YOU CAN DO IT

As an instructor i say that phrase A LOT when I teach our 40RTY boot-camp programme or when i’m working 1 to 1 with clients. People think it’s just something i say to try and get people to push through the exercise or to help them get through the session and i guess at some level it is but in truth i honestly believe it is also much more than that.

When it comes to exercise and weight loss (and many other areas of life) i can’t tell you how much i believe that an individual has the power to change themselves starting by simply doing one thing – telling themselves they can do it. I mean that not in a pseudo motivational kinda way – i simple mean that the biggest ‘light-bulb’ moment i had was when i came to the conclusion that “i can do it”. 

For as many years as i can remember i had told myself that i was fat and rubbish at any kind of sport / activity. Some of that was from people teasing etc and i was bullied for it at school but the BIG truth was I chose to believe it. I let those unhelpful thoughts control my whole life for years which when you think about how misleading thoughts are is less than ideal! I’m not psychologist so will let those qualified explain what i mean about identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts here – have a read – it can really help!

My light bulb moment came when i realised that by constantly believing myself to be a useless case i was keeping myself from making a change – i won’t be dramatic and say ‘from that day on‘ etc but i did pretty much start making changes very soon after coming to the conclusion that i could do it – i decided that if it was my problem then i had the power to change and improve the situation. So – i did – but how?

I’m known as being blunt – too direct perhaps with people asking for help with weight loss / fitness but let me really spell out what i mean and why. The following is VERY blunt, sit down and don’t react – you’ve been warned.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR CURRENT SITUATION – IF YOU ARE OVERWEIGHT IT IS BECAUSE AT SOME LEVEL YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU SHOULD BE SO YOU CONTINUE TO ASSIST THAT BY YOUR LIFESTYLE CHOICES. IF YOU ARE NOT VERY FIT IT IS BECAUSE YOU CHOOSE TO BE THAT WAY – NOBODY IS GOING TO CHANGE YOU EXCEPT YOU AND UNTIL THAT THOUGHT BECOMES CLEAR IN YOUR HEAD YOU WILL TRY AND FAIL OVER AND OVER JUST AS I DID.

Harsh huh? Yes – definitely but that was the talking to i gave myself and subsequently to others i have had the great pleasure of working with that went on to make very positive and life changing adjustments to their thinking – that in turn led them to some great and very inspiring changes. Rather than being cruel i honestly think this way of thinking is incredibly helpful! When you realise that you and you alone have the power to make changes it liberates you from all the nonsense reasons you have put in front of you as to why you can’t do it – any of these ring a bell?

• No time
• Too old
• Too fat 
• Don’t like exercise
• Its my genes
• Its not my fault – i’m just big
• Can’t afford it
• Too busy
• Too late for me
• I’m rubbish
• Can’t get motivated

Etc etc etc, blah blah blah – i’ve heard the above and many (many!) more over the years i’ve been working with people and a fair few of those were my own thoughts. By literally slapping yourself in the face and telling yourself that they are all utter nonsense you allow the mist to clear and you can begin your journey! Dramatic eh? Mist lifting – seeing the opportunities laid out in front of you? 🙂 Perhaps but blowing all the fluff and romance away it was HUGELY empowering for me to realise that if it was my – for want of a better word – fault – then i had the power to change the situation. Constantly blaming outside factors (and yes they do hinder your initial efforts but give me any excuse and there will be hundreds if not thousands of people that have the same issues that have still done it) just prolongs the issue.

By facing up to the truth that if you want something the starting point to getting it is accepting your situation and making the decision to change.

So when i say ‘You can do it’ i really, really mean it – believe that you can do it – push yourself just a little more, be just that tiny bit better with your nutrition, ask for a little help – small, steady steps accepting fully that you are in charge is how i and others i’ve met over the years have made some very big changes.

Your life lies in your hands – don’t bluff yourself into thinking any other way – go for it and if you need ANY help just reach out but be prepared to work!

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Our 40RTY 8 week challenge launches July 1st!

