O.K., so I am starting this fitness journal to help me keep tabs with myself. My first amateur fight is April 28th. I am EXCITED and nervous, to say the least. I will be journaling my workouts, and nutrition, and my "I'm whining because I can't eat any chocolate today." So bear with me :D

I just found out about the date yesterday at our sparring session. The good thing is that I now officially have a goal date to shoot for. The bad? I have to get my weight down to 139, which will require a lot of work! This morning I weighed myself, after my workout, on pretty much empty stomach. At 6"0 I am 149 lbs. So I have 10 lbs. to lose in 9 weeks. The healthy way... no dehydration or sauna suits for me.... LOL (Unless I am desperate in the couple of days leading up.) Anyway. I should be able to do it if I lose 1lb to 1.5 lbs. a week.

O.K. so for today's workout, I did about 35 minutes of weights- just back ,biceps and abs. Then I ran 3.2 miles after that on the treadmill. Tonight I will be doing some heavy bag and speed bag drills.

I am going to try and keep my calories between 1500 and 1700 a day, and hope to only go up to 2400 one day a week with a cheat meal. That way I stay at my BMR for 5-6 days and go up to my maintenance level for one day, just to keep my metabolism burning!

My other goal: To only weigh myself once a week. maybe on Mondays. That way I won't drive my self crazy with the fluctuating scale.

31 year old female, first amateur fight? Wow, congrats! I did Golden Gloves back in 92, high school. The training was very hard, harder than football. My regret? Not enough sparring, ring time- there's no substitution for ring time. 10 lbs is nothing, me and several on the team had to lose over 10 lbs in 2-3 days before weigh in, sauna w/stationary bikes and layers of clothing. We pigged out after weigh-in and rehydrated.

Good luck and welcome.

Thanks for the tips. I have been boxing for a little under two years. Been training with the same boxing coach for a year now, and started sparring on a regular basis last August or so. I totally agree with the sparring. You can do all the bag work, drills in the world, but nothing prepares you for actual fighting, than well... sparring sessions. All of those punches that land perfectly on the bag, during shadowboxing, go out the window when you have a moving target. LOL
I never intended on doing a fight when I started. I just enjoyed hitting the bag. But last summer, I decided that I wanted to see what it was like. See if I was any good. So here we are.... LOL

Congratulations! :tucool: So give us some more details... how many rounds? What's your style... boxer, brawler? Do you have a reach advantage over the other girl? Is the fight going to be on ESPN2 or HBO?

I tried out boxing when I was in my early 20s and I realized that I didn't really enjoy getting punched in the face. :D I like punching the bags instead, they don't hit back.

Good luck!!!!

It will be (3) 2 minute rounds. U.S.A. Amateur sanctioned match. ESPN? HBO? ROTFLMAO.... yeah, um tend to not think so. I have no idea who I will be fighting. But at that weight class, one would only guess that I will be fighting someone a lot shorter than myself. My reach is good, if I can just use it well/correctly. My trainer has me working my jab a lot - use that reach. The theory is to keep my opponent on the outside and not let them get in. Otherwise, if I am fighting someone shorter than myself, if they get on the inside, they will probably go for body shots and overhand rights. In an amateur setting, you want to get in as many punches as you can, as it is done on a point system. Extra hard punches don't get anymore points than a regular punch. :d_wink:

The nice thing about my trainer is that he is a southpaw, but can do both sides. So he routinely changes his stance to keep me moving, working harder.
Yeah, getting hit in the face can be quite a shock. You really find out how much you want to be a boxer once you get hit really hard. You just have to learn to shake it off, keep moving and come right back. Because if you stand there for even a split second, trying to recover from getting hit, your opponent will continue to hit you again and again. :p
So strategy is to look for any opening, keep your chin down, keep moving and keep your gloves up to protect your face. :tu:

O.K. so now for the rest of the day. I did a little bit of bag work tonight heavy bag and speed bag. I am tired. And stuck to my nutrition, taking in around 1600 calories. Tomorrow's plan is to run, do some jump roping, foot work, and more bag work. I am so glad it is not a weight day tomorrow.

O.K., yesterday, I did intervals on the treadmill. I ran between 6.0 and 7.0 for the first 7 minutes, then I did intervals. 3 minutes at 8.0, 1 minute down at 6.0 - did that 4 times. The rest of the time after the intervals, I did steady state cardio, jogging and some walking with the incline cranked up.: total 50 minutes of cardio.

Last night I did about 4 rounds on the heavy bag, just working my jab and left hook only, I am still nursing a right hand injury, so am avoiding any punching or straight on impact with that hand unless it is in sparring. I also did some speed bag work. It amounted to about 35 minutes of cardio.

calories yesterday were at about 1560 yesterday.

This morning for my workout, I did chest shoulders and triceps, and abs. It was about 45 minutes of weights. Then I did 30 mins. on the stairstepper, and 15 minutes on the elliptical - steady state cardio.

Oh, and I KNOW that I said I would only weigh once a week, but I did it.... I got on the scale this morning. :o weight is at 146lbs. down three pounds from a couple of days ago = water weight. maybe 1/2 lb. of fat loss in there. eating is going well so far.

Other than that... feel a bit tired. LOL

O.K., so last night I made the BFL cheescake- basically, used 8 egg whites, 1 cup of cottage cheese, and 12oz. of fat free cream cheese, and used a lo-cal / lo fat crust. each piece figured out to be about 175 cals. I had two pieces for breakfast . :o Then after kickboxing class today, had a banana and a chicken baja ensalada from Baja Fresh, with the pico di gallo sauce and no ranch or cheese on it. It was mostly lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, onions and peppers. It was good. Then at my next meal - once again 2 pieces of cheescake. Good thing it is gone, even if it is semi-healthy. need more fruits and veggies. I am figuring that this will be a slightly higher calorie day, since I have done three straight days of low cals. I won't hit my maintenance level today, but will be around 1900 or so.

Dang, I am tired. Enthusiasm is low today, or rather energy. I just want to sleep. I will need to do some boxing skill stuff tonight, since I didn't do any last night, because yesterday morning was a chest/tri/shoulder day. Somedays you just feel like you are on top of the world and can conquer anything. Other days you feel so tired, sluggish, like you have a ways to go, and a bit discouraged. The latter is me today. Think I need some sleep.

31 year old female, first amateur fight? Wow, congrats! I did Golden Gloves back in 92, high school. The training was very hard, harder than football. My regret? Not enough sparring, ring time- there's no substitution for ring time. 10 lbs is nothing, me and several on the team had to lose over 10 lbs in 2-3 days before weigh in, sauna w/stationary bikes and layers of clothing. We pigged out after weigh-in and rehydrated.

Good luck and welcome.

cutting is great advice. however, not everybody is @ that golden gloves level and cutting for most normal folks will seriously tax their bodies if they're not used to it! losing a few lbs will certainly help.

my advice is to try cutting for a day or two, and see how you feel. if you feel comfortable and can safely recover in a day, then maybe cutting is for you.

btw, is it the same day weigh-in as most amateur fights are? if this is the case, then you're probably best dieting like you're doing right now, because you won't have time to rehydrate. if the weigh in is the day before, and you can safely recover from cutting in time, i'd cut!

good luck, and win/loss, you're a champ for even trying! i wish you the best!

yeah, I don't plan on doing the dehydration thing either, and my coach doesn't recommend it either. LOL I don't want to be all zapped of my energy.

So, for today's workout so far. I did lower body weights, abs and then 35 minutes of steady state cardio. eating is going fine and I weighed myself (because it is is Monday) still sitting at 147.

Yesterday was sparring day. I did (6) 2 minute rounds with my trainer. Tiring. I think we are sparring again on Saturday. Anyway, it is really hard to get him with body shots, His torso is quite compact and he does a great job of protecting his body. He is about 4 inches shorter than myself and about 45 lbs. heavier. Built like a tank. :p

I also had a few Cadbury eggs as a treat for a free treat today.. They weren't that good. A little too sweet, my teeth were screaming from pain. I have four teeth with exposed roots... you get the idea.

Other thoughts... I watched "The Contender" premier on Monday night on NBC. - Boxing reality show. Really enjoyable. Loved it. They have some well known world class middleweights competing there. It is on again this THursday during the NBC E.R. time slot, and then regular time on Sunday evenings.

This morning I did back/ biceps and abs. My left shoulder has been hurting a bit since the sparring session yesterday. Then I did 3.8 miles on the treadmill. AFter the first 2.5 miles, my left knee was killing me. Just throbbing, shooting pain that went away after I stopped running and just walked for about 5 minutes or so. They I tried to run again. After two minutes, same throbbing pain again. Have never really had knee pain, so this new to me.

Tonight I plan on working on my skills, heavy bag work, jump roping, speed bag work and slipping techniques.

Just checking in, keeping myself honest. ;) Knee still bothering me a bit, so I did 35 minutes, with intervals on the stairmaster today, followed by about 8 minutes of jump roping and 20 minutes of boring cardio on the recumbant bike.

tonight, I did some shadow boxing and worked on slipping. Oh, and watched "the Contender" again. :) I wish that they wouldn't edit the fights. Edit some of the other stuff and let us see all (5) 3 minute rounds! Still, I enjoyed it, but then again I am a reality show junkie. I noticed that it was Mark Burnett evening. Survivor, then "The Apprentice" followed by "The Contender."

Tomorrow is chest/tri's/shoulders and abs day, as well as more cardio. Hopefully my shoulder is feeling good enough for weights. It has felt a lot better today.

so far, doing pretty good on my calories and eating fairly clean.

It's Friday... got through my weights this morning.
I did chets/tri's/shoulders/ and abs. I try to keep my reps in the 12-15 range. Really heavy weights puts more stress on the joints, so my trainer has me going a bit lighter, with higher reps, because boxing naturally puts a lot of stress on the shoulder joints.

I then went to run. 2 miles in, once again my knee started bothering me . So I walked and cranked up the incline and did a little over 3 miles. There was some big guy running next to me that smelled like he had bathed in a big vat of garlic. NOTHING smells worse than someone who is sweating out garlic. I tried not to inhale through my nose to much. When he finally finished his cardio, I just thought to myself "yeah, that's right buddy, take your garlicky b.o. body and keep moving." Getting through that cardio was challenging. Don't get me wrong, I love the taste of garlic, I just don't like the smell of it on the body or the breath after someone has eaten it.

I talked to an on floor trainer who is also a runner , about my knee. He said that basically my athletic ability/ cardiovascular training has surpassed what my skeletal system can handle... whatever that means. Then told me to lay off some of the running. And when I do run, run one mile, then walk for 2 minutes. Run one mile, walk 2 minutes. I will try that and see how that goes, see if it makes a difference. Maybe keep the running to just 3 times a week and do other stuff for cardio.

I have also decided to start taking MSM with glucosamine to help with my joints. My shoulder has popped and cracked for the past few years. See if it helps that. I will let you know if that helps as well.

Eating.... I cheated today... had a bunch of Easter candy, which amounted to probably 2 day's worth of caloric deficits :mad: Was it even that good? No, not really. I am pretty sugar sensitive. One piece sends me over the edge into a binge. My sister is Type II diabetic. My dad is insulin resistant. My grandparents were diabetic, and my grandmother died from complications of lung cancer and diabetes. So it sort of runs in the family. None the less, I am very healthy, but I feel like I am sugar sensitive. I need to just stay away from the yucky stuff until my match. Think I can do it? I don't know...

