Outside the Ring

The Meaning of Milestones

2010-04-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have always set goals in my life and actively set out to achieve each one of them. My hard work has consistently paid off as I have successfully accomplished what I set out to do in all areas of my life. My journey to achieve my goals has not come without detours, challenges and bumps in the road. I have been tested and temporarily derailed at times, yet my sense of determination has lead me to move beyond roadblocks and continue my path forward towards my goal. My goals in life have centered around this particular vision I have of what I believe I am meant to do, my purpose and who I see myself as. I have created this vision of myself and my life and never thought in a million years competing as an amateur boxer would be part of this plan.

The funny thing about life is it hands you opportunities just when you are ready for them or when you need to learn something more about yourself. As you have heard me say before life never gives you more than you can handle. On my journey as an amateur boxer this could not be more true. Each step of the way, with each training session, sparring session, and competition life has given me a little bit more of a test. With each step came anxiety, some fear, doubt, excitement, unknown and potential. I have gone through this journey with the mindset of wanting to test myself and simply wanting to become a better boxer. Win or lose I want to know that I am doing my best and coming closer to my potential.

Each step is a milestone. There is your first step into a boxing gym, then your first training session, to be followed by your first sparring session, next your first intense/competition sparring session and then your first fight. You train and train, working hard and you make progress...then at each milestone you experience two things. You experience pride for reaching the milestone and you simultaneously experience regression. Those couple steps back from the progress you have made. This is part of the process in life and in the ring. We move forward making progress and then we are tested and take steps back. But this is okay and to be expected. We find out here what we are made of and what we need to work on.

The meaning of milestones become very evident to me during my recent first experience competing at the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament. Prior to the tournament I had a record of 4-0. I had gotten over my first fight jitters, competing in the unknown of private shows, my first stoppage and more. I had made many strides forward and back. I never would have thought that tournament fighting would have been such a milestone. I have been in front of crowds, dealt with the pressure I put on myself, and performed, but this was different. I was actually competing for a championship. It felt almost like my first fight all over again. It's crazy what adrenaline can do to you!

It was almost surreal. A year prior I would have never imagined competing let alone competing in the Chicago Golden Gloves! And here I am getting ready to step into the ring to win the championship in my division. Looking back now I understand my anxiety...it was yet another first. And when we are doing something for the first time and stepping out of our comfort zone we come up against fear, nerves, excitement, apprehension, anticipation, doubt and more. We have to go through firsts to become our best. We have to go through these milestones, these uncomfortable experiences to truly realize our potential.

Competing in this tournament was definitely a milestone in my life. It showed me I can do this. I can box, I can compete, I can move beyond my fear and anxiety and do things that make me uncomfortable. I can overcome and I can succeed. And though I am more than proud of myself for competing and winning, the most important thing that comes to me is what I learned about myself. With each milestone I grow as a person and a boxer. Despite the fact that I must say the championship fight was not my best performance, I now realize even more clearly the mental piece of the game. I realize the impact of firsts and milestones. I realize how progress is made. Fighting and life play by the same rules much of the time. As we move forward we must at times step back.

Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness is proud to announce that Coach Jess took home the victory! She is the 2010 132lbs Female Senior Novice Chicago Golden Gloves Champion! We are very proud of her and grateful to all our supporters! This was a big step for her and as you read above a milestone. She will be the first to tell you competing truly tests you and you grow more than you ever imagined you could!

Discipline vs. Willpower

2010-04-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

The difference between discipline and willpower first came to my awareness when I began studying Intuitive Eating (a anti-diet philosophy). The area of dieting runs rampant with the word willpower. In commercials, print ads, and conversation regarding diets and weight loss we hear the importance of willpower preached over and over again. The problem with willpower can be found in its definition. According to Intuitive Eating authors Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole, "Willpower can be defined as an attempt to counter natural desires and replace them with proscriptive rules." Using this definition it's easy to see how willpower can only take us so far because at some point our natural desires will supersede what we are telling ourselves we should do. Willpower can even induce rebellion, it has a connotation of being unpleasant.

Now I am not trying to bash the idea of willpower. I am all for "where there is a will there's a way." We do need the "will" to accomplish what we set out to accomplish. Yet we must realize that our will to accomplish must align with our deep values. In Intuitive Eating they point out why willpower does not work with diets. Diets tell us certain foods are forbidden and bad, and we need willpower to avoid those foods. Yet if deep down we don't, rightfully so, believe a food is bad we will eventually "given in" to temptation. It is much easier for us to follow what we deeply believe in rather than that which seems counter to our values. (check out the book Intuitive Eating p. 51 for more explanation)

So what makes discipline different from willpower?

In the athlete's world we hear much more talk about discipline than willpower. Athletes are said to have discipline or lack it. And having discipline is part of what leads to success and makes champions. Now with that said athletes sometimes have to do things that don't align with natural desires and have to do things that are rigid and rule bound. They must have a level of willpower to overcome pain, discomfort, etc. And while this is true possessing discipline again is what creates champions.

The author's of Intuitive Eating refer to the work of Stephen Covey when explaining the concept of discipline. Covey's work explains that "if you are a disciple to your own deep values that have an overriding purpose, it's likely that you'll have the will to carry them out." (Intuitive Eating, p. 51). It is much easier to do what you set out to do when it aligns with your own values. This requires that you begin to take a look at what your values are, what you believe in and what gives you purpose.

An athlete can only will him/herself to train hours a day if doing so aligned with a deeper belief. I find this true for myself. I have trained for recreational purposes and competitively for many years and have been asked how I do it. How do I train daily without fail even when I don't want to? I value strength, self-reliance, health, preparedness, respect, accountability, and being my personal best. Training daily is part of living those values. I gain the will to carry out my daily training because of the level of importance those values have for me.

This is different for every athlete and every individual. Some athletes and individuals do not easily will themselves to do what they are even paid to do. While other athletes, who are talented champions, would not think of not following their training programs. In life and in sport the more we can focus on our values or behaviors will most likely come more easily. When we act in a way that does not align with our values we will feel conflict and even at time unhappiness.

So whether you are training for competition or health, ask yourself why? What do you value? Are you following those values? Or are you just trying to use willpower to get yourself to do something you don't deeply believe?

Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness is a training facility designed to lead you on a path to success in and out of the ring. Our students and coaches are here to help you discover what more about yourself than you thought you could. You will discover what you value and how to challenge yourself to get what you want out of life.

Skill is King in the Ring!

2010-03-28T16:53:00.001-07:00

"Conditioning drills will only benefit those fighters who master the fundamentals. Boxing is a sport that relies on skill and strategy. Conditioning drills will help you perform at your best, but you need skill to apply your conditioning." ~Ross Enmait

Many fighters can easily get caught up in training hard all the time, focusing too much attention on conditioning and spending too little time on skill development. We want to do the fun stuff, the stuff that makes us sweaty and sore, the stuff that comes easy to us. And while conditioning is a huge part of a fighters training, we cannot neglect skill development. It's can be the boring stuff that if practiced separates the boxers from the scrubs.

We need and must rely on our basics, the fundamentals. Without our fundamentals, all the conditioning in the world won't win a fight. We must be patient and give attention to our skill development daily. A fighter will stand in front of a full length mirror everyday and attempt to perfect his jab, improve his pivoting, and work on his weaknesses. A fighter knows that it's his skill in the ring is what will win the fight.

Many new students come to the gym wanting to be fighters and have no clue what that means or entails. At Warrior, it is a journey that starts from the ground up. If you want to fight, you must practice your basics, you must focus on your skill in conditioning workouts and you must give 100%. We start all students with stance and systemitcally progress them through basic punches and beyond. We do not move on with a student until they can do each skill correctly. We must not move students through this too quickly because if that cannot throw a jab correctly chances are their cross won't come out the way it needs to. Each punch and body movement builds on each other. Therefore if we speed through mastering the basics, we will train bad habits and lack what is needed to box.

This many times slow, tedious process of mastering the basics is again what sets a fighter apart from the rest of a team. The one who stays after class to practice his jab because it just didn't look right during the workout. The student who comes in early and practices jump rope every day before class because she knows mastering it will help her timing and agility. The guy who stands in front of that mirror practicing body rotation round after round while others sit around talking. Skill is king in the ring! Set yourself apart from the rest and take the time to practice daily! And remember that in your conditioning workouts at that heavy bag you must throw each punch with the goal of perfection. If you train slop in the gym, you will get slop in the ring. And no matter how great of shape you are in, if you're skills aren't there don't plan on winning.

Whether you train with us at Warrior or any other gym, remember take the time to develop your fundamentals, don't rush it...it will pay off in the end! If you do train at Warrior and you want to fight neglecting skills practice is not an option. If you are a new student, a prospect or a fighter on the team remember...

Trust Your Path

2010-03-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

In the ring and in life, I believe we all have a path we are meant to travel. Sometimes we don't know where that path will lead us and sometimes we do. Sometimes we fight where we are headed while other times we embrace it. Sometimes we have a hard time believing we are on the right path and comprehending why we are on this path. Each choice we make in life and in the ring leads us to a destination whether it be final or not. We never truly know where we will inevitably land, yet we always must have a vision of where we want to be.

If you would have told me a year again I would be fighting, I would have told you you're crazy! I had no clue that life was going to take me on a path that led to owning a boxing gym and competing. But what I did know is I had a vision and I knew what I wanted. And life seemed to be putting things in place that led me to where I am today.

Now of course there are always bumps in the road, challenges and obstacles to overcome, but that is part of the path. You must approach every situation as part of a bigger plan. Each bump, challenge, obstacle, success and opportunity is designed to keep you moving forward on the path that is best for you and will guide you to achieving your best.

Even when there are times of uncertainty, doubt, or confusion you must trust the path you are on and that is it guiding you towards your greatness. Your personal greatness does not have to be anything grand, it is just you being or doing what you are meant to be or do. There is a reason, though sometimes you won't know what it is, for why you are on the path you are on.

All of this become very clear to me at my last fight. I was nervous and excited yet not particularly as fired up as I would have wanted to be. I knew this was something I was meant to do in spite of whatever emotions or thoughts were running through my mind. I kept reminding myself that night as I waited hours before my fight, "you are never given more than you can handle" and "you are right where you are suppose to be". I redirected my energy and thoughts to those beliefs instead of focusing on winning or losing. This helped me throughout my fight and to my victory. And though I must say it was not my best fight, I knew I was doing what I came to do and wasn't going to give up. I followed my path. I tested myself and overcame fear to succeed at something I would have never imagined myself doing. I left that ring with pride and the realization that boxing is part of my path. And I must trust those around me that tell me so. Whether I am boxing to win a championship or to simply to test myself and grow personally I know boxing is something that is on my path to change my life. And to deny myself the opportunity to risk and trust is to deny the path set out before which leads to my vision.

You don't always get to choose exactly how you will get to where you are going but you must trust you are meant to get there. I love knowing that I can handle anything that comes my way, and part of my revived trust in that quality comes from testing myself in the ring.

To win in the ring you must trust! You must trust yourself, your coach and your training. You must trust your strengths and your abilities. You must trust that taking risks is what it's all about. You must trust that the path to victory comes with obstacles and instruction. You must trust your ability to score those points when you see openings.

