Category: Uncategorized

Nutrition can be such a minefield. There’s so much conflicting info and it changes all the time.  And there can be so many rules! Cut your carbs, don’t eat after a certain time, eat breakfast as soon as you wake……..

How do you know what to follow?  My advice is instead of getting caught up with rules around what you should/shouldn’t eat, get in touch with you and your body and work out what’s right for you.  Trying to follow someone else rules can cause a lot of stress.  Stress is exactly what we want to avoid as it takes us into the wrong part of the nervous system to nourish the body and get it working optimally.

Instead of following a set programme, I encourage my clients to get to know themselves and what works for them.  Start by becoming aware of how certain foods make you feel.

Are you sluggish lacking energy? Do you feel hungry or bloated? how well do you recover after training?

Getting to grips with what your body specifically needs is a bit of a science experiment.  eg. Some of us do better on less carbs, some of us feel awful!

After a lot of trial and error over the years I finally know what works and doesn’t work for me. What works for me doesn’t necessarily fit into the rules of what the experts say you ‘should’ do. Here are some of the ‘rules’ I regularly break:

• I don’t eat my first meal till around 11/12pm. This is usually eggs on gluten free toast with some spinach on side which is a balanced meal of protein, fat and carbs.
• I eat carbs with my evening meal, usually some rice or potato along with veg.
• I eat quite late in the evening.  My last meal is often around 9.30pm – not ideal but I work evenings and that’s what time I get home.
• I have the odd treat when I feel like it, usually some dark choc, a coke or the odd beer or vodka on the weekends.
  This means I don’t binge. When I used to restrict myself and be perfect during the week, it would lead to binges on weekend.

It all goes back to balance – I’ve always stuck by the 80/20 principle. If you eat well 80% of the time, the body can handle a bit of sugar or cake the rest of the time.

Trying to force yourself to follow rules that don’t suit your lifestyle is a much more stressful way to live.

So my advice is let go of the rules and get to know your own body. Work out what’s right for you instead of trying to fit in with someone else’s model.

ps here’s a pic of my puppy Larry and his balanced meal. He just needs to work on actually chewing his food no
😂

Recently I was invited to take part in a 30 days challenge by my mentor Dax Moy.   It was all about getting back to your message and start to put it out there to connect with the right people. This came along at the perfect time to help me regain some direction and focus. I’d kind of got a bit complacent and had been coasting along for a while.

It turned out to be a lot of work on re-setting habits. What I learned from this experience was this is the exact same mental journey that most people go through when they start a fitness regime.

Dax compared this to starting a new relationship and how there are 3 main phases:

Phase 1 – You are raring to go, enthusiastic and motivated. You make extra time for the new thing because it’s new, fun and exciting. You’ve decided you’re going to get fit so you put everything into it.  (Does this sound familiar?)

Phase 2 – Despondency. The novelty has worn off and disappointment sets in. Life starts to get in the way and you stop putting in the same effort. You make excuses to yourself, start to miss sessions (or prioritise dates!) the small habit changes you were making become less frequent.  This is where most people drop off.

Phase 3 – Acceptance. The thing becomes a habit or permanence in your life.

In my recent journey I certainly went through all these stages. I started off so enthusiastic, loving the accountability.  One of the things we had to do was daily check in videos in morning and evening,  This really works for me because I hate letting other people down.

Then I started to get busy. I fell behind in the tasks, I didn’t want to do the check videos anymore. I could hear myself saying why do I have to do this? I don’t have time for this.   Instead of feeling excited about the tasks I was now irritated.

I considered dropping out and spoke to my coach about it. We spoke about how dropping out would bring me no benefit whatsoever so I kept going. I decided I would do as much as I could in the allocated 45 mins per day.

Over the 30 days I learned a lot about this process of starting a ‘new relationship’ and committing to it. Because I didn’t quit and kept going I was able to change my habits.  In that 30 days I achieved more than I have in the last 6 months.  I managed to fit in 45 mins of work in every day, even when I was busy, even when I didn’t feel like it.

Whether it’s establishing a fitness routine, developing a new relationship or creating any new habit, the problem most people have is they quit before they reach that acceptance phase. They quit somewhere in the middle when it becomes difficult, when the motivation is gone.

