Tuesday's Exercise

I did 34 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing today. I notice my multiple left jabs are getting quicker. I like that. Jab...jab...jab. Nice and fast. Now, let's see if I can do it on the pads and in sparring.

Monday Roadwork and Shadowboxing in the Cold

I am really whining about this cold weather. I need to get used to it because it is going to be here for a few months. I got in 23 minutes today. I did not get to the regular Monday practice because I got stuck at work. Oh well, I'll keep trying.

Asian Games Amateur Boxing Competition

The boxing competition has started at the 15th Asian Games, in Doha, Qatar. The official site of the games has a detailed boxing page that has information about the international amateur rules of boxing, a very brief history of the sport, a list of the boxers who have won medals in past Asian Games, and a simple animation about amateur boxing and its scoring methods.

The site also has a boxing RSS page, so you can follow the latest news with your RSS aggregator and reader. A summary of the first day's action appears here. According to the news story, Manus Boonjumnong of Thailand scored a hard-earned win over Mongolia's Tuvshinbat Byamba.

The day's highest scoring bout featured two super-lightweight boxers. Taiwan's Tsai Yao Chun beat Mabkhot Yahya Hadadi of Saudi Arabia 42-30. With scores like that, the bout had to be an impressive contest and a real crowd pleaser. Way to go, guys!

Ice and Snow Roadwork and Shadowboxing, Day 2

I think it's going to be a long winter. I got out there today for 25 minutes and threw some punches. The temperature is dropping and ice and snow are everywhere. [shivering]

Ice and Snow Roadwork and Shadowboxing

Ah, today is December 1. As if on cue, we got hammered with some snow overnight. I got out there and did some roadwork and shadowboxing, but it was icy and cold. I squeaked out just 17 minutes. It was something. I need to get into a positive attitude concerning winter.

Thursday Roadwork

21 minutes today. Definitely an easy day.

Wednesday's Training

Today was a good day at training. We had a good attendance at the practice. In addition to Bernard and me, Kevin, Cory, Matt, and the Judge were there. Andrew stopped by at the end, but did not join us. Kevin and Matt sparred today. It was Matt's first time; he enjoyed it. I did not spar because I got to the workout late and I focused on trying to make up for the shorter workout by increasing the intensity of my work. I hope it helped.

I'll spar next week. Bernard has designated Wednesdays as "sparring days." Of course, we will be able to spar on Mondays, too, but Bernard asked that we tell everyone to be there at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesdays so that we can all have a set time to get some sparring practice. That sounds good to me. It will help us have a regular time to get some work with the other boxers on the team. I'll tell Tim about it tomorrow and send out an e-mail announcement to the rest of the guys.

As for the workout itself, things went pretty well. Here's the breakdown.

• 43 minutes of roadwork
• 5 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 3 rounds of pivoting drills (holding a broom handle across the shoulders and pivoting from left to right while in a boxing stance)
• 2 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 1 round on the uppercut bag
• 1 round of stretching

That's 14 rounds plus the roadwork. Not too bad. It was raining like a monsoon here in Chicago all day today, so fitting the roadwork in was a challenge. I am glad I did it, though.

It will be fun to have a set time each week for sparring. I need the practice and I hope the rest of the guy will like the idea.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, I am celebrating another birthday. Yay! That's why it was very short roadwork today: 14 minutes. Hey, at least it is something. Now, where is that cake? :-)

Monday's Workout

I had a pretty good training session today. At the practice were Bernard, Andrew, Cory, and I. I put in a fair amount of work, so I am happy with the workout. Here's the summary.

• 30 minutes of roadwork
• 12 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 4 rounds on the heavy bags
• 2 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 2 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 2 rounds of situps
• 2 rounds of stretching

That's a total of 26 rounds plus the roadwork. I had a good session. Now I just have to stay with it. Bernard wants all of us to spar on Wednesday, so that will make the workouts even more interesting and fun. I look forward to that.

Sunday Roadwork and Shadowboxing

30 minutes today. What a great day outside! It feels like summer here in the Corn Belt.

Thanksgiving Day Light Roadwork

Just 19 minutes today. It's an easy day to begin the long weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Wednesday's Roadwork and Shadowboxing

35 minutes today.

Tuesday's Training

Because of a club meeting and vote on Monday, we are having our practice today. It was a small group today: Bernard, Cory, Mike B., and I were there. The Judge passed through the boxing room near the end of our workout and said hello, but did not train with us. Bernard can't be there tomorrow, so this was our only scheduled group workout this week. We'll be back on our regular Monday-Wednesday schedule next week. Here's the breakdown of today's workout.

• 28 minutes of roadwork
• 7 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 6 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 1 round on the uppercut bag
• 1 round of stretching

That makes 19 rounds plus the roadwork. Not too bad. I am looking forward to resuming a regular schedule next week. Of course, not long after that I will be going on vacation for a while, but things don't work out perfectly, do they?

Monday Roadwork

Easy roadwork today, 19 minutes, because of a very busy day at work. Gotta pay the bills!

Roadwork Recap: Saturday and Monday

Work has been pretty busy again, so my gym workouts have been sporadic and on my own. Here is a brief update on roadwork and shadowboxing.

October 28: 49 minutes
October 30: 21 minutes

Friday Training

Kind of a mediocre workout today. Kevin and Cory were at practice tonight with Bernard and me. It wasn't a bad workout, just an easy one. Here's the recap.

• 24 minutes of roadwork
• 8 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 1 round of shadowboxing
• 1 round of stretching

So it is 10 rounds plus the roadwork. At least I was there.

Encouraging Fellow Boxers, Part 1

My friend and fellow boxer Jeff Gilbert recently recovered from a concussion sustained while sparring. He reports that he is back to his training and even doing some sparring. That is great news. Welcome back, Jeff. I'm glad you have recovered and am really happy to know that you are back in action. Keep punching, man, and keep those hands up!

Wednesday's Training

I was back at boxing practice today. It was great to be back with the guys. In addition to me, Bernard, Jack, Kevin, Tim, and Cory were at the workout. Despite my two-week layoff, I didn't do too badly. Here's the recap of today's training.

• 33 minutes of roadwork
• 10 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds of situps
• 2 rounds of stretching
• 2 rounds of shadowboxing
• 1 round on the uppercut bag

That makes a total of 20 rounds plus the roadwork. That's not too bad for my first day back in the gym.

We're having our two practices on Wednesday and Friday this week. It's really good to be back in action.

Tuesday Roadwork and Shadowboxing

Very brief roadwork today: 15 minutes, and throwing some punches at an imaginary opponent.

Monday's Roadwork

37 minutes today.

Contracts, Contracts, Contracts!

Despite the fact that this is the Lawyer-boxer's Blog, I have not yet written very much about the law or my law practice. Let me change that now.

I am a sole practitioner who concentrates his practice in Internet and e-commerce law for small businesses. I have been a lawyer for just under 14 years, and have been in solo practice for about 12 and one half years. I also write a lot and have published a 3-volume text about Internet law that I update quarterly. I enjoy my work and I feel blessed that I can practice in an area that makes use of my undergraduate education (bachelor's degree in computer science) and IT background (9 years as a programmer, analyst, and manager at a natural gas utility company).

I have mentioned here that work has been busy. For a self-employed guy, that is a good thing, although I need to get better at making time for my training. Yesterday, a new client asked me to review and comment on 6 proposed contracts in one day. That was a bit of a surprise, but I was able to finish the job for them and they seem happy with the work. I hope to build a long-term relationship with them, so I am pleased that our first few projects are going so well.

I am hoping things will get a bit more normal for training next week. I really don't expect work to slow down very much, but I do think I will be able to arrange my schedule enough so that I will resume more workouts. I've been doing the roadwork, but I miss the boxing training and the guys in our club.

I have some other things on topics besides training that I will post soon. For now, I am glad it is the weekend and I have some time to chill out!

Catching Up--Again

Over the last couple of weeks, workouts have not been quite what I would like them to be. Work has been really busy and there has been a lot of other stuff going on. Here's a recap of the roadwork I have managed to fit in.

October 4: 30 minutes
October 5: 19 minutes
October 7: 46 minutes
October 8: 24 minutes
October 9: 18 minutes
October 10: 22 minutes
October 11: 15 minutes
October 12: 15 minutes
October 13: 15 minutes
October 14: 22 minutes
October 15: 29 minutes
October 16: 27 minutes
October 17: 17 minutes
October 18: 19 minutes
October 19: 17 minutes

I am hoping work gets more manageable and predictable soon so that I can resume a more normal training schedule.

Wednesday's Workout

Today's workout was good, too. I did 12 rounds on the pads, so it was tiring. Here's the breakdown:

• 35 minutes of roadwork
• 12 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 2 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the heavy bag
• 1 round on the uppercut bag
• 1 round on the double-end bag
• 1 round of situps
• 1 round of stretching

Overall that's 20 rounds--not bad at all.

Tuesday's Work

35 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing today.

Monday's Training: A Personal Best

Today has been a good training day. I was determined to come out swinging at the start of the week, and I did.

• 30 minutes of roadwork
  
• 11 rounds on the pads with Bernard (with 10 of them done all in a row, with no breaks except for the 30 seconds between rounds)
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds of situps
  
• 2 rounds of stretching
  
• 1 round on the solid heavy bag
• 1 round on the water-filled heavy bag
  
• 1 round on the uppercut bag
• 1 round on the double-end bag

That's 22 rounds plus the roadwork. I'm happy with it.