To win in life you must all the same things you must trust to win in the ring! Life and fighting are both dances. In dancing there is no final destination just a vision accomplished through following a path. So be mindful of the path you are on. What is that path telling you? Are you thriving? Are you complacent? What are you learning from this path you are on? Is it part of your bigger plan or vision? Why are you on this path? Do you trust that you are right where you need to be? There are lessons to be learned at each step, be open to them so they can propel you forward.

At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness, our goal is to help you stay on a path towards personal success. Our coaches are invested in your personal and physical growth. We know what it takes to succeed and pride ourselves on providing all our of students with the tools and support to achieve their personal best!

Overcoming Doubt

2010-03-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

When we are taking on a new challenge, task or embarking on a competition many times we experience doubt. We may spontaneously find our mind silently questioning our abilities, knowledge, training, preparation, etc. This doubt ebbs and flows. Sometimes it is a fleeting thought easily overcome by distraction or replacing it with a reality check. Sometimes the doubt is intense, constant and draining. Whether it is quiet or loud, doubt will be there. A large part of the transformation that occurs within individuals who compete is the discovery that they an endure the mental and emotional stress and accomplish more than they ever thought possible.

Doubt is a form of fear. It is a thought. Depending on the day, our mood, who you are surrounding ourselves with can dictate how much power we give this thought and accompanying feelings. We must remember that because doubt is a form of fear, it is simply reminding us that we are embarking on uncharted territory that we are stepping out of our comfort zone. This fear would prefer we stay "safe" and not push ourselves beyond our self-imposed limitations. Fear wants us to choose not to risk but to stay small and comfortable. It is up to us to choose to sit with the feelings and thoughts of doubt and move forward regardless of our discomfort.

We must decide to trust ourselves, our training and our coach. We must focus on being better in that moment then we were before. And although it seems crazy because of course we want to win, we must shift to focusing on simply performing our best no matter the outcome! When we are at our best and performing at our best, win or lose, we can step back from our contest without regret and with pride! With each challenge, risk, contest and competition we get better and this is what we strive for...improvement and progress! We will never be perfect, we must understand this and focus on getting better each time.

To overcome any doubts we have to...

1. Not worry about what others think about us

2. Focus on performance improvement

3. Trust yourself, your training, your coach

4. Acknowledge & accept your thoughts and feelings for what they are

5. Don't compare yourself to others

6. Accept that mistakes are part of the process and help you grow

7. Believe that you can do more than you give yourself credit for

8. Surround yourself with positive people

9. Reflect on times you have had doubt and done what you thought you could not do

10. Remember doubt comes from fear and the unknown...it wants to keep you small...you want to grow!

Overcoming doubt is part of competing as an athlete and a part of growing as an individual. Whether its in the ring or in life, we will at some point encounter doubt and its accompanying feelings. We have choices to make when we experience doubt. We can choose to believe and give into the doubt or we can choose to accept and overcome it. Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness provides its recreational and competitive students with the opportunity to challenge themselves, experience fear and doubt and grow. The coaches at Warrior encourage every individual in the gym to push beyond their self-imposed limitations and access their personal and physical potential. So whether you have aspirations of competing or want to achieve a personal goal Warrior is here to support you and guide you towards success.

Mental Recovery in Training

2010-03-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

Most of us understand and value the importance of recovery in our training routine. We train hard some days and bring down the intensity on other days. We take a full day or 2 off of training each week. It is critical to our performance that we implement recovery in our physical training. We must submit ourselves to stress and recovery in order to perform at our peak and improve our toughness.

The importance of recovery in the physical aspect of our training also holds true in the mental aspect of our training. As we train for competition physically it is important that we also train mentally and it is equally important that we recover mentally. If we only increase our mental stress during our training camp and never integrate mental recovery we will not go into battle 100% peaked.

This area of training stress & recovery often gets overlooked. We simply keep training hard, focusing, practicing and concentrating without implementing mental recovery. We may start to experience poor concentration, chronic mental fatigue, negative thinking and much more if we do not make time for mental recovery. Just as when we overtrain our bodies and end up feeling chronic fatigue, experiencing injuries and sleeping problems, we can overtrain our minds.

We cannot just focus on one thing for extended periods of time without negative consequences. We needs breaks, periods of rest and recovery. Putting our minds and bodies through stress is essential to developing toughness and performing at our peak. Stress is energy expenditure, it provides us with a challenge. Recovery is our energy recapture, it provides us with growth. We must break down muscles in physical training and build them back up in recovery and the same holds true for the mental piece of training.

So what are mental stress & recovery?

According to a book I highly recommend "The New Toughness Training For Sports" by James Loehr the following are considered mental stress:

Focusing
Mental practicing, thinking
Visualizing, imaging
Analyzing
Rehearsing tactics & strategies
Problem solving
Concentrating

And the following are what Loehr considers mental recovery:

Mind wandering
Feelings of mental relief
Increased calmness
Brain activity slowing down
Increased sense of slowing down mentally
Increase fantasy
Increase spontaneous imagery
Decrease focus
Increase creativity

The key to training our mental recovery is making time for it during appropriate times. The last thing we want is our mind wandering during competition. We need to make sure and build mental recovery into our training. We need to take time to cross train, watch funny movies, and participate in activities unrelated to our sport. For a boxer you might take a bike ride or play a game of basketball. For a tennis player you might choose to go play golf. No matter what you choose to do be sure to make time for mental recovery...you need to recharge your batteries, allow your mind time to rest & relax and give yourself free time to rebuild mentally. If we are constantly thinking, talking and engaging in our sport we will prolong the stress cycle and risk poor performance in battle.

As I gear up for the 2010 Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament, this is a concept I am very aware of. Fighting, as with all sports, is more mental than anything, so if I don't make time for mental recovery I run the risk of not performing at my peak. I must train my mind and body by submitting them both to stress & discomfort and I must also train my recovery. I must use my time between rounds to recovery and regroup, I must use my time between training sessions to relax and unwind. Going into battle with a balanced level of stress & recovery will lead to performing at my best!

So when you think about your training routine be sure to integrate recovery both mental and physical. You want to avoid being out of balance. You don't want to expend loads more stress than your recapture and you also don't want to spend loads more time in recovery than in stress. The coaches at Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness understand this delicate and critical balance. They will work with you to put you on a path towards peak performance. Whether you are recreational or competitive introducing stress & recovery into all areas of your life is key to success and happiness.

It Takes a Community

2010-03-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

In most of my writing about change, fighting, and personal growth I mention the importance of support. You know how much I value and place significance of having positive people in your corner. And when it comes to competing this couldn't be more true! A fighter or any athlete for that matter is not developed solo, it takes a community.

Fighters, athletes and anyone working on making change, growing and pushing past limitations needs a community to succeed. There are some many different types of supportive people you need to be your best. You need your cheering crowd! Those people that come out to support you as you compete, take risks and go for it! You need their positive, supportive energy behind you to push you forward. They sometimes know you can do it more than you do! These people scream your name, have your back, have confidence in you, and want nothing but the best for you.

Then you need the coach, mentor, or guide. The personal that has your best interest at heart. The one that many times has been where you have been. The person that knows you better than you know yourself. You need that person that will put you on the right path, give you direction, training, and their expertise. You must trust this person, their knowledge and their intentions. This person will keep you moving forward, push you beyond what you thought you could do (even if you kick & scream), and tell you the honest truth.

You need a partner. Someone who is going down the same path with you...teammates! These people are experiencing in the moment what you are. They can relate. They want to help you succeed. The are in your shoes. You can talk with them, work with them, sweat with them, and grow together. They provide support, motivation and camaraderie.

We need people. We need support. We need relationships in order to grow, succeed and be our best.

If you have ever watched a pro fight you see the community. Before the fight and after the fight, the boxer is not in the ring alone. He has his whole crew, his support team! He could not fight without them. Fighter's fight alone in the squared ring, yet they need the community to make them a fighter. They need people in their corner that are working for them, that are on their side.

This is true outside of the ring too. You can't make change without a community of support. Whether you are trying to lose weight, make a job change, recover from an addiction, or make any sort of change you need people in your corner. Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness prides itself on helping individuals make significant change in their lives and be their best by providing every student with a community of support!

The Importance of Private Lessons

2010-02-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

As a boxing coach and personal trainer I thought I always understood the true importance of private lessons. That individualized, one-on-one time when you get to work with your coach or trainer on you and only you is sacred and priceless! Now please know I don't say this as some sort of pitch to get you to sign up for private lessons because that is not my intent. I understand that for a variety of reasons private lessons/training sessions aren't for everyone, and that's totally okay. My purpose in writing on this topic is to illustrate what I have realized in working one-on-one with my boxing coach, Bob Miller.

When people decide to train whether it be for general fitness purposes, to compete or get healthy you have many choices when it comes to embarking on this endeavor. You can join a large health club and use the equipment, you can attend group fitness classes, you can join a running group, you can join a training facility and train for a specific sport, you can work with a trainer in small groups or individually...and the list goes on! The beauty of training or exercise is it is not one size fits all and we have lots of options. As a trainer, I enjoy doing all of it...large group classes, small group training, and private lessons/training. And each type has a different purpose, feel, and intention. Each has its advantages and disadvantages depending on your goals, needs and budget. The key is to finding what works for you!

Now back to my point on illustrating the importance of private lessons. As an athlete and a boxer I recently realized how essential and important my individual work with my coach is. I have been competing frequently and work hard at getting in my roadwork, skills training, sparring, etc. I typically make time for all of it and feel proud that I have been able to continue my rigorous training, while also running the gym with my business partner and coach. Due to crazy schedules and gratefully a busy, thriving gym my coach and I hadn't had much time to get our private lessons in. The past two fights have been successful wins for me despite not having had as much individual training time with my coach as he and I would have liked.

So as I approach my upcoming fight, my coach and I have found more time to get our work in. And I have realized the priceless value in our training time together. This is where I not only tweak things, make adjustments, learn, improve and grow, but this is where my coach has time to connect with me and see where my head is at. This is where the mental game is prepared as well. My coach can sense my confidence level, where my head is at, my focus, my challenges and my strengths. This is always where I, the athlete, pull my confidence and strength from. Knowing that my coach has a watchful eye on me and where I am at gives me the confidence to trust him and myself. When your coach truly knows where you are at physically and mentally, you can go into competition with confidence! He's got your back, he knows what to say to you, how to get you focused and how to get you to do things that lead to wins! This is key! My motto is trust your coach and trust your training...if you don't have that you won't win!

My one-on-one time with my coach is priceless to me. It's time that is just focused on me! How often do you get that? Me time is so important for all of us whether or not we are competing. Each of my training sessions with my students I know my intention is to focus solely on them, their personal and physical growth and transformation. Whether I am teaching someone how to throw jab or pushing them to do one more push-up, it's about them and getting them to be their personal best. The connection you have with your coach/trainer is so important. It leads to success! If you have a coach or trainer you don't like, enjoy or trust you will never get what you want. You want enjoy your experience and you want invest in your training.