I ordered my boxing trunks and jersey today. solid blakc bottoms and a kelly green top with black trim, per request of my boxing coach. Wants us to be uniform. Kind of pricey for very little material. :confused: I have been holding off on the boxing shoes, as they are ugly and I can't find a pair that I like. There is nowhere locally that I can go to try some on, they all have to be ordered either online or over the phone. Once again, they have to be black. The Roy Jones Jordan Boxer shoes are REALLY nice... but $110.00!!!! ouch, too much. I am debating whether to get the lower top boxing shoes or the higher top boxing shoes. I don't know... still thinking about that. It is down between a pair of everlast boxing shoes and some adidas.

So this morning I sparred with another girl- first time. I have only been sparring with my (male) trainer ( 5"8 185 lbs.) for the past 6 months or so. It was a good sparring session. She was about 6 inches shorter than myself, about 10 lbs. lighter/ southpaw and not as much experience sparring as I have had. My arm reach was almost a foot longer than hers. It was nice. ;) Worked the jab, got in, did some punches and got out, and kept moving in the ring. I was able to parry 90% of her punches. Anyway, I was under the impression that she had done more full contact sparring than what she had actually done. I got in a lot of shots, hit her once really good in the solarplex, which made her stop, and have to take a break- and oops, she started crying. I think that was her first really hard hit. I felt kind of bad, but then again, I saw the opening and had to take it. We'll see if she comes back. She really is a nice girl. We are planning on setting up another sparring session this next week. I guess up to this point, she has just been doing semi-sparring with the trainer. Where each person takes turns working on offense while the other person works on defense. She will be competing in the same amateur competition as myself.

It was nice getting all the shots in instead of taking all the shots, like I usually do with the boxing coach. :D

I have been fighting a slight sinus cold for the past couple of days. Sunday night I got 9 hours of sleep, woke up yesterday morning and STILL felt wiped out. I did my lower body weights, sucked it up, but I was tired and couldnt' perform up to snuff. Bad sinus headache yesterday morning. After my workout I went into the steam room and massaged the sinuses. Another lady in there had some rosemary oil that she put in the steamer and that seemed to help. I feel a bit wiped out yesterday, but today feel slightly better, although not 100%

This morning I had a sparring session with my trainer. Probably the most intense one to date. Every week he hits me harder and harder. But the nice thing is being able to take a shot and keep going. :tu: I work my abs incredibly hard, and it has been to my benefit thus far. My trainer said that I do pretty well at taking body shots.
anyway, we did (4) 2 minute rounds. I know, doesn't sound like much, but we stayed VERY busy in the ring and I was wiped out when I was done. Planning on sparring with the other girl on Saturday morning.

The plan is tonight after some appointments I have, I will head over to the gym and do some cardio work- running - see how the knee is doing. I haven't ran since Friday.

Well, I didn't want to go last night, but I did it. My husband pushed me out the door and I am glad that he did. I made it to the gym and ran 4 miles and was darn tired.
This morning's workout was weights- back, shoulder, biceps and abs... lots of abs.

Then I tried running again. One of my intervals I was running at 9.0 and the treadmill just STOPPED. quit completely, and just about threw me from it. I got off and hopped on another one and kept going. Started having knee problems, so only got in about 2.8 miles. Tomorrow I think I will do something different for the morning cardio session , give the knee a break again.
The plan tonight is to go out to the garage ( my personal gym) ;) and do some heavy bag work, some speed bag work and practice some slipping, also do some plyometrics.

I am doing well with the eating. Just eating really healthy whole foods and watching what I eat so that I lose weight, but also don't compromise my recovery.

Can I just say... I am DARN tired.

I was able to take 10 minutes today at the gym and sit in the steam room again... it was so nice and helped loosen up my congestion. Think I will head in there again tomorrow, then maybe the jacuzzi after that.

Sinuses are feeling A LOT better! After a brief 25 minute nap late yesterday afternoon, I got ready and went out to the garage to get some boxing drills in. Last night's boxing escapade in the garage made me grouchy. I couldn't go a full 3 minute round on the bag without my two girls - ages 5 and 3 fighting. Finally had to call it a night and go back inside and just practice shadow boxing while they played Barbie's or something. We did take one of their jump ropes and tie it to the bottom of two chairs, across the room. I then practiced hopping back and forth from one side to the other with just one foot. Both girls tried to do it as well.. was cute. I also did some high jumps with my knees to my chest.

So this morning for cardio, I ended up doing 35 minutes of HIIT on the stair stepper - just to give the knee a rest. Then cooled down for 10 minutes on the elliptical. Followed by about 6 minutes of jump roping. I was practicing trying to do "double unders" where you rotate the rope twice before your feet hit the floor again. Was only able to do it a couple of times. The other times I just ended up with welts from the plastic rope on my behind and back....I am such a moron :rolleyes:

I am finding out a little bit more about nutrition for boxers and am trying a new nutrition plan. One method that is highly recommended is 60/30/10
carbs/protein/fats or 70/20/10 for carbs/proteins/fats.
So far, I like it. I am not a huge meat eater, but I love fruits and vegetables. I was a vegetarian once for about 6 years. I still like meat here and there, just not a lot. Can't stand seafood of any kind and only have red meat 2 times a month. So I guess the only meat I really do eat is chicken breasts. The majority of my protein comes from egg whites, whey protein, cottage cheese, yogurt, dairy stuff.

When you need a lot of energy- carbs are your friends.
Feeling great and I am down another 1/2 of a lb.

The bout is now just 7 weeks from TODAY!

Crap,Crap, Crappy day so far. I got to the gym this morning a bit later than usual, and just wasn't "in the zone" frame of mind. I just felt weak, tired and mentally not there. Then I did a quick calculation of calories I consumed at breakfast this morning and realized I had only taken in about 270 cals, which explains why I felt really weak and low on energy. I did weights, some compound movements. This is what was in my workout today:

squats with overhead dumbbell press
dumbbell snatches
step ups with 20lb. weights in each hand.
dumbbell chest presses
dumbbell flyes
push ups,
pull ups,
bent knee raises
Russian twists with a medicine ball
leg press
tricep pushdowns
bent knee raises - also did obliques
decline bench sit ups

Then finished it off with only 23 mins of cardio... just wasn't into it this morning.... :mad:

So looks like I will just be sparring with the trainer tomorrow. I talked to him last night and it seems that the other girl has been skipping workouts and has had a few excuses this week and doesn't want to come in. Trainer thinks her enthusiasm is waining after our sparring session last week. Hmm, I wonder why :whistle: I think it was a little bit harder than she thought... who knows.

In the meantime, I will just continue to get beat up by the tank.... :d_eek:

Food? No mention of that today. Let's just say the diet has NOT been good today....... :rolleyes:

O.K. apparently I haven't been paying too much attention to the calendar, because I noticed it is more like 6 weeks until my fight and not 7 weeks... I am such a moron. I better step it up a bit! :eek:

This morning I had a sparring session with my trainer. I landed a really nice cross punch to his jaw, turned his head a bit. How gratifying. He of course landed MULTIPLE punches on me. we knocked elbows, quite hard at one point.... I now have a new purple bruise to add to the collection.

I have a wedding to play for this evening, and when I get back- it will be more heavy bag work, and some shadow boxing.

damn food... indulged too much yesterday. So my goal is to get down to at least 141 or 140, then I can dry out for 1 or 2 lbs. without killing myself and bonking my energy.

Maybe I should take up golf...

So I cleaned the diet back up right away - Saturday, and I feel a lot better. Have been eating a ton of fruit and veggies.

Yesterdays' workout:
Did a full body weight routine comprising of:
pushups
pullups,
squat presses,
dumbbell lunges
lateral raises
tricep pushdowns
bench dips with a weight plate
back extensions
Russian twists
leg raises
step ups with 20lb. dumbbells
dumbbell press
dumbbell flyes
sit ups on the decline bench
ball planks

then did about 3 miles of running afterwards.

Last night for workout #2 5 x 2min rounds of shadow boxing, 3x 2min rounds of speed bag work, 5x 2 min rounds of heavy bag drills/ combos.

This morning... my lats and traps are very sore, as well as my hamstrings. I will head out to my sparring session in about an hour. Husband and kids I think are going to come watch me train today. They have never come to a training session in a year, so it should be interesting.

Then will go back into the gym tonight and do 4 miles. Although I think I might do jumproping and soem stair master. Knee is bugging me.

So, early yesterday evening- around 5p.m. I was just tired, pooped, darn tired, so I laid down and took a nap for an hour. Got up and went into the gym about 7:30 p.m. and did the stairs master. Something like 220 floors - over 4 miles, kept my heart rate between 151 and 165. Didn't bother running, wanted to rest the knee. Slept from 11 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. woke up, body just sore and tired. My hamstrings are tired today and my lats were quite sore/fatigued also.

This morning I ran intervals on the treadmill. Did about 3 miles, got into the anaerobic zone. IT is getting harder and harder to get my heartrate up there as my conditiong improves. My hear can handle more, but my legs are tired. My heart rate only peaked at about 174 during my intervals. I was running at 9.3 for 2 minutes, then would drop it down to 6.5 for a 1 minute recovery, then do it all over again. I think around 4 -5 times. Then finished off my walking and trying to cool down. I am definitely not a runner, nor do I ever desire to be one.

As of this morning, weight is at 144lbs. :tucool: Only 5 more lbs and 5 weeks left to go. Oh, and I am on day 5 of no sugar... me the consummate sugar hound, this is a big thing.

Tonight's workout will be 6 rounds of shadow boxing, followed by about 4 rounds of heavy bag work and about 3 rounds on the speed bag.

keep up the great work!

keep up the great work!

Thanks! :D

The rest of today I was really, really tired. I loaded up on a little more carbs in my 4th meal and rested and that seemed to do the trick. And common sense told me to take it a little easier tonight with the workout. I am a bit sneezy/ cold symptoms tonight. So I just did some plyometric jumps, some abs with the ab wheel and shadow boxed for about 4 rounds. Not as intense as I normally do, but I just needed a slight break.

I have been corresponding with another boxing trainer from a boxing website and have gotten even more great advice. We figured that I was burning about 2600-2700 cals a day with the two workouts ( just a guess) but he recommended that I bring my daily calories up to 2,000 a day, so I can still work out at the same intensity without hitting the wall.
Friday will be my high calorie day. I will consume around 2500 cals to keep the metabolism going. No more cheat meals for me - at least until after my fight, just have to keep the calories fluctuating. So I will probably just have a couple of meals with larger portions. Easter candy this weekend with two little kids is going to be a killer.... but I have to remind myself that it is just candy, there will always be candy and I can have some after I have attained my goal.

Tomorrow's plan will be another full body workout. Each exercise will have 3 sets with 8 reps, more compound movements and not any isolation movements like the bicep curls.

weight routine went well this morning. I did a bit of this and that.

