Thursday Morning Training

Today's gym session was a great start to my day. Chad was there, cheerfully putting one of the members through an intense workout. I trained on my own. Due to my need to do some errands and get to an appointment by 10:30 a.m., the workout was a bit shorter than I would have liked, but it still got me focused and feeling great for the rest of the day. Here's the breakdown.

• 55 minutes of roadwork (this was after the gym session, later in the day)
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 4 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds of stretching
• 1 rounds of abs work

Not a bad workout, just a little short on time. I'm glad I have been doing more stretching and emphasizing flexibility. That's going well and I'm already noticing less post-workout soreness. In the comments to this previous blog entry, fellow boxers Robert and Marc agreed about the importance of flexibility. With their encouragement, as well as that of my local friend, Mark, I can't go wrong.

Monday's Training Update

Over the last two weeks, I have been to the gym a few times and had several roadwork sessions that lasted for an hour or more. I don't try to log all my training here, but I like to mention some of the workouts. Doing that helps me stay motivated and allows me to post about some other topics related to boxing. Also, my blogging here has been sparse because work has been very busy--unusually busy for July. Of course, being self-employed, that's a pretty good "problem" to have. I've been networking like a madman and have been hustling to get some new clients for my law practice. I'm also pursuing a few more writing gigs, so yeah, it has been a busy, and unusually productive, summer so far.

Here's today's training breakdown.

• 32 minutes of roadwork
• 4 rounds of shadowboxing
• 4 rounds on the heavy bag
• 4 rounds on the double-end bag
• 4 rounds of stretching
• 1 round of sit-ups and crunches

I did more stretching today than I had been doing because I want to focus more on flexibility. Over the weekend, I was talking with my buddy, Mark, about the challenges of the, ahem, "aging athlete," particularly in the area of preventing injuries. (Mark's a southpaw, pretty much ambidextrous as a boxer, and a fellow forty-something guy, so I am looking forward to sparring with him when his ankle heals.)

Flexibility is the component of fitness that seems to be overlooked most frequently. That's a shame because it's easy to practice and maintain and is a huge help for staying healthy and relatively injury-free. As long as I live, I want to remain committed to health and fitness. Of course, I don't know how long that will be. But there's a lot of longevity in my family and if I'm going to be on the planet until I'm 85 or 90 years old, I want to be healthy and fit for it.