We all need a little me time! Whether you are learning to box or simply trying to get in shape we have our own process, we all learn differently, and we all have our own pace. And while group classes and training sessions are amazing and essential for camaraderie and motivation when it comes to truly changing and growing we need that individual time and connection with our coach/trainer. That person that has again a watchful eye on us, knows us better than we know ourselves, that can inspire us, push us, and make us be and do more! We need that time with our coach/trainer to take an honest inventory of where we are at and how to get where we want to be. So while you move forward on your path towards personal and physical change ask yourself what you need. Do you need a little me time? Do you need some in your corner? Do you want someone to keep you on track?

No matter what you prefer, be it large group classes, small training sessions, or individual lessons remember that to get where you want to be you must invest 100% in what you are doing! Stay focused! Be accountable and responsible! Get support! Train Hard! Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness has training sessions to fit every individuals goals and needs, its up to you to decide what you want to do to succeed!

Training to Box vs. Training to Fight

2010-02-14T17:33:00.000-08:00

There is a big difference between fighting and boxing. A lot of people can fight, yet a lot less can actually box. Mastering the art of boxing is no easy task. Whether you are a recreational or competitive combat athlete you know that learning the intricacies and nuances of boxing is a time consuming, long journey.

And while boxing is much different than fighting, note that both take courage and strength. There are many combat athletes that get in the ring to test themselves and struggle to box, and again this does not discount what they do accomplish personally and physically by stepping in that ring.

When we first begin the process of learning to box, we mostly understand the fight aspect. We must punch, move forward, make contact with our opponent, we must learn to be aggressive, tough and also patient. The fight is very important and yet as we grow as combat athletes we must begin to understand boxing. It is an art. It is the sweet science. From the footwork, angles, and combinations to the style, intuitive adjustments and strategy. Boxing is never perfected though always practiced with the goal of achieving perfection.

So how does one train to box vs. train to fight? Well we train the fight over and over again in our conditioning workouts. We push our body beyond what we think is possible. We learn the basics and attempt to perfect them as we hit the bag. Our initial sparring sessions are typically about training to fight, getting in the ring and trying to put together our basics although we usually don't look like we are boxing at all. (and of course there are those select few that pick it up naturally and box much sooner than most)

I realized last week what it meant to train to box. In my most recent match I won and felt as if I was winning during the match. I was a bit more relaxed than in previous matches and I realized that I needed to find ways to strategically score points. That feeling of knowing I was winning made me recognize that I train to box not to fight. I want to become a better boxer. I don't simply train for one match or one tournament, I train with the goal of becoming the best boxer I can be. I want the speed, finesse, skill of those boxers I admire. I want to outbox my opponent.

The only way to become a better boxer is to box. And not just in sparring sessions. You need experience, ring experience. Sparring is our practice and it helps tremendously but at the end of the day nothing compares to real life competitive experience. We must do the thing that we want to improve on. We cannot duck competition and expect to become a better boxer. The mental piece of boxing and competing cannot be recreated outside of an actual match. You must go through the experience of prepping for a match, the pre-fight routine, stepping into the ring with an audience, boxing and standing in the middle of the ring at the end of the match waiting for your hand to be raised in order to improve as a boxer. This is because the experience of competition has an different impact on all of us and we need to go through that process in order to show us as a better boxer each time.

Training to box is an amazing experience. You go through your training camp, work with your team, have your crew supporting you in the corner, you compete, you win, you learn about yourself and you grow personally and physically. With each opportunity to compete I am proud to say that I have improved as a boxer and I looked forward to continued improvement. And to get better I must take matches, test myself and hone my skills with each opportunity.

For some boxers in training they have to deal with the unfortunate challenge that occurs in amateur boxing of not having opponents out there to compete against. This happens far too often in female amateur boxing. My sparring partner and friend has experienced this over and over again. She gets matched and the fighter doesn't show or pulls out, or we cannot find a match for her. This is a frustrating experience to a boxer in training who wants to grow and improve through testing themselves in competition. I admire her continued dedication to the sport as she continues to wait for the opportunity to compete. She knows that testing herself and putting all her training into action will make her a better boxer.

Boxers must deal with the ups and downs of training, the repetition, the steps forward and back and the demand of training on a daily basis all for the opportunity "dance under those lights" and find out what they are made of. To discover if they can box, not just fight, but box. At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness, we don't just train our athletes to fight, we train them to box! We break boxing down and teach you from the ground up how to master this complex art. We give every athlete the opportunity to embrace the sport and become a boxer.

Finding Your Inner Warrior

2010-02-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

What does it mean to find your inner Warrior?

Many of our blog posts up to this one illustrate what it takes to find your inner Warrior. We have explored momentum, overcoming hesitation, trusting your intuition, training hard, and much more. All of these concepts lead us to the point of finding our inner Warrior!

Coach Bob always says he never knows what he is gonna get out of a fighter at their first competition. No matter how hard you train and how great your sparring comes along during your training camp many times how you show up in competition is a surprise.

Will you dig down deep and leave everything in the ring? Will you let the fear take over? Will you follow your coach's instruction? Will you choke? Will you keep moving forward? Will you find your inner Warrior and fight?

These questions are most often left unanswered until you compete for the first time and learn a little something about yourself. No doubt there is anxiety, nerves, fear or whatever you want to label it before your fight but it is what you do with those feelings that matters.

"The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his opponent, while the coward runs. It's the same thing, fear, but it's what you do with it that matters." ~Cus D'Amato

A Warrior fights. A Warrior faces his fear. A Warrior stays focused. A Warrior tests himself.

This weekend we had the pleasure of seeing a fighter be born. Our newest Warrior. As a coach you go into a fight uncertain about what you will get out of a first time fighter. You have more confidence in some of your fighters than others based on their skill level, fitness level, how the train, etc. Yet you still never know how they will handle the stress of competition. So when our guy stepped into that ring this weekend I wasn't sure how this thing was going to go. Would he step up? Would he fight? Would he follow Coach Bob's instruction? The uncertainty and lack of control is more nerve racking than competing myself.

What did our fighter do? He found his inner Warrior! He fought! He tried his hardest to execute the instruction he was given...he moved forward and didn't quit! I was so proud of him! I didn't care if he won or lost. And though he did lose, I learned something about him and he learned something about himself. He can do this! He can overcome nerves, anxiety and fear and compete. He can fight. He can stay focused. He can dig down deep when he is exhausted and leave it all in the ring without regret! This is priceless. When you discover that you can trust yourself to handle stress and overcome you find your inner strength. This builds self-trust, self confidence and pride. Win or lose...you test yourself, you do your best and you change! In and out of the ring you realize you have more power and strength inside you than you ever knew.

Coach Bob always says competing teaches you something about yourself. You learn what you do under pressure, you learn what you can handle, you discover your inner strength and confidence. It is an amazing thing to see a fighter find and experience this. I felt like a proud parent watching our fighter stand in that corner after the contest and realize on a deep level that he can do more than he ever thought he could. He tested himself and he found his inner Warrior!

That is what this is all about...growing as an athlete and a person! Achieving your personal best! Knowing that you have no regret, that you have given it your all and that is what matters! It takes courage and strength to test yourself in and out of the ring, but it is always worth it! I truly believe each of us has much more strength than we recognize or give ourselves credit for. That's why at Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness, we don't just develop fighters we develop Warriors! Individuals that challenge themselves, grow, improve, and change.

8 Keys to Success

2010-02-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

I came across this brief video posted by one of our favorite trainers Ross Enamait. He recently posted this video on his blog and I thought it would be something useful to share with the Warrior Community.

This video outlines the 8 keys to success. And after watching the video and thinking about it I believe these same 8 keys to success out of the ring can apply in the ring as well. Please view this video and then continue reading.

8 keys to Success:

1. Passion

2. Work

3. Good

4. Focus

5. Push

6. Serve

7. Idea

8. Persist

Passion:

As the video states, to be successful you must love what you do. I have found this true in training, fighting, life and my career. I have always used passion as my guide. I choose do to things that align with my passion and stay away from those things that do not. Now I realize in life and training we must do things we don't always like or feel passionate about, yet when it comes down to it I can bet that even the things you dislike doing if aligned with your deeper passion are bearable and lead to success.

I love what I do professionally. I am grateful for the opportunity to co-own a boxing gym and training center. My passion for helping others, boxing and creating community is a driving force in my life and despite the challenges that accompanying being an entrepreneur, living my passion is worth every up and down.

Work:

In and out of the ring you must be willing to work hard. "We sweat in the gym, so we don't bleed in the ring." There is no substitute for hard work. Putting in the long hours, the extra rounds of training, and the late nights in the office the all pay off in the end. Nothing comes easy.

Good:

To be successful in life, in your career or in the ring you must practice. You must be good at your craft. You cannot be successful at something you simply aren't good at. So just as the video states, "practice, practice, practice". In boxing this is key! You must practice, train your body to perform as it needs to in competition, and practice some more! You will never improve as a fighter or in any are of your life if you don't practice!

Focus:

I can't say enough about how important focus is. "Energy flows where attention goes" ~James Ray. If you focus is all over the place you will never get anywhere. You must focus on one thing at a time. Put your attention where it needs to be. Focus on your strengths AND your weaknesses.

Push:

This speaks to internal or self motivation. You must find it within to push yourself beyond what you think is possible. The mind can be limiting, it can hold you back, so you must consciously push yourself beyond doubts, fears, and hesitations. I always say you can do more than you think you can! So do it! Take risks, push and grow! Do this in every day life, at work, every training session and in competition.

Serve:

Whatever it is that you do, do it with the intend to serve. Serve the greater good. Improve your community, your family, your circle. Take honor in what you do. Respect it. Be grateful for the opportunity to be able to do what you do. See what you do as a privilege.

Idea:

We must have ideas. We must trust our intuition. In the ring we must listen, observe, and have ideas about our strategy and opportunities. In life we must do the same. When training you must be curious, hungry to learn, and you must make that connection between training and application. In life and fighting, we must problem solve, have ideas on how to get into something and get out.

Persist:

And yes of course persistence. Nothing was ever accomplished without persistence. We must take action, make mistakes, fail and keep moving forward. Nothing is flawless or without error, so learn from your mistakes and persist. We must not back down, back out or give up. We must persist even when times get tough. Again this is true of life and fighting.

As Ross said in his blog post about this video these are probably pretty obvious concepts. Sometimes we just need a little reminder of what is obvious. It's like a nudge saying, "hey just an FYI, here's what you need to be doing to get where you want to be!". So take note of those concepts that are easy for you practice or embrace and those that are more challenging. Choose to follow your passion, work hard, practice until so you're good at what you do, focus, push yourself, serve, create ideas and persist! In and out of the ring these 8 keys can lead to your success! Warrior is based on these 8 keys and encourages each student and fighter to follow these keys to success!

Don't Hesitate...Keep the Momentum Going!

2010-01-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

When it comes to fighting, living and making change hesitation gets in our way when we need to go with momentum. We hesitate when we are in fear, when we are uncertain, when we don't trust and when we aren't committed to what we started. In the fight game, I began to understand the potential pitfall of hesitation in my last fight. I felt myself holding back as I went to attack, I had this delay in action. I wasn't committed to some of my attacks. I wasn't letting go and using the momentum of my attack. I paused. I realized that I must always finish what I start. I must follow through on my attack, I can't just leave it hanging. As a fighter (and a person), it is essential trust and take action.