If you are looking to make a real improvement to both your fitness AND your body then we are very (very!) confident our new 40RTY Bootcamp Training will help. For those that don’t know, our 40RTY classes are a series of 40 min (hence the name) HIIT / circuit training group exercise sessions held at NPC Gym in Loughborough.

We have 4 different variations:

• Cardio
• Fighter
• Resistance
• Cross training

Each class is designed for all fitness and experience levels and they have become very popular with both new and old members. We wanted them to be more though – the original concept behind 40RTY was always more than just an exercise class.

Transformation??

Recently we have had a lot of enquiries about our 40RTY Boot camp Training from people that have tried or are currently taking part in ‘transformation‘ type boot camps / group personal training. These enquiries have spurred us into writing this blog post to both highlight what we see our 40RTY Bootcamp Training as and how it may differ or perhaps more importantly, be similar to what they are used to.

Transformation type courses and programmes have sprung up everywhere – what was a few years ago simply a structured fitness and weight loss boot camp is now peddled as some sort of highly specialised programme. Essentially the majority of these group exercises programmes are simply circuit training sessions hyped up as something else. Circuit training was first cemented and officially categorised as an exercise type back in 1953 by R.E. Morgan and G.T. Anderson from the University of Leeds but its roots go back further to early military training and in many differing forms way, way back into history.  In more recent times different types of circuits have evolved but they are much the same – periods of work with a varying degree of rest repeated multiple times and with multiple exercise types. As much as certain people may want you to believe, this stuff really isn’t rocket science for the vast majority of the people that it could help.

We love circuit training (we really do!) in all its formats and truly believe it is one of the most effective ways to help people work towards multiple weight management and fitness goals. In fact circuits in some form or another has played a part of everything we’ve done as instructors – from weights based ones for ourselves and our clients to community boot camps and residential weight loss and fitness holidays.

We obviously have nothing against it so whats the problem? Well, two things – 1 = cost and 2 = nonsense used to make it sound like something much more than it really is or to make it sound much more complicated. The people that we have been speaking with have been telling us about MONTHLY fees of anywhere between £70 and £200+ a month – are they really worth the cost? Some people clearly think so – fair play to them if they do – different horses for different courses after all – and definitely so if they have seen good results BUT have they been drawn in by hype? Could they have achieved the same results (or better) by something as simple and much more affordable as simple circuit training? We think so and it is the reason our 40RTY programme was conceived. Below summarises what 40RTY is and what it can do.

The name is simple –  no ‘meta‘ this or ‘functional‘ that – it simply relates to that fact that our sessions are 40 mins long 🙂 Next – it costs £35 a month – no other joining fees but we do recommend MyZone heart-rate monitors to get the most out of the 8 week programmes – we can supply those at £65. Saying that we have plenty of members that don’t use them and still get great results – option is there if people want it.

Is this right for you?

Yes, we think so if you are looking for something to:

• Help with weight loss – particularly fat loss
• Increase your all round fitness
• Better your muscle tone
• Gain greater ‘usable’ strength
• Improve muscle endurance

What the £35 monthly fee includes:

• Access to classes everyday of the week – weekdays 2 per day with more being added as we approach the Autumn. They also change everyday so no boredom here.
• Accountability – we help you keep track of your goals through body composition tests, fitness tests – don’t panic – they are suitable for all levels and mini goal tracking and ongoing support with our rolling 8 week challenges – when you finish one we will help you get going on to the next, helping you constantly improve.
• Nutrition advice – simple, easy to follow nutrition help from Doctor level specialists that work with elite level athletes. No fad diets – just healthy food choices and an abundance of recipes.
• Full open gym membership – group exercise may not be the only thing you like to do – by allowing our members full access to the gym at other times they can work on specific targets individual to them.

The 8 week challenge part of 40RTY is designed to be as effective as the transformation type programmes out there BUT we want people to look beyond the 8 weeks – simply using the first one as a stepping stone to the next – constantly moving forward and making greater and greater. We also feel that as the membership is more affordable it opens up this type of fitness to people from all walks of life.