3 sets of pushups
incline dumbbell press, 2 sets
3 sets of dumbbell snatches( combo hamstring, shoulder row, overhead press)
3 sets of bench dips with 25lb. weight plate in lap
2 sets of tricep cable pushdowns
3 set of back extensions- 15 reps with 25lb. wt. plate
3 sets of pull ups
2 sets of lateral raises
3 sets of bent knee raises.
2 sets of decline sit ups
1 set of Russian twists
1 set of V ups
3 sets of leg presses ( 8 reps 245 lbs.)
3 sets of squat press using 17.5 dumbbells

Then did 4 rounds of shadow boxing and 3 rounds of jumproping.

Tonight, I did about 8 minutes on the speed bag, and 4 rounds on the heavy bag. I didn't push myself as hard as I normally do. Arms were tired- most likely from the workout this morning.

Day 6 of no sugar or junk food.

I am surrounded by marshmallow peeps, Reese's peanut butter eggs, malted milk balls, mini Twix's and marshmallow eggs - for the kids Easter baskets.

I am proud to say that I have not eaten one of them, nor do I have any desire. I just keep focusing on my goals and it seems to do the trick. I just know how BAD I would feel if I cheated. It just isn't worth it.

I had a scoop of chocolate protein mixed with 1 tbsp. of natural peanut butter and 1 c. of skim milk. That seemed to help keep my mind off the candy.

Calories are at 1900 for the day. Maybe one of these days I will post a typical day of eating for me.

Mentally not there today. Legs felt like rubber this morning when I ran intervals. I was never so happy to be done with the interval training. Had a "cheat meal" after the gym today. Now, don't get all excited. My cheat meal was at a Mongolian grill = lots of fresh veggies, meat, some noodles and a little plum sauce. So what made it a cheat meal- the larger portions, probably the white noodles and the plum sauce. Still pretty clean eating for me. If I wasn't in training... a cheat meal would be a large cheesecake, some candy, maybe some carmel corn, chocolate.... you get the picture. Calories for the day were at around 2400.

Kids have TONS of candy laying around and I am happy to say that I haven't touched any of it!

This evening I did some burpees and 30 second punch out drills. I also did some ab work and did 6 x 3 minutes of rapid fast shadowboxing.

What did I really want to do? Put on my pajamas, sit on the couch under a blanket, watch t.v. and eat junk food. Sounds like fun huh?

Ooh, forgot to add - my black satin boxing trunks and kelly green jersey and black boxing shoes came in the mail today! Love the shoes- they fit well and don't look terribly dorky... Adidas... The jersey is a tad big, but it will work... The shorts... ah yes, the shorts. I ordered shorts that were "above the knee" and these are barely longer than running shorts. Look horrible against my long, long pasty white legs. Oh, and the shape of the shorts are not very flattering to the hips. Kind of reminds me of a balloon... My hips are naturally wide, so shorts always seem to emphasize them. So I will order another pair and hopefully get some that are the right length.

Sparring in the morning at 9 a.m. :p

Sparring went really well this morning. We did 5 x 2 minute rounds. When my trainer got in close, I kept my chin down gloves up, kept it tight and then fought back with short power punches. It worked. He was very complimentary to me today as to my abilities and how well I keep improving. I needed the boost after feeling fried yesterday. He even commented on the fact that I am looking a lot thinner.... amazing what 3-4 lbs weight loss will do. ;) Oh, and working my A** off. :db: Finished up the rest of the session working the double end bag and taking feedback from the coach. Warm up before I spar always consists of rocking horses, chain breakers, jumping jacks, cherry pickers ( grass pickers), jump roping, a few rounds on the speed bag and just stretching really well. Sometimes abs. Usually takes about 15 minutes or so to warm up.

Anyway, he thinks I will do really well in my first fight. I hope so. I try and visualize a lot - what the fight might be like- landing punches, getting in combinations. Try to stay very positive about how well I can do, without being cocky. Boxing really is a complex sport that takes years to master. You can be doing so well in one round, and the next round, be losing and things come unraveled. I wish I had more options for sparring partners. There aren't a lot available. The girl I sparred with two weeks ago talked to the coach and decided that boxing was just not for her. Better to learn now than later I think.

The new shoes were great during sparring today. I was able to pivot and twist the body more with each punch. They work better than crosstrainers... GO figure.

I need to plan tonight's workout. I am sure it will involve some shadowboxing

It was nice having a day off yesterday to relax and rest. And the Easter Candy was not torturous to look at or smell. :lol: I think I have finally detoxed off of the stuff.

So, went to the gym this morning... and after workout weighed myself - get ready - 142lbs!!!! couldn't believe it. Although I think I need to raise my calories a little more. I think I am losing too much weight too fast because of the high volume of anaerobic and aerobic conditioning I am doing. Which means my body is probably catabolizing some muscle tissue along the way :( Still, only 3 lbs. left to go and only a month left to go until the match.

This morning was another full body weight routine, didn't have as much time to devote to it as I was pressed for time. Then did 30 minutes of intervals and some aerobic conditioning on the stairmaster.

Tonight's workout was 4 x3 minutes rounds of shadowboxing. 2x 3 minutes rounds of speed bag and 4 x3 minute rounds on the heavy bag.

What I could have done better today, was include some more plyometric drills into my workout. Tomorrow night I need to get in a 4 mile aerobic run, but am trying to figure when that will happen since I have a jazz harp concert I need to attend tomorrow evening... I will figure something out.

Sparring session this morning. I am sporting a new bruise on my nose. It does't hurt and is small... wow a face wound. Up until this point, the only injuries I have sustained is bruises on my forearms from blocking punches, or colliding elbows with the trainer and the knuckle of my right hand on the index finger. I hurt that pretty bad 6 or 7 weeks ago and it is finally just starting to feel somewhat normal again.
The trainer threw fast, flurry kangaroo punches at me during sparring session. Didn't do so well fighting back or getting out of there. I wasn't completely, mentally there today... GRRR

Focus, just Focus.... :p

I think it is going to be like 10:00 by the time I get home tonight. Not sure if I will be able to get another workout in tonight. It is not looking good. I am booked up from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

keep up the great work, again!

it'd be funny if you were one of those fighters who walks into a fight with a black eye, all beat up from training :)

i think that's kind of cool, actually...

keep up the great work, again!

it'd be funny if you were one of those fighters who walks into a fight with a black eye, all beat up from training :)

i think that's kind of cool, actually...

Yes, battle wounds are ALWAYS in style ;) Thank you for my one subscribing member. :tu:

I didn't get my workout in last night. It was 10:30 by the time I got home. Went to a jazz harp concert. Once in a lifetime opportunity. Saw Park Stickney in concert who played with Rudiger Opperman kind of an ethno musicologist who played blues harp, some celtic mixed with Park's jazz harp. Totally fascinating and very interesting. They covered some Duke Ellington, Sting, Miles Davis tunes, did the jazz standard Take 5 and did some original work. If you like jazz, check out http://www.jazzharp.com

Anyway, totally enjoyed it... but back to business at hand.

I ran intervals this morning on the treadmill. Legs are like rubber, got my heart rate up high so I was in the vapor zone. Oh, and I did a lighter ab workout today. Not too much else to report there. I haven't been journaling my calories for the past 2 days. Just keeping rough estimates in my head. I will start writing it all down again, because I still haven't met my goals. Late yesterday afternoon, my husband and I ate out at Texas Roadhouse grill. I was pretty good. No peanuts.. Just had salad with no cheese or bacon on it, little lite dressing on the side, steamed broccoli and a petite sirloin steak. I did have half of a white roll (bad) but with no butter on it. yes, you can eat out and drop weight, you just have to know what to ask for and what to look for. Just when your eyes narrow in on the pecan sweet potato pie, you just keep going right past it. :nod:

Tonight's scheduled training is shadowboxing, heavy bag work, some speed bag and some plyometrics. I think I will focus some of my rounds on doing inside punches.

9 hours of sleep really does do the body good. It was nice to get to sleep from 11p.m. to 8 a.m. last night

last night I did 6 rounds of shadowboxing, 4 rounds on the heavy bag and 2 rounds on the speed bag. Each round was 3 minutes with a 1 minute, sometimes only 30 second rest. Then I worked on fast punches- 30 second drills.

This morning was a full body weight routine, followed by 30 minutes on the stairmaster, keep my heartrate 80-88% of my MHR. I still feel like I could have pushed myself harder with the weights.

Nothing else new, other than I am a bit stressed by everything I have to get done and am finding myself a bit snappy with people. GRRRRR.

I have to play on an alumni recital at the University, the week after my match, so on top of all the working out, I have to get in a couple of hours of practicing everyday. I just feel mentally drained.

O.K. time for an attitude adjustment :confused:

My back is looking and feeling boney- or so my husband says. Oh how I wish we could spot reduce the fat. I have some pockets around my abdomen that could stand to go. But NOOOOOOOO, it has to come off places that are already lean. GRRR My chest is starting to look like a female marathon runner. I should take some pictures and post them and you can tell me what you think... :confused:

My traps are REALLY sore today and the muscles are a bit tight- big knots. Hmm, tension maybe?

I admire professional athletes and the training they put their bodies through. This training twice a day is VERY tiring. Sometimes my mind is telling me to just rest and not push so hard. I have to push that aside and tell myself " Remember, you are training hard, but your opponent is training harder." With that in mind, here is the latest workout stats.

Last night was lots of burpees, some punch out speed drills and 6 x 3 minute rounds of fast shadowboxing. I am usually pretty dripping wet after all of that.
This morning was HIIT on the stairmaster. My knee has been bothering me the past few days, so trying only to run a few times a week instead of EVERY day.

Diet... So far for this day - Breakfast was 6oz. of Danon light n' fit yogurt, protein pancakes prepared with 1/2 c. of oatmeal, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and 3 egg whites.
Post workout was a banana and whey protein mixed with water.

Then next meal was a Baja steak ensalada from Baja fresh. Just used lots of fresh salsa instead of salad dressing. It was good. about 450 calories or so.

Confession: I didn't get my training in last night. :d_frown: My neck muscles were so painful. Not muscle fatigue, but horrible tension, I felt like crap and could barely keep my eyes open. I upped my calories to around 2200 yesterday and got 9 hours of sleep. It was just what I needed. I awoke this morning and felt renewed and refreshed.

Pretty good sparring session this morning. I got some good combinations in as well as was on the receiving end of being pummeled. My trainer is talking about me going up to Portland to work with an amateur female fighter up there that is really good. Possibly next Saturday to do a sparring session. We'll see if anything comes of it.

After sparring sessions, I went over to my regular gym- the athletic club that I work out at and they have Krav Maga classes. They had a free session today, so I went and did that. If my time and cash weren't so strapped, I would take on of the Krav Maga 8 week sessions there.

O.K. rest of today's workout and nutrition:

Tonight's workout was a good one, I worked hard and felt wiped out when I was done. I did 3x2minutes on the speed bag, 7 x 3 minute rounds on the HEAVY bag. and 3 x2minutes of shadow boxing, some lateral foot drills, some plyometric jumps. I am tired, but in a good way. It was a good workout, my arms and legs are toast.

I decided to post today's meals so you can get an idea of what my sample menu is.