When we hesitate, we are holding back. We can find ourselves hesitating when we fight, in life and when we are making changes. We pause. Maybe it's because we don't believe in ourselves or our abilities, maybe it's because we aren't committed to what we started, or maybe we don't trust ourselves, we are uncertain, or simply in fear. When we hesitate, we lose the momentum that will propel us forward and unfortunately it can cause us to move backwards. In a fight if we hesitate we may end up getting back into the corner as we face our opponents momentum. In life if we hesitate we may find ourselves in situations we were trying to avoid. We must trust ourselves and our intuition. We must commit to what we started. We must find the courage and strength within to move forward and take steps, attack and keep the momentum going.

Momentum is a wonderful thing! We are moving forward, we are in motion, taking action, making strides. Whether our action is perfect or not is of little importance. The key is to keep YOUR momentum going. Not to get swept up into the momentum of another or your opponent. Everything in my life that I have accomplished has been a product of keeping my momentum going. All my steps no matter how small kept me moving. I didn't hesitate to take steps, actions, risks. I trusted myself and had patience.

Objects in motion stay in motion! This is true in the ring and in life. I have seen this proven true time and time again. In fact, just recently one of my sparring partners discovered the power of momentum. She discovered her ability to commit to her attack and it was transformative to watch her reach this point. She stopped hesitating and her sparring abilities enhanced! She began to use her own momentum and moved forward.

So where do you hesitate? Where do you hold back? Do you have things in your life that you have left unfinished? Do you hesitate in the ring? Do you allow your opponents momentum to push you back? Answering these questions and understanding where you hesitate will give you the awareness to begin taking action and gaining momentum towards success! At Warrior, we train tough, smart, skillful, successful fighters. We also help people change their lives. The ability to transform internally and externally through fight training is incredible. You see people's "stuff" in the ring and with training and coaching you see them overcome, transform and become the best they can be!

Making Progress, Testing Yourself

2010-01-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

A funny thing happens when you compete as a combat athlete...you take big steps forward during your training and then you compete and you take a step back. Some say this is just how it goes, some say its the nerves, ring rust, a lack of ring vision, while some say its a lack of confidence that cause this regression of skill during competition. Well whatever it is, it exists and its frustrating, but it's part of the process.

You make strides forward in your strength, conditioning, endurance and skill throughout your training camp and then you are tested in competition and your performance never seems up to par. Now obviously the more you compete and test yourself the better you get and the more often you can perform at your peak. But in the beginning of your fight career this is a common occurrence I am told and I have experienced this.

It's almost as if this happens on purpose so that you can understand and learn more than you could in training. The hands on experience, exposure to competition stress and accompanying mistakes heighten our understanding of the sport and what we need to work on. Mistakes happen so we can learn and improve which is why it is key not to beat yourself up when you make them. You must acknowledge all your improvement, recognize your mistakes and be realistic with yourself.

We must be patient with ourselves as we train and compete. We must trust that we will develop a sense of ring vision and comfort that we lack early on. We must develop our mental game, improve our ability to relax and trust that our training will carry us through to success.

You never know where you truly are until you test yourself. I train HARD in training camp which is why I'm called "the machine", but in the comfort of my gym, my camp, my routine I know I am tough physically and mentally. Yet I never truly know where I am conditioning wise, skill wise, etc until I test myself in competition. This is one of the reasons I fight. I want to be real with myself, I want to test myself, I want to be the best me, I want to access all of my potential, I always want to be progressing. None of this can happen if I don't test myself, embrace the two steps forward, one step back flow of progress and take risks. Being the best I can be and the best fighter I can be, is all about stepping out of my comfort zone.

Now combat sports aren't for everyone, and competing isn't for everyone either. Many enjoy the training of combat sports and identify as recreational boxers, they test themselves physically in workouts and this training supports them in testing themselves in other areas of their lives. Others enjoy the test of competition and find that it transforms them personally as well. Whether you are a recreational student or competitive fighter the idea of making progress in any area of your life comes with task of testing yourself. So don't fool yourself into thinking you are making progress until you have truly tested yourself. This reality check, step out of your comfort zone, and risk will make all the difference in your physical, personal and professional transformation. It's eye opening, growth producing and clarifying. It keeps you realistic, honest and progressing. No matter how challenging, nauseating or nerve racking an opportunity to test yourself can feel, the more you can find it deep within you to take advantage of the opportunity the more you will grow, change, transform and progress.

Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness prides itself on giving recreational and competitive students the opportunity to test themselves and progress in & out of the ring!

The Importance of Recovery: Listen to Your Body!

2010-01-11T10:27:00.000-08:00

Recovery is an often neglected piece of training. And it's ironically one of THE MOST important parts of training. Training stimulates growth and recovery creates growth. So if we train and train and train and train (you get the idea) and never properly & effectively recover you are doing your body and performance a HUGE disservice. You must recover physically, mentally and emotionally in order to perform at your peak. And one of the keys to recover is listening to your body. This seemingly simple task eludes many of us. And those of us that are proficient at listening to our body's may not always honor what our body is telling us.

Recovery gives your mind and body the time to rejuvenated, recharge, rebuild and repair. It gives you the fuel, calmness and strength you need to endure athletic challenges and succeed. You cannot expect to train effectively without giving yourself ample recovery! If you do not recover you WILL overtrain!

I recently experienced a lack of recover and some overtraining. I realized I was constantly tired, felt lethargic, my mood was low, my energy was low, I felt like I was getting sick and I wasn't enjoying my training. All signs that I was missing something...RECOVERY! Again recovery is 3 fold: physical, mental and emotional. After experiencing this I finally realized what was going on. My body was trying to tell me something...it needed recovery! I just wasn't listening and it got louder and louder as I got more fatigued, more "out of it" and less excited about training. When you don't listen to you body it simply amps up what its trying to tell you until you listen.

So what did I do to recover? I started paying attention! Paying attention is key! What was my body telling me...what did I need physically, mentally and emotionally? As I asked myself these questions it all became clear. I discovered I needed to make sleep and rest a priority, so I made a point to work on getting to bed earlier and getting a better training/rest routine. I discovered my water intake was way too low, so I upped my water intake and added vitamin C to my water because I felt my immune system was down due to the intensity of my training. I discovered I needed something other than training to occasionally focus on, so I started reading more. These and a couple other little things put together over only a few short days made a dramatic impact on my overall well-being. I felt more alert, stronger, excited, and focused. I had been neglecting my needs and my body was not having it!

With all this said learning to listen to and honor what your body needs is not easy task. You must decide you are important enough to take of your needs. You must make yourself and your health a priority. You must want to succeed in the ring (or whatever your sport is) enough to give you body exactly what it needs vs what you want (as needs and wants can conflict with each other). This is such an important part of training that often gets neglected and needs much more of your attention. Coach Bob and I are here to help you understand and incorporate recovery into your training program. Our goal at Warrior is to help you train as effectively as possible and guide you towards success in and out of the ring.

New Year Resolution Time!

2010-01-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Ah yes its that time...new year resolution time! Whether you sit down to truly contemplate the year and set goals or simply decide to make a change the difference between manifesting those goals and not depends on a few simple things. It's easy to just say, "This year I'm going to ____!" and never make strides to achieving what you wanted to achieve. Getting focused, organized and taking control of what you desire are keys to your success!

"Energy flows where attention goes." ~James Arthur Ray

When you set goals for 2010 remember this quote above because where you decide to focus your attention will dictate what you achieve. What you focus on expands! So focus on positives, opportunities, etc you get more of that or focus on negatives, lack, etc and guess what you get more of it! You must be specific with what you want and why you want it! It must align with your values. Internal conflict, confusion, etc keeps us stuck and stagnant, so I invite you to spend some time figuring out specifically what you want and devising a plan.

Here are some tips to manifesting your 2010 resolutions:

1. Figure out what you want! Decide what the top 3 areas of your life are that you need/want to make changes in.

2. Work with a partner or group of friends to brainstorm, and explore possibilities. Sometimes the best way to figure out what you want and what direction to go is to talk with those who know you best.

3. Prioritize your goals.

4. Write down your goals! Just saying them aloud does not keep you focused. Write them down somewhere you can look at them daily! Put them in your phone, on your desktop, anywhere you can be reminded of them daily.

5. Steps! Make small steps EVERY DAY towards your goals. This is key to keeping the ball rolling.

6. Surround yourself with things, people, environments, etc that align with your goals. This is all about getting focused. Let's say your general goal is to improve your fitness level, but you choose to surround yourself with negative, unhealthy people, you spend your time at places that promote unhealthy habits, and you focus your attention on how your goal isn't being achieved fast enough...guess what?! The result of this type of focus is getting more of what you say you don't want.

7. Support, Accountability, Community! You need support from others when you hit bumps in the road, you need a boost, or you need someone to keep you accountable. Reach out to others and create a circle of support, motivation, and accountability for when things are going great and when you need a little help.

Do all these things and I promise you will accomplish all you set out to in 2010! And remember as long as you are making strides forward, don't focus on rigid time lines and put unnecessary pressure on yourself. If I always set hard and fast rules and time lines for my goals I would not leave windows for life's unexpected surprises that take guide me towards my passion and purpose. There is a fine line between giving yourself a break and letting yourself off the hook!

To some of you this blog might seem to new agey and airy fairy...and well maybe it is, but I know that when I have done the things above I have manifested more than I ever could have imagined! For those of you who don't know my story about growing my business, let me take a moment to share with you how doing these simple things changed my life!

Before being co-owner of Warrior with Coach Bob Miller I was operating my much smaller business called ConceptFIT which focused on empowering women with fitness, life coaching and support services. I was actually doing pretty well and my company was just in its infancy. While running ConceptFIT, I was also teaching group fitness classes at a local park district, working with personal training clients 30 miles from my home & business and working part time as a psychotherapist. Needless to say my attention was ALL OVER THE PLACE. I was busy, surviving and doing okay but I wasn't growing or thriving. I realized the one thing I needed was focus!

I worked with my life coaching on goals and prioritizing. I came up with a list of 6 things that where important to me, that needed my attention and ranked them. The number one thing being a feeling of security (financial primarily). I then did an exercise to figure what of my business offerings would most strongly impact my number goal and it was focusing on the boxing classes. This would increase my revenue and directly impact my feeling of security. So I made the conscious choice to immerse myself in everything related to boxing and improving my classes. Effortlessly, without thought boxing was all around me. I ironically would always catch Rocky movies on TV and watch them, I was seeking out ways to improve my own training and learn more about the sport. I began doing more researching on boxing gyms, women only boxing programs, started searching for a new potential spaces to run my business. I had focus!

Then one day in my search for spaces for my expanding business I came across an industrial park with units for lease. I called the property manager and had a conversation with him about what I was looking to do. I told him I was opening a women only boxing/personal training studio. His response, "Hey we have a guy in one of our units who runs a boxing gym, competitive though...". My response, "What? Who?". For some reason he didn't remember the name of the business. So I got in my car went back to the industrial park and found the boxing gym he was talking about. They where closed so I peeked through the windows...wow a fully equipped gym with no one using the space during the day. I thought to myself I should call the owner and meet with him, maybe explore partnering ideas. I put the thought on the back burner but it was still on my mind. One day at work (my psychotherapy job) I was searching the Internet and looking at this gym's website I thought I should really email him about training me (as I was looking to get some boxing training for myself). I sat there for a second and thought about what I might say in this email. Then I called my home office to check my voicemail to see if I had messages, and you will never believe what happened next! I had a message from Coach Bob Miller the owner of this gym. He found me, my website, and wanted to meet about working together! Um...omg are you kidding me?! I called him, we talked for a brief moment and scheduled to meet the next day. The next day we met at this gym, talked for hours and decided to partner. Now a lot of people thought I was crazy, I barely knew this guy and now I was going to partner with him! HELL YEAH I AM! Things like this don't happen everyday and what did I have to lose? Nothing. I trusted myself and started working with him. I always dreamed of owning my own training center and now I do. I truly believe had I not gotten focused, made steps daily toward my goals, prioritized and trusted it would come I would not be where I am today! A gym owner!

