Author: Admin12Rounds

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!

Just finished running my first international boxing and stress management workshop in Sweden
The night before the workshop I barely slept. Although in general I’m much more relaxed these days, doing something new still brings up familiar feelings of self doubt.
Will I be good enough?
Will people like it?
Do I know my stuff, will I remember what I want to teach?

I haven’t been doing this stuff long enough to be 100% confident in what I’m doing. Of course the solution to building confidence is finding ways to practice the skill. For me that means delivering more workshops until I can do it with my eyes closed!

At the end of a workshop I like to ask people what was their biggest learning?
For me it was remembering the power of balance

As a boxer, without balance we have no power in our punches. When we are off balance we are weak and vulnerable to attack

Life is exactly the same. Without balance we become reactive, stressed out and burned out

Most of us are so out of the habit of living with balance. We are conditioned to go faster, work harder, fit more stuff into our already overpacked lives

In order to beat stress and feel happier and more fulfilled, we need to practice balance and taking time for ourselves
Time to slow down
To learn to relax
To just breathe

Time to do things just for fun (ask yourself when was the last time you did something just for fun?)
Some of us find relaxation difficult. I know I used to. I used to find it agonising to still for 5 mins without looking at my phone! Again we’ve conditioned ourselves to live in fight of flight more

Boxing is a great way to start to change your brain set. Start by punching out the stress, then it becomes easier to slow down and reset yourself

Balance makes you stronger – def a skill worth practising me thinks :)

This weekend I was teaching a lovely group of people how to get really clear on their goals for 2017 and then create a plan of action to make it happen

I talked a lot about getting intentional. About setting yourself up for success Instead of waking up and seeing what life is going to throw at you

Most of us barely have time to have a cup of tea to ourselves. It’s no wonder we don’t take time to figure out what we really want and why. It’s why we end up with a body we didn’t ask for, a job we didn’t ask for and generally a life we didn’t ask for

But I believe this is the most valuable work you will ever do

Here’s a little story about what happens when you drift along and let life happen ‘to you’

A few years ago I went on a trip to Croatia, sailing round the islands. Sounds nice eh? It was my worst holiday ever.

Let me explain.

I decided at the ripe old age of 35, it was time I went on a girls holiday (think I had a mini mid life crisis but that another story) I booked up the trip with a few girls I worked with, didn’t really pay much attention to where or what we were doing. Croatia? Never been, sailing? sounds great for working on the tan. I imagined lying on the deck of a yacht, lazily reading books by day and enjoying relaxing meals at night, taking in the scenery. I was pretty burned out from working long hours at my first PT job so I was really looking forward to lots of rest

Now the reality and what I’d imagined turned out to be very different. I found myself on a 18-30 type booze cruise. The cabin was so small you could barely swing a cat. And have you ever tried to sleep in 40 degree heat without air con? What was worse was the cruise was populated by 20 something Aussies, getting on it from 10am in the morning. Now Aussies – love them dearly and getting ‘on it’ I have been known to like a night out but the 2 combined on a boat for 7 days straight?

What made everything worse was I had no escape. My vision of a peaceful cruise, spent reading and sunbathing was completely shattered as we sailed out to sea to thumping techno music and the captain tuned DJ shouting ‘Who want’s to Paaarrrrttttyyyy?’

I cried. Every night

Now there’s a point to my story and here it is

This is what happens when you don’t actively choose what you want – you end up with things you don’t. I did not want this type of holiday. Yet because I was so passive in the decision making, I got exactly what I didn’t want

This is why I’m always harping on about taking time to get really clear on what you DO want

Most people won’t do it

They’ll go into another year just throwing our random punches and hoping something will land

It’s like going into a boxing match with your eyes closed

If you don’t know what you are aiming for how can you expect to land the shot?

Now my example is just a holiday. I survived my 7 days of hell on a boat

But what happens when you don’t know what you want in other areas of your life?

Ask yourself, are you really clear what you want for your health, your career, your body, your finances, your relationships?

Most people don’t know themselves enough to really know what they want – and then they wonder why they didn’t land anything and are making the same resolutions year after year

it takes a bit of time and effort but wouldn’t you rather set yourself up for a knockout year rather than more of the same?

What I advised the guys who came to my workshop on the weekend was take the time to get really clear on what you want in each area of your life then work out the least stressful and most enjoyable way to get there

Happiness is a journey, not a destination :)

Kat x

We ike to reward our members for their hard work and consistency

Novembers member of the month goes to Lucy Puddle who loves 12 Rounds so much she introduced all her friends

Infant we’re thinking of re-naming 12 Rounds to Lucy Puddles social club :)

Just when we thought she couldn’t get any better, Lucy even came in last week and trained on her Birthday

At 7am!

Keep up the good work Lucy.  We think you are ace!

If you read my blogs you’ll get that I don’t things by the book

Hell, I don’t even have a book

I used to try and write more serious blogs providing facts and information

But I’ve said before people don’t need information. We’re already over loaded

What we are craving is connection and what we connect with is honesty and vulnerability

And when I used to try and be all serious I didn’t enjoy it

It’s hard work trying to be something you’re not

Once you learn to be yourself and follow your own rules and values. Things just become easy

I’m lucky that running my own business I get to do things my way

Something that’s super important to me is having fun and I try to bring that into everything I do

My ethos its if it’s not fun then why do it?

Especially with exercise, like why would you spend time doing something you don’t like?

