows drills will help cut your reaction time by building muscle memory.

What is Muscle Memory?
Muscle memory is a common term for neuromuscular facilitation, which is the process of the neuromuscular system memorizing motor skills.

When an active person repeatedly trains movement, often of the same activity, in an effort to stimulate the mind’s adaptation process, the outcome is to induce physiological changes which attain increased levels of accuracy through repetition. Even though the process is really brain-muscle memory or motor memory, the colloquial expression "muscle memory" is commonly used.

Individuals rely upon the mind’s ability to assimilate a given activity and adapt to the training. As the brain and muscle adapts to training, the subsequent changes are a form or representation of its muscle memory.

If you want more information on Muscle Memory, check out the Why Flow Drills section on the Champions Boxing Blog.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
--Aristotle

React Swiftly,
Alex

Beginner's Flow Drill: The Complete Drill

Step 1: Partner A throws jab, Partner B parries
Step 2: Partner A throws cross, Partner B slips outside
Step 3: Partner B throws left hook, Partner A blocks
Step 4: Partner A throws left hook to body, Partner B foream blocks
Step 5: Partner B Partner uppercuts, Partner A catches/caps
Step 6: Partner B throws left hook, Partner A bobs and weaves
Step 7: Partner A throws right hook to body, Partner B forearm blocks
Step 8: Partner B uppercuts, Partner A catches/caps
Step 9: Partner B throws cross, Partner A slips outside

If you need to break down this drill. I will show you how to break it down later. For beginners, practice the drill with a partner throwing at 1/4 speed with little power behind the punches. When you do throw don't be afraid to tap your partner if they miss. It will help them learn.

Keep Practicing,
Alex

Road Work: The Art of Running for Fighters

No matter what you may hear running does have a lot of benefits when you train for boxing, kickboxing, and MMA. The reasons for adding running to your training are to build up your endurance, help you keep your mind focused, and help build discipline. Now understand that boxing, kickboxing, and MMA are 80 percent anaerobic and only 20 percent aerobic. The anaerobic part is when you are actively fighting (throwing punches, kicks, shooting, or grappling). While the aerobic part of your fight sport is circling the ring or gaining position. You may ask how can I use my running to train both. Well, the recommendation to help you maintain a balance between the two is by incorporating interval running with aerobic running.

What is Interval Running?
Interval Running is a method of breaking down your running pattern into three separate speeds. This method helps you develop and maintain your fast twitch muscle fibers. The folowing is a recommended interval session:

• 20 seconds jogging
• 20 seconds running
• 20 seconds sprinting
• Repeat

After completing the 2 minute session rest 1 minute then repeat 3 to 5 times. For advanced individuals, you can supplement the rest period with pushups, pullups, or squats. This is known as active rest.

Interval Running and Aerobic Running
Another question you may be asking is how much of each type of running should I do. It is recommended that a fighter trains aerobic running 1 to 2 times per week with interval running 3 to 4 times per week.

It is suggested that a fighter should not devote more time than this to their aerobic training as this would mean you are training your slow twitch muscle fibers as much as your fast twitch muscle fibers. This could be counter productive because this would mean your slow twitch fibers may become dominant which in turn would slow you down in the ring. However, this is still a little up in the air. I know many fighters that do their road work in the morning by just an aerobic running session and they still perform at top notch. It may be because the rest of their training is anaerobic emphasizing on plyometrics, but many trainers are split on this topic. I recommend the best way to train is listen to your body if you find that you are slowing down during sprints then maybe you are doing too much aerobic running. Try the recommended sessions of each type if running to get an idea of where to start.

As fighters we need to remain explosive in the ring so the majority of our training needs to be explosive.

"I hated every minute of training, but I said, don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life a champion." -- Muhammad Ali

Keep Focused,
Alex

Train at Home Part 1

When you are looking to increase your fitness level, cardio, or technique, you must train even on the off days. For instance if you workout or have a boxing or kickboxing class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, continue your training at home on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays with Sundays as a rest day.

Here is a simple workout that will tax every musle and help increase your muscle endurance along with your cardio. You can begin this workout by running or shadowboxing to warm up your body. If you shadowbox do 3/3 minute rounds with 30 sec rest. Then continue with the following workout.

Home Workout 1: The Burnout
Perform the following workout as a circuit for 3 sets with 10 to 20 reps each. For beginners, I recommend to start with 10 reps for each workout.

Dumbbell Swing
DB Squat and Press
DB Row and Twist
Corkscrew
DB Bicep Curls
DB Tricep Extensions
Straight Leg Crunch
Seat Raises/ Thrusts
Isolated Box Crunch

Try this workout on your off days to gain muscle endurance and increase your cardio.

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do."
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Alex

H2O: The Importance of Water when Training

H20 is a vital part of a training regiment. When you are training whether it's boxing, kickboxing, mma, or weight training, you need to make sure you constantly refill your body with water.

Water is one of nature's most important gifts to mankind. Essential to life, a person's survival depends on drinking water. Water is one of the most essential elements to good health -- it is necessary for the digestion and absorbtion of food; helps maintain proper muscle tone; supplies oxygen and nutrients to the cells; rids the body of wastes; and serves as a natural air conditioning system. Health officials emphasize the importance of drinking at least eight glasses of clean water each and every day to maintain good health.