Prior to getting focused my life and my attention was too cluttered...I had too much on my plate...there was no room for things to manifest and come into my life. So whether you believe in things like the Law of Attraction or not is up to you...but I can tell you focusing your attention on what you want is key!

Join Warrior this year to get the focus you need to achieve more than you ever thought possible!

Stages of Change

2009-12-28T08:50:00.000-08:00

With the New Year upon us and the accompanying New Year's Resolution, I thought it might be helpful for me to share with you the 5 stages of change. Knowing these stages of change is helpful in figuring out what actions to take to achieve your goals. We all go through these stages and the stages are not always sequential, not to mention we can jump back and forth through the stages.

So whether you are focusing on competition, weight loss, a new career, relationships or anything in between I think you will find learning these 5 stages of change helpful.

The 5 Stages of Change:

1. Precontemplation is the stage at which there is no intention to change behavior in the foreseeable future. Many individuals in this stage are unaware or underaware of their problems.

2. Contemplation is the stage in which people are aware that a problem exists and are seriously thinking about overcoming it but have not yet made a commitment to take action.

3, Preparation is a stage that combines intention and behavioral criteria. Individuals in this stage are intending to take action in the next month and have unsuccessfully taken action in the past year.

4. Action is the stage in which individuals modify their behavior, experiences, or environment in order to overcome their problems. Action involves the most overt behavioral changes and requires considerable commitment of time and energy.

5. Maintenance is the stage in which people work to prevent relapse and consolidate the gains attained during action.

Change is no easy feat and we are most success at making change when we have healthy support. At Warrior, it is our mission to help you achieve your goals, change your life, and be the best you can be in and out of the ring. We are not just a training facility, we have a unique, special community of coaches and students that are here for you every step of the way. We train you hard mentally and physically and give you want you need to succeed!

As the new year approaches this week and you sit down to set your new year resolutions, take a moment to review the stages of change. Figure out where you are at with the stages in relation to your resolution/goal. Each stages requires a different level of motivation, support, and effort. Once you have determined where you stand in the stages you can create a plan to move forward.

We hope learning the 5 Stages of Changes helps you make strides towards achieving your goals. And as always Warrior is here to help you transform inside and out!

Boxing is about Respect

2009-12-21T08:41:00.000-08:00

"Boxing is about Respect. Getting it for yourself and taking it away from the other guy." (quote from the movie Million Dollar Baby)

Why do boxers box? I'm sure you could ask each one and get a variety of answers. Well one thing is for sure its not for the money. The paycheck of most pro fighters isn't much at all. And many of them work regular jobs while also training, which you don't see in other pro sports. I would put money on it that most boxers don't box because they want to kick someone's ass.

I believe boxers box for respect. What better way to gain respect for yourself and from others than to be put up against someone who is your equal, test your skills, and be announced as winner. In boxing you do respect the other fighter while simultaneously working the whole fight to be the boxer that takes your opponents respect away. We look for those moments of opportunity to capitalize on our opponents slight mistakes or subtle openings. We learn to read their patterns and act accordingly to lead to our victory. We respect that our opponent is doing the same to us and we must protect ourselves at all times.

There is something that changes inside of you after your first boxing match. Win or lose you have achieved something that many people would never dare be challenged to achieve. Come face to face with an opponent, an equal, and fight for respect. In front of an audience and judges, in the squared ring, with only yourself to rely on, testing your courage, confidence, skill, will and toughness. It is exhilarating, it feels good and it shows you who you really are. Coming out of my first match with a win was confidence boost. Not only because I won but because I did it. I prepared, I fought, I boxed! I didn't brawl, I kept my composure and fought for respect.

When you truly test yourself, win or lose, you gain respect. You gain respect for yourself, and respect from others. Think of the people in your life you respect. Why do you respect them? And then think of the people in your life you don't respect? Why do you lack respect for them? Which category do you fall into? Do you respect yourself? Do you treat yourself with respect?

Respect in boxing is just like respect in life. You must be honest with yourself and keep others honest. You must have integrity, accountability, and class. At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness, our boxers compete with skill, poise and respect. We understand...

"Boxing is about Respect. Getting it for yourself and taking it away from the other guy." (quote from the movie Million Dollar Baby)

How hard are you really training?

2009-12-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

"Never mistake activity for achievement." - John Wooden

Whether it comes to training or life many times we mistake activity for achievement. We can create the illusion for ourselves and others that we are getting a lot done when it fact we are simply engaged in purposeless activity, "to-do's", movement, etc. In life, we may find that we need to get something done and rather than focusing, and making effective steps forward we finds ourselves in a flurry of activities that lead us nowhere. And the same can happen in training and fighting.

Over the years of training we have seen students train and get no where fast, while having the appearance of "doing" a lot. People many times confuse participating in a training program with training. How many times do you see someone working out in a group of sweaty trainees not sweating a bit? This goes back to a previous blog entry about mailing it in. We cannot mistake the activity of participating in a workout as truly training hard. Anyone can say they train, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are really training...

I have had many people over the years ask me, "what do you do?" (meaning how do I keep my body in the shape and conditioning it's in) with the idea that there is some magic formula that I know that if they knew they would do it and achieve what I have. The truth is there is no magic formula, I simply have a training program that I follow with discipline and invest 100% into each training session. What I don't do is mail my training sessions in or half ass them.

We must be honest with ourselves about how hard we actually train. Are we just going through the motions of the activity of training? Do we invest 100% in each session? Do we stay focused and present during our training sessions? We cannot say a training program doesn't work if we have not honestly followed it.

The same thing is true of fighting and competing. We can see fighters in the ring performing with a lot of activity and if we don't understand the sport of boxing we may believe that the active fighter is the one who is winning the bout. The truth is this is not always the case. Again we can "Never mistake activity for achievement." - John Wooden. Boxing is not about always engaging in a flurry of activity, it is not about brawling. It is about taking advantage of opportunities and performing with purposeful actions and movements. Moving around just to move is indicative of a novice or inexperienced fighter.

So whether you reflect on this idea of not mistaking activity for achievement in relation to your life, training, or competition, remember to be honest with yourself. Honesty will lead to awareness and willingness to change. Be purposeful, train efficiently, make what you do count!

Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness trains boxers! We train our boxers to compete and achieve! We encourage and motivate our students to "bring it" to every training session! We train our fighters to understand boxing, to move & take action with purpose in the ring!

"Just Do It": Behavior before Mindset

2009-12-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

We all go through times in our training programs and life were we need to prepare to do something but we just can't seem to get our mind wrapped around it. Whether you are starting your training camp to prepare for a competition, making a necessary life change, quitting a "bad" habit, or embarking on something new many times we experience a lack of motivation or desire. On some level we want to do what we are setting out to do, but we simply struggle to get our mind in a place to propel us forward.

This has happened to me many times in my life in both training and my life. I know I need to do something for my personal growth, self-improvement or training goals, I just have this "blah" mentality about it. As I begin to look towards competing in the 2010 Chicago Golden Gloves this is where I find myself. I am in this state of confusion, lack of enthusiasm and indifference, none of which motivates me to get fired up about this goal. At times I wonder if I am feeling this way because of life stress, uncertainty about my willingness to compete, or simply a slump in training. While after much thought I believe I have figure out the "why", I realized that even though I know why I am in this place mentally that is not making it any less challenging to get my mind where it needs to be.

I realized that this is a normal place for us to be at times. We all go through experiences and embark on journeys where we at some point feel a lack of enthusiasm, motivation or desire. And then I came to the awareness that its not always mind over matter...sometimes we must "just do it" and our mind will follow. As a psychotherapist, I have worked with clients many times in recovery (from drugs and eating disorders) on changing behaviors to change the mind. It works for recovery, it can work for training! Sometimes we just have to do in order to get our mindset in a place of success. All of the positive self-talk and self-encouragement in the world may not always work at making the needed shift.

So Nike had it right when they came up with the slogan "Just Do It"!

As I begin my training for the Chicago Golden Gloves even though my mind is not there, I know that training my body will train my mind. As my training gets my body is peak performance condition, it will produce the same results for me mentally. The mind-body connection is undeniable. Sometimes it is mind over matter, but other times we must "just do it"!

At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness, we train as a team, we develop as a team and we prepare physically and mentally as a team. You will never feel alone on your journey towards success. Train with Warrior and you know you have support, strength, expertise in your corner!

Confidence In and Out of the Ring

2009-11-30T08:06:00.000-08:00

“I am the greatest; I said that even before I knew I was.” - Muhammad Ali

Building confidence in and out of the ring is an interesting topic to explore. We tend to think and believe that we need confidence in order to do something rather than focusing on how doing something builds confidence. We can even use not having confidence as an excuse to not do something we so badly would like to do. How many times have you heard someone say, "If I had more confidence than I would do ____."? Well the problem with that is confidence is not something that we just always have, it is built much of the time by doing the very things we believe we cannot do.

So people tend to "naturally" have more confidence than others. This can be the result of a variety of things including upbringing, experience, willingness to take risks, and positive support in one's life. The great thing about confidence is it can be built just like a muscle. And when it comes to fighting in the ring its important to work on building your confidence just like it is important to work on building your phsycial skills. Building confidence takes practice, work, and time just as skill development does. And just as building our muscles can result in post exercise soreness, you better believe that building confidence comes with its own post

"exercise" soreness as well!

Confidence is the result of taking risks and learning that you can survive and thrive in all areas of your life. Let's say you are terrified of the idea of competing, taking small risks to get you to the point of competing is how you build your confidence in your ability to take on this task. You must be disciplined in your path towards building confidence just as you maintain discipline in your training program. If you aren't challenging yourself daily, even in small ways, you will not reap the benefits of heightened confidence.

So how do you build confidence in and out of the ring? Here are a few easy steps to start the process...

1. Ask yourself, "Where am I lacking confidence?"

2. Then ask yourself, "If I had confidence (in that area), what would I be doing differently?"

3. Decide what your goal is (how do you want to show up?).

4. Think of 3-5 things you could do daily that involve some level of perceived risk (no matter how small)

5. Do one of those 3-5 "risky" things daily

Again you must take risks in order to build confidence. You don't just get to be confident in the ring because and have nothing to back it up...that is false confidence! You must believe in yourself on a deep level! You must know that you can do things and thrive because you have taken risks and survived. At Warrior, we want you to be successful and confident in and out of the ring. Getting in the ring can be a huge confidence builder whether you choose to compete or not. Training like a fighter also promotes confidence within. The combat sports and martial arts training at Warrior are designed to challenge you and bring out the best, strongest you!