When you give up at this stage nothing really changes for you. You haven’t done ‘the thing’ long enough to re-set a habit. You go back to your old patterns – the ones you’ve been doing forever that are very hard wired. Like having a glass of wine after work instead of going to the gym…..

And you don’t feel good about yourself as you didn’t keep your promise to yourself :(

Imagine you made yourself the same promise I did?  That every day for the next 30 days you gave yourself 45 mins to focus on you.  To prioritise working on your body and mind.

What do you think would change by the end of the 30 days?

Have you ever missed out on doing something because you didn’t want to go alone?

I have.  When I was younger this fear stopped me doing so many things, even getting into boxing earlier in life – simply because I had no one one to go with

That annoying voice in my head would tell me unhelpful stories like ‘everyone else will prob know each other’ and ‘I’ll be the only one who doesn’t know what I’m doing’.

Doing things on my own has always scared me. Being an introvert, walking into a room where everyone else is chatting to each other fills me with dread. What if no one talks to me and I’m stand in the corner on my own like a lemon?

That’s why I make that extra effort for people to feel safe and comfortable when they come to 12 Rounds. Fun and connection are 2 of our values and helping people feel safe is my speciality.

I love making sure I organise people in pairs when they come to my classes. Not only does it avoid anyone feeling like a spare part, it encourages people to get to know each other and have a bit of a laugh while their working out on the pads.

When I was learning boxing, one of my biggest fears was not having a partner (one gym I went to if you didn’t have a partner everyone would just start working and you would be left standing there and have to approach two friends and ask if you could join them – it was horrible!)

Fears can control you and leave you missing out on all kinds of opportunities.  But only if you let them.  Like in boxing, sometimes you have to to just step forward into the shot with your guard up.  Sounds counter intuitive but it takes the power right out of the shot.

Same with fears. The min you face them they lose their power over you.

If fear of going it alone holds you back, here are 3 tips to help you step out of your comfort zone

1. Take action 
Whatever it is that you want to accomplish. Book yourself in for an initial session. Preferably something that’s paid for. That means you’ve made a commitment and an investment in yourself – AND there’s a cost to not attending so you’re less likely to duck out of it

2. Be organised
Leave in plenty of time to find the venue, get a coffee on the way and arrive in a relaxed state
If I’m unsure of something I know I have tendency to procrastinate and miss trains – then I can lie to myself and say it wasn’t my fault and have an excuse for why I didn’t go. Don’t let yourself off that easily!

3.  Engage                                                                                                                                                                                  Don’t go in half heartedly.  Challenge yourself to engage in the process. Ask questions. Get a seat at the front of the room. Introduce yourself to people. Remember everyone else is in the same boat and likely feeling the same nerves.

Stepping into a boxing ring and competing takes a lot of courage. It also takes courage to overcome that first hurdle and step into the gym in the first place.  Don’t live to regret what you didn’t do, step into the fear and who knows where it could lead?

It’s no secret that one of my pet hates is over training. It’s something that’s close to my heart because it’s something that used to affect me a great deal.

I was that person

I was that person that did high intensity exercise 5-6 days a week. My weekly training routine consisted of 2-3 intense boxing sessions, crossfit, heavy lifting and sprints

I desperately wanted to drop body fat so I thought the only way to do this was to keep pushing my body

I didn’t get results this way

All it led to was frustration and tears. Why was it that I was working so hard but still not losing weight?

What did come out of it was I went on to explore the whole mindset side of things and the understand the nervous system

Now it’s very clear to me why over training doesn’t work and how it’s actually quite dangerous

If you are confused too here’s the science bit:

• Exercise is not what makes you loses weight
• Exercise is a stimulus that the body then adapts and responds to – during the recovery phase
• Meaning recovery is just as important as the exercise it’self

The nervous system: Recovery happens in our parasympathetic nervous system. If we keep training for hours on end we keep our body sympathetic. It then becomes very very difficult to access the parasympathetic system. Without allowing ourselves to become parasympathetic our bodies can’t mobilise fat, build muscle and do all the things we need them to do to keep ourselves strong and healthy

The other thing is when we train for over an hour at a time, partially cardio, we start to break down muscle tissue. WE WANT TO RETAIN AS MUCH MUSCLE TISSUE AS POSSIBLE AS THIS KEEPS OUR METABOLISM HIGH