We had a decent turnout. Bernard, Kevin, the Judge, Mike B., and I were there.

The 10 consecutive rounds on the pads was a personal best for me. I had previously worked with Bernard on the pads for 8 consecutive rounds, but I managed to keep going for 10 tonight. I was surprisingly focused and energetic, even during the last few rounds. During round 9, I realized I was getting tired, but I stayed with the work; I figured the tiredness was more mental than physical and I was confident I could overcome the mental fatigue.

I stayed confident and focused on doing my best. Instead of thinking about how tired I was, I reminded myself that I was strong and quick, ready and energized. For his part, Bernard kept the work interesting and challenging as always, and I am pleased with some of the progress I've made. I was lighter on my feet tonight, more readily staying on my toes, and punching with greater precision and power. As my technique and conditioning improve, my confidence increases. This was a workout day to remember.

Thursday Roadwork

An easy day today: 30 minutes roadwork and some shadowboxing.

Wednesday's Workout

I had a decent workout today. Kevin, Jack, Matt, and I were there along with Bernard. Tim was not there. Andrew and Mike B. showed up near the end, but did not join the workout. Ron stopped by briefly but he's recovering from a knee injury and won't be able to box for a few weeks.

Here's the summary of tonight's work:

• 17 minutes of roadwork
• 6 rounds of shadowboxing/working with the slip rope
• 1 round of plain old regular shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 1 round on the double-end bag
• 1 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 2 rounds on the heavy bag

That's 14 rounds plus the roadwork. Gotta keep it going!

Getting Caught Up

Work has been insane this month. Where were all these clients all summer when work was quiet? :-)

Oh well, being busy is a good problem to have, I guess. I have been doing my workouts, but have not been recording them here as faithfully as I had hoped. Nevertheless, I am back and posting again.

I know there is a boxing workout or two in here that I have missed, but I can't get too worried about that; I have to post what I can, move on, and keep going. For now, I will post the roadwork and post a few boxing workouts that I remember. Here's the roadwork and shadowboxing.

September 7: 24 minutes
September 8: 33 minutes
September 9: 31 minutes
September 11: 26 minutes
September 13: 31 minutes
September 14: 54 minutes
September 16: 38 minutes
September 17: 34 minutes
September 18: 31 minutes
September 23: 44 minutes
September 24: 21 minutes
September 25: 16 minutes
September 26: 25 minutes

Wednesday's Roadwork

Today was a really busy day. Work was nuts and I was helping my parents with some Social Security stuff. Still, I managed to get in 30 minutes of roadwork. It was a great day to be outside today. Awesome!

We did not have practice today because Bernard is helping out with a local amateur youth tournament. I had thought about getting our guys to attend, but it slipped my mind because I am now in the "feast" phase of the "feast-or-famine" cycle at work. Oh well, I hope the tournament went great for all the participants.

Sunday: A Fairly Easy Day

The weather has been great lately. We need to enjoy these last few weeks of summer. Having a long holiday weekend is great. I got out and did 34 minutes of roadwork today. It was a nice, easy pace.

Saturday Roadwork and Shadowboxing

21 minutes today. Yeah, it is a lot of roadwork but I am working on building conditioning now. I plan to get back to more sport-specific training this month.

Friday Roadwork

Wow, a new month starts already. Where has the summer gone?

In any event, I am hoping to crank up my training this month and get more focused on boxing skills. To start the month, I did 22 minutes of roadwork today. I am easing into the new month!

Thursday's Training

31 minutes of roadwork today.

Monday Roadwork

It has been a rainy, soggy day here. The rain has been falling, on and off, all day. This evening, I managed to get in 31 minutes of roadwork, but I did get wet. Maybe my attempts to dodge the raindrops will make me better at slipping punches. Hey, a guy can hope, can't he?

Friday's Roadwork

Just short roadwork today: 20 minutes. Better than nothing. Work has been hectic this week. It's always something, isn't it?

Wednesday's Training

I had a good workout today. I felt a lot more focused than I did last week. I didn't get to do any sparring today, but I did more rounds than last Wednesday and I felt more enthusiastic for the whole workout. Here's the summary:

• 35 minutes of roadwork
• 4 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 4 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 4 rounds on the double-end bag
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 1 round on the heavy bag

That makes 16 rounds (all 3 minutes long) plus the roadwork. It's not a personal best, but it's a decent training day.

We had a decent attendance tonight. In addition to Bernard, Matt, Mike B., Andrew, the Judge, John M. and his two sons, and I were there. Tim could not attend because he had to work late. A good time--and a good workout--was had by all.

Tuesday's Long Roadwork

I did an 1 hour and 5 minutes today. I worked up a good sweat. It's good preparation for Wednesday at the gym. :-)

Monday's Training

I did 31 minutes of roadwork today. Not too bad.

Sunday Roadwork

36 minutes today. It has been a nice, cool day outside.

Saturday's Roadwork and Shadowboxing

32 minutes today.

Friday's Roadwork and Shadowboxing

41 minutes today. :-)

Thursday's Roadwork

30 minutes today. I did some shadowboxing, but not as much as usual.

Wednesday's Gym Workout

Today's workout was pretty good. Here's the breakdown:

• 36 minutes of roadwork
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 2 rounds of sparring with Kevin
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 2 rounds of situps
• 1 round of stretching

That makes 14 rounds plus the roadwork. It was good to get back to some sparring. However, I had a lot on my mind and my concentration was not so good, so I noticed my defense was deteriorating. Oh well, I will do better next time.

We had a great turnout: 8 guys plus Bernard. The boxers included Tim, Rich, Matt, Andrew, Jack, Mark V., Kevin, and me. It was awesome to have so many guys there. Now we just need to keep the numbers up.

I first had this kind of a vision for our boxing team nearly 6 years ago. It's exciting to see my vision manifesting in reality. Thanks, guys!

Monday's Roadwork and Shadowboxing

I did 30 minutes today of roadwork and shadowboxing. It went pretty well. I felt like my punches were quick and smooth. Today was a modest day of training, but still very enjoyable.

Sunday Visualization

I did 16 minutes of visualization today. The visualization was pretty simple. I focused my mental rehearsal on throwing a double left jab at my opponent, followed by a straight right. It went well. I felt like the visualization session was helpful. I will keep at it.

Sunday Roadwork

32 minutes of roadwork today.

A Day Off

I took today off to rest up a bit. I felt like I needed a break--more a mental one than a physical one--so I decided to take one.

Friday Training

31 minutes of roadwork today.

Thursday's Brief Roadwork

Today was a hectic day at work. I only squeezed in 18 minutes of roadwork today. However, at least it's something.

Wednesday's Workout

Bernard was back with us today. Tim apparently had to work and Cory was not there, but Rich, Kevin, and I attended. Here's the breakdown of today's workout.

• 32 minutes of roadwork
• 5 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on double-end bag
• 3 rounds on heavy bag
• 2 rounds on uppercut bag
• 1 round of stretching

That's 18 rounds plus the roadwork. Not too bad. Onward and upward!

Also, Rita stopped by at the end of the workout and we talked about having the 2007 Emerald Gloves tournament on Friday, March 16, 2007. I need to talk to Tim about the date, but I'd like to set it soon so we can start planning to make the event a huge one. If I get to box in the event again, it will be even better.

Tuesday's Roadwork

45 minutes today. It has cooled off considerably; we are out of the grip of this summer's heat wave.

Sunday's Roadwork and Shadowboxing

The family reunion yesterday was great. Lots of food, so back to the training today! 35 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing... jab... jab... jab...

Saturday Roadwork and Shadowboxing

I did 25 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing today. I had hoped to do more, but we're having the annual family reunion today, so my time is kind of limited.

Thursday Roadwork and Shadowboxing

31 minutes of roadwork and throwing punches today.

Wednesday's Boxing Workout

Bernard was not able to be at our practice today. He got stuck at work in Barrington and there was no way he could get to our gym in time to join us. That's a shame because there were 5 of us present at 5:30 p.m.: Kevin, Rich, Cory, the Judge, and me. Oh well, we'll connect with Bernard next week. Nonetheless, it was a good workout today.

• 22 minutes of roadwork
• 5 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds on the double-end bag
• 2 rounds on the uppercut bag
  
• 1 round of stretching
• 1 round of situps
  

That's 15 rounds plus the roadwork.

Also, our double-end bag is fixed and back in action, so that is good news. :-)

Tuesday's Roadwork and Shadowboxing

35 minutes today. It's still hot out there!

Staying Well-hydrated During the Heat Wave

I love it. I'm thrilled. People are getting the message about the importance of drinking plenty of water during the hot summer days. (Of course, drinking adequate water is important all year, but we're generally more likely to get into trouble from dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke during the summer.)

When I ran cross-country during my freshman year of high school, our coaches (Mike Martorano and Doug Berger) always encouraged us runners to be sure to drink enough water. They even gave us specific recommendations for how much to drink, even though we might not feel thirsty. That's really important because, apparently, the human thirst mechanism doesn't normally kick in until after some dehydration has occurred, so our brains won't tell us to replenish ourselves with water until after we have already lost a significant amount of it.

Throughout my years of participation in fitness and sports, consuming adequate water--or staying hydrated, as it's often put--has been one of the constants. When I trained at Chicago's famous Windy City Boxing Gym (a classic gym if there ever was one) during the hot summer days, we boxers drank water from a garden hose. It was all part of the charm of the place. A few years later, when I worked with personal fitness trainer Matt Steinberg, he always encouraged me to drink water between sets of weight lifting. I even had a former boxing coach (who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent) who had some very strange ideas about water; he yelled at me sometimes for drinking "too much" water. Yeah, I know, go figure.