Did we also mention that we are happy for you to try FREE 5 sessions to see if you like it? Put it to the test – see how it compares to what else is around – we’re confident you will enjoy it – grab a free guest pass here

As ever – any questions please ask

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BOOT CAMP 2.0

For a large percentage of the weight loss and fitness population boot camps work – period. If you are looking to lose weight / tone up / build fitness then an 8 or 12 week high volume (we mean lots of sessions) boot camp will work and get you closer to your goal than virtually any other type of training plan we have tried.  The have pro’s and cons and in this brief article we want to share those with you and how we think our new 40RTY programme can improve it.

BOOT CAMP PRO’S

• It works! – Sounds daft but they biggest reason we recommend 8 to 12 week boot camps is they work!
• Wide degree of variety – The training sessions should vary throughout the week and be progressive so you can see and feel results.
• Results driven – Constant monitoring of things like weight, fitness, body composition etc keeps highlighting improvements.
• Accountability – having an instructor pushing you, making sure you attend the classes and monitor results
• Team spirit – It creates a great team feeling amongst participants

BOOT CAMP CONS

• Expensive – very often these kind of boot camps are sold as ‘transformation’ (whatever the hell that means) as subsequently charge an inflated price.
• Set times – although the sessions run multiple times a week – they tend to be at fixed times once per day maximum – not ideal if you are tied to certain work hours or have children.
• It is very very tough for a lot of people – the drop out rate can be quite high due to over exertion / over use. The transformation industry has made this worse – quick fix to look as good as possible as quickly as possible normally resorts to stupid dietary changes // fad products and a huge focus on how much can be lost in the time.
• It ends – the biggest negative in our opinion – having an end date may feel good as you can aim for something BUT very often (and we have seen this so many times) people are left a little lost as to what to do next and quickly slip back into old habits

We had been toying with a solution for ages and think we may have something that is close to a boot camp but with less of the cons – 40RTY is our solution

What is it

On the face of it is simply a group exercise programme using circuit type training (boot camp, functional and hiit style as well as more traditional barbells etc) but we think buy making some small tweaks it stacks up pretty well against the 6, 8 or 12 week style things on offer. It is designed for people that want to:

• Lose weight 
• Get fitter
• Tone up 

Basically what most people start out on the fitness trail for.

40RTY is:

• Varied classes – not only styles but each class will be different to the next – you will never do the same session twice
• Morning and night time sessions 6 days a week to allow flexibility
• A plan – you can tell us what you are looking to achieve and we can help you monitor and move towards it
• Accountability – we will be monitoring attendance, helping you keep track of your progress and if you use a MyZone monitor we can help even to keep you on track
• Great team spirit – working together in this type of environment creates real camaraderie. Not only this but we have set up a closed Facebook page for participants to further help each other
• It has no end date – when you have finished your 8 week challenge we simply help you review what you did and move onto the next stage – great for continued improvements. Sustainability is the number one thing that will get you were you want to be – this kis a journey – the longer you stay with it the better your results will be.
• Less intense – as we are not racing toward a strict finish line we don’t need to make the training stupidly hard – you can and will be pushed (harder than you think you can manage should you so wish) but it is not needed – this is great for those just starting out.
• Affordable – all included as part of our £35 a month rolling membership – no other fees however we would massively suggest looking at a MyZone monitor – 40RTY participants can get those for £65

40RTY starts officially on the 4th of June but we have classes running now for you to try – grab a free pass below to try it for your self of just to find out more

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FORTY – Bootcamp training

From June we will be launching a brand new ‘rolling‘ boot camp group exercise timetable.

Along with our current evening and weekend sessions we will be adding early morning sessions starting at 06:10. These sessions will be 40 mins long (hence the name – we’re great at naming stuff here!) and will be in a boot camp format.

We have taken the decision to roll out new classes rather than an 8, 12 or whatever week boot-camp. We like boot camps, love the training style in fact – nothing wrong them at all…. except…  very often people try and try and try during the weeks whilst they are taking part only to ditch so much of what they have achieved within weeks of finishing it.

