Month: April 2017

How to kick-start your fat loss

Post author By Admin12Rounds
Post date 20/04/2017

Last week I posted guest blog on best exercises to do to get a boxers physique

At this time of year (and especially after an Easter Egg binge) many of us are starting to panic about getting in shape for summer

Exercise is just one small part of it. If you really want to drop body fat you’ve got to get your diet right.

Here’s a few tips today to reset habits and mkick start your summer body

Mindset
Before you even think about what to eat, you need to get in the right mindset. You need to have a clear goal and a strong emotional attachment to your goal. Saying you want to lose a stone is not usually enough. It might get you motivated but it won’t keep you on track when you’re having a rough day. I say to my clients, what the reason behind your goal. Every goal is a search for a feeling so how do you want to feel? What will change for you when you are a stone lighter? What will you be doing, saying, feeling?

Preparation
Now your in the right mindset, the next step is to make sure you are prepared. Get rid of any processed food and unhealthy snacks. You’ll only be tempted to eat them. Not sure what’s processed? Here’s a hint – anything that contains more than one ingredient is processed in some way. Foods that have a long list of ingredients and long shelf life are highly processed. Try to stick to foods that have one of two ingredients. In today’s culture of convenience, it’s hard to avoid processed food completely. Follow the 80/20 rule. If the bulk of your diet comes from natural food (meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts) then the body can handle 20% food that’s not quite so pure!

Consistent exercise
Get consistent with your training. Be realistic about what you can fit in. Trying to overdo it and train 6 days a week when you are unconditioned is a clear road to failure. Whether it’s starting at 2 or 3 x a week, find a routine that you can be consistent with first, THEN look at increasing time, weight, intensity…… another hint – the best exercise programme is the one you actually do. The only way you will do something consistently is if you enjoy it. Find something that’s going to be fun!

Sleep
Most people completely underestimate how sleep impacts on fat loss. When you sleep your body repairs itself. All the hormones and chemical reactions that we need for fat loss happen during the recovery phrase – exercise itself is just a stimulus for the body to adapt. If we don’t allow ourselves to sleep enough the results we get are compromised. Also our bodies are also programmed to work around the circadian cycle. E.g. to sleep and repair when it gets dark and wake up when it’s light. Try to go to bed an hour earlier and have a curfew on any lights including phones, laptops and TV at least an hour before bed

Reduce your carbs
I’m not a fan of cutting out any food groups but in western culture we are often over reliant on carbs especially refined carbs like bread, pasta, cakes and pastries. Eating a diet high in these foods affects our insulin sensitivity. What this means is it can make out body more prone to storing the excess sugar in our fat cells. If you’ve been used to eating a diet high in carbs (or beige foods as I like to call it!) it means your body always has glucose available to burn. Glucose is the body’s preferred energy source so that means while it has steady supply, it won’t burn fat. Cutting your carbs initially will help you re-train your body to get energy from fat stores. It doesn’t have to be forever, you can re-introduce when your body is working more efficiently

Support
Whatever programme you choose to follow, make sure you feel fully supported. The brain is constantly seeking safety and connection, the more supported you feel the happier your brain will be and a happy brain will keep you on track to getting results. There are a million methods and programmes out there. Chose one that’s right for you and that comes with the level of support you require. I’m generally a fan of group training programmes as I know that the camaraderie and also the competitive element works for me. Some people might work better to a one to one approach

Also tell your friends and family what you are doing and explain to them what support you need. If you are not clear on that yourself, it’s difficult for other people to understand how they can best support you

DON’T eat every 4 hours
Ok I know this may sound contradictory to what you might have previous heard about fat loss. You may have heard that if you skip a meal you’ll go into starvation mode. Now let’s think about that, most of us have usually consumed enough calories and have enough fat stores to keep us going for some time. And eating fewer meals will give your digestive system a well earned break. It’s all about re-training yourself. If you are used to eating frequently see if you can go an extra hour without eating and gradually cut down your meals to 3 a day. Try to have a 12 hour break overnight too, if your last meal is at 7pm, make sure you don’t eat before 7am the next day.

My last tip is have the odd treat from time to time and make sure you enjoy it. The journey to fitness and fat loss shouldn’t be a punishment!