In any event, I'm happy that the public at large seems to be getting the message about the importance of adequate water consumption. Of course, some people don't need that message since they have already internalized it. For example, take my dad. He fondly tells me of his days in the United States Marine Corps Reserves when his unit did various exercises out in the desert. Drinking water was not just recommended, it was an order! Apparently, the Marines could not afford to lose a few good men to dehydration, so adequate water intake was mandated. These days, Dad applies that knowledge in civilian life. Since he's my mom's full-time caregiver, he uses a bottle to measure how much water Mom drinks daily to ensure she is drinking enough.

Additionally, I was pleased yesterday when talking to my great-aunt Estelle. She is 94 years old and I sometimes check in on her to make sure she is doing alright, and Monday was one of those times. We had a nice, albeit fairly short, visit. We discussed the importance of staying cool and of consuming lots of water. I verified that she was drinking a lot of water and Aunt Estelle assured me, "Oh yes, I drink a lot of water all year." Cool. Mission accomplished.

One other member of my family deserves mention. My brother, jock that he is, also appreciates the importance of staying well-hydrated. When he's not busy doing triathlons, he's swimming, walking, or practicing karate. In all of those events, he makes sure to drink plenty of good old H2O.

Even with all this background in my family and general knowledge about drinking enough water, I don't like to complacent about the issue. Reading this article, "Stay hydrated to beat heat," in Monday's USA Today reminded me of the importance of water and of consuming enough of it to stay cool and in good health.

Monday's Roadwork and Shadowboxing

45 minutes of roadworkd and shadowboxing today. It has been a hot day: the high temperature was 98 degrees. I keep plodding along.

Sunday Roadwork and Punching

It has been another hot day here in the Windy City. I managed 32 minutes of roadwork out in the heat and humidity, throwing punches periodically along the way. Not great, but not bad. I keep going.

Saturday Roadwork

25 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing today. It's hot out there. I hope to be in fine shape from all of this. :-)

Friday's Roadwork

Very small training today: 15 minutes roadwork. I admit that I slacked on going to the gym. I was hoping to meet Tim there, but he was busy with work so I decided to do a little roadwork and shadowboxing--very little.

Wednesday's Workout

Today was quite a good workout. It was hot and humid in our gym, and I ended up drinking over 3 quarts of water during the workout. It was intense, but it went well. Here's the summary.

• 35 minutes of roadwork
• 11 rounds on the pads with Bernard (this was pretty intense today)
• 6 rounds of shadowboxing
• 4 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds of stretching
• 3 rounds of situps
• 1 round on the uppercut bag
• 1 round on the double-end bag

So that makes 29 rounds plus the roadwork. Attendance at tonight's practice was good. Bernard, Jack, Rich, Cory, Matt, and I were there. I saw Mike B. at the club, but he was too late to be there for boxing. Surprisingly, Tim was not there, so I will check in with him tomorrow to see how he's doing. We're having scheduled practices only on Wednesdays now through Labor Day. After that, we will resume our twice-a-week workouts.

I was hoping to get some sparring practice today. Bernard wanted me to spar with Rich. Unfortunately, Rich did not have a mouthpiece, so we didn't spar. Even though we have a full-face headgear, it doesn't offer the same protection as wearing a mouthpiece, so we decided it would be better to wait. I was ready to go and Rich seemed eager, too, but we need to make safety the paramount concern. I have not sparred with Rich before, so hopefully, we'll get to practice next week.

Friday Roadwork

39 minutes of roadwork today. I did a little shadowboxing, too.

Wednesday's Workout

Practice today was good. It was still quite hot in our gym, and plenty humid, but it did not feel quite as intense as it was on Monday. The workout was good and the attendance was better. Bernard, Cory, Rich, Tim, and I were there. Bernard mentioned that Bill had stopped by just for a few minutes at the start of the practice and said he will be joining us next week. I look forward to that. Bill is an enthusiastic member of our boxing team, a good sparring partner, and an all-around great guy.

Here is the summary of my workout on Wednesday.

• 27 minutes of roadwork
  
• 10 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 4 rounds on the heavy bag
  
• 1 round on the double-end bag
• 1 round of situps

It was only 4 rounds more than I did on Monday, but overall, I felt quicker and sharper. I'm grateful for the improvement. :-)

Tuesday Roadwork and Shadowboxing

Just 27 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing today. Looking back, I haven't taken any days off since July 7, so I will need to take a rest day soon. However, tomorrow, I will be back at the gym for practice.

Monday: A Slacker Workout?

Yeah, I am probably being way too hard on myself to call today's training a "slacker workout." I felt like I was slacking, but it really is hot and humid, and even though I consumed a lot of water all day, I still felt pretty week at boxing practice tonight. Another part of it is probably that we had a really small group: just Bernard, Mike B., and me. Tim was picking up his wife at the airport, so he missed practice. With fewer guys, it's a lot harder because there is little or no rotation on the pads, so that's tough. Anyway, despite all of my whining, I did manage to do a workout. Here's how it breaks down.

• 38 minutes of roadwork (very slow pace)
• 6 rounds of shadowboxing
• 5 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 2 rounds of situps
• 2 rounds of stretching
• 1 round on the heavy bag

While I write down what I did, I see that it's not as minimal as I had thought. Of course, this is not one of my more intensive workouts, but I did put effort into it, so I am happy with the results. Besides, as my grandfather (my dad's dad) liked to day, "The biggest room in the house is the room for improvement."

Sunday: Brief Training on Very Hot Day

I have some friends visiting Chicago from British Columbia for the next week. I went to breakfast with them this morning and walked around with them on Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Later in the day, I did some very brief roadwork because it's about 100 degrees and very humid. I drank a lot of water, but I still did only 26 minutes today. Running shirtless helped, as did pouring some cool water on my head after I was done! :-)

Saturday: Long Roadwork on a Very Hot Day

I decided to push myself today with the roadwork and shadowboxing and did 1 hour and 17 minutes on the road, with some shadowboxing intervals mixed in. It's another hot day. Apparently, we're in the middle of a big heatwave that is making its way across North America. That's alright. I'll keep drinking lots of water to stay cool and throwing lots of punches!

Friday's Training

I was hoping to train with Tim today, but his wife went out of town for a few days and he is staying at home with their dog. :-) Therefore, I did some roadwork and shadowboxing for 36 minutes. Another fairly easy day. Man, it is getting hot outside!

Thursday: An Easy Day

Despite yesterday's workout, I'm not sore at all today. I just did some light, springy roadwork today with some shadowboxing for 38 minutes.

Wednesday Practice

I had a really good workout today. I'm happy with it. Tim is back in action, so he was there. Also, Bernard, Jack, Rich, and I were at the gym, so it was a good practice. He's the summary of my workout.

• 42 minutes of roadwork
• 13 rounds on the pads with Bernard (this included 8 rounds in a row--intense!--and finishing with Bernard's aptly named "round from hell")
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 4 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds of mirror training to focus on my technique for several combinations I've been practicing
• 2 rounds of stretching (I'm confident this saved me from a lot of post-workout soreness!)
• 2 rounds of situps
• 1 round on the uppercut bag

That's 29 rounds plus the roadwork. Yeah, I'm pleased. :-)

Tuesday Roadwork

44 minutes of roadwork today. This is the "easy" day. I expect to be back at the gym tomorrow.

Monday's Practice

There were only 4 of us at the gym tonight: Bernard, Rich, Cory, and me. It seems like the rest of the guys were slacking. Even so, I had a good workout. Here's the recap:

• 46 minutes of roadwork
• 7 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag (which needs to be fixed; it needs a new bladder)
• 2 rounds of stretching
• 2 rounds of situps

That comes to 21 rounds plus the roadwork. I'm pleased with today's work. I felt focused, energetic, and fairly speedy.

I've been working on increasing my hand speed lately. That is going well. Bernard has us building on a foundation of five straight punches: left jab-straight right-left jab-straight-left jab. From that opening salvo of punches, you're in a position of just having thrown a punch with the lead hand--in my case, the left. (Southpaws would begin with the right jab and finish with it.)

Having just thrown the lead jab, you're in the same position as if you had just throw one jab (rather than the initial 5 punches). However, the idea of leading with 5 quick straight punches is to confuse the opponent and overwhelm his defenses. Therefore, speed is of the essence. I have been working on that. Rather than trying to throw each punch with maximum force--probably a serious waste of energy in this kind of strategic combination--I am focusing on perfect technique and speed.

This opening attack feels right to me. It is a more advanced strategy, but it is something I can actually do in sparring or in a bout. I really like working with Bernard because he keeps things practical. I'll keep practicing this approach on the pads, on the bags, in shadowboxing, and in sparring. I am confident I will master it.

Sunday Roadwork and Shadowboxing

Today, a fairly warm day, I did 46 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing. In the shadowboxing, I am working on throwing multiple left jabs very quickly. It's going well.

Saturday's Training

26 minutes of roadwork today.

Back at It

I got back to the training today. The two days off was a good break. Today I did 30 minutes of roadwork with some intervals of shadowboxing.

Monday Roadwork

55 minutes on the road today, along with some intervals of shadowboxing. Overall, training is going pretty well. There's always room for improvement, but I am happy with my progress so far.