When Times Get Tough

2009-11-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

As an amateur boxer preparing to train for my first fight I began to realize the correlation between how I fight in the ring and how I live my life out of the ring. Some say boxing is a great lie detector! It's just you up there in that squared ring. No one to hide behind, no teammates to pass to, just you! Competing shows you who you really are, your strengths and your weaknesses, you bare it all! It can be very scary and incredibly empowering!

There are times in your training and in competition when things get tough. You are losing the fight, you mind isn't in it, you are distracted, you have a bad day of training filled with frustration...how do you handle tough times? Do you give in and give up? Do you dig down deep and keep fighting? Do you change your attack or strategy? Do you breath and focus? Do you blame yourself or others for not preparing you? Do you accept it and keep moving forward?

You don't have to have fought in the ring to know the answers to these questions. Simply think back to a time when life got tough and maybe things seemed like they would never get better. What did you do in that time? How did you show up?

Whether you ask yourself these questions about life, training or fighting you will find the answers enlightening. Knowing these answers can help you see what you need to change in order to be successful inside and outside of the ring.

Now I know that fighting is not for everyone, nor should it be, but for those of you that have contemplated the idea of fighting (sparring or competing) and have yet to step up and make strides towards doing so...what is stopping you? The answer is...you! I invite you to take the challenge and test yourself. Put yourself in a position where you will be learn more about yourself than ever before. You will learn how tough you are mentally and physically, you will learn where you are strong and where you are weak, you will learn how you show up in life especially when times get tough!

Sometimes we need to test ourselves to see where we are at otherwise we will keep moving through life without being our best. We will stay safe, small and just on the brink of our best self without ever manifesting it!

So what did I learn about myself thus far after training for almost a year and fighting my first amateur match? I learned that no matter how tired I am I never give up! Which is parallel to my life...I have had my fair share of tough times and the thing I am most proud of is that I kept going and never gave up even when others thought I couldn't do it. I learned that I keep moving forward and I stay on it. I am focused! I will be damned if something or someone gets in my way of achieving what I set out to do. I also learned I need to work on relaxing and attacking situations from an angle. Sometimes attacking head on in the ring and in life is not the best strategy. I need to work on changing my approach and not getting tunnel vision. I also need to continue working on trusting my instincts. Fighting is the physical display of the mental game. Every time I get in that ring I learn something new about myself and become more confident and empowered!

My intent in blogging about this topic is to encourage each of you to assess how you handle things when times get tough. I want you to take a moment to get real with yourself and look at how your get in your own way and where you excel. I want you test yourself and become the best you! I want you to challenge yourself to approach life's challenges from a new position and grow from each tough experience.

Here are Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness we pride ourselves on investing in each individuals growth and development in and out of the ring. We have coaches in your corner supporting, motivating and challenging you to do more than you thought you could!

Knows that how you fight in the ring is parallel to how you live life! And I know that I never give up, I keep moving forward and I stay focused! It also teaches me what I need to work on both in and out the ring...relaxing, not always attacking things head on and trusting my instincts! Learning about yourself is key to success...what have you learned about yourself when things get tough?

5 Tips for Staying Motivated to Keep Training During the Holiday Season

2009-11-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

Staying motivated to maintain your training is not always an easy task. Very quickly life, work, and excuses can get in the way of getting to the gym. As the holidays approach we find ourselves over scheduled and not making time to get our regular training sessions in. We have work parties, family parties, traveling, cookies and treats in the office, shopping, eating on the go and more parties (oh and of course yummy ho ho mint milk chocolate mocha's at Caribou).

So in the midst of being super busy and eating differently than usual this time of year how do we stay motivated to keep up with our training routine?

Well we have 5 tips to do just that!

1. Schedule time! This is key because if you don't schedule time into your day to train it can easily slip down your priority list and get bumped to tomorrow's to do list.

2. Start with 10 minutes! Okay so now you have scheduled time, and you don't want to go...what to do? Start with 10 minutes. Get 10 minutes of activity in and start there. Once you are at the gym and doing 10 minutes of whatever (walking, jogging, jumping rope, etc.) you will be more inclined to stick it out a little longer and get in a full 30-60 minute workout. And if you don't get in more than 10 minutes, not a problem you were 10 minutes more active than you would have been if you didn't do a thing!

3. Get a workout buddy! Training with a partner keeps you accountable. If you have an appointment with each other you are not only accountable to yourself you are accountable to your partner. You can keep each other motivated when you just don't want to go it alone! Accountability is a key to success! So whether you workout buddy is a friend or your coach/trainer, make sure to make and keep those appointments!

4. Multitask! The holidays are a busy time and squeezing in long training sessions can be a challenge. So multitask when you train. Make the best use of your time in the gym. Get in a short run and some resistance training, or do a full body conditioning workout instead of a split muscle group routine. Get focused! What is the best use of your time, what do you need to focus your training time on? If you are a combat athlete, focus your time of what you need to improve on, pull back on your roadwork and training what needs improving. If you are a runner, focus your training time on running and pull back on cross training. The point is again use your time wisely and efficiently.

5. Find motivation within! Saved the best for last...the best motivation is that which is found within. This is no easy task, many of us struggle with internal motivation for a variety of reasons, but at the end of the day this is truly the key to keeping your training routine going year round. External motivation can only get us so far and then our mind can trip us up. It always comes back to the mental game! So spend some time discovering your internal motivation. Why are you training? What is your goal? If you achieve your goal what will that give you? Peel away the layers to discover the true motivation that lies deep within! I know that I keep myself going knowing that my opponent might be training hard if not harder than me and I am going to "sweat in the gym so I don't bleed in the ring". Whatever your own personal inner motivation is let it carry you through the holiday season and anytime getting training in feels challenging.

You can stay on track during the holidays! Make the conscious choice to do so! Follow these 5 tips and see yourself succeed when the odds are against you! At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness we provide you with scheduled time, the opportunity to get those 10 minutes in, workout buddies and time efficient workouts...you provide the motivation within...and we promise you will accomplish your goals!

#5 Reason Your Training Can Fail: No Accountability

2009-11-09T11:24:00.000-08:00

While some of us prefer to train solo and others enjoy working with a team or group, having some sort of accountability is key. Even when we are disciplined with our training program, not having accountability can limit our potential. Accountability can be found in numerous places. A coach or trainer, training partner, training team, etc. Having someone to check in with, an appointment time with your coach or trainer, or practice time with your team can significantly increase your success rate.

The truth is we get more done and do much more when we work with someone, when we work together. We are more productive, we push harder, and we grow more when we work with others. Working with others is never easy and in fact can be down right challenging at times, but in the end we become more. We are humans and we are designed to desire relationships. So it would make sense that we need others to help us be the best we can be.

When we make the commitment to a training partner, coach/trainer, or team and we honor the accompanying time commitments we are not only making ourselves accountable to the other, but to ourselves. We are telling ourselves, "I count enough to make this commitment which will better me a priority, there I am a priority to me!".

At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness, we provide the environment, the team, the coaches and you provide the "you"! We give you all the opportunity to grow, succeed (in and out of the ring), and change, you simply need to decide you are worth it!

All the greats in boxing didn't come from much but they did believe in themselves and had a team backing them and succeeded. Now they could have decided that they weren't worth all the effort and bailed, but they didn't! They maintained their accountability to themselves, their trainers, coaches and their team. If they hadn't honored their commitments and hadn't accountability they would not have accomplished what they did.

Ask yourself, "where do I fall as a priority in my life?", "is training a priority to me?", "who or what am I accountable to?", "where do I need to make some shifts in accountability?". The answers to these questions may help you uncover why your training might be failing you.

Reason #4 Your Training Can Fail You: Overcomplicating the Process

2009-11-02T09:14:00.001-08:00

We have all heard the phrase 'knowledge is power" ...which is is very true. The problem with it is when it comes to training we have information overload and we can let it get in the way of our success. We go searching for all the information available in attempts to train smarter and more efficiently. There is a TON of information out there and unfortunately much of it is false or merely has a grain of truth which gets exaggerated as absolute truth.

The real truth is training is not complicated. We make it complicated. Of course there is always developments in training science. We are always discovering new things and improving on what we already know. And while its important to train safely and be educated we must not let the information overload get in our way.

What do you need as a combat athlete? Speed. Strength. Endurance. Power. Stamina. Explosiveness. Quick Reaction Time. Skills.

So train those areas! Run for aerobic foundation and speed training. You are not training for a long distance race, so listen to your coach and keep it simple. Do intervals and do, yet limit aerobic running. Strength train. Lift weights to build strength no more than 2-3 times per week, but don't hit the weight room like a bodybuilder. Do plyometrics for power and explosiveness. The training regimen for us is complex, but not complicated!

And at the end of the day you need to develop your skills and get ring time in. All the conditioning in the world does you no good if you have zero skills.

Don't over think things or complicated the process. Set a goal. Listen to your coach and follow your program. Be patient! If you find yourself making things complicated you are probably getting in your own way and inhibiting your success. Get rid of all the optional stuff in your head and keep it simple.

If you need coaches you can trust, simple, safe, effective guidance and programming, and want to train in an environment that fosters success check us out at Warrior Fighting Sports and Fitness in Downers Grove, IL.

#3 Reason Your Training Can Fail: Not being patient with your program and progess

2009-10-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

How many times do your start something and then find yourself quitting or getting impatient with your progress? Most of us experience this in a variety of areas in our lives. We want results and progress faster and a lot faster than what is realistic. So we get frustrated, have expectations that we should be further along than we are, and sometimes quit.

This happens a lot when it comes to training. We find a coach or trainer, set a realistic goal and start the program we set up to follow. We start making small strides forward. Some things come easier than others and at first we are okay with it. We can throw a decent jab, but look like a goof ball when we attempt to throw a hook. Just when we master jump roping, we attempt the speed bag and can't get the hang of it. We start getting stronger, faster, and increase our stamina and then we spar for the first time and feel like we regress way back.

This is how training goes. You move forward and then back and then forward again. This forward and backward movement results in progress. We learn and make strides and then we are tested/challenged and slide back just a little only to improve and learn more. We must have this pattern to truly make progress. It is humanly impossible to simply keep moving forward without bumps in the road. Progress with out bumps and steps backward is seemingly false and most likely means you are just staying "safe" and never truly testing yourself.

Not being patient with your program and progress is not easy and can be the death of your success. Change takes time and occurs in small steps. Skill development takes time and practice. Improving performance takes time and will come. We can all remember the time we stepped foot in the gym and couldn't throw a punch to save our lives and now we can throw a pretty darn good jab for 3 minutes! When you are in the "omg I am never going to make progress" phase you can't see beyond the struggle in that moment. Then when you make progress one day you are doing the very thing you thought you would never be able to do and you remember "wow I couldn't even stand properly 3 months ago and now I can do it effortlessly!".

Everyone's path looks different and follows a different timeline. We all come to our training programs with different abilities, skill levels, fitness levels, experience levels, ways of learning and investment levels. All of this and more dictates progress. We all must be patient. Even for the most able, talented, skillful, fit, experienced, intelligent student that can spend 2 hours a day in the gym there comes a time when they feel stupid, impatient, frustrated, and stagnant.

