Boxing Clever

After Swimathon I had no races until May so found myself looking at my dairy and decided I had space in my life to bring something fresh into the mix. I've been inspired by movies like Southpaw and Creed recently, not so much with a view to getting in the ring, but with the style of training that boxers go through. So I decided to add some boxing-style training into my weekly routine.

Why not just concentrate on my running? Well, to be a better trainer, I need to play around with different types of training and while reading around subjects is all well and good, the best way to get under the skin of something is to experience it myself. I'm not ready to take on physique training (yet) but I wanted to see where a boxing training plan will get me to in terms of my fitness and figure.

But then something happened... I saw a blogger friend post about the Ultra White Collar Boxing match she was about to take part in. And the seed was sown. UWCB gives Joe Public the chance to get eight weeks of boxing training for free in return for committing to stepping into the ring to fight in three 2-minute rounds and raise money for charity in the process. What better way to get committed to boxing training than in preparation for a real fight? Dear Reader, I signed up.

June 25th will see me stepping into the ring, complete with entrance music, with another amateur fighter from the group, to fight it out for real. This is so far outside my comfort zone it's almost a dot. I'm nervous as all hell but also really intrigued to see how I cope with the training both physically and mentally. This will be the first contact sport I will have gone in for. I will get hit. I will get hurt. And I'm under no illusions that my Boxercise Instructor training will count for anything.

Each Thursday evening after my PT sessions and Saturday morning instead of parkrun I will be heading to Reading for a training session with the other guys and gals who have signed up as well. In fact that part has already started and I will be sharing more about that in the coming weeks. In addition to these sessions I'm cleaning up my diet and while I won't be giving up running I will be ensuring that I also make yoga or Body Care (at Box Bell Fit) a priority, in addition to some sessions that include a mix of jump rope, shadow boxing, bag work and strength as well as press up and sit up circuits. I have my gloves, wraps and gum shield and am psyching myself up for the hard work ahead.

Let's not forget that this is also in aid of charity, namely Cancer Research UK, and I would be incredibly grateful if you would consider sponsoring me for this match; my Just Giving page is here. You can also come and watch me flail about in the ring if you would like! Tickets are available here (be sure to include my name as the competitor) or you can drop me a line and I can arrange them for you. Wish me luck!