If you need help with any of the above our next Make the Weight programme starts on 8th May

https://12rounds.wufoo.com/forms/zxfy7670viqdhm/

Consistent programmed training in a small supportive group along with nutrition and mindset support. Simples

Kat

Ps. Here’s a picture of Claira, who’s just completed the programme. She has a new problem now, she has to buy new clothes!

7 Essential Exercises to Build a Boxers Physique

Post author By Admin12Rounds
Post date 11/04/2017

Want to know how to get the body of a fighter? Todays blog comes from guest writer Jamie Stewart at www.warriorpunch.com

Fighter’s bodies make the average guy (or gal) on the street extremely envious. I mean, these guys walk around cut up while packing serious muscle. A fighter’s body is the epitome of fitness and good health; strength, speed, flexibility, functionality – it’s all in balance.

Getting a body that is muscular and combat ready requires hard work, but it isn’t out of reach for the average Joe. Even if you never have any intention of stepping into the ring, it’s still possible to have a physique comparable to these modern day gladiators.
And you don’t need any specialist training or fancy equipment; you can get ripped by doing simple bodyweight exercises. Stick to the basics, and do the basics well.. just like boxing.
The following seven exercises are the bread-and-butter of any fighter’s routine. They’re not glamorous – and you’ve probably done them a thousand times before – but they are highly effective. If they’re not already part of your routine, you know what you’ve got to do.
The Dreaded Burpee
Everyone’s favourite… not! Although you may cringe whenever your coach shouts the dreaded B word, there is no better body weight exercise for building stamina and burning calories.
You should be grateful for the punishment (honestly), as this whole-body movement works several major muscle groups while building the cardiovascular endurance required to go the distance in the ring.
Squats for Punching Power
With boxing being all about an exchange of fists, the legs are often neglected and replaced with upper body strength development. Leg training is often substituted for press ups, sit ups, or training that has a more direct payoff for the fight game, such as smashing pads and bagwork.
However, strength conditioning for the legs will provide that strong and stable base required to absorb punch impact while also loading power into your punches. Yes, power is generated through the torque in your shoulders and hips, but it also comes from pushing off the ground. Uppercuts would be nothing more than a slap without the upward thrust generated by the legs.
Add squats to your routine, and you’ll notice the difference in your balance and power.
Get Explosive with your Push Ups
Push ups work way more than just your arms as they also engage your chest, back, shoulders, and core. They’re part of every boxing coach’s arsenal and rightly so. They help to build upper body strength and that all important arm endurance required for the sport.
But if you want maximum impact from push ups, try clapping push ups. This plyometric exercise mimics the explosiveness of punching instead of the longer time under tension associated with weight training. The result? Snappy, knockout punches!

Build Highly-functional Upper Body Muscle with Pull Ups
Pull ups suck at first, but it’s worth persevering as this compound exercise utilises nearly every muscle above the waist.
Using your body weight as resistance is highly effective for building lean, functional muscle. Meatheads that are all about loading up the barbell on the bench press may have an inflated chest and be gym strong, but it comes at a price; mobility. As a boxer, you want to pack power behind your shots but remain supple; which is where pull ups come into play.
Sit Ups – My Arch Nemesis
If there’s one exercise I hate, its sit-ups. There’s no pain like the crippling pain you get from crunches. Yet, as much as hate sit ups, I regularly do them.
A strong core is vital for boxing. The muscles in your stomach and back are responsible for generating a lot of the force behind a punch, and mid-section muscles are also necessary for absorbing body shots.
Make sure you do every variation of sit ups you can think of to target the upper, mid and lower stomach muscles as well as the obliques.
Improve Footwork with Jump Rope
There’s nothing like jumping rope for building endurance, cardio, cutting weight and improving coordination. Jumping rope builds the fast twitch muscle fibres in the calves which leads to an increase in responsiveness and faster footwork.
Varying the intensity of jump rope also means you can use it as a warm up and cool down, or a frantic, calorie-burner between rounds.
Are You Doing Your Roadwork?
While it takes you away from fight training, road work (or running) is still one of boxing’s most essential training tools. Roadwork is imperative for fight conditioning. Fail to put in the miles, and you’ll be gassed in round two on fight night.
To get the most out of your roadwork, you need to vary your intensity and duration. That means doing those slow and steady five mile jogs in the morning as well as hill sprints. Including both aerobic and anaerobic training will prepare you for the rigorous energy demands of a fight.
Wrapping It Up
Contrary to what you or anyone else thinks, it is possible to have a boxer’s physique without having it out in the ring. Building lean, functional muscle is as simple as performing these movements properly, frequently, with high intensity, and of course, while sticking to a healthy diet.
If you want to get the most out of these exercises, my advice would be to combine them all in a circuit. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is the fastest way to carve out the body of a fighter.
Author Bio
Jamie Stewart is a muay thai fighter and boxing enthusiast with a passion for martial arts and fitness. When he’s not training, he likes to write about martial arts, health and fitness, nutrition, and mindset.  If you would like to learn more, you can find him blogging at www.warriorpunch.com.