8:45a.m. 4 egg whites x 1 whole egg omelette, with some diced ham, mushrooms, 4 tbsp. of salsa and an orange. estimated calories: 300

11:00 a.m. 1 scoop of whey protein mixed with water and 1 banana estimated calories: 230

1:30 p.m. 1/2 c. cottage cheese, 3 ox. of baby carrots, 1 c. of cucumbers, 1 c. of red seedless grapes estimated calories 270

2:30 p.m. 1/2 avocado, and 1tbsp. peanut butter. ( I know, weird combo, but it sounded good) probably around 200 calories

5:30 p.m. 6 egg whites omelette with green peppers, mushrooms, salsa. 1c. bran flakes with 2 large strawberries, 1/2 c. of skim milk. est. calories: around 360

7:45 p.m. post workout shake: 1 scoop chocolate whey protein, 1 c. skim milk, 3 tbsp. of Carnation malted milk powder. calories: 300

calories are around 1660- 1700 so far for the day. I may end up having one more meal in there. If I do, it will probably be cottage cheese and an apple or something.

Over two weeks without ANY unhealthy food - no candy! HOORAY! Still have Easter candy left over. Candy never lasts this long at my house. I burn through it fast. match is in less than 4 weeks. :jumping:

This Daylight savings thing killed me today. I slept a ton this weekend, got up an hour later - but normal time for me before the time change. Anyway, was later getting to the gym. Was only able to get weights in and no cardio... Weighed myself this morning - 146 lbs. GRRR. I have been training hard and watching calories, fluctuating them and not eating junk. I am drinking about 2 gallons of water today and will see if it is just water weight tomorrow. Oh and sticking to just fruit and veggies for carbs. I hate this "making weight" thing. Have another harp workshop this evening. This will be the last one for awhile, so I can get back to a more normal schedule. As a result, my workout will probably be shadowboxing at about 9:30 p.m. tonight. And some other interval drills.

Slacker... I didn't write in here yesterday. I did have a good sparring session yesterday morning and got some good combos in yesterday. last night's workout was pretty much half A$$ed. I will get back on the stick tonight. I talked to my trainer about the weight thing and told him I don't know how I am going to be able to get down to 139 in 3 weeks. I have been working pretty hard for the most part and have been eating squeaky clean and watching calories, and fluctuating them to prevent a metabolic crash. Case in point, I am a lot leaner, dropped some inches off the waist and hips and my bodyfat has gone down, but my weight is up 2 lbs. from last week. Anyway, I will just keep working hard and get to where I can. He made me feel relieved in the fact that he noticed I am focused, determined and working hard and he can see that I have leaned out. He said, "Well, your body is going to be where it is going to be, better to be 7 lbs. lighter than your opponent but have more lean muscle strength than fat." So it looks like I may end up fighting as a welterweight and not a light welterweight. Anyway, there is a sense of relief and I still intend on sticking to what I am doing to see how my body responds.

Other thoughts that have been ratteling around in my brain. There was an amateur female boxer in Colorado that died as a result from a head injury in a Golden GLoves Competition. Has really had me thinking a lot. Feel sad, and know that that could be me, but still willing to take the risk. http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/3515424

Today's workout. Running intervals. Ran at a pace of 9.5 for 2 mins, back down to 6.0 to recover, then back to 9.5 did 5 interval segments like that, then followed it up with some moderate cardio for a total of 30 minutes. Good little interval session. Knee feeling pretty good and no real issues with it.

Update # 2 for the day. Weird day today. I just felt really, really tired. Managed to get in a quick 15 minute nap to revive me. I have been a bit edgy and grouchy today. So much on my plate and trying to get it all done. Oh, and getting tired of the healthy food selection. Would love some pizza, or icecream, or a big box of chocolates, and just sit on the couch with my big fuzzy blanket and watch t.v. and eat until I was sick. :nod: But no, here we are with the cottage cheese, asparagus and an apple. MMM tasty....

Better attitude tomorrow... I hope...


Tonight's workout was 3 x 2 minutes of shadowboxing. 2 rounds on the speed bag and (5) 3 minute rounds on the heavy bag. I was nice and drippy when I was done. of course my garage is a sauna when the washer and dryer are going at the same time. Only boxing gym that I know of that is also a laundromat. ;)

Weight today- 145. Not budging. Still eating healthy, getting leaner and working out hard. Had a killer full body workout this morning, so the aerobic conditioning afterwards was not as hard core. My legs felt like rubber after doing leg presses at 265lbs. - a lot for me. Anyway, so did the elliptical, hadn't done that in ages, it was boring and I had to work a little harder despite my rubber legs.

Grocery shopping today was a killer. cookies everywhere, icecream, potato chips, candy, pizza, frozen burritoes. :lol: I fantasized about eating it all.... I have been over compensating with my kids I have noticed. I can't eat the junk, so I noticed I am allowing them to eat more junk and crap- cookies and granola bars and candy and sugary cereal. If I can't enjoy it, someone else might as well. I know, BAD analogy.

My favorite ab exercise this week - leg throws. That kept them sore for 3 days after. Going to have to do that one more often.

My second pair of boxing trunks came. They are longer, but still dorky looking on me like the first pair. What is it with boxing trunks that make you feel like you are wearing a balloon around your middle. I may keep these and find someone to take them in a little. I don't know, I haven't decided. I bought a stock pair this time so that if I didn't like them, I could always send them back. I will have to enlist the criticism of my husband.

:tucool: Once again, keep up the great work!

That balloon in the middle is, well, for a cup ;) hahaha I think that's just how they make them, for women as well. Why you'd need a cup is beyond me, but eh, I doubt they really try to cater to women anatomically, as opposed to just size wise.

The junk food thing kills me, too. everybody around me is a junk food fiend. I eat plenty of it, as well, but I compensate by just consuming less calories that day. Or the next day. I firmly believe in zig zagging calories, even if it's EVERYDAY I zigzag.

But keep up the great work! I LOVE leg throws! Those really kick my ass!

:tucool: Once again, keep up the great work!

That balloon in the middle is, well, for a cup ;) hahaha I think that's just how they make them, for women as well. Why you'd need a cup is beyond me, but eh, I doubt they really try to cater to women anatomically, as opposed to just size wise.

The junk food thing kills me, too. everybody around me is a junk food fiend. I eat plenty of it, as well, but I compensate by just consuming less calories that day. Or the next day. I firmly believe in zig zagging calories, even if it's EVERYDAY I zigzag.

But keep up the great work! I LOVE leg throws! Those really kick my ass!

Yeah, I figured that is why they were a little more puffy around the hips. The first pair I had custom made for a "woman's body." They look a little more feminine, but they are SHORT. And I don't like to wear shorts that short. My legs are quite long to begin with, and well a bit pasty white also. Maybe if I think about it later tonight, I will put both on and takes some pics with the digi camera and you guys can tell me which ones you think look better. Oh, I am such a girl.... I worry about stuff like that. :rolleyes:

Yes, Leg throws are torturous, but wonderful... just about as evil as the ab wheel. ( Hey that kind of rhymes) :lol:

This morning was intervals ( 35 mins.) on a new stairmaster machine at the gym. They were tough! I cooled down by jogging for about 10 minutes on the treadmill, then went and did 3 rounds of jumproping... few welts on my arms. Then went and got the kids out of the daycare and we went swimming/soaking.

Good sparring session this morning. We did 5 x 2 minute rounds. Thoughts for mental boxing homework and what I am to practice for next sparring session: Get my opponent up against the ropes, throw hooks to the head to get their hands up to the sides, then come in with a straight, quick short right to the head or to the body, or uppercut. I am going to have to try and implement that into my bag drills etc.
Last night had a good workout of speed bag work, some plyometrics and some heavy bag work.

So, I was given the go ahead from my trainer to have a cheat meal today since I am doing so well... So I did. I feel physically ill now. My body has been eating only good stuff, so it doesn't know what to do with the crap I just put into my body. I won't list what I ate in one sitting, it would more than likely put everyone on this board into a diabetic coma. :spaz:
I feel more reaffirmed as to why it is SOOOOO important to eat very healthy. Junk tastes good for ten minutes or so, then after that. YUCK. The way my body feels now... Yuck, yuck, yuck. I will come back and read this and remember how I felt 2 days from now when I am in "detox mode" trying to get the sugar out of my system.

I slept on my neck wrong last night. It is really stiff, had a crappy night of sleep. I woke up at 2:30 a.m. to try and adjust pillows and then again at 6 a.m. because it still hurt and I was SOOO hungry. So I got up and took some aspirin and had some bran flakes with skim milk and banana. I stayed up for 30 minutes and watched some of the Prince Charles and Camilla wedding on t.v. :lol: Was fascinated by all the big elaborate fancy hats that all the women were wearing that matched their dresses or dress suits. I was finally tired enough and the pain backed off, so I went back to sleep for about and hour and a half.

If you don't mind me saying so, when they trained Joe Louis they used to make him sleep after a sparring/workout session and he had to have a blanket on him to keep his body at a certain temp. this was not an option..thay made him do it according to one bio I read...... :gl:

If you don't mind me saying so, when they trained Joe Louis they used to make him sleep after a sparring/workout session and he had to have a blanket on him to keep his body at a certain temp. this was not an option..thay made him do it according to one bio I read...... :gl:

Hmm, I wonder why that is? I mean what was the theory behind it? Do you remember? I do the usual stuff after sparring... take a shower to remove the stinky sweat, then have a protein shake. :lol:

:gl:

You are doing great! I just read your journal and wanted you to know I am rooting for you. :db:

I believe it had something to do with the neurological aspects of his training........in the sense that this type of training exhausts mental resources as well as physical......(power snooze?)....After reading your logs I notice there are many instances where you refer to being overly tired combined with the scenario of training at several different times during one day.......which I interpret as running a deficit of some kind..be it sleep or nutrition. I see you're really big on egg-whites although they aren't at the top of the pecking order when it comes to protein absorption....was that a personal choice or a recommendation??....do you ever eat boiled chicken?.........It was G.Gordon Liddy that said " It's not the pain......it's whether you mind it or not."................Hope you win every fight you're ever in,girl! :claplow:

:gl:

You are doing great! I just read your journal and wanted you to know I am rooting for you. :db:


Thanks Yvette, I appreciate it! :tucool:

I believe it had something to do with the neurological aspects of his training........in the sense that this type of training exhausts mental resources as well as physical......(power snooze?)....After reading your logs I notice there are many instances where you refer to being overly tired combined with the scenario of training at several different times during one day.......which I interpret as running a deficit of some kind..be it sleep or nutrition. I see you're really big on egg-whites although they aren't at the top of the pecking order when it comes to protein absorption....was that a personal choice or a recommendation??....do you ever eat boiled chicken?.........It was G.Gordon Liddy that said " It's not the pain......it's whether you mind it or not."................Hope you win every fight you're ever in,girl! :claplow:

Yes, tired is either from training or from low calories. usually it is from training. Boxing is a HARD sport. But if you can push through the fatigue when you are tired, all the better for you. Fighting/sparring is tiring and you have to learn to push past the fatigue in the ring. Fatigue can also come from other sources as well. In addition to training twice a day, I also play harp professionally, so have to practice a couple of hours a day, plus I teach harp and piano lessons privately and am a full time mom to a 3 and 5 year old. Dad isn't around much to help out as he is a full time student at the University with 16 credits. And works as much as 52 hours a week - nights - 12 hour shifts. So I don't see him that often and don't have as much help with the kids. :p Also, no family lives nearby to help out. So that contributes to the fatigue sometimes. But I am doing pretty well I think!

