Working My Arms

I can really see a difference in the way my arms feel and are shaping up. It must be all the boxing. I was definitely feeling a bit of fatigue today after not only Sunday's boxing session, but also yesterday's practice with snatches. In any case, the training is going well and I really am enjoying every second of it. I love the sound of that hollow pop as my punch hits the pad. I can tell that my Coach is really pushing me, coz' he doesn't just hold the pads - no, he brings them towards me hard so I've really got to be ready to not only strike, but also absorb the impact.

This reminds me, I've got to get better at putting on my handwraps. I don't know why I haven't figured it out yet. It sounds silly, but I probably need to sit down and practice wrapping my hands. The last thing I want is to injure my wrist or fingers.

I also realized today that I think my 14 oz. gloves are too big. The extra padding is great, but for the first time today I felt like I wasn't getting enough impact - like the padding was actually getting in the way of me feeling the full force of the bag. I'll try a lighter pair of gloves and see how they work out.

For our warm-ups we've been practicing our skipping. My regular skips are fine (double-unders still suck - must practice!!). However, we've also been trying to skip on one leg. It's been challenging! Surprisingly I'm much better skipping on just my left leg than I am my right. It takes a bit of coordination and balance to do the exercise -- again, lots of practice needed!!


For the first half of the boxing session we focus on technique and skills. For the second half we've got a circuit workout. Today was 3 rounds/1 minute per exercise of:

Pad work with the coach
Bicycle crunches
Bag work - focus on hooks
Back extensions
Bag work - focus on explosive punches {one minute doesn't sound like a lot, but trust me, it is tiring!}
Jump squats
Moving push ups {I started on my toes, but finished on my knees - still, it's getting better}

:)