Having said that, I think I'm going to take a couple of days off. Physically, I feel great, but mentally I feel I can use the rest. It won't be a long break, just 2 or 3 days at the most. It's just a brief chance to recharge the ol' batteries.

Sunday Roadwork

23 minutes of roadwork today. Not a bad start to the week.

Saturday's Workout

Tim is back from his two weeks in Europe and he and I met today to do some training. It was a good session, and it's great to have him back. Here's the summary of today's workout.

• 30 minutes of roadwork
• 5 rounds on the heavy bag
  
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds of mirror training (working mostly on the left jab-straight right-left hook-straight combination)
• 2 rounds on the uppercut bag
  
• 1 round of situps
• 1 round of stretching

In all, that's 15 rounds plus the roadwork. Next time, I'll probably be working on some defensive and counterpunching drills with Tim. For now, though, I am fairly pleased with this week's workouts.

Thursday's Training

Since yesterday's workout was pretty intense, today was a "light" day: 30 minutes of roadwork with shadowboxing mixed in.

Jeff's Photos Are Now Online

My friend Jeff Gilbert has posted a link to the photos from his recent boxing match in Seattle, WA. Check them out here. Congratulations, Jeff! It looks like you did great in your bout.

Jeff was also kind enough to link to my blog. Thanks, Jeff. Hey, buddy, when is your next match? Keep us posted! :-)

Wednesday at the Gym

Woohoo! I made it to practice today. I was late, and I didn't attend as much of it as I would have liked, but I was there and I worked hard. Here's the recap.

• 25 minutes of roadwork
• 3 regular rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 1 "round from hell" on the pads with Bernard (I'll explain this below)
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the heavy bag
• 1 round on the uppercut bag
• 1 rounds of situps
• 1 round of stretching

That makes 12 rounds plus the roadwork. That's not too bad, considering that I was only at practice for about 45 minutes and had to race to get there. Because I was working out on very limited time, I increased the intensity as much as I could. Also, in the summer it's hot in our gym, so that made the workout seem more intense.

The "round from hell" (Bernard's friendly name for it) was aptly named. It was a full 3 minutes of nonstop punching, with no pauses to explain combinations and no short breaks for Bernard to tell me what the next moves would be. It was all action. I started by throwing alternating series of 10 left and right hooks, followed by 10 left and right uppercuts. They had to be fast and they had to be thrown with good form. That lasted for about the first minute.

During the second minute, I had the pleasure of ducking Bernard's left hook and countering with a left hook of my own. Immediately after that, Bernard threw a right hook at my head and I had to duck it and counter with my own right hook. That continued--ducking and countering alternating left and right hooks--for about the next 60 seconds. Since bending the knees is required to duck the hook properly, this was a helpful exercise for the legs and a good opportunity to practice balance. Done correctly, the boxer should be on his toes all the time, keep his balance, keep his elbows in to protect the sides of his body, and keep his hands up to protect his head. For the most part, I thought I used good technique during this drill.

Finally, for the last minute of the round, we practiced reaction counterpunching with quick combinations. The idea here is fairly simple: keep a good stance and block all of your opponent's punches. As soon as your opponent's glove makes contact with any part of your body, you immediately counterattack him with a combination, leading from the side of the body where he hits you. It's really much easier than it sounds. Let me explain how it works in practice.

Bernard throws his left hook either at my head or to my body. Since I have a good stance with a good built-in defensive posture, I readily block the punch wherever he throws it. As soon as he makes contact and I'm confident I have blocked his punch, I immediately counter with a straight right cross to the chin (to the pad, really), followed by a left hook and another straight right.

Just to keep things interesting, Bernard may throw another left hook at me, or he may toss a right hook to my head or body. If he throws the latter punch, again, I block it and immediately counterpunch, this time with a left hook, followed by a hard straight right and then another left hook.

That "round from hell" was a fun, challenging, and tiring round. We picked up the intensity and it was really hard work, but I like pushing myself like that sometimes. It helps to build my confidence knowing that I can work at that pace for a full 3 minutes. In a competitive bout, the rounds would be only 2 minutes, and it is somewhat unlikely that all the rounds would be at that pace. One has to be prepared for it, but in an actual bout both boxers are moving a lot more, trying to fake the opponent out, adjust their strategy, and move as well as punch, so it is hard to maintain that kind of punching output. In any event, though, it's certainly nice to know I can do it if I have to. :-)

We had a great turnout at practice tonight. In addition to Bernard and I, the following guys were there: Kevin, Jack, Rich, Matt (our newest boxer), and Mike B. Andrew (back from two weeks of vacation) stopped by at the end of the workout, but he was too late to work with Bernard so he just did some cardio work on his own. Tim is back in town but did not get to the practice. He'll be back next week and I'll probably meet with him on Saturday to do some training. Finally, Ted, another new guy, e-mailed me and said he will be joining us the week after next (he's on vacation next week). So our boxing team is increasing its numbers as well as building a more solid attendance at our weekly workouts.

Tuesday's Routine

I feel like I am making a comeback. Even though I missed practice today, I am working to be consistent. I did 32 minutes of roadwork with shadowboxing breaks mixed in. I am happy with the speed my multiple left jabs are acquiring. I am hoping I can punch that fast in sparring. We'll see.

Tomorrow looks to be a really busy work day, but I am determined to get to practice!

Monday: The Best Laid Schemes O' Mice and Men

Today has been a hectic day. The day didn't follow my plan for it. Unfortunately, I missed tonight's practice. Oh, well, I have to keep going. I managed to squeeze in just 21 minutes of roadwork and shadowboxing. It's something, but not enough. I'll keep at it.

Sunday: More Roadwork and Shadowboxing

30 minutes of roadwork today with intervals of shadowboxing mixed in. I like this; I can feel my hand speed increasing.

Saturday: Roadwork and Shadowboxing

Intervals of roadwork and shadowboxing--1 hour and 5 minutes.

And on the Sixth Day, He Rested

OK, so it's not exactly biblical, but it's close. I took Friday off. I deserve a day off. A day of rest will be followed by a day of activity.

Thursday's Roadwork

44 minutes on the road today. I am hoping eventually to average an hour a day, but I am going for slow, steady progress now.

Wednesday's Training

Today was a good day for training. While it's a bit less than I would have liked, as my grandfather (my Dad's Dad) used to say, "The biggest room in the house is always the room for improvement." He's right. So, regardless of my need (or perceived need) for improvement, here's the report for Wednesday.

• 46 minutes of roadwork
• 5 rounds on the pads with Bernard (yeah, including those intense speed drills in the last 30 seconds!)
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 1 round of situps and stretching

That makes 13 rounds plus the roadwork. We haven't been sparring much lately, but that's because we've had a few of our guys missing. Hopefully, Tim and Andrew will be back next week; it will be good to see them again after their two-week vacations in Europe. Mattt, our new member, couldn't attend because he was delayed returning from a deposition in California (fun, fun, fun!) and my guess is that Ron was traveling again for work. Furthermore, Jack has not been at practice for a few weeks, so I need to check in with him.

Tonight's crew was a small one: just Cory, Mike B., Bernard, and I. The Judge showed up just for a couple of minutes, picked up his bag gloves off the floor, and left. The summer months usually slow down a lot. The period of really nice weather in Chicago is fairly short, so we try to make the most of being outdoors during the summer months. Of course, we Chicagoans also tend to whine about how awful the weather is and even to exaggerate the brevity of the summer. Therefore, if you really want to know about the climate here, you'll be best served by coming here to experience it for yourself. If you'll be in town, feel free to e-mail me and maybe you can join us for one of our workouts.

I am glad that the double-end bag was kinder to me at my workout than it apparently was to my friend Duncan Higgitt, who blogged that he had hurt his finger on the speedball (I think that's another term for the double-end bag). Regardless of the exact piece of equipment, it sounds painful, so get well soon, Duncan! Also, if you haven't visited Duncan's site yet, I recommend it. He is one of my counterparts in the UK and quite a likeable fellow, as I can tell from my friendly e-mail correspondence with him.

Tuesday's Training

Just 37 minutes of roadwork today. Yesterday's workout was intense, but I feel fine today. Back to the gym tomorrow!

Monday's Workout

It's warming up here in Chicago--almost 90 degrees today. That means that the temperature inside our gym is in the 3-digit range. Unlike last Monday, I drank a lot of water today. Dehydration is not allowed!

It was a good, intense workout. I'm sure the additional heat and humidity helped to crank up the intensity. Here's the report.

• 46 minutes of roadwork (quite humid outside, too)
• 6 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 1 round on the uppercut bag
• 1 round of stretching

The work on the pads was as tiring as ever. Tonight, though, Bernard had us doing speed drills for the last 30 seconds of some of the rounds. During those 30 seconds, he had us throwing nonstop punches--either straight punches, hooks, or uppercuts--with good form, as fast as we could. That is an intense drill, but I like it. It's a real confidence builder.

Attendance was a bit lighter than I had hoped. Rich, Kevin, and I were there. Tim is still in Europe and I think Andrew is still in Ireland. Matt, our new member, will rejoin us on Wednesday. I'll be talking with Marie, our athletic club's membership director, on Tuesday to plan on inviting the "fighting engineers" from Boeing Corporation to one of our workouts. If that goes well, we could realize a few dozen new members.

Sunday's Roadwork

26 minutes today.

Saturday's Roadwork

1 hour and 4 minutes today, with some intermittent shadowboxing. It was a great day outside. It's getting hotter here and that's fine by me; I love the summer!