As far as protein is concerned, I am a picky eater to say the least. I LOVE every kind of fruit and veggies. However, with protein I am very picky. I do not like seafood of any kind, nor do I like the taste of turkey at all. I eat red meat very sparingly, maybe 2 -3 times a month, usually when I eat out. I never buy it, raw meat grosses me out. My protein sources consist of: egg whites, whey protein, some soy products, cottage cheese, chicken breasts, steak occasionally, and some dairy products like limited amounts of cheese and skim milk and yogurt. The reason i was so heavily focused on egg whites is because they were low fat, and I was initially going to have to try and make a weight class. That is no longer the case as I am leaning out, but not dropping scale weight, so my trainer decided that it would be best to keep doing what I am doing and fight in my current weight class. Thanks again for posting and following my progress!

I have an attitude today. Can't quite pinpoint what it is. It is going to take me a few days to get my weight back down to where it was on Friday after Saturday's binge.... GRR. That is probably why I am so grouchy. I won't even tell you what the scale said this morning. :mad:

So workout this morning: full body weights, followed by aerobic conditioning on the stairmaster for 30 minutes. In about an hour, I will go get my second workout in. Boxing skills. I am less than enthused today and trying to get excited about tonight's workout.

2 1/2 weeks left. I am ready.

Had a good workout last night. I did some plyometric work, about 8-9 rounds of heavy bag work and some speedbag work. I need to get my double end bag up, but I am missing one of the rubber cables and need to get some bolts from the hardware store.
I had some unauthorized sweet treats last night. GRRR :mad: They were good tasting, but don't help me reach my goals. It will take me about 5 days to detox off the sugar so I don't crave it as much. cloudy and rainy today. I have a sparring session in a couple of hours. I am excited to try out some combinations I have been practicing. See if any of them land during the sparring session.

O.K. I am in need of some serious cheering up. Depressed to say the least. Had a good sparring session this morning. However, found out the fight on the 28th is a no- go as they can't find a match for me in my weight class.... Would be a heck of a lot easier I am sure if I was a guy. But apparently no female fighters have signed up to do this fight on the 28th that are in the 140 weight class.
I have been so keyed up for this for so long. What a huge let down. There is supposedly a fight on the 23rd, some city that is about 3 hours away from here. My coach is going to see if he can get a match there. I am hungry for a fight. It is hard to work and train so hard and then have a let down like this. Mentally it messes with you... anyway... :d_frown:

That DOES suck. but you know, that's what happens to fighters all the time. They train really hard for a fight, then something happens to their opponent (injury, change of mind, personal reasons, sick, etc). it's really hard to predict those sorts of things, and understandably, it may feel like a total waste of your time.

but it's not. not only have you trained hard over the past month, you've pushed yourself mentally and physically. your body is probably in fantastic shape, your mind became focused toward a goal so hard you probably had tunnel vision. put both of those things together, and you are, simply, a person on a mission! and damn it all, nothing, not even a lousy 3 musketeers bar, is going to stop you.

if you simply apply that attitude to anything else in life, nothing is going to stop you from reaching your goals.

you've not only entertained me and others over the past month, but you've proved to me, once again, that with a strong will, determination, and hard work, beautiful things can happen. i only wish i could have been there to watch you hit the heavy bag, work the speed bag, or shadow boxed in the mirror to perfect your form. you, literally, became a shining example of the sweet science, and to me, my million dollar baby.

don't give up. don't ever give up. what seems like a waste of your time is merely 4 weeks in your life. it was a good show and run, and temporarily, you have to stop. it's almost like a car race: someone crashes, and the caution flag is up, and the distance you put on the guy behind you is all of a sudden closed as everybody bunches up again. no biggy. you just do it all over again, as many times as you have to, because you WANt to. that's all. you don't need any other reason.

keep up the fantastic work. keep up the training. keep up the dieting. you might just get your fight. if you don't, relax a little bit. eat some more candy. eat some buffet. eat some protein you normally hate to eat. try something different for a while. but rest easy, knowing you can imitate what you just did. and that, is the accomplishment of a lifetime.

i hope you make another diary, just for fitness/motivation sake. and, to end this, go up to the heavy bag and smack it a few times for me ;)

:claphigh:

I totally agree with what jtchen22 said. I love reading your journal and following your progress. I thought of you when ESPN aired the Leila Ali fight and Lucia Rijker was on trading shots with Emmanuel Stewart about how women's boxing "really is". I thought about you when I first heard about the woman boxer who recently died in a bout, only to find your concerns logged in your journal the next time I read it.

Honestly, anyone who has the heart to lace up a pair of gloves and even spar has my highest respect. The fact that you were actually going to fight is even more impressive. You should hold your head high and remember that there aren't too many people with the courage and dedication to do what you are doing. I hope to read lots more about your future progress and any fights that may be hanging on the horizon.

All my best, Scott

Thank you so much you guys for posting. I needed the pick me up. And to have something to get me out of my pity party. Now I just need to change this journal from "9 week training" To "Looking for a fight." :lol:

I don't feel like my training has been a waste of time. Boy, have my skills improved and my mind set has been challenged. I will continue to work hard and hope something comes up. I LOVE the sport. It is so challenging. I think the fact that I found out there was no fight yesterday fueled my sparring session. I came out of the corner firing punches left and right. My trainer responded and hit me harder. :lol: It was great. I was hit pretty hard once in the solarplex that knocked the wind out of me for about 20 seconds, but I kept going.

This morning I did intervals on the stairmaster and then finished with a run. Didn't push as hard. I have another sinus cold/headache. I am really going to push the fluids for the next few days. My goal is to take in 2 gallons of water today. See if I can feel a little better.

Thanks again guys- your words helped more than you know! :tu:

kudos,kudos and more kudos!.......You have my deepest admiration and I wish you 100 percent success :tucool:

kudos,kudos and more kudos!.......You have my deepest admiration and I wish you 100 percent success :tucool:

Thanks!

O.K. I am having a hard time ending this journal and starting a new one. Attitude is better today. Had a GRUELING sparring session today. We did 7x 2 minute rounds. I was so dog gone tired when I was done. Trainer weighed me at the gym. with one meal in me and clothes and boxing shoes on, I was weighing in at 147. Not too bad. I feel relieved after the junk I have eaten this week. Glycogen stores were full today to say the least. ;) Nasty bruise on my elbow from where I knocked elbows with my trainer. I also managed to catch his elbow with a straight right and jammed my index knuckle AGAIN. That thing will never heal - I swear. Two months ago I hit my trainer with a right cross - straight punch on his temple and somehow hit it wrong. I jammed my index knuckle and it immediately swelled up pretty bad. I couldn't make a fist or close my hand completely for about 2 weeks. It has been improving and up until today, I would say that it was 85 -90 % healed. I still feel a little pulling in my finger when I try to bend it. Anyway, so back to today, hit it wrong again and it hurt bad. I just had to keep going though and use my jab and avoid any straight on punching with my right hand. I can however parry punches with my right hand. That doesn't hurt it. Usually when I am doing bag work or sparring, I put a piece of upholstery foam between my knuckles, go around the knuckles once with the wrap and then put another piece of foam on top of the knuckles and finishing wrapping my hands. I use 180" Mexican style hand wraps and spar with some Ringside International training gloves -18oz. -they have more padding. Anyway, I am thinking we are going to have to start taping my right hand as well.
I got hit a lot with some stiff jabs, but kept going and felt my neck get snapped back a few times. GRRRR But I got some good punches on him to the face and body.... WOOHOO.

O.K., so for those of you that read this journal - have a question for you. Do you think I should start a new journal or just keep writing in this one, even though I have no fight on the horizon? Now is your chance to vote. :lol:

Or is there anyway to change the title of this thread?

I guess you could go into the techy section and ask John to change the title......that might work.......OOOOUUUCCCHHH!!...that hurts just reading about your knuckle.....hope you got lots of ice............is the idea that you want to close this thread out and then start another one when you get a made fight??.......oh by the way, what is a "burpee" exactly??.....you mentioned it in your leg workout...........sounds like you and the trainer have got a "one-up-manship" thing going...I think you are getting so good you're scaring him so he's got to retaliate................Cheers and chuckles :tu:

I think I will just keep this journal going. who cares about the title - right? ;)

Icing the knuckle with a bag of frozen peas. That seems to conform to my hand a little bit better than any other ice pack.

Burpees explained: Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you. (1). Kick your feet back to a pushup position (2). Immediately return your feet to the squat position (3). Leap up as high as possible from the squat position (4). repeat, moving as fast as possible.

I do as many as I can in about 30 seconds or a minute before I rest.

Yeah it would be nice to get better than the trainer. :nod: Don't think that will happen anytime soon. :confused: He is like 41 years old, has about 20 years experience on me, and a whole lot of strength and 40 lbs. on me.

Now that you have your picture posted it's clear to see that you have a very beautiful face....the thought of someone landing boxing gloves on it is a bummer but I know it's your choice to do your own thing and I totally respect that.....Knock 'em dead kid!.....that is after your hand gets better :D

Well thanks Heavy Metal!

Hmm, today. I am in some kind of funk. I feel like I have been a bit lost for the past week or so. Lost some of my focus. I need a new goal or something. I am feeling lazy tonight and don't want to do my second workout . Geez, what is wrong with me?!?!?!

This morning's workout was full body weights and about 25 minutes on the stairmaster- more like aerobic conditioning.

I had the stomach flu/bug over the weekend... that was oodles of fun... oh, and having a hard time cleaning my diet back up. I think within a 9 day time period, I had like 5 cheat days. Not all in a row, but 2 at a time and 3 at a time.... GRR.

I thought about eating clean for about month. That would be a new personal record for myself... We'll see if it happens. :confused: Maybe I should just stick to eating clean for a week at a time... anyway...

Great Sparring session today. I think we did 6 rounds. Came across with a great left hook that turned my trainer's head a bit. He even commented that if that hook had been thrown at a girl, I could have knocked her out. :D Flattering, but I don't know... But it was a hard sparring session and I noticed the trainer had to sit down and rest when we were done. He looked a bit wiped out. (WOOHOO!!! ) My knuckle is a bit more swollen today. I forgot to bring some tape and guaze to the sparring session to tape up my hand, and I was chastised for not remembering it. I need to work on getting in more uppercuts during a sparring session. Those are tricky.
Man, it would be SOOO nice to spar or fight another girl that is in my weight class, so I have a better idea of where my skills stand.

Tonight I am going out to eat with some of my friends. I plan on taking my gym clothes and going to the gym and running when I am done. We will see if it will happen... hmm, am I getting lazy? :confused:

So went out to eat with some girlfriends last night to Olive Garden. We were there for like 3 hours - so you guessed it - I didn't get my run in last night. I did eat pretty good there though. I had one bowl of minestrone soup and the chicken giardino but substituted the farfalle pasta for whole wheat linguine. Probably about 900 calories, but who knows. It was good and I know I didn't eat too much as I was hungry again about 3 hours later. I think it brought my calories up to about 2400 for the day. Maintenance level for me.