I get it that training can be addictive. All this stress hormones running through our veins feels good, it gives us energy and a dopamine high

But like any addiction the high are short lived and you have to keep doing more and more to get the same effects

Continuing like this means you literally fry your nervous system and could end up with chronic fatigue at a later date

So less really is more

My advice:  – keep your training sessions to one hour
(unless you are training for a competition or specific goal, and then you should take professional advice about supplements and rest in between sessions)
– Ensure you have a mix between cardio, resistance training and stretching throughout the week
– Make sure you are fuelling your body correctly for the amount of training you do

As Jim Rohn once said ‘Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live’

What kind of person rocks up and signs themselves up to a fight with no prior experience?

Ian Geddes was just walking through Clapham Junction and discovered 12 Rounds.  Before he knew it he’d signed up for Boxing Fundamentals – as a stop gap before completing our fight skool programme

So what was his motivation?

Ian needed a new training goal.  He’d always been into fitness and had been going to the gym 5 x a week but with no real goal or challenge involved.  He wanted to do something different and he’d done a little bit of martial arts so when we came across 12 Rounds he thought yeah ‘why not boxing?’

And what an experience it’s been.  When we talk about the challenges of the training Ian goes straight to self belief. He talks about knowing he could do it from a fitness perspective but he had to over-coming the self doubt and his inner voice that told him ‘you can’t do this’

And he bloody well did do it!  and put on an amazing performance with a tough opponent.   Being fighter is all about being able to take yourself to the trenches and pull find that energy from nowhere.  It’s about pushing through when your body wants to give up.  Ian truly showed his fighters heart in this bought, earning himself the title of ‘most determined fighter’ in our fight skool awards.

Over coming that mental battle is possibly the hardest part of the journey.  That’s why we teach our fighters about mindset and how to prepare mentally for the journey as part of our programme.  We look at developing an awareness of what that inner dialogue is saying to you and how it leads you to take action – or not.  And how to reframe any negatives thoughts and languages and develop the skills of self belief

Something we’ve learned from our previous participants is that this is not just something that will make you physically stronger and fitter and get you that 6 pack.  You will complete this programme as a stronger and more confident person.  You will walk taller, you will handle difficult situations better.  You will go after more of your goals knowing YOU CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO

That’s exactly how Ian summarised his experience ‘It’s something to overcome and show yourself what you can do when you focus your mind on it

Watch Ian’s full post fight interview here

Ready to go back to skool?

Our next programme is already half full.  Intake days are running for the first 2 weeks of August.  If you’re ready to step up to the challenge complete our application form at the link below

Apply here

Getting in the ring for a white collar boxing bout is extremely challenging both mentally and physically. it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Courage, determination and a strong chin are just some the essentials you’ll need to compete in a fight

Sebastian Grayson started boxing with us in November last year and very quickly decided to sign himself up for the challenge

With a house move and a new baby on the way and working long hours as an estate agent, we asked him why on earth would you put yourself through that?

In the interview below, Sebastian tells us about his motivation and journey to get fit and get in the ring. How since starting boxing, he has more energy, has lost over a stone in weight and feels more confident than ever before

What motivated you to start boxing?
Originally I was looking for a new way to get fit and lose some weight. I’d been going to the gym 3 x a week and was bored and not really seeing the results I wanted

What do you like about training at 12RB?
You always feel like you are pushed at every workout. You leave feeling like you’ve achieved something when you leave here and learned something new. I love the community and that the staff are really welcoming.

Why did you decide to fight?
I thought having the goal ahead of me would make me push myself harder. It’s really motivated me knowing that there’s something at the end of all the hard training

What’s been your biggest achievement so far?
Definitely the stone I’ve lost in weight! And learning how to defend myself and throw a punch properly. I feel like I’m achieving new things every day

Biggest challenges?
Burpees, tuck jumps, bear crawls! i think the biggest challenge is actually getting here when you’re tired, after a long day at work. It’s easy to listen to that voice in your head that wants to talk you out of coming. But actually the more you do it, the more energy you actually get. Even on those days you don’t feel up for it, you’ll leave feeling like you’ve accomplished something