I’ve never understood why people go to the gym and spend hours running on a treadmill

Of course if that does it for you, then that’s great

But me? I need something a bit more interactive

Boxing ticks so many boxes for me, focus, fitness and fun being just some of them

And it’s my therapy, if I don’t box I get completely stressed out and overwhelmed

The ethos of 12 Rounds is all about making fitness fun

And it seems to be working with the law of attraction as well

The more I focus on having fun and doing stuff that makes me happy

The more of that I attract into my life

Not only am I super lucky that I get to work with an amazing team of bad ass fighters who are equally as silly as me

Our gym also attracts an awesome crowd of fun and friendly people that I love hanging out with

You get what you put out right?

If you love having fun and want to get fit in 2017. Come and learn how to box in a fun and social community

You know what to do

Hit us up at the link below

Boxing Fundamentals

Kat x

My kick-ass team below. Today we agreed to start our team meeting with 12 Rounds of sparring. What else?

Introducing Polly and her boys

Instead of just writing about what’s going on in my head, I thought it would be a good idea to start a fortnightly feature on the type of people that train with us at 12 Rounds.

On Friday I had the pleasure of hanging out with one of her members and I got to meet 2 beautiful doggies, (which is always a bonus in my world!)

Here’s a summary of what we discussed:

1. How long have you been training at 12 Rounds? 

I started with April Fundamentals course and have been attending 3/4 times a week as a member ever since

2. What was it that appealed to you about boxing?

I’d done a bit of boxing before in personal training sessions.  I like the energy release when you punch! It’s also a great non-impact sport when you have knee problems like I do

3. How did you feel before you started? 

I was very unfit! I’d moved back to Clapham after being out of London for a while and I wanted to engage more with my community and do something that I enjoyed and do some exercise.  I didn’t want to join any of the local gyms as I found them to be quite cold places to go and work out.  I saw the graffiti sign above the door and looked up 12 Rounds on line and signed up straight away.  From the very first class, the girls I did the fundamentals class with were brilliant. Since then I’ve seen my fitness improve, I’m losing weight and becoming healthier and I’ve made some really good friends.  It’s also really balanced in terms of support from men and women.  There’s no separation and everyone encourages each other

4.  Biggest achievement?

I did a sit up a few weeks ago!  I’ve never, ever been able to do a sit up in my life and I did a sit up in one of your classes! My next goal is to get back to skipping.  I’ve had a calf injury which has prevented me from skipping at the moment.  I’ve also told John that my next challenge is to be able to do a box jump.  Progression is something that’s encouraged, whether its bettering your technique to throw a punch, how you do your sprints or weight training.  We are always encouraged to do things the right way to get the most out of it.  If you set yourself little goals, suddenly they become bigger and bigger each time :)

5.  What do you most enjoy about the training at 12 Rounds?

The people.  Without a doubt.  Every time someone new starts everyone makes them feel welcome and gets to know their name so when they come in again everyone is chatting and asking how you are.  Kat – It’s like the the boxing version on Cheers.  Polly, except there’s no alcohol yet!  Kat – we do have a bar though so watch this space!

6.  What would you say to anyone thinking about starting boxing and training at 12 Rounds?

I would say, have a look at the website, have a look at Facebook to see what it’s about.  One thing I was quite impressed with that 12 Rounds do is a taster session.  You can come in see what the gyms like and have a go at boxing.  Come down and have a go and find out if it’s right for you.  Come down and see if you can beat me at sit ups!

Thank you Polly for giving us some member insight into 12 Rounds! And for introducing me to Huey and Kiev!

Check out the full interview here!

I thought I was completely losing my mind……..

If you are new to this page you might not be used to my open and upfront blog posts

I do not just write to you to ‘sell you shit’

I speak from the heart about my life and experiences because I believe honesty and vulnerability create connection

I WANT the people who read my emails and come to my gym to know who I am

And by sharing my experiences I hope it will help others

So in this email I’m going to talk about mental health

One in 4 of us struggle with this yet it’s still a bit taboo. Personally I think it’s crazy not to talk about it

Emotional highs and lows are something I’ve lived with most of my life. Apparently its a common trait among entrepreneurs.

Lately, I’ve gone through a particularly difficult period. The pressures of running a business and some difficult personal issues again resulted in anxiety and depression finding their way into my life

To be honest with you after a period of terrifying panic attacks I thought I was completely losing my mind

So why am I telling you this?

Because I want to tell you how I get through it and how my gym and training helps me

Boxing
I originally got into boxing as a way of dealing with stress. It works every time. From a brain perspective any movement interrupts the brain pattern keeping you stuck. It literally gets you out of your own head. Boxing is particularly helpful as not only are you moving but you also have to think about the technique. The brain has no choice but to focus on something else other than your worries

Connection
I created 12 Rounds because I wanted to create a space where people feel connected and part of something. Simple. When things seem dark, just getting out there and connecting with people makes everything that little bit better. I truly believe as human beings we need that connection. Many of the members know about my recent struggles. I also know about theirs. We talk about stuff. It’s that kind of place

Balance
Too much of anything will kill you. Even if it’s exercise. Over-training leads to a dominance in stress hormones. Balance is something I’m only just discovering. As a business owner I’ve spent the last few years in constant work mode. This not only creates a pattern of stress and anxiety but it also affects relationships. Slow the fuck down and do some yoga. It really works. We even now have drop in yoga sessions available. Just check out the calendar

Sometimes it’s these things that get me through the week

I’m telling you this because if you’re on this site then you should know what 12 Rounds is all about

If you are just looking for a place to give you a workout then we’re prob not for you

But if you’re looking for a community, if you’re looking for a way to build confidence, if you are looking for ways to manage your stress and mental health, if you want support, connection and friendship AND a workout

Then we might just be for you

Pop along and see us for taster session. Our next fundamentals course starts in July
Kat  xx