Month: March 2017

Something I used to really struggle with was being able to focus on one thing

A year ago I was in such a hurry to do everything.  I wanted to build a world class boxing gym, an online course, run retreats, write a book, publish my blogs, start a charity……

I couldn’t understand why didn’t make much progress as I know I’m capable of doing all those things

But maybe not all at once

My problem was my focus was all over the place. It’s really hard to give your attention to so many things!

Last year when my life came crashing down, I had to slow down the pace I was living at and build everything back up

Focus on one thing at a time

Firstly building my gym and serving the members who already train here.   Lately my focus has just been on making 12 Rounds completely fucking awesome

Funnily enough since I gave it my full attention, my business has gone from strength to strength.

And I’m so much happier and fulfilled.

If you feel like any area of your life is not progressing as you want it, ask yourself how much attention are you giving that area?

The state of each area of your life is a direct result of the time, energy and focus put into it. Whether it’s your health and fitness, relationship or business – if you want something to improve you need to stay focussed on it.

Here’s a few tips that have helped me

1. Have clear goals on what you want to achieve and why. Get clear on your intention behind it. How will reaching the goal make you feel? For me creating a happy environment to work in and seeing both clients and trainers progressing is what keeps me motivated
2. Stop comparing. I used to be really guilty of comparing myself to other people. Since I stopped doing this both my productivity and happiness has improved massively. Comparison really is the thief of happiness. You are where you are, we all have different starting points and circumstances. Stay focussed on your own game. There’s always going to be someone who’s slimmer, fitter, richer……
3. Have a way to track your progress. I use a scoring system to score each area of my life out of 10. I did this recently and compared the results to 6 months ago and the difference was amazing. If it’s your fitness this is really simple – like how many push ups/burpees can you do in a minute? Test yourself every month to see the improvement.
4. Take action daily – even if it’s just really small action. Progress equals happiness. When we feel like we’re not making progress is when we get deflated and give up. Even if you just do one thing every day to take you closer to your goal then your still making progress
5. Don’t try to run before you can walk. What I struggle with most is trying to jump ahead. Build the foundations first. Think about it you wouldn’t get in the ring and compete without knowing basic boxing technique first right? So why do we give ourself a hard time for taking time to learn something new. Everything in life is a case of mastering skills. Identify what skills you need and create rituals to practice them everyday. Just like shadow boxing. simples 😊

So my focus is on making 12 Rounds even more awesome this year first before I take on any new challenges.

What’s yours?

Kat x

ps. If you want to get focussed on your fitness, we still have a few spaces left on our April Boxing Fundamentals course

Just sayin 😊

Pushing each other to your limits, punching and getting sweaty. Not what you would expect from the usual date night

We get a lot of couples training with us here at 12 Rounds. As I’m sure you know boxing gets out a lot of stress. Everyone who trains with us leaves feeling lighter and happier. And it’s fun. So it makes sense that it’s a great way to spend time with your partner

Today I thought I’d tell you a bit about our star couple. At 12 Rounds we like to give a bit of recognition to our members that we feel have worked extra hard. This month our member of the month award went to one of our couples Kystle and Lewis. Kyrstle and Lewis haven’t actually been training with us that long but they loved it so much they’ve been top attenders and moved up our skill levels in the fastest time to date. When Kyrstle injured her wrist we thought we wouldn’t see them for months. But no she found a way to train around her injury. She’s been boxing with one hand for the last few months and hasn’t missed a session. Now that’s commitment!

Here’s a bit about their journey

1. What prompted you to start training at 12 Rounds?

We recently moved to London after travelling the world for 12 months and were interested in joining up to something to keep fit. We used to rock climb a lot in Australia (especially as we had a climbing gym down the road from where we lived). Lewis used to do boxing, Kyrstle did Karate (a decade ago!) So we were both interested in the boxing gym. We decided to join up to fundamentals and take it from there.

2. You’ve progressed through the levels really fast. Tell us about your journey so far

We have always trained together (whether it be climbing, running, gym etc) so we naturally push each other. We are not afraid to call each other out if we think the other person is doing something incorrect or is being a bit slack. We also provide each other a lot of support and encouragement – that’s just how we make each other work harder.

3. What do you enjoy most about the training?

All the coaches are encouraging and bring a certain energy to the training. It feels great learning new techniques and constantly being challenged. We really love when we get pushed to train hard.