What have you learned about yourself?
When you put your mind to something you can actually achieve it. Just when you think you can’t be pushed any further, one of the trainers will push you that extra mile and you’ll realise you CAN do it

What’s you’re advice to anyone thinking of having a fight?
Do it! It’s an amazing experience Putting yourself in for a fight takes a bit of courage but what you’ll find is that once you get involved in the training you’ll feel more confident all round. You’ll feel like you can handle any situation. Whatever life throws you, you can deal with it

Boxing makes you better because?
It gives you self confidence determination and self belief

Check out Sebastian’s full interview here on our youtube channel

If you think you’ve got what it takes and want to get involved in our next fight skool intake – head over here and apply

https://12rounds.wufoo.eu/forms/x166hyyo11l4uc2/

Training starts 17th May to fight at Clapham Grand on 22nd July

When I discovered boxing, I knew I’d found something special. Previously I had a love hate relationship with exercise. I’d jump into every new fad then quit when I didn’t see instant results. I was miserable about my weight and my lack of commitment for quite some time!

Boxing was different. From the first punch I was literally hooked. I didn’t get bored, my attention didn’t wander. For the first time ever I really enjoyed exercise. So much so I couldn’t wait for the next session

I’ve been coaching now for over 10 years and it still makes me smile from ear to ear hearing my clients tell me their stories about what boxing has done for them. Not only do they see physical changes but they talk about how their lives have just got better overall. They are calmer and more confident, they prioritise themselves and look after themselves better. As a result relationships improve, work life balance improves and of course health and fitness improves.

I decided this needed some investigating. I mean can your whole life change just from throwing a punch?

I believe it can

In the 10 points below I explain why I believe boxing makes you better at life

1. Its effective. Ok so this is an obvious one. Boxing is renowned for being one of the most effective workouts around. Burning up to 900 calories an hour and working core and legs as well as upper body, you’ll be fitter than you’ve ever been. Changing your physical body is empowering and I believe that its also one of the most effective ways to change your mental state.

2. It will make you more confident 
Wanna be more confident? Confidence comes from taking action and doing. As you progress your boxing and fitness levels and see your body change, you automatically become more confident.  Working on your body also helps you get to know yourself, understand your strengths and weaknesses.  Committing to the process and achieving the goals you set yourself builds self esteem as you’ve kept the promise you made ti yourself.   With boxing, the fact that you’ll enjoy the process makes it easier to get into a consistent exercise routine.  It’s that consistency that will get you results.

3. It’s fun 
Don’t like exercise? No problem. I have rarely met anyone who hasn’t enjoyed boxing. It’s such a fun way to get moving. Learning the technique keeps your mind focused. You’re so busy trying to get it right and hear the satisfying snap on the pads that you’ll forget you’re even exercising. The social element of group sessions also helps create a fun and motivating atmosphere.

4. It encourages connection
Although competitive boxing requires you to face your opponent alone in the ring, boxing training is very much done as a team. That takes me on to my brain science forte.  Our mammalian brain is wired for connection. When we feel connected to those around us it tells the brain we are safe and reduces stress, worry and anxiety.  Boxing communities are know for being very supportive. Members end up like one big family where they are encouraged to work together and support each other. Most boxing coaches I’ve met or had the pleasure of working with are incredibly passionate about their sport and seeing their members progress.  They provide motivation, support and encouragement to keep everyone progressing and pushing themselves to the very best of their ability.

5. It will massively reduce stress
It’s no secret that boxing is an amazing form of stress relief. When we are stressed or anxious we are in our head worrying about what ‘could’ happen. Boxing brings you back to the present. Learning technique makes you focus on the here and now. You can’t possibly be worrying about your bills or tomorrows business meeting while you’re trying to learn a complex punch and defence combination. It gives you some temporary relief from whatever’s going on in your head and provides an opportunity to reset your brain. I call it ‘getting human again’ because it quite literally takes you out of the reactive animal brain back to the rational human one.

6. It will improve your relationships
When you are feeling less stressed, fit and healthy, confident and good about your body, there’s no doubt your going to be a nicer person. Imagine managing your moods through exercise and NOT taking out your stress on your partner or family?
Leave your stress on the bag and your loved ones will get the best version of you – not the grumpy one!

