Think you’re training hard? Think again.

I have a client who wants to lose 40 pounds in just a few short months. While that’s an admirable goal, it simply isn’t realistic- especially because she simply isn’t training hard enough….or often enough! I am constantly on her about how hard she is hitting, how fast she is moving and how many times she takes a break. I am constantly in her ear about these things because these are the things that will get her to the next level and help reach her goals!

The other thing she’s guilty of is not training often enough! She is only coming 3 times a week! That’s all! (She was coming only twice at first and I finally got her to up it to 3!) I am now hounding her to get here 4 times a week. Remember, her goal is 40 pounds in a few months! Again, great goal, but terrible action. (no that's not her in the pic! LOL!)

Now, I’m using am anonymous client and will not give out her name, but what YOU need to take away from this is ask yourself- “what am I doing to either sabotage myself, or help myself reach my goals?” Because most people think that they’re training hard simply because they’re sweating in training! Of course you’ll sweat- but how intense are you training? That’s the real question!

 

Since 1988 I’ve watched so many people half-ass their training and simply do “good enough” in training. They’ll use a weight to get 10 reps in weight training, but what they don’t do is to make sure that the 9th and 10th reps are hard as hell to perform! It’s not enough to just show up, you’ve got to make the effort! You’ve got to make the workout as intense as possible!

Yesterday I was doing the latest FightZone workout. I could barely move the weight on the last few rotations of the exercise I had to perform but I did it anyway. (in big part because I had an impromptu training partner Jim yelling me!) My legs were shaking, my arms were numb and I felt like I was going to puke! NO, I’m not crazy or obsessed- I have goals I want to achieve and I’m willing to put forth my best effort to get there.

I make sure that I am TOTALLY DONE by the end of the workout. I should have nothing left at the end of the training session- period. If I feel that I can do a 3 mile run at the end of the workout, then I didn’t train hard enough. Think about that- if you are not exhausted at the end of each training session and go running, hit the weights, do 5 more rounds, then you my friend have slacked off. PERIOD.

Think you’re training hard? Think again.

Getting Burned Out?

Do you ever get burned out? Yeah, me too. It happens- no biggie of course, but the unfortunate aspect of burn out is that too many people mistake it for a total and complete loss of interest forever and ever. And because they’ve lost interest (supposedly forever) they feel as if they then have to quit and find a new activity to get involved with. And of course they’ll start the whole process over again!

The simple truth is that burn out is usually the end result of people who continue to over train for too long of a period without taking a break to allow their body to heal or their mind to decompress. So, to keep your interest and enthusiasm high, here a few ways to keep burn out from affecting you:

1. Create Weekly Training Schedules: The easiest and best way to keep burn out from affecting you in a negative manor is to schedule days off into your training routines. One great way to do this is to train Monday through Friday and take Saturday and Sunday off. After 2 days, your body will be refreshed and ready for action! Another training schedule you can get on is 3 days on 1 day off, 2 on and 1 off. That would be training Monday through Wednesday, take Thursday off and then training again on Friday and Saturday, taking Sunday as another rest day. Both of these weekly training schedules allow you to get plenty of rest but still have you training hard - and most importantly with consistency.

2. Watch for Warning Signs: Another thing you’ll need to do to keep burn out at bay, is to watch for the signs of burn out. These include, but are not limited to: muscle and joint soreness (much more than normal), loss of interest, resentment towards having to train, stopping your workout much too soon when you’re not tired, boredom while training, thoughts of quitting or moving on to something new, finding really stupid reasons why you don’t need to train, etc.

The warning signs of burn out are most likely NOT physical, but mental. You’ll get more physical symptoms from over training, but burn out is a mental factor. That should be apparent, yet I have many people who confuse the two.

3. Get a Good Training Partner: I have written many articles on why having a training partner is so crucial to one’s progress, and here’s yet another benefit of having a good partner. They can help identify when you’re burned out BEFORE you will! Surprisingly enough, most people are not aware that they are burned out, and they tend to blame their lack of interest, poor attitude and desire to quite on the activity itself. So by having someone who knows you well, they’ll be able to say things such as “hey, what’s up with the bad attitude today?” or “Hey, why are you skipping your training sessions so often? What’s going on?”, or as my wife Mary says, “what the hell is up your *ss tonight?”

4. Take Time Off: The best thing you can do if you are burned out is to simply take time off. Take a few days, a week, two weeks or even a whole month, but be sure to take time off! Obviously, if you were to schedule time off in the same manner as your weekly schedule, burn out will never even become a factor for you in regards to training. For instance, every December I take a “break” from my clean eating and just indulge. It’s the holiday time and everyone brings me cookies and stuff, so why not? I’ve been good all year, so if I take a few weeks and eat-up it’s no big deal. (Besides, when January rolls around I’m sick of eating all that crap!!) I also have no problem taking an entire week off here and there throughout the year if I feel I need to. I’ve been doing this for a very long time, so it’s not too hard for me to indentify when I’m getting burned out. And I really love this stuff, so burn out for me is not an option!

 

Box-a-Thon 2011

Why Does Clearwater Boxing Help Out??

Since we’ve opened our doors, Clearwater Boxing Center has participated in several fund raising events as both volunteers at someone else’s event and as the fund raiser our self through our own events. We’ve collected nearly $10,000 in cash for the Big Brothers and Make-a-Wish Foundations in Pinellas County and we’ve also collected and delivered over $6000 in holiday presents for our annual “Giving Tree” event we hold at Christmas Time. Also, we have volunteered over 1000 hours by participating at others charity events as well as our own. Not bad numbers for an extremely small and young business, huh?

But, why? Why do we do that? Why should we, a small financially struggling company, help others when we need that money ourselves? Because it’s the right thing to do- that’s why…plain and simple. There are people who are less fortunate than us, whether that be financially or because of a birth defect or accident, and we cannot ignore that, not when it’s so close to home.

We believe that charity begins in our own back yard- not thousands of miles away. Since our resources are extremely limited, it is in our best interest to do the most good we possible can with what we have, and it only makes sense to help those right here, right now in our own back yard. That being said, this year’s Box-a-Thon is still up in the air! So, if you know of a non-profit organization that is right here in Pinellas County we want to know who they are!

We have a few in mind: Children’s Dream Fund, UPARC, Hooked on Hope and Pinellas Safe Harbor (homeless shelter). Please vote who you feel we should help this year!

We need that vote soon as we’re having the event on Saturday March 28th at 10am!!

Check out last year’s fun below!!