This morning I ran intervals in what I like to call the "vapor zone." I ran intervals- I warmed up jogging for 5 minutes then started running at 9.5 mph for 2 mins, pulling it back down to 6.0 for 1 minute, then back up to 9.5 and back down to 6.0 I did that 5 times. Then cooled down with an easy jog at about 6.0 for the next 10 minutes. I think all the carbs I had last night helped a bit. My legs didn't feel so much like jello. My lungs were killing me and I was breathing heavy, but overall, I felt great.

My second workout tonight consisted of 3 rounds on the speed bag, 2 rounds on the double end bag, 6 rounds on the heavy bag and then ended with 2 rounds of shadowboxing... I'm a bit tired.

This morning I weighed in at 145 lbs.

Full body strength training workout today for about an hour. I mixed it with some jump splits after lunges. Got my heart rate up and my legs feel tired and weak. cardio was stationary bike. Didn't push myself as hard as I usually do. So weight is down to 144lbs. today. I know, I have a sick obsession with the scale. On the other hand, my arms aren't looking as cut as they normally do, so I am thinking I am retaining some water or have excess "glycogen spillage" as my trainer likes to call it. a.k.a FAT. Who knows.

Tired today and a bit lightheaded. I need to up my water intake today, I am sure that has some to do with it. Went to the local Garden store today after my workout and bought some tomato plants, lots of flowers and some herbs. need to dig stuff up and do some planting and lay out slug and snail bait. Probably tomorrow. Too wiped out today.

Tonight the plan is to do some shadow boxing, work the double end bag and just work my jab on the heavy bag. My right hand knuckle is a bit puffy today, should probably avoid some impact.

lay out slug and snail bait.

What do you use for this? I have used a bowl of beer, little suckers love beer, can't resist it. They end up drowning in beer, sounds like a pretty good way to go to me :-).

What do you use for this? I have used a bowl of beer, little suckers love beer, can't resist it. They end up drowning in beer, sounds like a pretty good way to go to me :-).

LOL- I use a commercial slug and snail bait. It is a thin powder you just shake around the edge of the plants. I know all about the beer traps. My former harp teacher swore by those. She had great fun setting those and seeing how many slugs she would catch in a day . :lol: Gotta love living in the Pacific Northwest.

Speaking of being outdoors etc. I was in and out yesterday and so were the kids. I told them multiple times to keep the screen door shut. Well, last night I had the lights down low, was watching E.R. everyone was asleep and I looked over into the dining room - only to see a little brown mouse running across the floor. I squealed like a girl. Oh wait, I AM a girl. My heart was pounding and it ran underneath the microwave cart. Husband not around to take care of it as he was at work. So I opened the glass sliding door and pulled the microwave cart away quickly to see if it would run out or what not. I didn't see it, so I am assuming it ran out the door. One could only hope. I spent the next half hour scanning all sorts of possible cubby - hideout places for that mouse. Didn't find it, so I went to bed. But I slept like crap. Kept thinking about that mouse climbing all over me. Which is ironic as I grew up in rural Idaho and my parents ALWAYS have mice in the house. They refuse to have a cat, so they are constantly fighting the mice problem. I was there at Christmas and you could hear the mice having a hay day in the walls. Since Christmas, mom has killed about 40 mice or so. :eek: She finally had to let off some kind of mouse bomb. So they finally all died and are rotting in between her walls. :lol: O.K. probably more info than you wanted to know. You really just logged in today to find out how the boxing is going and not hear about mice - right? Right! So, moving on...

No sparring tomorrow as trainer is going out of town, so I went in for a sparring session today. 6 brutal rounds. The hardest sparring session to date. My trainer kept doing flick jabs, and unfortunately, my head was not moving out of the way fast enough, so I have about 3 different bruises on my nose. I think he calls those kind of bruises a mouse bite or mouse or something. Although I think a "mouse" in UFC terms is sometimes referred to as a really bad bruise around the eye and not the nose. Who knows. Anyway, They don't really hurt, but they look bad. Usually if you make contact with the nose or somewhere else on the face and the glove twists a bit, it will leave a small bruise. More from the twisting of the glove and not so much from the impact of the punch.
I was so beat after that session. My legs felt like rubber and I just wanted to lay down and pass out. We taped my right hand today. Seemed to help the knuckle a bit, although I did jam it again throwing one punch somewhere in there at my trainer's shoulder.

Tonight I will go into my other gym and do some running - if I can get my butt off the couch. :p
Trainer wants me to cut my cardio back by 20% so I don't burn out. I am having a hard time determining what that is. With me it is all or nothing. :confused:

I could go for some junk food right now. I don't know why, just want some.

O.K. Confession time. I have been eating junk for the past few days. I need to clean it up. So I am making a goal right here, right now that I am going to eat clean until May 12th. No junk food. No candy, ice cream, chocolate, chips, fries. You name it. Why May 12th? I have a big party( for 50 people) I am in charge of that will be catered - Thai food and cheesecake for dessert. Should be good. It is a little harder to eat clean when you have no goal at all. I need to harness some of that discipline I had here a couple of weeks ago.
Last night I went back into the gym and ran - aerobic conditioning for 40 minutes. I need to not go out in public for a few days until the big bruise on my nose goes down. I look like a domestic violence case. :o
Although, the people that know me and saw me yesterday, casually looked at it and said. "ouch - boxing?" :lol: I was like "Good Guess." I even had one person ask me if my nose was broken. I was like "No, the eyes would probably be a little black and blue if the nose was broken. And my nose would actually hurt. Which it doesn't right now."
Since I had no sparring this morning, I went and did a kickboxing class at the gym. I hadn't done it in a couple of months or so. Good workout, but didn't feel totally wiped out. My conditioning is good! Weight is 144 today.

Tonight will be a boxing skills workout. I need to work more on moving my head so I don't get nailed so much in the face. I also plan on doing some anaerobic conditioning drills. 30 second punch out drills etc.

Mouse sighting last night. Apparently he didn't run outside the night before like I had hoped. GRRR. Went to Wal Mart and bought a bunch of traps, came home, set them, and put peanut butter on them. Hope I get that sucker caught tonight or soon. I can't stand the thought of that dirty little critter running around and leaving droppings in my drawers etc. :mad:

.....I heard mice like chocolate too..........Don't feel too bad about the junk-food.......when Muhammed Ali was world champ he loved cheeseburgers..........how does this theory sound?...let's see...I don't eat any junk food so I'm unhappy..as a result productivity goes down....performance suffers. S-o-o-o I eat some junk food then I'm happy.....as a result productivity goes up and I hit greater heights, performance is up. To me it seems airtight , hypothetically speaking.......... :eat:

Well, caught the mouse early yesterday evening. :D a piece of cheese covered in peanut butter on an old fashioned wooden trap did the trick. caught him behind the fridge... EEWWW. Need to pull the fridge out and clean etc. I finally had a good night's sleep. Slept hard all night.

Mondays... I hate Mondays. They are quite busy for me. And sometimes it is hard to get going again with the workouts after resting on Sunday. None the less, this morning I did a full body weight routine and finished it off with 30 minutes of an aerobic run. Nothing exciting to report. bruise on nose is just about gone. These things go away fast- the little glove twisties as I like to call them.
Nothing new to report...

No sparring this morning as my trainer had hurt his back. I did go to the boxing gym and work with him however. We worked with the reflex bag, which is basically a small ball that is on top of a stick that has a coil spring. So you hit it and it comed flying back. Similar to a double end bag, but different. It is used to work on timing with your punches, slipping and foot work. Frustrating, but useful. My trainer had me pumping my jab so much that my deltoid was burning BAD. One of the combos I was working on there was throwing 4 jabs while moving to my right, then step back one step, throw a straight right and follow up with a left hook. Another combo was throwing a right hook, right cross, then a jab. We finished up the session by doing 4 rounds of foot drills while throwing punches. I was SOO tired and wiped out when I was done with boxing today. It was good to mix things up and helped me realize some more things I need to work on. :p

last night I did bag work out in the garage. I was tired and slept hard last night and this morning I awoke to some tension in my neck and traps. I have a big knot that needs to be worked out.

Mood today is uptight and grouchy. I don't know what it is. The battle with the food I guess. Arms aren't defined as usual, trying to stay away from the junk, going through withdrawls and wanting to bite off someone's head. Kids are driving me NUTS today. Lots of fighting going on. GRRR. :mad:

This morning did the weights and some cardio, although the cardio I am going to admit was only 77% of my Max HR. A wuss workout.

I have set another goal: to not eat out as much. It is killing me with the excess calories and it isn't doing much for my wallet either. So I am going to limit it way down and see if I can go a few weeks without eating out, or spending money unnecessarily.

yesterday I got some pretty good workouts in. Ran intervals - HIIT in the morning and did bag work in the evening.

Other thoughts - recently watched the documentary "Shadow Boxers" about women boxers and mostly about Lucia Rijker and her career. It was interesting. Wish it was a little longer. But I enjoyed the insights and commentaries.

Good interval workout this morning, running on treadmill- HR 90-95% and down to 85% for recovery. Good little workout. Then followed it up with 3 rounds of foot work drills, throwing punches. That REALLY got my heart rate up.

Feeling a little better today as far as not so edgy. I am so sensitive to sugar etc, that when I have some and then try and eat clean again the next day, it takes about 5 days to clear my system to where I am not craving it so badly. Oh, and sugar free Jello is helping a bit. I actually found a generic brand of sugar free gelatin- only 5 calories per serving. 20 calories in the whole box. Helping the sweet tooth a lot.

For some of you boxing enthusiasts here ( if there are any) another website that I really like and frequent a lot is www.rossboxing.com
I purchased one of Ross' books a few months ago, "The Boxer's Guide to Performance Enhancement: Training strategies for the competitive fighter " and that is where a lot of my training ideas, and workout plans come from. He has also written a couple of other books for the die hard fitness enthusiasts that are not necessarily geared towards boxers. Some of his training includes the use of sandbags, sledge hammers and a lot of body weight exercises. Anyway, check it out if you are looking for something new to really spice up your workouts. :tu:

My timing was off during our sparring session this morning. I just mentally wasn't there. My head was too stiff, hardly moved my head to avoid some punches. I felt soo stiff and unnatural. It has been a week since the last sparring session and I couldn't believe what a difference that made. I had a hard time finding myself mentally today in the ring. :d_confuse

My neck, shoulders and calves are sore today. Calves are sore from running yesterday no doubt. They felt tight while I was running.

Well, since I am the queen of documentaries lately. Another documentary I saw yesterday "On the Ropes." Follows the progress of three different fighters that trained at the New Bedstuy boxing gym in New York with former pro fighter, now trainer George Washington. There was a lot of emphasis on their home lives. I am soo glad that I did not grow up in an inner city with the drugs, violence etc. I really felt for some of these boxers and their home life. It really makes you feel fortunate for what you have. It was interesting although not as enjoyable as "Shadow Boxers."

That guy's books look cool, I'll have to check them out.

Doesn't boxing make for great movies and documentaries? So many boxers come from the inner cities, just growing up in poverty and looking to boxing as their way out. I can't even imagine how emotionally draining that must be to depend on something as competitive and uncertain as boxing to be your hope for financial sirvival.