Friday's Roadwork

I had hoped for a gym session today. However, the day got away from me and I didn't get to the gym. So I opted for more roadwork. I don't believe we can ever have too much good general conditioning, unless it causes our sport-specific training to suffer.

In today's case, I decided to make the best of a less-than-ideal situation. Therefore, I got out and did 48 minutes of roadwork. Again, while it's not my preference, it is something. Tomorrow and Sunday will probably be more roadwork. However, I feel it has been paying off. I commented about how much faster and stronger my 5-straight-punch combination is getting, so I am happy about that progress.

I tend to be a perfectionist and that's a tendency I am working to change. I can be committed to excellence while easing up on the pressure I place upon myself. I'm not training for a world championship and my recognition of that fact does not mean that I am going to be slacking in my workouts! Now, all I have to do is convince myself of that. :-)

Thursday Roadwork

Today is an easy day: 30 minutes of roadwork. It's a nice change of pace from Wednesday's "hard" workout.

Wednesday's Practice

I had a good practice today. Drinking water during the day made a huge difference! The gym session was good. I was focused and used the time well. Here's the breakdown of today's training.

• 18 minutes of roadwork
• 8 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 6 rounds of practicing my slipping with the "slip rope," while throwing combinations of punches and focusing on staying on my toes as much as possible
  
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds on the double-end bag (mostly practicing the left jab-straight right-left jab combination)
• 2 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 2 rounds of stretching
• 1 round of shadowboxing
• 1 round of situps

In total, that's 26 rounds plus the short roadwork. I like it.

During the pads rounds with Bernard, I felt my 5-straight-punch combinations (left jab-straight right-left jab-straight right-left jab) working better than ever. It was great to experience that progress. I think the improvement was in my footwork and balance for that combination.

We also had a guest at our workout. Matt is a local lawyer and he will probably become a member of our club. He got along well with everyone and it will be great to have him join us. Tonight's other participants were Kevin, Cory, the Judge, and myself. What a great group of guys!

I'm pleased with today's workout. We'll pick up with the sparring again soon and I look forward to that, also.

Tuesday's Roadwork

50 minutes of roadwork today. This is the first day this spring when I can really notice the weather getting significantly warmer. That means more sweating...and a need to drink much more...water!

Monday's Practice

Back at the gym today. Here's the program:

• 31 minutes of roadwork
• 4 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 1 round of situps
• 1 round of stretching

Not one of my best workouts, but certainly not one of the worst either. I felt really weak today and I think I was a bit dehydrated. While I was drinking water during practice, I later remembered that I had not been drinking much water during the day. Not such a good move!

I used to have the weird idea that dehydration really only matters at the elite level of sports. WRONG! Not drinking enough water can affect anyone's athletic performance. Of course, I know this. I studied and was tested on this when I earned my level 1 amateur boxing coach certification. Hell, I'm the guy who is usually hounding others to drink more water, especially when the weather is warmer as it is now. Duh!

Oh well, it's a learning experience. I'm not going to be too hard on myself, just learn the lesson and move on. So to all my readers: learn from my experience--drink plenty of water when you're working out and competing!

We had a few guys missing from practice. Tim is on his honeymoon for two weeks in England and France. (To Tim and Christine: congratulations again and I hope you're having a great time.) Andrew is in Ireland on vacation.

However, Cory, Rich, and Kevin were there. It's all good. ;-)

Saturday Roadwork

Today's training was a bit short because I attended a birthday party in the afternoon. It was still good: 50 minutes of roadwork.

Good Luck to My Friend Jeff Gilbert!

My friend Jeff Gilbert, who lives in Seattle, Washington, will be boxing on Saturday night, June 10, at 7 p.m. Pacific Time, at Cappy's Gym on Union. Here's Jeff's announcement of his bout. If you're in the greater Seattle area, I recommend that you accept Jeff's friendly invitation to "Come watch!" Jeff has told me about these boxing events. While I have not yet had the pleasure of attending one of them, they sound like they are planned and conducted very well, and the audience gets to see the gym's boxers showing off their talents in probably the most pure form of the sport you are ever going to see.

Jeff is close to my age (I think he's 42 or 43) and size, and he has posted photos of some of his previous bouts here. (Mental note to self: I have to post the photos of my own recent bout on this blog!) Jeff and his opponents look like they are doing well and having fun. I don't know who Jeff's (un)lucky opponent will be on Saturday, but I am confident Jeff will box well. Hopefully he will post some photos so we can celebrate his fine efforts even from a distance.

Have a great time, Jeff, and do well, buddy! I hope your bout will be an awesome and fun experience. This is as good as it gets, my man. The only way it could be better is if I were to be the guy in the opposite corner of the ring for your bout. :-)

Take care and let us know how it goes!

Thursday Roadwork

Today I did some short, springy roadwork with some intervals of shadowboxing mixed in. It was a total of 23 minutes. It was a good "easy" day because I am a bit sore from Wednesday's gym workout.

Wednesday's Triumphant Return to Practice

Ah, I finally made it back and how sweet it is. We had a small turnout today. It was Bernard, myself, Rich, and Tim. Tim did another one of his "speed workouts." He could not have been at the gym for more than 15 minutes before he bolted out to head back to his office! On Saturday, he and Christine are leaving on their honeymoon for two weeks. Have a great time, Tim and Christine!

Even with his short workout, Tim looked good working on the pads with Bernard. He still has his power and speed. It will be great to have him back in two weeks, when he says he will be attending our practices regularly again. Also, the Judge stopped by for just a few minutes. I thought he was going to run some laps and return, but when Bernard and I waited for him and then looked around for him, the Judge was not to be found. Oh well, we'll have to work with him next week.

As for me, I had a decent workout. Here's the summary:

• 32 minutes of roadwork
• 7 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds on the double-end bag
• 1 round of stretching

17 rounds in total plus the roadwork. Not too bad considering the rough week I had last week. It's good to be back in action.

Encouraging a Friend and Fellow Athlete

My friend Russell at RussBlog is working hard to improve his fitness and his martial arts training. Here is his most recent blog entry about his tough training regimen. All I can say is that I am sure glad Russ and I are in different sports! He's doing a great job.

Russell was kind enough to mention this blog on his site, so I want to return the favor.

More than that, however, he hopes, "Maybe the two of us can help keep each other motivated." I share that hope. Mr. Newquist has certainly been helping me stay motivated. Indeed, especially over the last few days when things were in a bit of a slump because of work demands, part of my ability to stay focused on the big picture is reading Russell's reports of his own training. It is particularly inspiring to me because he is dealing with a very painful knee injury. His positive attitude reminds me to stay with the program and helps me to remember that I am pursuing fitness over the long haul; there is really no need to get upset or discouraged my temporary and relatively minor setbacks, even though they can sometimes be frustrating.

Thanks, Russell, and keep up the good work. I hope you'll visit his blog and offer him some encouragement. Oh, and stay a while and look around there; he runs an interesting site with a lot of good content. Tell him I sent you. :-)

Tuesday: Keeping the Pace

So far, I am staying on track this week. Today, I did 1 hour and 5 minutes of roadwork with intermittent shadowboxing, so I'm feeling good and getting ready for tomorrow's gym session. The challenge will be actually to keep work under control, stay focused, use my time well, and get to the gym on Wednesday. I can do it. I will do it.

Monday's Workout: Bad News and Good News

The bad news is that I did not get to practice tonight. Work has remained hectic and I'm trying to finish 3 contracts for a new client by the end of this week. As a result, I'll have to wait until Wednesday. Also, Bernard e-mailed me about reducing our group practices to once a week, since attendance has been fairly low. That will probably be just for the summer months. I'll talk to Tim tomorrow and see what he thinks about it.

The good news is that I did 32 minutes of roadwork with some intermittent shadowboxing. The punches and combinations are gaining speed and smoothness. Now, let's see if I can pull this off in sparring!

Sunday: Bouncing Back

I did 51 minutes of roadwork today. I am getting back in the groove, I can feel it. On Friday and Saturday, I was feeling awful with an attack of allergies and sinus congestion. However, it's a new week and I'm not looking back! If all goes well, I'll get to practice twice this week (we're on a regular schedule, so even though work caused my absence last week, I think getting back to Monday and Wednesday will help...somehow) and hope to get in 6 days of training this week. One down, five to go!

Missing Practice. Ugh.

Work has been crazy this week. I did not get to practice tonight. All I could do was squeeze in 15 measly minutes of roadwork. That's it. I am going to stay positive, though. These are mere bumps in the road, an overall journey of fitness, so I won't get too frustrated.

Wednesday's Small Training

I didn't do much training today; it was another hectic work day. I did manage to get in 20 minutes of roadwork, so that is something. :-)

Tuesday: An Unplanned Day Off

I planned to work out today. However, work got in the way, so I will have to resume tomorrow. We had our practice tonight, so I had to miss that. Argh. It's always something. Nevertheless, I'll be back at it on Wednesday.

Taking the Holiday Off

Today is this week's day of rest. It's a planned day off, so I am not slacking. Heh.

Sunday's Training

1 hour and 24 minutes of roadwork today. Ah, gotta love these nice long weekends!

Saturday's Training

Beautiful day outside. 60 minutes of roadwork today. I feel more fit already! :-)

Friday Roadwork

More focus on roadwork today for overall conditioning: 40 minutes.

Thursday Training

Today's training was 32 minutes of roadwork. A decent day.

