Are you lazy?

*** this is copied from Aaron at Tempo Boxing. If you do not know him, you should. If you have not trained with him, you should. He is a real life "hero" (and a great guy)

Are you lazy? (be honest)

I know a lot of lazy people. People who would rather spend the day planted on their couch than anywhere else. People who choose take-out over home cooked, every night of the week. People who would rather have a root canal than go do a workout. Sure, I know that we all have our occasional lazy day on the couch, but lately it seems that more and more people are turning laziness into a career. What about you? Check if the following describe you:

* You are habitually inactive.
* You'd rather be a passive observer than an active participant.
* You're a master excuse-maker.
* You find shortcuts in order to avoid the long haul.

If that's you, don't get down on yourself. There are many legitimate causes of laziness.
Here are just a few...

Sleep Deprivation: When you're short on sleep it's easy to become unmotivated, which quickly turns into laziness. Get a minimum of eight hours of sleep each night in order to maintain enough energy to get you through the day. Some experts even say that ten hours of sleep each night is what you need to function at your best.

Caffeine Abuse: Starting your day with a jolt of java may help with your initial alertness, but the dip in energy that takes place a few hours later could be the reason that you become lazy later in the day. Avoid the rush and crash of caffeine and instead rely on your steady supply of natural energy.

Bad Habit: At some point being lazy simply becomes a habit. If every night after work you head straight to the couch, it soon becomes automatic and not a conscious decision. Breaking the habit of laziness is actually quite easy. Simply take yourself off of autopilot and make the conscious decision to do something productive instead - like heading to the gym rather than the couch.

Inactivity: If your job keeps you in a chair for hours at a time, and you don't exercise when off the clock, then your body is just accustomed to inactivity. It's time to wake up your under-used muscles and to reacquaint yourself with the joy of motion. A simple way to get back into the swing of things is to go on a 30 to 60 minute walk either before work or after you return home. Once you've broken yourself in with consistent walks, contact me to get started on a fitness program that will quickly get your body back into great shape.Laziness begins when you ignore that little nagging voice in your head. You know, the one that reminds you when you should take action on something rather than sit by and let the opportunity slip away.

Is today the day that you will kick laziness to the curb?

Is today the day that you will take action toward achieving your goals?

Is today the day that you will listen to that little voice of reason?

(thanks Aaron!)

What a Wonderful World

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces, of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, sayin' "how do you do?"
They're really sayin' "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Oh yeah


It IS a wonderful world after all, isn't it?

Boxing Basics

Boxing is a core skill which every good fighter should have.

Here are some ideas on how to organize your knowledge of "the sweet science"

Basic attacks

jab (high, low) - lead hand probing shot; bread and butter of boxing

cross (high, low) - rear "power" hand

hook (lead hand, rear hand) - circular shot parallel to the floor. Can be high (head) or low (body)

uppercut (lead hand, rear hand) - tight upward shot perpendicular to the floor.

Basic Blocks

cover - elbow up and hand to ear - like brushing your hair

catch - use rear hand palm/fingers to swat down jab

cuff - use closest hand in a circular motion against cuff of opponent's glove

dodge/slip - bend knees/turn head to evade to inside (near other hand) or outside (away from other hand)

roll - move glove down to ribs, dip head and use shoulder to take shot

cross glove - use opposite side glove to smack down attack

forearm - put foream/elbow tightly against your ribs to protect against low shots

bob and weave - bend knees and dip under the shot. DO NOT lean forward

pull - shift weight to 70% back foot and lean your upper body away from the shot - RETURN IMMEDIATELY

Most common attacks and their blocks

attack block

jab - catch/cuff/pull/dodge

cross - cover/dodge/roll

hook - cover/pull/cross glove/bob and weave, forearm (if low)

uppercut - cover/pull/cross glove, forearm (if low)

Long Distance Attacks (can return long distance counter or close in)

- jab

- cross

* long distance in boxing is actually "middle distance" which extends to kicking range (long distance) or contracts to short distance

Short Distance Attacks (usually returned with short distance counters)

- hook

- uppercut

* short distance expands to long distance or contracts into clinch distance (elbows/knees/headbutt) or grappling/wrestling

Key Footwork Concepts - plant feet everytime you hit; don't hit when moving

triangle stepping - move 45 degrees away from incoming shots (esp hook/cross) to dissipate attack power

triangle punching power - triangle between both feet and puch impact point to generate max power

45 degree principle - slip and evade to step out 45 degrees to opponent's back pocket

V-step - bob and weave should bend knees and be a "V" shape down and back up

See you in the ring!