It's funny, the drama of boxing and the stories of the boxers and their relationships, who they've fought and the rivalries they have, that's the part of boxing that gets me the most excited. I mean, I love watching the fights, I watch all of them... but the stories behind the fights are what make them special. A classic example is the Ali/Frasier fights. A lot of people watch the replays of the fights without understanding the story between them... but once you understand their relationship and personal conflicts, the fights take on a whole new dimension. Todays fights have some of that same spark, too, especially in the feather and middleweight divisions. That's also the main reason I like the Contender so much, just hearing the fighters' backgrounds and stories adds so much depth to the actual fights. Boxing always makes for some very compelling stories.

Great job staying with the training and not getting sidetracked by the setback before. Your day will come and you'll be that much more ready for it when it does. Keep up the great work!

That guy's books look cool, I'll have to check them out.

Doesn't boxing make for great movies and documentaries? So many boxers come from the inner cities, just growing up in poverty and looking to boxing as their way out. I can't even imagine how emotionally draining that must be to depend on something as competitive and uncertain as boxing to be your hope for financial sirvival.

It's funny, the drama of boxing and the stories of the boxers and their relationships, who they've fought and the rivalries they have, that's the part of boxing that gets me the most excited. I mean, I love watching the fights, I watch all of them... but the stories behind the fights are what make them special. A classic example is the Ali/Frasier fights. A lot of people watch the replays of the fights without understanding the story between them... but once you understand their relationship and personal conflicts, the fights take on a whole new dimension. Todays fights have some of that same spark, too, especially in the feather and middleweight divisions. That's also the main reason I like the Contender so much, just hearing the fighters' backgrounds and stories adds so much depth to the actual fights. Boxing always makes for some very compelling stories.

Great job staying with the training and not getting sidetracked by the setback before. Your day will come and you'll be that much more ready for it when it does. Keep up the great work!

Thanks! Yes, you won't be disappointed with Roos Enamait's books if you purchase one of them. He will help you figure out a workout and always answers all of his emails if you have questions.

Yes, boxing makes for some GREAT documentaries. but maybe I am biased and I know the hard, hard work that goes into it. I love the background info on fighters also. It helps you get a sense of who they are and appreciate them a little more. So you like "The Contender "also? I am assuming you saw last night's episode. Let's hear it for unitentional head butts. Poor Joey Gilbert. OUCH!!! He didn't even look like the same person after that fight. That was a pretty deep gash in his head - 40 -50 stitches is what they said. And I wonder if he actually broke a rib, or was just bruised pretty good. Also, my thoughts on this - even if he has made it to the end of the 5th round and had won that round, and won that bout, I doubt that he would have been able to compete in the final 4 due to the extent of his injuries. I am thinking final 2 will be either Sergio Mora vs. Alfonso Gomez, or Alfonso Gomez vs. Peter Manfredo Jr. Good little reality show.

Me, I am pretty darn excited about the Rijker vs. Martin fight that is set to take place July 30 at Mandalay bay with a $1,000,000.00 purse. I am voting for Rijker as I like her style and the fact that she is also quite articulate when she speaks.

O.K. workouts - did full body workout with some plyometrics thrown in. I didn't feel like running, so I did 5 -6 rounds of shadow boxing with a lot of fast foot work, working angles and lateral movement in one of the racquetball courts at the gym. Nothing in the anearobic zone, this was pretty much aerobic. I have been eating clean again for a week and am at 146. Maintenance sucks. It would be nice to get to where you want to be and then just eat yourself into an oblivion. But alas, if you want to keep the body that you have fought tooth and nail for, you have to keep with the diet also. GRRRRRRRRRR :mad:

I have nothing really constructive to add, so I'l just say: :flex: keep up the great work!

Me, I am pretty darn excited about the Rijker vs. Martin fight that is set to take place July 30 at Mandalay bay with a $1,000,000.00 purse. I am voting for Rijker as I like her style and the fact that she is also quite articulate when she speaks.
Yes! This is totally the fight that women's boxing has been needing for so long. Did you hear what they are calling the fight? The promotion title is "Million Dollar Lady"... ugh [slaps forehead]. Anyway, it's interesting, I guess that originally Bob Arum tried very hard to match up Rijker with Laila Ali. Ali's group couldn't come to any kind of agreement, so the option went to Christy Martin next. The strange part about this match is that they've both been really inactive for about three years now, I think that each has only had 2 fights in that time, neither one spectacular. Had this happened three years ago (and it very nearly did), this fight would have been a lightening bolt... but the time wasn't right in women's boxing, it's a shame. On a side note, both Rijker and Martin flat out don't like each other on a very personal level. Whatever happens, it's still the best matchup out there in women's boxing. Rijker floors Martin when it comes to pure boxing skill, but Martin is tough to the core and I don't know that Rijker has enough punch to seriously hurt her. I also really hope that gets picked up by some major network. So far HBO has NEVER aired a women's headline bout, this would sure be a great first for them.

I'm also pulling for Alfonso and Sergio in the final... I'd love to see Alfonso win, he's been my favorite since pretty early on.

Yes! This is totally the fight that women's boxing has been needing for so long. Did you hear what they are calling the fight? The promotion title is "Million Dollar Lady"... ugh [slaps forehead]. Anyway, it's interesting, I guess that originally Bob Arum tried very hard to match up Rijker with Laila Ali. Ali's group couldn't come to any kind of agreement, so the option went to Christy Martin next. The strange part about this match is that they've both been really inactive for about three years now, I think that each has only had 2 fights in that time, neither one spectacular. Had this happened three years ago (and it very nearly did), this fight would have been a lightening bolt... but the time wasn't right in women's boxing, it's a shame. On a side note, both Rijker and Martin flat out don't like each other on a very personal level. Whatever happens, it's still the best matchup out there in women's boxing. Rijker floors Martin when it comes to pure boxing skill, but Martin is tough to the core and I don't know that Rijker has enough punch to seriously hurt her. I also really hope that gets picked up by some major network. So far HBO has NEVER aired a women's headline bout, this would sure be a great first for them.

I'm also pulling for Alfonso and Sergio in the final... I'd love to see Alfonso win, he's been my favorite since pretty early on.

I did hear about the promotion for the fight. Smart marketing. As far as I have heard, I think Showtime is going to do the pay per view for the Rijker/Martin fight. I think Rijker mentioned at one point that she would like to fight Ali, but their weight classes aren't close enough. Rijker would have to put on some weight, and she mentioned that would be hard to get up to her weight class. I can imagine it would be tricky to put on some good honest weight - not fat of course, that doesn't compromise your strength or conditioning. Rijker can pack a punch and do some damage, but you are right in the fact that neither one of them have been doing many fights lately. anyway...

As for me...
O.K. all you fight fans - ready for the latest? I have another date set for a fight - May 28th - so a little over 3 weeks. :claphigh: doing the happy dance! Need to step up the workouts again and start pushing myself a little bit harder. I had a GREAT sparring session this morning. I got hit REALLY, REALLY hard on the nose this morning with a flick jab. OUCH!! But no blood, no bruise, no broken bones. I am not an easy bleeder, so that is good. My trainer made the comment that that particular punch hurt his knuckles, so you know it had to have been hard.... hee hee.... :D I got in more body shots today and worked on ducking. One of my weak points is that my head is a little stiff. I don't move it as much as I should, it just doesn't feel natural enough yet. I am great at moving my body out of the way or parrying punches, but the head needs to move more, and in a natural way, not so robotic. :lol: That will be my focus for the next few weeks, is more head movement.

I have another date set for a fight - May 28th - so a little over 3 weeks.That's great, congratulations!! http://www.testmagic.com/forums/images/smilies/boxing.gif

Ran hard intervals this morning in the anaerobic zone. I was breathing pretty hard and got my heart rate up in the mid to high 170's. Last night I had a great workout. Spent A LOT of time on the double end bag working on timing and reflexes and slipping. I need to shorten the bungee cord so the arc of the double end bag isn't as wide. the shorter the range of motion, the quicker it will snap back , moving faster, which makes me move faster.

I am so glad that I don't have to diet down to any particular weight. Just kind of stay where I am at and try and stay away from the goodies. That is hard :o . Sounds like this match, I will just be within 10lbs. of my opponent, without trying to stay in a specific weight class.

hey

great progress. good luck on your fight =D

also can you tell me the differences between the stances in boxing?? southpaw, unorthodox??? i have no idea what they are and i've been trying to find out for some time but can't find it anywhere so im sure you would know.

what made you get into boxing? boxing would be damn hard work, i use to do martial arts and that was hard, and im about to start kickboxing which i know will be damn hard =( hehe

anyway great job so far, keep up the good work.

hey

great progress. good luck on your fight =D

also can you tell me the differences between the stances in boxing?? southpaw, unorthodox??? i have no idea what they are and i've been trying to find out for some time but can't find it anywhere so im sure you would know.

what made you get into boxing? boxing would be damn hard work, i use to do martial arts and that was hard, and im about to start kickboxing which i know will be damn hard =( hehe

anyway great job so far, keep up the good work.

Thanks. :tu: Orthodox or conventional means you fight right handed, south paw means your fight left handed. Correct stance for fighting orthodox- which I am, your left shoulder is forward, you jab with your left arm. Your strongest punch and most powerful punch, would be your right cross punch. Southpaw, your lead shoulder would be your right shoulder, your strongest punch would come from your cross left. For orthodox style the Correct stance: stand with your feet about shoulder width apart, left foot forward if you are right handed, then walk right foot in the back, walk it out a bit to the side so your feet make kind of an "L" pattern on the floor. You should be able to see both feet in the mirror if you are shadowboxing. Avoid "tight roping" - One foot behind the other in a straight line, or "squaring off" where both feet are side by side and your chest is directly in front of your opponenet. Distribute your weight evenly on the balls of each foot. Your knees will be slightly bent. I hope this was a good enough description. A picture is far more useful I have found in instances like these.

Hmm, a little history about me and my boxing interest. About 3 years ago I started taking a cardio kickboxing at a local fitness club. The instructor mentioned over and over that she had been an amateur fighter. It was fun to watch her punch, shadowbox with so much precision. She left that club and went to another one awhile after that, so I followed her since she was such a great instructor and got me motivated. almost 2 years ago, they started up a boxing class there - handwraps, boxing gloves, hitting the bags, the whole shebang. She was teaching it, so I was going to do it. I found I really liked it and looked forward to it, even though it was only once a week. About 6 months after that, she was getting restless and was going to be moving onto another club full time, and the boxing class was fizzling out at the health club. A month prior to that I talked to her about doing some personal training with me with boxing so I could improve my skills, but she didn't seem interested. So I called the local boxing club and talked to a guy there and started training with him March 2004 two times a week. At first we just did all the training- heavy bags, speed bags, reflex bags, calisthenics, jump roping and hitting the mitts some. I had no desire to get in the ring and spar. I liked my teeth and nose just the way they were. :D He started doing some semi-sparring with me last June and by September we were doing full contact sparring. The first time I was hit with a hard punch to the face, it kind of took me by surprise, but I kept on going and decided that it wasn't so bad. By October, I had definitely decided that I wanted to try my hand at an amateur fight to see how good I was. So he told me we would work and shoot for this Spring. Fast forward to now, I am A LOT, and I mean A LOT more educated than I was a year ago. My training has changed completely. I have become a lot more agressive and I train very hard for the most part. The more I spar, I have noticed the better I get. The only way to master this sport is to get inside the ring and practice the art. There is just something about boxing, it will always kick your butt, but it makes you hungry and wants you to come back for more, to see if you can improve on the previous sparring session. It is addictive. It will push you harder than you ever thought was possible. It challenges me more than anything else has physically and mentally. The thing that makes it so hard is that it is all dependent on you. As Ross Enamait from www.rossboxing.com says "No teammates, no timeouts, nowhere to hide." You have to condition your body as a whole to be able to cover all aspects of the game. It is not like football or basketball where players rely on the skills and strengths of other teammates to make a complete package for the team. The defensive lineman's training is probably slightly different than the quarterback. In boxing YOU have to possess all of the strengths and be a complete package. I hope that makes sense, it probably doesn't. LOL

O.K. probably more than you wanted to know.