Wednesday Practice

This was a good workout. Here's the breakdown:

• 33 minutes of roadwork
• 9 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag (the bag that hits back!)
• 2 rounds of stretching

We had a decent turnout today. Mike B. and the Judge were there. Tim stopped by for about 60 seconds; he's getting married this weekend (congratulations, Tim and Christine!). We had a new guy, Ron, who worked out with us for the first time. Hopefully, he will become a regular. Overall, it was a good session.

A Friend Celebrates

Over at Boxing Aches, my friend Duncan Higgitt recounts his Tuesday night sparring session. I know the feeling he describes. Good job, Duncan! I hope you and Paul keep up the fine work!

Tuesday's Day Off

I took today off from training. I have a feeling Wednesday is going to be really intense, so I want to be ready for it. I also want to be careful not to overtrain. While I am certainly not fooling myself into thinking I am training at some elite, advanced level that is really beyond me, I have experienced overtraining to a modest degree in the past and it is not a fun experience. Therefore, while I am committed to fitness and improving my skills, I will remember to practice moderation. I do look forward to a very hard workout on Wednesday.

Monday's Workout and Learning a New Combination

The first day back at the gym this week was good. Tim was not there, but he promises to be back in action on Wednesday. Joining Bernard and me were Rich, Mike B., the Judge, and Andrew. Here's the summary of tonight's workout.

• 31 minutes of roadwork
• 8 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 5 rounds on the double-end bag, working the 1-2-1 combination (left jab, right cross, left jab)
• 2 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds of situps and crunches
• 1 round of stretching

That makes 20 rounds plus the roadwork. Not a bad start for the week (especially counting yesterday).

I got to work on a new combination that I am going to like. In fact, I really like it already. It starts with the basic one-two (left jab followed very quickly by a hard straight right). Then I take a short step forward and to the right (and my opponent's left) and throw a quick left hook, being sure to pivot on my left foot to get the weight behind the punch. The finisher is a straight right or right cross, depending on the angle from which I am facing the opponent.

The key to throwing that combination successfully is this: you must complete the short step forward before throwing the left hook. It's tempting to try to step into the punch to give it more power, but that really doesn't work because you're supposed to be stepping forward and to the right. Another problem is that stepping into the punch leaves you facing slightly away from the opponent and in no position to throw the right hand. Even worse, the opponent can hit you and you are in a very awkward position from which even defending would be difficult, much less counterpunching.

This combination is new and is going to take some work. I can already see how my eagerness to throw it is tempting me to throw the left hook before I have finished the step. I'll work on it with some visualization and will be practicing it many more times on Wednesday and in the practices to come. It will probably be a while before I attempt to use it in sparring, but that is fine; I have plenty of other techniques to use.

Sunday Roadwork

50 minutes outside today. A very nice, but cool, day.

Saturday's Workout

Today was a good workout day. I met Tim this afternoon. Earlier in the day, I did 50 minutes of roadwork. Later, I also did:

• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 1 round of stretching

I saw Cory briefly at the gym, too. I feel good about today's work.

Unplanned Day Off

Work got busy, so I didn't get in any workout today. Tomorrow is another day and I plan to use it well.

A Good, Healthy Feeling of Soreness

I'm feeling just a little sore today after yesterday's hard workout. It's a "good" soreness, though. The soreness is not really pain. Rather, it is the feeling that my body has worked well and is recovering from that work. I'm happy to have had the opportunity to work hard on cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, strength, speed, and flexibility.

I don't know exactly what today's routine will involve. Tim is supposed to be back in town today. He had mentioned working out together on Friday or Saturday. If he's flexible, I'll probably recommend that we do the workout tomorrow and I'll focus on some roadwork, shadowboxing, and visualization today. If he won't be available tomorrow, I'll meet with him today.

In any event, it's good to feel just a little sore. Onward and upward!

Thursday's Training

I'm pretty psyched today because I broke the 30-round barrier. I don't know if that means I will always do workouts of more than 30 rounds, but it is a good feeling to have gotten past that point today. Here's the recap.

• 36 minutes of roadwork
• 11 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on heavy bag
• 2 rounds on uppercut bag
• 7 rounds on double-end bag
• 3 rounds of situps
• 2 rounds of stretching

It's a good workout; I'm happy with it. Tonight, Tim was still away on business, but he should be back next week. John C. stopped by and said he'll join us next week. Cory, Mike B., and Rich P. were at tonight's workout with me. More details to follow tomorrow.

Wednesday: A Day Off

No training today. Took it easy. Resting up for Thursday.

Light Workout on Tuesday

28 minutes of roadwork today. An easy day.

Monday's Practice Session

Today was good. Today was focused. Today was productive. I worked hard and felt really good. Here's my training report.

• 25 minutes of roadwork
• 8 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 5 rounds on the heavy bag
• 4 rounds on the double-end bag
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 3 rounds of stretching and situps

In total, that is 26 rounds plus the roadwork. It's not the 30 rounds I had hoped to do today, but it's a decent workout nonetheless. I am eager to resume sparring.

We had a fairly good attendance today. In addition to me, Rich, Cory, Kevin, and Mike B. were there. Tim is out of town on business (I am sure glad I don't have his job!) and he won't be back until Friday, which means he won't be back to our practices until next Monday. I am hoping to recruit a few more guys to join us. I know that they will probably become regulars after they attend just one or two workouts with our team. Pat also told me he is hoping to join us soon.

I have a few more club updates, but I'll post those next time when I am not so tired. Now, it is time to get some sleep!

Mental Training on Sunday

I took today off from a physical workout. While I was feeling up to doing some punching and shadowboxing, I believe periodic rest is important to allow us to recover from the intensity of training. Therefore, I took a break from physical activities.

Instead, I focused on mental training. I did some visualization of myself in the ring, practicing punches and footwork. I also practiced seeing myself as the winner of the match, getting my hand raised at the end.

Soon, I am going to write some scripts for the mental imagery to make this part of my training more consistent. I will probably record them on my digital voice recorder so I can play them back as a guided imagery session. I think that will help me a lot. If I like the results, I may even upload some of those voice sessions or scripts to this site so others can try them out and adapt them to their own training preferences.

As I am writing more here on the blog and getting more focused again, I find my training is going better; it is more fun and I have a more positive attitude about it. I will continue this way and adapt the training as I go along.

Saturday Roadwork

Today I did 1 hour and 1 minute of roadwork. It was a pretty good day outside. I am staying with the program.

Friday's Outdoor Work

Today I did 34 minutes of roadwork.

Thursday's Workout

OK, I made it back to practice today. The workout was decent, but not stellar. I'll keep improving. Here's the breakdown.

• 36 minutes of roadwork
• 5 rounds of shadowboxing
• 5 rounds on the pads with Bernard
• 2 rounds on double-end bag
• 1 round on heavy bag
• 1 round on uppercut bag
• 1 round of situps
• 1 round of stretching

All in all, I got in 16 rounds plus the roadwork. I prefer it to be about 25, but I got a late start today. Also, I was fighting some inertia that threatened to hold me back from my workout. It was the little voice inside that was saying, "Ah, it's raining today. You can go back on Monday..." I am glad I resisted that little voice!

We had a decent turnout. Bernard was back. Also, Mark V., Cory, Andrew, and I were there. It was a good workout, even though I was a little sluggish.

Bernard mentioned that Dr. Kevin is working to get the doctors vs. lawyers charity boxing match arranged. He said so far Doc Kevin is willing to box and one other doctor. I promised to help with finding other Chicago area physicians who would like to participate. I'll phone my friend Glen who coaches the boxers at the East Bank Club and see if he has any guys who want to do it. From my club, we can easily field a whole team of lawyers, so that should be no problem. I've already told Andrew that he needs to be ready for the event. :-)

Who knows? I might even get to face Dr. Kevin in the ring. That would be fun. He's a good guy. I believe the event will raise money for a children's charity, so we'll be doing it for a good cause. Bernard jokingly mentioned that the name of the charity is the "Victims of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Fund." He's trying to have some fun with the doctors-vs.-lawyers theme, but somehow, I doubt there is such a charity. However, it will be fun however it goes.

If any of my readers are physicians in the greater Chicago area and you would like to participate in this event, send me an e-mail at steve@lawyerboxer.com and I'll get you information as it becomes available to me. Even better, I'll get you connected to the guys who are organizing this event. I'll also post further details here when I have them.

Wednesday Update

Well, it's not quite what I planned, but I squeezed in 50 minutes of roadwork. (Yeah, Todd, I know. I know.) Tomorrow will be the day for my triumphant return to the gym. The schedule this week has been a bit confused. Bernard has been officiating at a tournament for high school kids, so our practice days were rearranged and I did not know we were going to have a practice on Monday. Anyway, hopefully, I will be back in regular action on Thursday.

Tuesday's Unplanned Day Off

OK, today didn't go as planned. I'll keep trying. Hopefully, I will get some training in on Wednesday.

Monday's Program

Today didn't go quite as planned. I did 23 minutes of roadwork today. Hopefully, Tuesday will be more productive.

Sunday Routine

Today I just did 34 minutes of roadwork. Tomorrow is a gym day, hopefully with Tim.

Boxing with a Poker Face

No, I'm not talking about five-card draw. I'm talking about an excellent article by Ross Enamait about boxing strategy, specifically mental strategy. In this well-written and practical essay about the importance of the mental aspect of boxing, Ross explains how to hide your own fatigue from your opponent and how to capitalize on the situation when you perceive fatigue in him.