With two thirds of the earth's surface covered by water and the human body consisting of 75 percent of it, it is evidently clear that water is one of the prime elements responsible for life on earth. Water circulates through the land just as it does through the human body, transporting, dissolving, replenishing nutrients and organic matter, while carrying away waste material. Further in the body, it regulates the activities of fluids, tissues, cells, lymph, blood and glandular secretions.

An average adult body contains 42 litres of water and with just a small loss of 2.7 litres he or she can suffer from dehydration, displaying symptoms of irritability, fatigue, nervousness, dizziness, weakness, headaches and consequently reach a state of pathology. Dr F. Batmanghelidj, in his book 'your body's many cries for water', gives a wonderful essay on water and its vital role in the health of a water 'starved' society. He writes: "Since the 'water' we drink provides for cell function and its volume requirements, the decrease in our daily water intake affects the efficiency of cell activity........as a result chronic dehydration causes symptoms that equal disease..."

H2O to the Martial Artist

A large percentage of martial arts practitioners suffer from a small degree of dehydration from the lack of water consumption. With the various diet drinks, coffee, tea and sports drinks, the caffeine in these products often takes a hash toll on the human body. Therefore, by drinking water you will no longer be dehydrated and you will be able to feel the great health benefits especially while training in your chosen style of martial arts.

In martial arts (including boxing, kickboxing, mma, etc.), our body is one third of our training alongside the mental and spiritual components. Therefore, you must take care of your body so that you can train and workout to the best of your ability. To give you an idea about how important water is for the human body, here are a few facts and figures: 22% of bone is made from water, the brain is made up of 74 percent of water, 75 percent of our muscles is made of water and our blood with the highest percentage is 83% made of water. If your body is dehydrated, you will be unable to train at a high level and not see the improvement you're working for. Even more so, daily activities will become a burden such as getting out of bed in the morning. Water helps to supply our energy which is reduced when there are not sufficient amounts of water being consumed.

So how much is enough? It varies and usually it is recommended that you listen to your body when your body is thirsty during training grab a sip of water. A book I recommend on this is the Fighter's Body: An Owner's Manual.

In conclusion, martial artists need to be aware of their body's intake of water especially when training for a competition. Please, drink water and refresh your mind.

Cheers,
Alex

References:
Martial Arts Fitness and the Importance of Water, http://ezinearticles.com/?Martial-Arts-Fitness-and-the-Huge-Importance-of-Water&id=1715695

The Watercure, http://www.watercure.com/

CORE Workouts

The following workouts are abdominal workouts that you can use for your ab training. It is recommended that you perform at least three of the workouts back to back. For example, do 3 sets of 20 reps of the following:

1. Straight Leg Crunches
2. Seat Raises
3. Seated Crunches

You can alternate the workouts performing them two days back to back followed by a day of rest. Here's the list:

1. Straight Leg Crunches
2. Seat Raises
3. Seated Crunches
4. Cross Leg Seated Raises
5. Isolated Box Crunches
6. Seated Leg Scissors
7. Seated Leg Raises
8. Seated Leg Circles
9. Toe Touches
10. Single Leg Crunches
11. Stacked Feet Crunches
12. Seated Twists
13. Oblique Twists

Below is a link to a video demonstarting these wrokouts.

Abdominal Exercises for Boxers Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMdSor8_UI0

Abdominal Exercises for Boxers Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R34yAmgv-Mw

Train Hard, Train Smart.

Alex

Recommended Dieting and Nutrition Books

Here's two recommended books on dieting and nutrition.

Eat this, Not that:

http://www.menshealth.com/eatthis/index.php

The Fighter's Body, An Owner's Manual:

http://www.amazon.com/Fighters-Body-Nutrition-Exercise-Excellence/dp/1880336812

You can pick these books up at any Borders or Barnes and Nobles.

Keep Focused,

Alex

What is Boxfit?

This blog is the official blog of BOXFIT Martial Arts Fitness and Personal Training. In this blog, you will find useful tools to help you succeed in your goals for a healthy living.

BOXFIT is a program that offers a unique spin on personal training. The training provided by BOXFIT is a customized personal strength and conditioning program mixed with elements of martial arts suited to fit your personal goals. BOXFIT exclusively offers three fitness programs designed to meet your needs: LIFIT, FIGHTFIT, and Self Defense.

LIFIT
If you have no time to hit the gym and need that extra bit of boost for motivation, the LIFIT program is the right one for you. It is designed to help reach your fitness goals. We provide you with a diet solutions and a workout log. These logs help keep you on track of your progress and monitor your diet.

FIGHTFIT
If you are looking to drop weight, improve your cardio for a match, or want to hone your skills, the FIGHTFIT program is designed to help. We inspire fighters by intense cross training sessions; help maintain the discipline needed to make your fight weight; and improve in the ring conditioning.

SELF DEFENSE
If you are taking KRAV MAGA and would like to hone your striking abilities, improve your techniques, or learn to defend yourself, the Self Defense program is designed to help protect you and keep you fit.

CHOOSE A PERSONAL SESSION OR A DOUBLE SESSION
If you have a family member or a friend, you would like to join you. You can choose to have a double session, where you can motivate each other, get to your fitness level goal, improve your techniques with a friend, and receive quality instruction.