This morning I did full body weights consisting of pushups, dumbbell presses, dumbbell snatches, squat presses, pull ups, back extensions, lunges, straight leg raises, decline sit ups, oblique crunches, tricep dips and pushdowns. usually 3 sets for each exercise. Some with as little as 4 reps per set. Others, I did as many as 12 reps. With the core training of abs and back extensions, I usually stick to 20 reps or more per set. I did a ton of travelling lunges with 25lbs dumbbells in each hand. I didn't feel like doing much cardio after that as the legs were kind of jello like. But I did do some stairmaster and some jumproping.

Weight is at 147

well i read this here a few times and never posted. keep up your great work and good luck with your fight.
i had a good friend who was boxing a lot, and had a very intense training plan, but his first fight was canceled and he somehow lost interest in training. it's nice to see other people sticking to their goals !
sometimes i really wonder how you can workout so hard every day, very often even twice a day if i am not mistaken.

well i read this here a few times and never posted. keep up your great work and good luck with your fight.
i had a good friend who was boxing a lot, and had a very intense training plan, but his first fight was canceled and he somehow lost interest in training. it's nice to see other people sticking to their goals !
sometimes i really wonder how you can workout so hard every day, very often even twice a day if i am not mistaken.

Thanks! I appreciate your encouragement. It is hard to train twice a day, especially on days that I am tired and mentally not focused. Not every workout is my most intense, I would have burned out or overtrained by then. It is HARD to stay focused with eating and working out when you have no fight on the horizon, that is for sure. I felt a little lost for a few weeks. I am more focused again. Usually it is training 6 days a week in the mornings and 5 days a week in the evenings. Sundays are a complete day of rest for me. I try to work out every evening as well, but usually because of other scheduling conflicts or family stuff, I end up missing one of my evening workouts during the week.

Tonight I didn't work out as hard as last night as I did weights this morning, and I am laying off any hard impact training for the next couple of days until my harp recital is over on Saturday. So tonight I did 5 rounds of shadowboxing and 3 rounds on the double end bag. lighter day for me. Saturday morning I won't train as I really need my energy for playing and need to focus mentally for that. When I am tired, my mind goes and I play crappy. Not a good combination when you are playing some academically hard repertoire from memory!

Tired today.... This morning I woke up and my glutes were screaming " Why did you do so many heavy traveling lunges yesterday?" I am sore to say the least. Today was running intervals also. It took me longer than normal to warm up - more like 10 minutes instead of 5 minutes before I started running hard intervals. And about 15minutes in before I really started to feel in the groove. I can now maintain 9.0 for 4 mins straight. Heart rate didn't go above 170. How's that for conditioning? I have really improved my VO2 max... nice.... :tu: I finished running intervals and went and did foot drills and shadowboxing once again in the racquetball court and then just stretched really, really good. Everything is a tad sore today, but the glutes and quads are probably the sorest.

Kids and I went and had lunch at a different Mongolian grill today... I know, I said I wasn't going to eat out for awhile, but I was lazy and tired.. Decided I wanted someone else to fix food for me. It was good.

Then, went shopping for a suitable outfit to wear tomorrow for my alumni recital... I normally hate shopping. It is hard to find clothes that are long enough etc. But today was a GOOD shopping experience. I was in the dressing room, the lighting was good and I pulled on a teal blue short sleeved dress shirt, and thought "Damn, my shoulders look good." :lol:
Anyway, bought that shirt and a blue flowery skirt and some new shoes. Can't wait until this recital is over tomorrow. I am telling you, geing on stage playing such difficult music with just the harp is FAR more scary than getting in the ring, knowing you may lose and are putting yourself at risk for injury. :eek:
The mind is funny, isn't it?

No workout tonight. I am tired and I need to be mentally prepared for tomorrow. Also no workout planned for tomorrow morning, but I will do a hard one tomorrow night, that is for sure!

Hey favorite journal!

Good luck on the harp recital! As for mongolian BBQ, man, that stuff is AWESOME! I love to see how much I can pile up in that tiny bowl they give you :)

I can't say I'm suprised that you've kept up the good spirits/hard training regimen even though you don't have a fight lined up. But just stay in there! it's more of a testiment to what you can do if you just believe you can do it. and to me, that's the most important thing about anything in life...

keep up the fantastic work!

Hey favorite journal!

Good luck on the harp recital! As for mongolian BBQ, man, that stuff is AWESOME! I love to see how much I can pile up in that tiny bowl they give you :)

I can't say I'm suprised that you've kept up the good spirits/hard training regimen even though you don't have a fight lined up. But just stay in there! it's more of a testiment to what you can do if you just believe you can do it. and to me, that's the most important thing about anything in life...

keep up the fantastic work!

Oh, but I do have a fight lined up for 3 weeks from today! May 28th! You must have missed that entry. Barring any complications of course. This one will be about 3 hours away from where I live. We are alos planning for another fight July 9th. My trainer just got an updated calendar. We will do what we can, see if we can fill out my passbook a bit. ;)

Today SUCKED - big time. I was a basketcase, nerves etc. Got to the recital hall to do a sound check. Played on a harp that wasn't mine, one I had never played on before - the University harp. had a beautiful sound, but the pedals were stiff - it was a Lyon and Healy Gold style 23. ( www.lyonhealy.com - in case you are interested ) One of the best harp makes/models out there. Anyway, I was just too nervous. Sounds check went awful. And when it came time for my part of the program, I had the BIGGEST memory slip in my entire performing career halfway through the first movement of the piece I was playing. I literally had to stop and think what key I was in, where the pedals were set. it was a train wreck to say the least. I eventually got back on and the rest of the movement was o.k. But I never did truly relax. Oh, in case you were wondering, I played all three movements of the Sonata in c minor by Giovanni Battista Pescetti, transcribed for harp by Carlos Salzedo. The second and third movement went o.k. I also played the Prelude in C by Sergei Prokofiev. Tempo was a bit fast on that one. One of my friends made the comment that it was really fast and had it been any faster, the harp would have been on fire. Anyway, once I got off stage and adrenaline slowed down- about 15 minutes later, I was incredibly tired. Wonder what my heartrate was during my 10 minutes of playing. I have been bummed to say the least that my performance wasn't better than it was considering I had been working on the music for 5 months. :d_confuse The concert was recorded, so my bad performance will be stuck on a CD, to be played over and over.... GRRR

Tonight to try and get rid of my depressed attitude, I went and worked out.. double end bag, speed bag, some shadowboxing. 4 rounds on the heavy bag and 3 rounds of punch out drills on the heavy bag. Seemed to help to get a good work out in. There is a possibility that another female boxer that trains at another gym here in town and is close to my weight - is interested in doing some sparring. Would be nice to spar with someone who doesn't have to pull their punches.

Good thing tomorrow is another day. :d_frown:

Good Mother's Day yesterday. What was the best part? Hubby watched the kids for TWO hours while I took a TWO hour nap. I so needed it. I was so tired. WHat a luxury. It was a sacrifice on his part as he works nights and sleeps days and had only gotten about an hour of sleep that day.

Feeling better about life today. This morning I did weights and 25 minutes on the stairmaster. No running, my knees are bugging me again. My glutes finally have stopped hurting since Thursday's torture workout.

Weight today is at 147

Yay! You've got a fight, huh? I must have missed that post :p

I love napping! It always refreshes me, and when I sleep @ night, it makes it easy to sleep less and wake up on time. Watching the kids is a workout in itself!!!

Have you ever tried energy drinks or anything of that nature? Keep up the good work! :bow:

Good Mother's Day yesterday. What was the best part? Hubby watched the kids for TWO hours while I took a TWO hour nap. I so needed it. I was so tired. WHat a luxury. It was a sacrifice on his part as he works nights and sleeps days and had only gotten about an hour of sleep that day.

Feeling better about life today. This morning I did weights and 25 minutes on the stairmaster. No running, my knees are bugging me again. My glutes finally have stopped hurting since Thursday's torture workout.

Weight today is at 147

Good sparring session today. I wore some 16oz. gloves instead of the 18oz. and of course my hands were a little quicker. Trainer took notice of that as well, as I got some good power body shots in today. He rocked me with a good right today and I literally saw stars for a few seconds. But it's all good. No bruises, I feel fine. So now he is trying to get a sparring session for me with another girl here who has fought as an amateur here awhile back, but has been out of the ring for awhile, just getting back into it and she wants to turn pro. I just want to get in with her to see how good my skills are. I KNOW I have more sparring experience lately than her, which is really important. Anyway, hope that pans out.
Trainer is also trying to get me a match for a fight on the 21st. He said the 21st or 28th. Either one, trying to find me a fight. So I may fight next weekend, or the week after who knows. He was very complimentary of me during sparring today. That was nice. Although I didn't think I was all that great. Maybe because I fantasize so much about how I want to be or what combos I want to land while in the ring, and they never pan out. I think it comes from watching too much boxing and reading too many books. :lol: Harder than it looks, that is for sure.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of fighter are you? I know you're tall and you must have a wicked long jab compared to other women your weight... do you like to stay on the outside and be a boxer or do you like to get in close and go toe-to-toe?

Personally, I don't know how you can be so calm not knowing when your fight is and it only being a week or two away. I'd be a complete basket case. :D

Just out of curiosity, what kind of fighter are you? I know you're tall and you must have a wicked long jab compared to other women your weight... do you like to stay on the outside and be a boxer or do you like to get in close and go toe-to-toe?

Personally, I don't know how you can be so calm not knowing when your fight is and it only being a week or two away. I'd be a complete basket case. :D

Honestly, I don't really have a "style" yet. My trainer really mixes it up and uses lots of different styles, so I adjust accordingly. I try to use my reach, but he also works with me on fighting on the inside, so I am good at both and know what to do if I get in that situation. I prefer to stay on the outside, work angles, get in and get out. Hooking on the inside is tricky, but if I have a bit of distance, my right hook is pretty good. And my punches have more power if I use my reach and stay on the outside. And most of his training advice consists of him saying "pump that jab like crazy!!" and "tighten it up, tighten it up" - usually when I am on the inside. Oh, and "don't drop your left hand."

About the fight. I was so mentally keyed up last time and it really messed with me to not be able to fight when I had planned. So I am trying to stay focused with training