As usual, Ross gives us plenty to think about and to implement in the ring. While I am sure I have heard or read some of these pointers before, in various scattered places, Ross neatly packages them into one article for us. This information is really helpful. Learn it. Master it. Use it.

Saturday Outside, and Inside

I got out and did 30 minutes of roadwork today. I also did some visualization, picturing myself boxing with an evenly-matched opponent while performing all offensive and defensive moves, including footwork, perfectly. I am going to develop some more detailed scripts for the visualizations, but since I am easing my way back into this invaluable training method, I am taking my time to get reacquainted with it. I don't want to take on too much too soon and end up discouraging myself when my progress does not meet my expectations!

Friday at the Gym

I did get back to the gym today. As planned, I met my buddy Tim there. I also saw Andrew, another friend of Tim and me. It was a decent workout. Here's today's breakdown.

• 41 minutes of roadwork
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 4 rounds on heavy bag
• 2 rounds on uppercut bag
• 1 round on double-end bag
• 1 round of stretching
• 1 round of situps

Also, I did some sports visualization today. I'll write much more about this, I'm sure, but my friend Todd has recently reminded me of the important role visualization plays in an athlete's training. (Thanks, Todd!)

Today's visualization was pretty simple. I visualized one round of an amateur bout where I was matched against a taller opponent. I visualized myself doing perfect footwork, being full of energy, and landing hard, quick punches. Again, it was basic, but I haven't done visualization for a while. I'll get back to it more and write more about it soon.

Thursday Roadwork

Today was a fairly simple day: 32 minutes of roadwork. I will be back at the gym tomorrow. I'll have more to post on that topic. too.

Rats! Foiled Again! (Sort of)

I mentioned in an earlier post that "it's always something." Today was another example of that. I am feeling much better today, although I can't quite explain why in relation to the pollen and mold reports for my area. I'm not complaining, but according to the reports on the allergens in the local air, I shouldn't be feeling this well. Very strange.

However, despite feeling well, I did not get to boxing practice this evening. I got stuck doing some work projects, so the boxing had to wait. It is frustrating, but a man's got to pay the bills. As a result, this is the only workout I did today:

• 30 minutes of roadwork
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing

I hope to do more tomorrow. Also, I am meeting Tim on Friday afternoon for a workout, so things are looking up.

I Guess I'm Not the Only One...

I've been whining about my allergies for the last few days. I'm not the only guy who has missed some training due to allergies/colds/flu and so forth. Duncan Higgitt, one of my counterparts in Wales and the author and publisher of the Boxing Aches blog, has had some difficulties recently, too.

He reports that a "nasty little virus" caused him to miss some training. Happily, though, he is back in training. Good job, Duncan, and get well soon!

Is Boxing "Losing the Battle of Evolution to UFC"?

In this article, Keith Terceira, a respected sportswriter at BoxingScene.com, suggests that boxing is indeed losing the battle. Mr. Terceira points out valid concerns and he makes a lot of good points. However, there is no reason boxing can't rise to the occasion and be every good as the mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting. Where there's a will, there's a way. The fundamental question, though is: do boxing and its people have the requisite will? We shall see.

White Collars Are Off and Boxing Gloves On

Here is an interesting article from Blackpool, England, about some regular guys training and boxing in a charitable fundraising event. While I'm not wild about the term "white-collar boxing"--I don't care what someone does for a living as long as they are participating in the sport on a recreational level--it seems the event was successful and, hopefully, will generate more support for a growing segment of our sport.

A Planned Day Off

I had planned to take a day off from training today. Having the allergies and sinus congestion just confirmed my decision. Back to the gym tomorrow!

Monday's Training

I got back to it today, despite still not feeling 100%. But I am determined. Bernard, our coach, was not able to attend the practice, but I saw Cory, Kevin, and Andrew there. Not my usual intensity, but at least I got back in action.

• 32 minutes of roadwork
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds of stretching
• 3 rounds of practicing pivoting on my left foot and punching, as Bernard recommended
• 2 rounds on heavy bag
• 1 round on uppercut bag
• 1 round on double-end bag

Overall, 13 rounds. Not great, but not terrible. I continue to recover from the "attack of the pollens" and get to a more regular routine.

Allergies Day 3

Today was a bit better, but I am still not at 100%. I remain hopeful because the forecast calls for a "low" level of tree pollen on Monday, so that should let me get back to a more normal routine. Also, we have our scheduled practice on Monday; that provides a bit more motivation and focus and maybe even enough of a push to get in a workout even if I am feeling less than fully well. I did manage to squeak out 31 minutes of roadwork today, so it was not a total wash.

Another Day of Intense Allergies

Saturday was another day off from training. The allergies are still pretty intense. I am hopeful, however, because all the rain we're having today should clear out a lot of the tree pollen that has been attacking so intensely. Of course, then there will be the mold... It's always something! Oh well, Sunday or Monday, I will definitely be back to my routine.

Allergies Attack!

Today did not go as I had planned it. The allergies came out swinging and were brutal today. They got me to take a standing 8-count today. Not fun. This means no Friday workout. But I will be back...hopefully as soon as Saturday.

Thursday's Easy Day

After some soreness from yesterday's workout, I took it easy today. I did only 24 minutes of roadwork. Tomorrow should be more intense.

Wednesday Training

Today was a good workout day. Here's the breakdown:

• 42 minutes of roadwork
• 6 rounds of shadowboxing
• 8 rounds of work on the pads with Bernard
• 3 rounds on the double-end bag
• 3 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds of situps and other abdominal exercises
• 1 round of stretching

That makes 26 total rounds. I am cranking it up. Today, we had a decent turnout: Mark V., Kevin, Cory, and me. Tim is still in Dallas. I'm hoping a few new guys--Ron, Rich, and Dan--will join us soon.

Bernard had us working on an intense drill on the pads. He has us alternately ducking a left hook, then countering with a hard left hook of our own, then ducking a right hook, and countering with a right hook of our own. It's brutal on the legs but it's an awesome drill for staying focused, staying on balance, and counterpunching. I managed to stay up on my toes pretty well and keep my balance and punch hard with either hand. It will be great if I can use that counterattack against a real opponent. We'll see. Hopefully, I'll get to try it out in sparring on Monday.

A Day of Rest

I am told that our muscles grow on the days we take off from exercising. Therefore, today, I am allowing my muscles to rest and to grow. I'll be back at the gym tomorrow.

Monday's Practice

Had a good practice today.

• 32 minutes of roadwork
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 1 round of footwork drill to practice pivoting on left (lead) foot
• 2 rounds on double-end bag
• 2 rounds on uppercut bag
• 4 rounds on heavy bag
• 7 rounds of work on the pads with Bernard
• 2 rounds of stretching

In total, that's 22 rounds. A decent workout.

At practice were Mark V., Kevin, Andrew, and I. Tim is in Dallas all week, so he won't be back until Monday. I talked to Dan P. and he still wants to join us. I'm going to add Ron P. to our e-mail list because he is interested in joining us for some workouts.

Sunday Roadwork and Shadowboxing

William Shakespeare's birthday today. 30 minutes of roadwork with some shadowboxing mixed in.

Saturday Roadwork

1 hour and 1 minute today. Yeah, I like odd times; they make things more interesting. :-)

Friday's Routine

Again, more roadwork today: 51 minutes.

A Problem and a Possible Solution

Over at BoxingScene.com, Charles Jay has written a fascinating article about the economics of the professional side of our sport. Have a look; it's interesting stuff.

An Easy Thursday

Today I did only 21 minutes roadwork. In the early part of the day, I was a little sore from yesterday, so I decided to take it a bit easier. I'll hit it hard again tomorrow.

Wednesday's Workout

I cranked it up a bit today. Here's the recap.

• 44 minutes of roadwork
• 9 rounds of work on the pads with Bernard
• 2 rounds of stretching
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on heavy bag
• 3 rounds on uppercut bag
• 3 rounds on double-end bag
• 1 round of situps

That's 25 rounds plus the roadwork. Yeah, it feels good.

Tonight Mark V., Kevin, Cory, and Mike B. were there. Tim was not there; I think he had to go to Dallas for work.

Tuesday Roadwork

Today's training was 28 minutes of roadwork; it was an "easy" day.

Today's Training

Our coach, Bernard O'Shea, returned from his vacation in sunny Cancún, Quintana Roo, México today. It's great that Bernard got to take a week off; he deserved the break, IMHO. Since he is back, the Chicago Athletic Association boxing team had its first scheduled practice since April 5. It's great to have him back.

Four of our club's boxers attended the workout: Justin (he's new), Mark V., Kevin, and me.

My workout was decent. Here's the breakdown:

• 28 minutes of roadwork
• 2 rounds of shadowboxing
• 8 rounds of work on the pads with Bernard
• 2 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 3 rounds on the double-end bag
• 1 round of stretching

All in all, not a bad workout. I didn't get to do any sparring, but that's alright. There's always next time.

Welcome to the Lawyer-boxer's Blog!

Welcome to the Lawyer-boxer's Blog! What is this blog, you may ask? This blog belongs to Steve Imparl, a guy who lives in Chicago, who happens to be a lawyer and an amateur boxer.

I created this blog to chronicle my adventures in the Sweet Science and to share links to news and opinion articles, other boxing sites and blogs, and some of my own writing about the "manly art of self-defense."