4. Kyrstle, what’s kept you motivated to train through an injury?

We are getting married in April, so I have to keep fit so I look fit in my dress! Hahaha But even if this wasn’t the case, I would still train. I like the feeling after training, like I have accomplished something. Having an injury shouldn’t stop anyone from training. There are always alternative exercises you can do. The healthier you are, the quicker you heal. The coaches at 12 Rounds have been really supportive and accommodating, coming up with ways so I can still train.

5. What are your goals going forward?

Lewis: to continue improving my fitness and skills.

Kyrstle: to continue to improve my skills and technique. I also want to be skilled enough that I feel comfortable in Southpaw as well. Once I’m healed I’m looking forward to doing some sparring.

6. You guys train together regularly. What would you say to any other couples who are thinking of taking up boxing?

Do it! It’s a great workout! It’s not all about how hard you can hit. There is a lot more skill involved than just throwing a punch. It’s definitely a sport anyone can participate in.
If you’re looking for a different kind of date night. A fun way to connect and spend time with your partner, come and give boxing a try.  Check out our beginner Fundamentals courses to start your journey.  Courses beginning every month

If you are a regular reader if my blogs you could be forgiven for thinking 12 Rounds is a bit fluffy

I mean it’s run by some daft girl who likes to tell stories about her emotions and mental disorders

And that part would be true

But something you might not know is that our coaches are not just PTs but pro fighters who compete on regular basis.

You might not know the difference between a ‘personal trainer’ and someone who walks the walk and takes their skills into the ring

These guys eat, breathe and live boxing. They train to fight and fight to win which makes them experts not just in technique but in training methods

Something else you might not know is that these guys are also experts in weight loss.

It’s not just like us hoping to lose a few inches for summer, when they compete they HAVE to make their weight category or they don’t fight

And these guys love to fight. So they do what it takes takes to drop the kgs

Every time they have a fight coming up. We see them focus, step up their training and get serious about eating clean. And it works, the other week Rich dropped 8kg in a week to make his fight weight (not that we’d recommend such drastic weight loss!)

Something I believe strongly in is that if you want to be successful, find someone who’s already achieved what you want to achieve and copy what they do

So if you want to see the best results from your training, who better to train with that a pro-fighter?

Not only do they have superior skills and knowledge, they also just genuinely love what they do. There are no egos involved, just fun and passion for teaching people. All our coaches are just as happy training a complete beginner as they are coaching someone to step in the ring

So there you have it, not just fun and fluffy stuff at 12 Rounds, we have serious fighters too.

But if you do like the fluffy stuff I’m always around 😊

Have a great week

Kat x

Of course we wouldn’t want to keep this stuff to ourselves, Next week we’ll be launching our first intensive fight camp programme based on a pro boxers training regime. I spent last week as a guinea pig and I actually lost a whole 3kg just by copying their fight camp and diet. I can’t wait for summer at this rate :)

Fight camp details coming soon

How often do you say to yourself I don’t have time?

This is not one of these posts where I’m going to tell you you need to make time

Here’s a different way to look at it. I can’t remember where I read this a few weeks ago but it really stuck with me

Every time you hear yourself saying ‘I don’t have time’ change these words to ‘it’s not a priority for me’

Just changing those words have really made me think about things differently

E.G. I’ve had shoulder pain for the last few years. I generally ignore it. Maybe go for a massage now and again. I really need to see a professional and put myself through a rehab programme

But week after week I tell myself I don’t have time

Or I can’t afford it (same thing goes – substitute this with it’s not a priority)

So what I’m really saying is looking after my body is not a priority for me

My body that is a tool to help me do my job

My body that helps me feel strong and powerful

My body that remains strong and powerful despite me not looking after it as well as I could

Those words change everything. Of course I believe in looking after myself – yet my actions have been saying otherwise.  The cold hard truth of the matter is I’m not valuing myself enough to make looking after myself my top priority

We all know what we would advise someone else to do.  If it was your friend, partner or family member of course you would tell them to make their health, fitness and happiness top priority

But when it comes to ourselves more often than not the message we send out is that we’re not that important

Changing those words have forced me to be honest with myself

How about you? How often do you hear yourself say ‘I don’t have time’?

‘I don’t have time to go to the gym’

Change it to ‘fitness is not a priority for me right now’

I don’t have time to eat healthy

Change to ‘my health is not a priority’
I don’t have time to do fun stuff with my partner

‘My relationship is not a priority’

Changing those words helps you tell the truth to yourself

And being honest with yourself is the first step to making changes

Kat x

So I made myself a priority and started the process of sorting my shoulders out last week.  Here’s a pic of me all taped up

Rehab exercises and regular treatments from now on!