The key is to not compare yourself to others, remind yourself of how far you have come, acknowledge your progress and be patient. Don't sell yourself short and give up before you have realized your potential. Whether you goal is to improve your fitness level, lose weight, test your skills sparring, or compete remember its a journey and it takes time! Many times the most important changes happen internally before they can be seen, so fight the urge to beat yourself for your supposed lack of improvement and fight the urge to quit! Keep working at it! You wouldn't expect a baby learning to walk to master it in an instant so why do you think you have the ability to master something faster than realistically possible?

The challenges and frustration will make you internally stronger and build your toughness level. Dealing with the stress of training challenges will help you improve your mental game. Those athletes that skate along with no stress, frustration, difficulty, or bumps will not be mentally tough in life and in the ring. When life and training eventually gets "hard" they will buckle under pressure. So remember being patient and making progress include frustration and all of this is part of your training program so don't give up!

At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness, we pride ourselves on supporting our students (recreational and competitive a like) in understanding and mastering the mental game. We manage expectations and provide and environment that fosters change and success. We understand that training is a metaphor for life and make it a priority to guide our students down a healthy, realistic and successful path!

#2 Reason Your Training Can Fail: Not Having a Goal

2009-10-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

This week we will delve into reason #2 your training program can fail...not having a goal or purpose. As I begin to expand on this reason I immediately am reminded of the previous blog entry which explained the difference between "working out" and "training". Here again this crucial difference plays a big role. An individual can workout yet not train. Having a goal is key to training and success.

First ask yourself, "Why am I training?". If you don't have an answer to this question, its probably no wonder your training program is failing you. You have no direction. How can you stay focused, create an effective training program and muster up the motivation everyday to train if you don't have a clear reason as to why you do what you do? The answer is you can't.

Next ask yourself, "What do I gain by working towards this goal?". Again not knowing this can lead to training failure. Maybe you gain confidence, a deeper understanding of yourself and what you can do (mentally and physically), pride, fearlessness, strength.... The list can go on! But if you don't know what the gain is from what you are doing, why are you doing it?

People can get very confused when it comes to setting goals and training with a purpose. Most of the time this is because people aren't honest with themselves about what they want, they set unrealistic goals, and sell themselves short. How many times do you see individuals (or yourself) say I want to train to fight or lose weight or gain confidence and then training comes to a crashing halt? Why does this happen so often?

Much of the time this is because people stay focused on the larger goal more than the smaller goals/steps that are more achievable on a day to day basis. If your goal or purpose is to train to fight (whether it's in competition or testing your skills through sparring), this is a measurable and clear goal. But on a day to day basis focusing on the big goal vs the daily accomplishments can sabotage your success. You only have control over one day at a time. You aren't fighting today but today you can work on perfecting your jab, your footwork, your defense. Everyday your small goals step you closer to the purpose of your training, while simultaneously giving you a purpose for training. This is the same for the person who has a weight loss goal. We all know someone or have experienced this...my goal is to lose 20lbs! Great! You can't lose 20lbs in a day! So if that is your main focus you will get frustrated. The solution is to focus on what you do have control over in your day to day. You can choose to walk more, hit the gym, drink more water, stop eating when your full, etc. It's also very important to understand when your goal is weight loss to understand what you gain from this goal because that will keep you going more than the number on the scale changing. Each little step nudges you closer to the main goal. And you don't always have control over the time frame, so be patient (more on this in later posts).

Your larger purpose or goal gives you direction! You have to know why you train and what you gain from training in order to stay on track. Whether you goal is to fight, loss weight, run a marathon or lower your blood pressure ask yourself why! Why am I doing this? What is the benefit of achieving this goal? What will I gain from accomplishing this? So when times get tough, you don't want to do it anymore, you feel frustrated, defeated and unmotivated you will be able to dig deep and remind yourself of what this all means to you. I can't say it enough, this stuff is so mental and our biggest battles are in our head (I think Teresa, my friend and sparring partner, reminded me of that). Get the stuff upstairs (in your mind) all clear and the rest will be much simpler.

Simplify. Set realistic measurable goals. Know why you are training. Know what you gain from training. Stay focused on your daily, controllable steps. Acknowledge your daily achievements.

At our training center (Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness) we pride ourselves on giving members a purpose for training. They aren't just simply coming in and working out. They are training for a fight, for confidence, for life changes, and for something greater than appearance. We train with a purpose that goes beyond the surface and can bring out the best in you!

#1 Reason Your Training Can Fail: Not Listening to Your Coach

2009-10-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

Most fighters and training clients hire a coach or trainer because they need the support of someone that can motivate them and knows more than they do. The coach's role is to guide, motivate and push you beyond what your self-limiting thoughts tell you is possible. Your coach knows you, knows your strengths and weaknesses, knows your potential and is there to put you on a path to success.

If all this is true then why so many times to fighters and training clients ignore the direction of their coach? Do they think they know better than their coach? Are they scared of success? Do they self-sabotage? Do they lack discipline?

There are many reasons why people don't listen to their coaches, many of which go way beyond the surface and into the psyche of the fighter or student. So if it's so deep how can it be so simple...listen to your coach!

Well the truth is it's not simple, but if we make it too complicated (another reason training can fail you) it can defeat you. Sometimes you just have to make things simple! You have to put trust in another person, your coach and follow directions. You have to conquer the noise in your head and keep moving forward (which is the hardest battle to win).

The simple truth is trust yourself and trust your coach. Your coach wants you to be the best you can be. Your coach the majority of the time knows you better than you know yourself. Your coach has the knowledge, experience and training to support you in being successful.

So when you coach tells you to do roadwork 4 days a week...do it! When he tells you to follow your strength training program...do it! When he tells you to spar...do it! When he tells you to focus on skill development...do it! When he tells you in between rounds how to win a fight...do it! Your coach has an objective perspective that you as the fighter or student cannot see. It's very simple!

When you find yourself not listening to your coach...99% of the time your head is getting in the way! Your self-limiting thoughts disguised as logic are telling you things like "you know better", "you aren't ready", "you need to get stronger before you compete", "you have to lose weight before you take training seriously"...on and on your mind goes finding these clever ways of convincing you to stay safe, not take risks and not listen to the person that sees in you what you do not!

Fight the urge to give in to this self-defeating thinking. When your coach asks you, "why aren't you doing what I tell you to do?", be honest! You are getting in your own way!

So you want to win, be successful and accomplished in and out of the ring...listen to your coach, get out of your own way, and be aware of when you aren't listening to your coach!

At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness Coach Bob and Coach Jess want you to succeed! They will put you on a path that is challenging, healthy, goal-driven and effective.

Top 5 Reasons Your Training Program Can Fail

2009-10-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons your training program can fail you but before we delve into that I would like to clarify we are talking about training specific to sport not "working out". And although these 5 reasons we will mention below can be relevant to why your "workout" program fails, we are targeting this discussion at sport specific training.

Let's begin with what we believe the difference between "working out" and training is. A lot of people "workout", which is great especially in this time of a growing obesity epidemic, but "working out" is different from training. You can work out to get fit and healthy by participating in group fitness classes, running/jogging on a treadmill, weight training, or playing a sport recreationally. All of those things are important, valuable and worthwhile to preventing illness, weight gain, and stress. We need health clubs, participants desiring general fitness improvements, and the variety of exercise programs we all have access to both in home and at gyms. While all important it is not the same as training...

For a long time I worked out. I religiously lifted weights, taught Turbokick, and did "cardio" regularly. And everyone that knew me would say I was in great shape and I would agree. I worked hard for results. I was really good at "working out", but I had no goal or purpose...I wasn't training. This is where I see the difference between "working out" and training. About a year ago I started training and in the past 6 months have dramatically changed my overall training routine. I have a goal and a purpose. I am a boxer and I train to fight! And as a result am in the best shape of my life. Even before I made the decision to compete, I began altering my exercise regimen. My previous aesthetics and health driven routine heavily focused on weight lifting shifted to one focused on skills training, conditioning enhancement, and building multi-faceted strength. No more lifting heavy weights 3 times a week...I began training to fight!

Working out = general fitness, overall health, weight loss/maintenance

Training = goals, purpose, focus on performance vs. body/weight loss

When I train I don't focus on my body shape, size or weight, I focus on training to win. I focus on skill development, improving my conditioning, my stamina, my endurance, my speed and power. What my body looks like is a result of my focus and attention to training what is important to my sport.

Training is not for everybody! Many people enjoy working out...they have fun, they love moving their body, trying new things, and staying fit. Other people enjoy training whether its recreational or competitive in nature.

I mention all this to say that training, especially for combat sports, involves a complex training routine and many fighters fail to understand how to design their programs and in turn fail to succeed in and out of the ring. If you are a fighter, don't confuse lifting weights at the local XSport or Lifetime with training and then expect to be at the top of your game when you come to the boxing gym to spar or at your next match to compete. Fighter's training involves multiple dimensions and you need to train...not simply work out!

Okay so when it comes to training here are what we believe to the be top 5 reasons your training can fail:

1. Not following the instruction, guidance, and routine set by your coach

2. Not having a goal

3. Not being patient with the program and your progress

4. Overcomplicating the process

5. Not having a workout partner, no accountability

Each of these 5 reasons your training can fail may seem simple at first glance and I'm sure obvious. But what Coach Bob and I see often is that these are the 5 things that get in a fighters way on the road to success. In my upcoming blog entries I will delve a little deeper into each of these 5 reasons in hopes that understanding each will help you avoid these pitfalls and propel you forward towards success!

If you need a place to train, a coach to give you guidance, a purpose for your training, accountability, and support don't hesitate to stop by Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness and see if you are the training facility for you!

A bill to promote physical activity...finally!

2009-10-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

Read below to learn about a proposed bill that could give Americans the opportunity to use pre-tax dollars for reimbursement of physical activity. Can you imagine? Actual HEALTH Care not SICK Care? It's a start...

“The Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act of 2009”

(H.R. 2105)

A bill to promote increased physical activity to improve health in America.

What is PHIT?

PHIT is legislation pending in Congress to allow for reimbursement of physical activity expenses

using pre-tax dollars. PHIT would reduce the costs of physical activity to encourage healthier

lifestyles.

Why is PHIT important to healthcare reform?

Healthcare spending continues to rise at an alarming rate. Medical expenditures account for 17

percent of the money generated by the U.S. economy. By 2015 the U.S. will spend $1 of every $5

($4 trillion) on medical expenses.

A top priority of healthcare reform is to reduce spending. The World Health Organization reported

that in the U.S. an investment of $1 in physical activity leads to $3.20 in medical costs savings.

With 20 percent of the population accounting for 80 percent of health costs, prevention of costly

chronic diseases is critical to reform efforts. Increased physical activity will improve health by

preventing illness to lower medical spending.

How does PHIT work?

PHIT would allow taxpayers to place up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for families a year in

existing pre-tax medical accounts for reimbursement of physical activity expenses; lower costs will

promote active lifestyles and improve the health of Americans.

Currently pre-tax medical accounts are primarily used for reimbursement of medical expenses once

you become sick. PHIT would expand the definition of a medical expense to include qualified physical

activities as a form of prevention.