Although we have ran many 12 and 8 week boot camps in the past we feel they no longer represent the best way to get people seeing results. Our thinking now is to have 3 distinct types of 40 minute classes available throughout the week. The new timetable will offer both early morning, evening and weekend options to allow a person to complete as many sessions as they feel suits their needs and current ability levels.

All the new classes will fall under the umbrella of the 40RTY Boot camp training but have 3 separate formats

RESISTANCE – the idea of these sessions is to maintain or build lean muscle and tone – lean muscle is vital to a persons training for any aesthetic goals and is often a key part of the plan missed out.  We will use barbells, dumbbells and bodyweight in this class

CROSS TRAINING – these sessions uses the varied equipment we have here at NPC to create a class that will boost heart rate, tone muscle and build strength – this session is an all in one calorie burning fest!

CARDIO – these sessions are designed to get you up into your higher heart rate zones and push your fitness – think bodyweight burpees, lunges and a ton of ab work!

By taking part in a number of varied sessions each week you can be sure to tick all the fitness boxes. The sessions in a nutshell are all:

• 40 mins long – short and sweet… maybe not so sweet actually 🙂 
• Varied – you will never do the same workout twice – we feel this is important to help keep things exciting and to stop the body from becoming complacent
• Inclusive – they are suitable for all levels of exerciser – from beginner to elite
• Challenge focused – helping people monitor their weight or fat loss while setting fitness related goals that they can successfully move towards. This adds a boot camp feel to the classes and is a key part of helping people stay focused and on track.

As of this coming week (14th May) we will have 3 early morning sessions trialling Monday, Thursday and Friday – by June that will roll out to 5 early sessions.  The evening sessions will also start to support the boot camp style and become a similar format. Please note this does not mean we will be losing the more specialised OCR or FIGHTER style classes – it will simply affect the more generic circuit classes.

These new boot camp style classes are all included with our normal full peak membership which is £35 month – until June though any membership will be allowed to take part.  There is no extra cost to take part however we do use group heart rate monitoring software – we would strongly recommend you look into a Bluetooth heart rate belt for this purpose.

We honestly think these new style of classes will make a huge difference to peoples fitness and subsequent weight loss an fitness goals. Drop us a line if you’d like to find out more information. If you gave never been to us before grab a free 3 visit pass here

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Self Discipline

Self-Discipline. 

Including all other factors such as age, sex, ability and experience the number one decider in my experience as to whether a client, gym member or any other person i’m talking with about weight loss / fitness etc is how much self-discipline they have.  People can talk the talk but sadly far fewer can actually walk the walk, at least not for long enough to get to their goal 😦

I think a lot of this is to do with how society seems so quick to point the finger or blame something else for all manner of problems. The thing that got me thinking about this and prompted this rather ranty post was catching a snippets of a TV show on the ‘alarming‘ amounts of sugar we in the UK consume each year. Somehow the TV show managed to drag out a very simple issue into an hour of TV! I was watching it whilst doing other jobs so flitted in and out but saw enough to get the general feel and what it was all about.

The programme spent most of its time going from one big food company to another scolding them for the high amounts of sugar in the cereal they produced or alerting us (the poor general public) to the evil scheming of newsagents such as WHsmith who, heaven forbid, place chocolates and sweets that they want to sell to us next to the till. I was cursing the programme makers as this type of drivel only strengthens peoples excuses as to why they cannot achieve their health and fitness ideals. Very little infuriates me more than the ‘wah wah, it’s not my fault’ behaviour and mentality of this kind of thing, drives me crazy!

When I walk the isles of the supermarkets I am subject to the same kind of marketing tricks as anyone else, BUT I have enough self-discipline to choose to not grab any kind of crap I fancy (and boy, do I fancy it sometimes!) and put it into my trolley.  I’d love to sit and fill my face with something like a whole chocolate cheese cake / massive bag of crisps or any number of things that these evil companies try to trick me into buying 😊 but I know that I simply cannot – at least I cannot and stay a healthy weight / shape etc. Yes, I do eat those kinds of things, but I do so under control.