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How I got a second chance….

Post author By Admin12Rounds
Post date 02/04/2017

The last few weeks I’ve been writing about our fighters and our members

Today I wanted to share a bit about my own journey, it’s kinda deep (and a bit long) so free feel to switch off if you don’t like that shit

This blog wasn’t easy to write. In fact it was so hard that I almost didn’t post it. Being vulnerable is never easy but having courage is really important to me. I believe showing your vulnerabilities is a statement of true courage, so here goes

I’ve always wanted to help people

When I was younger I went through some pretty tough times with my mental health (would take too long to get into it now but put it this way I knew what it was like not to value yourself and have really low self esteem). It sucks to not feel like your good enough, to not feel important. I wanted to help other people not feel like this and recognise their own greatness and self worth

I started as a support worker, then a social worker but that didn’t really fit. I realise now that I wasn’t my own values weren’t in alignment with the ‘system’

I got into the fitness industry for me. Was something I’d always been interested in. Fitness has helped me so much. In fact when I was in the depths of my depression, seeing my personal trainer 2 x a week was the highlight of my week. Not only did I get endorphins from working out but someone asked me how I was, spent time talking to me when I felt invisible. That trainer prob has no idea how much he helped me

And that’s kind of what happened to me

I had no idea how much I was helping people as a trainer. How much I was already improving people’s confidence and how they felt about themselves

Once I opened my gym, I lost my way a bit. It wasn’t so much that the power got up my head. I just thought I needed to be more. I thought that to really help people I needed to be an amazing coach, I needed to be on stage, I needed to be respected in the industry. To put it blatantly, I didn’t believe I was enough. I thought I needed to be more, know more, learn more…,Instead of putting my energy into my clients, my energy was often going into impressing other coaches and business owners. Crazy right?

The term is ‘up my own arse’ springs to mind. Maybe that’s a bit harsh, I was def self absorbed though. I was so focussed in trying to improve me that I forgot about the people I was already helping. I even made some of my members feel unvalued, unimportant and even hurt. The exact opposite of how I want to make people feel. Wtf is with that? (I know this to be true because one of those members who has become a very good friend, told me)

This post is not about beating myself up. It’s about recognising I’m human and as a human I’ve make mistakes

Last year when my life fell apart it was the best thing that could have happened to me. The universe gave me a shake up to bring me back to the person I want to be, to bring me back to my true purpose of helping people

The worst thing about my ‘up my own arse’ phase was that for a while I lost my kindness

Kindness is my most important value. I believe that simple acts of kindness is what can change the world. We all have that power to change how someone feels instantly. I think that’s pretty amazing.

And we also have the power to change our story anytime we want.

‘Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around’ – my favourite quote from Vanilla Sky

I got very lost for a while. I guess we all go off track sometimes. And maybe we even need things to fall apart to remember what’s really important and to remember who we really are

I’ve learned that you don’t always have to move mountains to help people. Sometimes it’s the smallest things that create the biggest impact. A smile, some encouragement, a hug…These days I give freely with no outcome attached. I know the universe has got my back and the energy I put out will always come back to me tenfold

So this post is just really to say how grateful I am for all the ups and the downs. For the people who stood by me when I was a bit lost and gave me a second chance. For the universe for kicking my arse and bringing me back to me. I’m so glad I found my path again and learned for my mistakes.

Always grateful, always learning

Kat xx

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