Therefore, this blog will be more than just a training log, although it will be that, too. I'll offer my perspectives on boxing news and online resources. I hope you'll enjoy the site and come back often.

Thanks for visiting.

Emerald Gloves Report

On Thursday, March 16, 2006, the Chicago Athletic Association Boxing Club held its first annual Emerald Gloves International Boxing Tournament, featuring a team of boxers from the Chicago area competing with a team of boxers visiting from Ireland. I had the opportunity and privilege to box in this event. After a recap of my bout and the event, I'll share some photos of my match.

The event was a great time. I'm still feeling pumped up and in an extraordinarily good mood, a full 3 days after the match. It was a blast. My opponent and good friend, Tim O'Connor, Esq., boxed very well and showed excellent sportsmanship. While the match was a noncompetitive exhibition, Tim and I both worked hard to use good technique and make the match a crowd pleaser. We accomplished that. I know we did because of all the positive comments we got afterward.

The audience especially liked Round 2 because Tim and I really mixed it up in that round. We each landed quite a few good, hard punches and we got lots of applause and cheers. The bout went great and I was surprised at the seemingly endless stream of positive comments I was getting for the rest of the night.

I also got to spend some time with the Irish team; they're really friendly. The guys on the Chicago team were great, too. Most boxers don't fit the negative "thug" stereotype that much of society puts on them. From time to time, one meets someone he doesn't get along very well with, but by and large boxers have been some of the most cool, likeable people I've known.

After the bouts on Thursday, there was plenty of food which was great: traditional Irish cuisine. My club is a combined athletic and social club that goes back to 1890, so we have good dining facilities, an excellent chef, and a bar right onsite! It's neat. I stayed until closing time--midnight--and then headed home. Some of the guys on the Irish team were going out with one of the local boys, but I was wiped out at that point and needed to work on Friday.

Overall, the experience was amazing. It was the first time I had boxed in public since 1997, when I participated in a fundraising event for the DuPage County Bar Association. It was an evening of amateur boxing matches where all the boxers were lawyers. That was a great time, too.

On a related subject, I also had a funny experience on Thursday. One of the doctors who was there giving medical exams was telling me about how our coach and another coach on the South Side are talking about putting together an amateur boxing fundraising event featuring doctors vs. lawyers! (I believe the plan is to raise money for one of the children's medical charities.) The doctor is about my age, size, and level of experience.

The doc asked if I'd be interested in being his opponent if the event happens. I said, "Sure, sign me up." So it was kind of a friendly challenge. We'll see what happens. Could be a fun event for a good cause. Hopefully, I didn't accept the challenge from an endorphin rush-fueled bravado that will get me into trouble here. Hehe! We'll see how it goes and find out soon enough, I guess.

Finally, below are some photos of my boxing match with Tim O'Connor on March 16. I want to thank my buddy and fellow boxer, Jeff Petersen, for telling me that these photographs were already online on Saturday. Thus, I got to see them a few days earlier than I otherwise would have. Thanks, Jeff!

In all the photos, we are wearing protective headgear so it's hard to see our handsome mugs. It's still easy to tell who I am. I am wearing the navy blue T-shirt and the gray shorts. Also, Tim is taller than I am--about 7 inches. That height difference translated into a huge reach advantage that gave me plenty of trouble. Nevertheless, I persevered; when I remembered to get in close and stay in close, near the ropes and the corners, things went well. The center of the ring was not where I wanted to be with a guy who is so much taller than me.

Luckily, my friend Mark MacLeod--a very experienced and talented amateur boxer--was coaching me in the corner and reminded me to keep things simple and focus on scoring with straight punches--double left jab and the ol' one-two--rather than trying to pull off any fancy stuff. That helped immensely. Thanks, Mark!

Enjoy the photos!



Above: I (left) block Tim O'Connor's right and prepare to counter with my right.

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Above: I (right) am on defense here, blocking Tim's left hook.

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Above: I (right) throw my right over Tim's left, as he prepares to block with his right.

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Above: Tim (right) and I (left) both connect with left jabs.

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Above: I am on left, Tim is on right.

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(From left to right): Tim, the referee, Steve, and Christine (Tim's then-fiancee, and now his wife--she presented the trophies to us).

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You can see more photos of my match at this Web page:

http://209.217.230.205/~steveinf/photos/

All photographs on this page were taken by Glenn Faust. Photos Copyright © 2006 by Glenn Faust. All rights reserved. Photos used here by permission of the photographer.

Glenn Faust is available to photograph other events. Please contact him through his site on SmugMug.

There are a lot more photos of this event, showing all the boxers, at the following site:

http://glennfaust.smugmug.com/Sports

About Steve

Background and Education

Steve Imparl is a lifetime resident of Chicago, Illinois, and earned his bachelor's degree and law degree from DePaul University. He has been a Member of the Illinois Bar since 1992. Steve earned his law degree as an evening division student while working full-time as an information technology (IT) analyst and manager. Thus, besides his legal experience, Steve has extensive professional experience in information technology and business. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree, With High Honor, from DePaul University where he was an Arthur J. Schmitt Scholar. Steve did his college preparatory studies at Chicago's Gordon Tech High School, (then an all boys high school) where he graduated in 1981 in the top fifteen students of a graduating class of approximately 550, was named an Illinois State Scholar, ran cross-country, and competed in intramural bowling, basketball, and boxing.

Information Technology Experience

Steve served as an information systems programmer, analyst, and manager at Peoples Energy Corporation, in Chicago, Illinois, from 1985 - 1994. At Peoples Energy, Steve managed teams of professional, management, and executive management employees and independent consultants. He developed one of the first distributed processing applications for payment processing at a North American public utility company. He also successfully managed the company’s largest software development project to provide wireless access to up-to-date customer information hundreds of field personnel making service calls at customers’ residences and businesses.

Law Practice

Steve concentrates his holistic law practice in Internet, e-commerce, and computer law. He also counsels small businesses in other sectors of the economy, and represents them in commercial transactions. Finally, Steve engages in some appellate litigation, in both civil and criminal matters. As an adjunct to his Internet law practice, Steve has been the founder and moderator of an online discussion group called "Web-Law" that focuses on legal issues related to the Internet.

While working as an IT manager at Peoples Energy, Steve served as special legal counsel, advising the corporation on the constitutional issues raised by proposed Illinois legislation that would substantially affect Illinois utility companies. Further, Steve has been a Volunteer Attorney with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS), providing free legal services to indigent clients. In 1995, CVLS recognized Steve by giving him its Distinguished Service Award for his work at CVLS's downtown legal clinic.

Writing and Publications

Steve is the author of a widely accepted book entitled, Internet Law: The Complete Guide, published by Specialty Technical Publishers. Fortune 500 companies, government entities, small businesses, and law libraries across North America use this book.

Steve has also served as a National Reporter for the America Online E-commerce Project. Steve has published articles on Internet and e-commerce issues in Intermountain Contractor, a McGraw-Hill publication for the construction industry. He is a contract author for West Group and is the author of the Revised (2002) Volume 3 of Illinois Civil Practice Forms.

Steve is also writing a book entitled, Four Minds, One Commandment: Loving God, Self, and Neighbor Unconditionally. This book explores the interrelationships among the brahmaviharas (Immeasurable Minds) of Buddhism--lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity—and the Two Great Commandments of Christianity and Judaism—love God with one's whole being, and love one's neighbor as oneself, as merged into Jesus' "new" commandment, "Love one another as I have loved you."

Last, Steve writes short stories, and poetry concentrating on themes of spirituality, personal growth, and contemporary masculinity.

Professional Affiliations

Steve also serves as a member of the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, a group of experts in the Internet and e-commerce industries that provides information and education to the United States Congressional Internet Caucus about technology, public policy, and legislation affecting the Internet. Locally, Steve is or has been a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Technology Executives Club. Steve is also a member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation Cooperating Attorneys List.

MaleDepression.com

Steve is the founder and director of the MaleDepression.com Web site, a comprehensive portal dedicated to the serious--and under diagnosed and under treated--problem of mood disorders in men. MaleDepression.com is a member of the European Men's Health Forum and Men's Health America. Steve has ambitious plans for MaleDepression.com, intending to make it one of the best men's health Web sites in the world.

As a result of his work at MaleDepression.com, Steve has been quoted on WebMD about men and depression, in the San Francisco Chronicle, in the Chicago Tribune, in Newsday, in Third Age, and in Men’s Health magazine. MaleDepression.com has also been mentioned in a special men's health issue of Parade magazine. Steve has also published an article about depression in Newsweek Japan.

Extracurricular Activities and Interests

Steve speaks, reads, and writes French. He also has a wide range of personal interests, including creative writing, classical guitar, music composition, studying foreign languages (French, German, Slovene, and Spanish), Slavic and Balkan history, Historical Jesus studies, mindfulness meditation, stress reduction, travel, dinosaurs, tea, and blogging. Steve is an enthusiast of flight simulation and is a pilot for the UPS Virtual Air Cargo virtual airline.

Steve also enjoys fitness walking, weight lifting, motorcycling, in-line skating, and volleyball, and is an amateur boxer. He is a member of the Chicago Athletic Association (CAA) where he is a member of the boxing team. Steve boxed in the CAA's First Annual Emerald Gloves Tournament.

An enthusiast of barbershop harmony, he sang as a baritone with the New Tradition Chorus, the Northbrook, Illinois chapter of S.P.E.B.Q.S.A., when the Chorus won the Silver Medal in the 1994 International Competition in Pittsburgh.