No, not like the in the video above, just my own self control 😊

I don’t blame the companies or anyone else for forcing or tricking me into eating them. Unless people having been living in a cave away from the internet or any kind of media for the last 15 years or more they DO know what things they should eat less of and that they need to take more exercise – the thing is some people simply just lack the reason and determination to do so. You are more than welcome to argue the toss over which actual foods are the ‘best’ or what is the most effective exercise – BUT you can’t tell me that people are shocked to hear that taking no exercise and eating a diet high in sugar and kcals is not the healthiest decision.

Will Smith on this self-discipline issue.

As a trainer it’s great to hear that people want to improve themselves and I want to say the same as Will does in the video – yeah, go for it, you can do it etc etc BUT the sad fact is most people just don’t want to do it enough to offset the lifestyle they like. They may say they want to be ‘ripped’ / have a six pack / get a great ass or whatever but they still want to eat the crap / drink or binge watch the latest box set rather than go to the gym. ☹

It is sad as it really is pretty simple to make a change. It comes down to this.

1. Having a goal
2. Making a plan to help you get to that goal
3. Sticking with it – THE most important part!

Period –  that’s it – honestly – no tricks, no magic to it – just one small step at a time, one change at a time – slow and methodical is all it takes to make a real, and I do mean REAL significant difference.

I think when I look back at it I had my sort of eureka moment with my own fitness / weight loss changes when I stopped making excuses and blaming every other thing in my life. I worked too long hours, I didn’t enjoy the gym, I’m a fussy eater, it’s not fair wah wah wah etc etc. I had tons of reasons why I thought I could not make a successful change. Truth was it was all bullshit – I had put these false barriers in my own way, no one else was to blame for how I lived my life. If I wanted to make changes to help improve my health and how I looked / felt then I had to step up and do it.

I can on occasion be brutally honest with some clients, at least with the ones I think are least likely to punch me in the face or storm off crying! I tell them that it’s so important to admit to themselves that it is their fault that they are in this current situation. 100% – no one else to ‘blame’ like the TV show was trying to tell them. They need to realise this key thing before they can move forward. It’s not their job /kids / injury or any other number of excuses – its them that need to make the change. I’m pretty sure for every person I’ve met with any given reason why they can’t lose weight / get fitter I also know at least one (very often many more) that have the same type of circumstances but have still made the changes needed to be successful.

People do sometimes miss my meaning – I’m not trying to be mean or nasty or make out they are a weak or bad person – on the contrary – I want people to realise that if they admit it is their doing that places them in this situation they can also make positive changes to get them where they want to go. When I finally admitted this to myself years ago it made an enormous difference to me – I suddenly felt that I could steer my own life in a direction I wanted to and began to train / lose weight / quit smoking etc. It didn’t happen overnight and I’m still making some bad choices BUT having self-discipline and acknowledging that it is me that chooses what I do helps to keep me on course.

Once you realise that all it takes is self-discipline you also do away with the other word I tend to avoid – motivation. I often joke I don’t believe in motivation – I’m not motivated to do my taxes or pay my bills, but I don’t want the negative impacts of not doing them more! It’s a case of just getting on with it. If people thought about looking after themselves more like that they would get along a whole lot better 😊

The upshot to all this and the reason for the post is to hammer home that you are in control of a lot more than you sometimes admit to yourself. You have the ability and can make the choice to make changes that will positively impact your life and most likely the people around you as well. All you have to do is decide to do it – then stay disciplined like the guy in video below. Simply stick with it day in day out and you can and will do it – don’t fall for the excuses the media, society and even your own brain will try and feed you – you are you own boss – now lets do this 🙂

 

The Programme

Here at NPC we do a lot to encourage women to try different styles of fitness training and have ran numerous programmes and courses aimed to provide information, support and guidance.

Over the last few weeks we have had a few of our male members (and emails from people outside of NPC) asking about a training programme aimed at them, specifically those over 40 years of age. We think this is a great idea and have put together a plan!

Introducing our idea – THE PROGRAMME (we’ll be honest we couldn’t think of  a good manly name so kept it simple!) – a tailored 12 week plan aimed at men over 40 looking to make a change to their health and fitness. You don’t need to be at any certain fitness level – complete beginner through to those more experienced can be catered for.  You also don’t need to be a member here at NPC although you would need to train somewhere with access to standard gym equipment.