Contributions to existing pre-tax medical accounts, flexible spending accounts, medical savings

accounts and other medical re-imbursement accounts could be used to pay for physical activity

expenses. PHIT does not increase existing caps on contributions to pre-tax accounts. There is a $250

per-item cap on non-fitness/exercise equipment purchases.

Covered expenses include:

• Youth camp & physical activity fees

• Membership and dues in a health club

• Exercise/fitness classes or instruction (personal trainer)

• Sports league fees (adult and youth)

• Marathon/Triathlon registration fees

• Equipment used exclusively for participation in physical exercise/activities

Excluded expenses include:

• Expenses incurred from private clubs owned and operated by members

• Clubs offering golf, hunting, sailing and horseback riding activities

• Apparel and footwear not used exclusively for physical activity

• Travel and accommodation expenses associated with participation in physical activity

Click here to find the link to your U.S. Senators

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Click here to find the link to your U.S. Representatives

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Please forward this email to your constituents!

Attention Youth Sports Advocates! We need your help to move along an important piece of

legislation to promote increased physical activity to improve health in America.

For your convenience, a sample action letter and links to your U.S. Representatives and

Senators is below.

“The Personal Health Investment Today Act” (PHIT) H.R. 2105 would allow families to use

pre-tax dollars to pay for physical activity expenses including league/tournament/clinic/camp fees.

PHIT is pending in the House of Representatives and enjoys strong bi-partisan support. As Congress

continues work on healthcare reform, supporters of PHIT stress the need to promote physical activity

to improve health and lower medical costs. This puts PHIT in a strong position going forward.

The PHIT language was developed in a coordinated effort with Congress to provide a tax benefit

through the use of pre-tax dollars for physical activity expenses. Families could dedicate up to

$2,000 annually for pre-tax reimbursement of physical activity expenses via PHIT. PHIT’s potential

to encourage active, healthy lifestyles and prevent illness make it an attractive option as Congress

considers ways to reform health care and reduce medical expenditures.

Contact Congress now and let them know you want PHIT included in healthcare reform as a form of

prevention. A sample action letter along with links to U.S. Representatives and U.S.

Senators is provided below. It only takes a minute but could make a lifelong difference.

For additional information on PHIT please go to www.ncys.org/govrelations.html or go to

www.getphit.sgma.com for details.

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN HELP...

Please forward this email to your affiliates—leagues, coaches, families for action. The National

Council of Youth Sports membership represents more than 44-million boys and girls in organized

youth sports.

HERE IS THE LINK TO FIND YOUR U.S. SENATORS...

For a complete list of United States Senators including their name, address, phone numbers, and

email addresses and home pages.

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

HERE IS THE LINK TO FIND YOUR U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES...

For a complete list of United States Congressmen including their name, address, phone numbers,

and email addresses and home pages.

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Let's blast the U.S. Congress with emails, faxes, and phone calls to support PHIT.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HERE IS THE SAMPLE ACTION LETTER FOR YOU TO SEND TO YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVES

AND U.S. SENATORS. Hurry, time is of the essence.

Date ________________

Dear Representative or Senator ______________________:

I want to commend you and your colleagues for making Health Care Reform a priority and ask for

your support of initiatives to promote physical activity to improve health and reduce health care

costs in America. Legislation introduced in the House, H.R. 2105 “The Personal Health

Investment Today (PHIT) Act of 2009” will prevent illness and improve health in America by

encouraging more active lifestyles. It is well known that increased physical activity and a better diet

are the keys to avoid sickness and a more healthy life. I hope you will support the PHIT legislation

as it works through committees to Congressional floor votes.

Changes to our health care model are long overdue. Our current system focuses almost exclusively

on treating illness once you become sick which has led to significantly higher medical costs. As

Congress works to reform our health care system, it is critical to include initiatives that will lead to

more active, healthy lifestyles in order to reduce future spending. PHIT will increase physical activity

in America by making it more affordable. Much like our health care system as a whole, pre-tax

medical accounts are primarily limited to reimbursements of expenses once you become sick. PHIT

changes this outdated approach by making prevention of illness through physical activity a

reimbursable expense.

If we continue down the current path, the CDC projects that by 2015 $1 of $5 generated in the U.S.

will be spent on health care. Our economy simply cannot afford this expense; we need to do more to

promote better health in America. A 2003 report by the World Health Organization reinforced the

economic benefits of physical activity in the U.S.:

“Investing in physical activity programs will lead to economic savings...in the U.S. an investment of

$1 in physical activity leads to $3.20 in medical cost savings.”

It’s no coincidence that the dramatic growth in health care spending has paralleled the rise in

obesity and sedentary lifestyles in America. Currently 2 out of 3 people in the U.S. are overweight or

obese. With the incidence of expensive chronic illnesses significantly higher among the obese, we

must encourage physical activity to reverse the trend toward sedentary lifestyles and obesity in

order to reduce health care expenditures.

America needs to get PHIT! Support prevention through increased physical activity. Thank you for

your time and consideration of this proposal to help address America’s health care problem.

Sincerely,

Name

Title

Organization

The National Council of Youth Sports is a unified voice for youth sports. Founded in 1979, the NCYS represents the youth sports industry

by advancing the values of participation and educating and developing leaders. It is our goal to preserve the integrity of organized youth

sports while strengthening the performance of youth sports administrators. NCYS is committed to enhancing the youth sports

experience in America by supporting and addressing the issues affecting more than 44‐million actual boys and girls/60‐million registered

participants in organized youth sports. For more information call 772‐781‐1452 or visit www.ncys.org.

2009-10-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Coach Jess, Coach Bob and David after Coach Jess took home the win in her first fight and David took home the win in his 4th fight! It was a great night at the Sabre Room!

Warrior: Where Everyone Knows Your Name

2009-10-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

I always know when a new member is going to stay around for more than a month. Coach Bob and I see it all the time. Students come and go but some stay for the long haul. And it's not only those that train to compete because fighters don't always stick around either. So what is it then that keeps a student coming back to Warrior? The answer...community!

We are not just a gym...we are a supportive community of friendly people. And that's what makes us special and our students stay.

When a new student comes to Warrior, no matter what program they are in, if they make connections with their fellow students they will most likely continue training with us. We know your name. We care to know about you! We want to be there for you in and out of the gym. We have an intimate community here at Warrior!

Now anyone can go join LA Boxing or Lifetime Fitness and be one of 50+ in a class but do you get the same genuine sense of community you do at Warrior? Probably not. Now I have worked at many large health clubs and have always cared about each member and person I helped but Warrior is just different. At Warrior we are training as a team, we work side by side towards a common goal. We support one another in our workouts and in life. Warrior is not about gimmicks or quick fixes and that’s why we know in order to change your life becoming part of the community is crucial to your success. You need connection and support to make change and endure the journey.

One of my favorite parts of running Warrior is watching the connections made between students in class and seeing them push and support each other. I love going on Facebook and seeing students connecting. I love seeing all our students rally around and come out to support a fighter that is competing. A community makes a fighter. A community gives you the opportunity to change your life.

Coach Bob and I are invested in the growth of each person that walks through our door and that's no sales pitch. You can ask any member from our gym and I promise you they would agree.

Of course we maintain the cleanliness of our facility and keep updating and adding equipment. We also increase our knowledge as coaches to provide the best training to our students. And I would say that our students appreciate all of those things. But shiny equipment and loads of heavy bags isn't going to make you keep coming back.

I had one of my students the other day tell me about an event she attended that was hosted by LA Boxing. My student has only been a member of Warrior for a month in the Knockout Women Only Boxing Program and couldn't make class one day so decided to attend this free event offered by LA Boxing. She told me she was talking with the trainers from LA Boxing and she told them about where she trains and they responded "well how many heavy bags to you have?". Her response "I don't know". Their trainer than asked, "well how many people are in your classes?", my student responded "about 10-15". The LA Boxing trainer then stated, "well we have over 30 heavy bags in our facility and over 30 people in each class!". My students comment, "Well thats great but I like the intimate environment I have at my gym [Warrior] and that I get attention from the coach to help me improve, and I don't care how many heavy bags they have...".

This is a great story because in less than a month this student has already created connections at Warrior and appreciates the environment we provide. It really doesn't take long to become part of our community. For many students it happens day one! We want you to feel part of something meaningful and important...we want you to grow!

We are kinda like Cheers...where everyone knows your name.

Now we realize we aren't the gym for everyone body and that's totally fine. We are the place for people that want to belong to something, that want to train with a purpose, that want to be part of a supportive community, and that want to know you have a place that you can call your second home.

Even as our community expands and grows in size and we look towards the future with a vision of a bigger facility it is our mission to maintain the sense of community that has been integral to the success of Warrior and all its students. We will always be a big family and a group that is always willing to help make you the best you can be!

So whether you already train with us, want to train with us or train elsewhere remember without a community to support you, change will not come easy. Find an environment that works best for you and create a community that will be there for you. Warrior comes with a built-in community and its here for you if you want to be part of it.

Athletes Train: Skill Development Takes Practice

2009-10-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

Many prospective students come to Coach Bob and I wanting to learn how to box. And most of the time they have no idea what that means. Many new students come to their first class and are frustrated with their own lack of knowledge, skill and conditioning.

"What is a jab and how do I throw it?"

"How am I suppose to stand?"

"Do we switch positions and work both sides?"

These amongst many others are questions asked aloud or in their minds by new students. Most of the time people do not understand why we don't include instruction in our group workouts. New students want to "learn how to box" but do not yet understand the intricacies of mastering the art of boxing. And when you come to a boxing gym you are suppose to sweat, work hard and "feel the pain" right? So how do you do that and try to learn the skills necessary at the same time? The answer is you can't.

Your overall conditioning can be developed through the hard work put in our conditioning workouts, but the skill needs to be TRAINED separately.

In boxing you have to start from the ground up. You must first learn how to stand properly and train that seemingly simply task over and over again. From there you can learn how to throw punches and move. For many of us the beginning of learning how to box can feel tedious and boring. Learning and practicing round after round how to get into your fighting stance, how to step with the jab and execute body rotation is not the most exciting part of the process. Boxing is about repetition! You must train each skill! And when we are training skill we can't be focused on getting a killer workout. We are working on perfecting our skills so that when we condition in our workouts our technique is top notch. What we train in the gym shows up in the ring.

Boxing is an intricate sport and most of us in the beginning do not realize this. It's the subtle nuances that make a big impact. Again skill training takes practice. This is why at Warrior we don't teach you how to box in a large group setting. In order to truly learn the proper form and technique you need individual or small group instruction. You need more attention from your coach to learn skill then you do when doing conditioning. To really learn how to stand, throw your jab, etc. you need to be taught those skills and you need to practice them regularly.

All students can condition like a fighter, but to truly look and perform like a fighter you need to practice the skills!

The better your form and technique, the better, safer and more effective your workout will be!

Whether you want to compete or you enjoy boxing recreationally practicing skills training is essential. And remember it takes time and practice. All of us mastering the art of boxing hit road blocks, get frustrated when we can't "get things", and experience feeling defeated when we make strides forward and then backward. So train hard and practice often...it will make all the difference!

At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness we offer both individual lessons and our small group instructional workshop Boxing 101 designed to teach you the skills you need to become a boxer! Visit www.warrior-fighting.com to learn more! Don't miss the next session of Boxing 101 starting 10/14/09 @ 6:00PM!