7. Mental clarity and focus 
Again this goes back to brain training and changing your brain set. When I get stressed my brain goes into overwhelm and I have difficulty focusing on tasks. Boxing helps train your brain to focus. With so many distractions in today’s world many of us have trouble focusing for more than a few minutes. Every single thing we do in life is a skill. To get good at any skill you have to practice.  Training your brain to focus is no different. Learning focus as part of boxing helps you develop the pathway in the brain that helps you to stay present and focus on tasks.This will also therefore make you you better at focusing on tasks in other areas of your life.

8.  Unlock your creativity In order to be creative you must be in your human brain. Another brain science fact that most people don’t know about!  When we’re stressed, worried and reactive we are walking around in our animal brain. This part of the brain is only concerned about survival and reacts in fight, flight or freeze. It doesn’t care about your goals, hopes and dreams and it certainly doesn’t care about helping you be creative. Movement, particularly complex movement where you have to focus, literally shakes up the brain and allows you to reset  and get human again.  Ever noticed how after a workout you suddenly feel inspired and have lots of ideas and things seem easy again?  Yep, that’s your pre-frontal cortex at work.  Meet your human!

9. Meditation for those who can’t meditate
Learning boxing technique is like a form of meditation. It brings you back to the here and now. Repeating movement patterns helps bring the brain into a meditative state; having a calming effect and helping you focus. For anyone who struggles with slowing down and is terrified of traditional meditation, I believe this is a great alternative.

10. Increased energy
When you feel lethargic and tired, the best thing for it is to get up and move. Boxing training involves high intensity exercise. This will switch on your sympathetic nervous system causing your body to release your get up and go hormones which will give you a boost of energy. I see this every night in the gym. Members come in tired but because they love it, they push themselves to turn up. After the session they are literally buzzing with energy. It is however also important get out of this ‘wired’ state and also allow yourself to unwind too.  We need to access both branches of the nervous system to stay balanced or you will literally burn yourself out!  Something I encourage is the right ‘mix’ of exercise to balance the nervous system, but that’s another blog post!

I hope this has given you food for thought. If you live in the Clapham area and fancy giving boxing a go, please do come along and join us for a taster session or check out our monthly workshops and events such as punch and brunch and self love and boxing gloves (see eventbrite or email info@12roundsboxing.co.uk)

Join our boxing family and let boxing make you better!

Kat x

Based on this definition I seem to know a lot of people who are pretty insane

Especially when it comes to health and fitness

Here’s the cycle I see over and over again:

Go all out and pile on the pounds on holiday

Come back and jump on the latest fad diet or exercise programme

Manage to stick to it for a few weeks then fall off the wagon because it’s too bloody restrictive and makes you miserable

Then feel crap about yourself for not being able to stick to what you said you would do

And because you feel miserable anyway you comfort eat or use booze to make yourself feel better

And so the cycle repeats. The whole process will begin again in January with the new year new you bandwagon

Sound familiar?

This process is basically setting yourself up to fail

And every time you fail and don’t keep the promises you make to yourself, your self esteem gets that litter bit lower

I used to do this too so I know exactly how frustrating it is

It wasn’t until I learned about brain science and mindset that I learned a better way

Along with exercising, you need to actually re-wire your brain to create new habits

And find a way to make it enjoyable. The brain will only uptake new habits if it associates it with pleasure

Fat loss is both a mental and physical journey. Most people only do the physical bit. They spent all their time focussing on the diet and exercise and pretty much no time exploring the beliefs and mindset that is keeping them stuck. If you don’t change your mindset and create a new identity then nothing really changes. When things get tough you’ll simply revert back to old behaviour patterns

I believe this is why most people are not getting the results they want. It’s almost as if we self sabotage and get in our own way.

If this sounds like you and you are ready to try a different approach, I’m looking for 6 people for my new Make the Weight programme starting in October. Along with a structured training programme and nutrition plan, Make the Weight involves weekly mindset coaching to help you understand and change the behaviours and beliefs keeping you stuck

If you are interested in finding out more about the programme, I’m offering free consultations throughout September

If you are ready to get off the insanity cycle and stop doing what isn’t working, just hit the ink and fill out the application to book one in https://12rounds.wufoo.com/forms/make-the-weight-application/