The Programme will be available initially as a 12 week written programme with access to online videos and support in the form of emails / messages etc. The will be no cost for this to our members and just a minimal cost for non members of £30. Some people we have been speaking with have expressed an interest in some sort of 1 to 1 guidance and we are looking into a package that would bolt on to the standard programme.  We can tailor that to the individual to suit their needs, time frame and experience.

At this stage we are just asking for people to get in touch if they are interested and we can go from there – just fill in the form below. Any questions please feel free to ask 🙂

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FREE drop in clinics

We are pleased to announce that we will be starting the first of our new drop in style training Q+A sessions. These sessions are designed to show the many different ways you can use the varied equipment and training styles here at NPC and also to give free, yes FREE advice on your training – even if you don’t train here! We will be running 2 to 3 sessions every week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  These sessions are not group exercise, they are not some sort of boot camp or class – instead they are designed to help individuals that may be a little lost in the gym put together training programmes or overcome training issues for their given goals.

Monday – 7pm until 8pm

These Monday night sessions will be focusing on training to aid fitness and fat loss.

Wednesday 7pm until 8pm 

On Wednesday nights the focus will be on resistance training – using weights, bands and bodyweight to improve strength and tone.

Friday 7:30 until 8pm

Quick blasts – this session will focus on how to get the maximum results in the shortest of times.

All the sessions are free and you don’t need to be here bang on time – like stated – the sessions are not group led – just information and guidance on how best to train at NPC or any other gym you happen to be at. We hope these sessions will help people to have more fun, see better results and make fitness a key part of their lives.

For more info drop us a line using the form below

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3 and a bit weeks to go :-)

It’s been a little while since i stuck a post up about the fight training / charity boxing match i have coming up in March (tickets still available by the way!) so i thought i’d do a quick check in to keep a few people that have asked up to date.

Ouch

Well, first off – i’ll be dead honest, the whole getting hit square in the face thing takes a little time to get used to – although the guys build you up slowly by this point in the training the ‘just give it 50%’ when sparring talk has gone out the window 🙂 🙂 It hurts – not horribly but it does how can i put it? ‘Wake you up a little?’  Then again not a big shock and as Jay (one of the coaches) puts it “Well, it was never going to be a tickling competition”!

Seriously though – not much other than actually being hit can really prepare you for this part of the training. One minute you are chatting nicely to each other about normal stuff – the next you are gloved up, mouth-guards in and trying to land some pretty fierce punches! At first it was a shock -BUT – strangely it becomes a little addictive – you can actually be friendly to each other one minute, then the next like Rocky and Apollo in Rocky III you are trying land as many punches on each other as possible.  I guess this kind of thing is programmed deeply into our DNA’s but in today’s society we just ignore it – pretending its not there – trust me – it is – maybe a long way down, hidden but it is there 🙂

Anyway – back to the posts main topic – my training. I wholeheartedly think that at the kind of level i am fighting at, physical fitness is right up there as the most important element to focus on. During the 8 weeks (5 of which we have nearly finished) the coaches can drill into you the basics of defence, good movement and strong offensive punching but the one thing that seems to make all this easier is a persons physical fitness. I’ve been lucky enough to have people offer to spar with me (hmm, thinking about it now they were VERY keen to jump in the ring with me lol) that have much more experience than me.  All of them so far have said that my fitness is making up for any small mistakes i am still making. Don’t get me wrong – they could all possibly out box me (some more easily than others) but one guy said by the end of the session i’m still going like that damn Duracell bunny advert haha –

I simply put that down to how much emphasis i put on sticking to my fitness training.

My current plan looks like the below – may not make much sense but a few of you will know more or less what it means – as ever VERY happy to help with anything like this if someone asks 🙂

Days training:

Monday – 30 mins max + Boxing training later NPC

Tuesday – work depending –30 to 45 mins + sparring after fighter another 20 mins

Wednesday – 20 to 30 mins

Thursday – 20 mins

Friday – 20 to 30 mins

Saturday pm – 60 mins – Sparring / bag work

Sunday – 60 mins NPC – training

 

Goals:

2 min explosive fitness

Shoulder strength, power AND pre-hab work to prevent injury – this is in the form of band stretching / rotational work and read shoulder / upper back work.

Maintain size and weight

 

Sunday

Rower intervals – 30 on / off x 4 sets – 60 sec rest between – 30 hard row / 30 steady NOT easy pace

Leg press – single – deep press with calf raise – power 3 x 6 each side

Week 1	Week 2	Week 3

 

Single arm press up 4 x 8/7/7/6

Week 1	Week 2	Week 3

 

Ab roll out 3 x 10 reps – use plank

Explosive band work

Ring work / sparring to finish

 

Monday

Prowler push 25m x 5 sets

Week 1	Week 2	Week 3

 

2 min bike – max work rate for 2 mins x 5 sets

Later boxing training for approx. 1 hour

 

Tuesday –ring work / sparring etc if busy pm – if not:

1. A) Squat, curl + press 12 kg
2. B) Burpees

PYRAMID 1 up to 10 A = 1 rep up / B = 10 reps down so start with 10 x Burpees then 1 x SCP / 9 x Burpees – 2 x SCP / 9 x Burpees etc

 

1. A) Box jump up
2. B) Goblet squat 24 kg

PYRAMID 10 down to 1

 

High pulls KB                    30 kg     x 15

Tuck jumps                                        x 15

Squat + press                    30 kg     x 15

Tuck jumps                         x 15

Jack-knife abs                    x 15

REPEAT x 2

 

TABATA

Press ups + Burpees

Wednesday circuit

Single arm snatch x 12 @30kg

Bent forward row x 12 reps @30kg

Burpees with press x 12 – Spade press up version

X 5 sets

 

Straight arm pullover x 12 x 3 @30kg

Cable upright rows 12 x 3 @

Cable curls 12 x 3 @

 

Thursday circuit

Nasty – 2 sets each of (week 1 = 8 reps / 2 = 10 reps / 3 = 12 reps)

 

Block 1

8 x Squat jacks

8 x Wall ups

8 x Grasshoppers

50 x Heel flicks

REPEAT x 2 to 3

Block 2

8 x Burpees

8 x Plyo press ups (knees down)

8 x Lunge jumps

50 x High knees – each high knee is a rep

REPEAT x 2 to 3

Block 3

8 x High jumps

8 x Surf ups

8 x High Knee Burpees

50 x Mountain climbers – each one is a rep

REPEAT x 2 to 3

 

Friday

Renegade row burpees x 8 each side +

Front + Side raise x 12 reps

4 sets

Week 1	Week 2	Week 3

 

Deadlift burpees x 8 – NOT heavy on first week +

Reverse fly’s + Seated rows

Week 1	Week 2	Week 3

The above my look like quite a lot but some of the sessions are quite short and i have been training pretty regularly before starting all this. Like any programme it needs to be adapted to the fit of the individual – i’m more than happy to help with that if anyone wants it.

Footnote – running

One of the things people often say when they see my training is that there is no jogging / running etc in it. Nope – none. Traditionally in boxing there is a lot of running – think about how we always see the hero boxer pounding the streets in any good fight film BUT i’m not preparing for some big 12 round professional fight and i don’t need to be looking to add extra cardio to help drop weight so quite simply i don’t do it.

If you think about it – training at a steady pace for 45 mins or more when the fight i will be doing is 3 x 2 min (very intense i really can not tell you how draining heavy sparring can be) rounds does not compute. The key parts of my training are based around short duration intense movements with short rest (or active recovery) periods thrown in. Does my style of training work – so far yes – i feel fit and the feedback i’m receiving after sparring etc backs that up. I want to know that no matter what happens in the fight it won’t be my fitness that lets me down, the one thing i have complete control over won’t be the reason it does not go to plan.

As ever – any questions etc please drop me a line – more than happy to help with any training plans / advice etc that may be of some use 🙂

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Spencer’s boxing challenge!

So, after all these years playing around with and training people (for fitness) on bags and mits its finally time for me to have a go myself and get in the ring! Saturday the 3rd March 2018 sees me take part in a charity boxing match organised by Real Boxing Challenge at the Corah Suite in Leicester. Why would a 40 something bloke want to suddenly get into the ring is a perhaps a valid question – here’s my answer 🙂

A bit of background…

Boxing training has always been something i’ve enjoyed – in fact well before i finally got into fitness in my late 20’s / early 30’s i had access to a friends punch bag in his garage and i loved it.  At the time i was overweight and unfit and the thought of actually going into a real club was crazy – i’d been bullied as a kid and had many preconceived ideas as to what would lay in wait for me if i went into a proper club (sadly i later found out how wrong i would have been but more on that later) so decided to just blindly plug away by myself.  I was constantly being told that weights and boxing was the ‘wrong’ way to lose weight and get fit by my friends so reluctantly i gave it up in the search for something else 😦

A few years past and i started to get in to fitness training – eventually becoming a qualified instructor and then a personal trainer.  Along the way i’d begun following all sorts of trainers online and by far the most influential to me was a guy in the US called Ross Enamait – he had a website and wrote some great blog posts and sold some really good PDF books which became the building blocks to my training. He re-kindled my interest in bag training and after really making it part of my own training gained a fitness based qualification called PadBox (awesome course ran by a proper boxing coach!) to help my clients that also wanted to learn the basics of safely hitting something 🙂 I also started training at Sileby Boxing Academy which was far from the fear inducing place i’d imagined – although – i’ll be dead honest the first time i went down i was nervous of what it might be like – very glad i did though – was a fantastic environment – great fitness building as well. The only issue i had was at the time 30 years old was the maximum allowed for amateur fighters and as i was older than that and my personal training work had picked up a sadly dropped the weekly sessions.

Fast forward a fair few years and i set up NPC – we had a few bags which i still loved using as part of my training and i had kept up the personal training 1-2-1 fitness pad work so boxing of some description still played a part in my fitness life.

I’ve often wondered what things would have been like for me if i’d got into something like boxing as a kid. I was teased and bullied a bit as child – nothing major but enough that it affected my school life and self confidence.  The thought back then of going into somewhere like Sileby Boxing Academy was simply too scary to even enter my head but i think it is a shame these places had and still have negative stereotypes associated with them. The people and trainers i met were great – friendly guys and girls there to get fit and burn off some energy doing something they loved. I feel now that if i’d gone to somewhere as supportive and fun as that when i was being bullied it would have got me fitter, helped me lose weight and given me a degree of self confidence which at the time i lacked.

So why am i actually doing this? 

Partly because of the chance to give something a go that i’ve done a lot of training for – ok, ok – VERY different i know as bags don’t often hit back but at least my fitness, co-ordination and bag work is quite good LOL.

Another reason though and if i’m dead honest the bigger reason i want to do this is to try and finally lay the pesky little demon of me being bullied to rest. Although i have a lot more confidence these days, am in pretty good shape and have a fairly good level of fitness i still feel sometimes that my past can hold me back from situations where i may be tested. Stepping into a boxing ring is, as friend of mine put it, simply a form of ‘pressure testing’ and i think it will give me the chance to prove to myself that i am able to stand up and face things that are daunting or scary – something the younger me would have avoided at all costs.

This is something particularly important to me as we are also really pushing our anti-bullying programme with children this year (more here on that) – facing up to fears and building self esteem is a key part to that.  I’m honestly not bothered if i win or lose – to be fair completing the training, actually getting into the ring and not getting knocked are the main prioritise 🙂

I’m going to do a much shorter weekly blog post on how i’ve been training and how the preparations are going and thought that might be interesting to some people – be sure to keep an eye out for those – i’ll also detail my training and eating plans and answer any questions people may have so ask away via the comments box below.

 

If you feel you could also do this there is time to still get on board – Monday and Thursday  7pm at NPC – no cost to train and you don’t need to be a member – who knows it might just give you a boost to your New Years training a resolutions!

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