El Boxeo

I realized that it has been a while since I typed to you about boxing.  I missed the last 1 1/2 weeks of classes due to work related stuff and weddings etc.  Yesterday I returned and promptly paid the price.  It's amazing how a week and a half of not working out and indulging a bit will kill your progress. 

We started off with some light jogging.  Well, not light in the true sense of the word.  We ran for 10 minutes, but with 5lb weights in our hands.  30 seconds with regular arm motion, 30 seconds with our arms extended in front of us, elbows locked and 30 seconds with our arms hoisted above our heads, once again, elbows locked. 

This left me a bit winded.  Then it was time to shadow box.  3 minute rounds of furious punching, breaks of one minute, we did this 3 times.  Shadowboxing is really hard.  Common wisdom claims that you spend more energy when you punch and miss than when you land a punch, and I believe this.  Shadowboxing is nothing but missing punches if you think about it.

We then did "one-two's".  That's when you square up with a partner and tap gloves at a furious speed (left right left right left right etc etc).  Hence the term.  You do this for four two minute rounds with a one minute break.

Then it was time for the slap games.  We pair up and stay on the balls of our feet hand in gloves at our hips and we try to throw a haymaker slap to the persons shoulder.....and sometimes face if its ok with both of you.  Ordinarily I'm cool with face contact, but I have my Pittsburgh audition Thursday and I have to look at pretty as possible.  We did this for 3 rounds of 2  minutes.  When the shoulder slap was over we took off our gloves and kept on our hand wraps and did the slap game with the inside of each others knees.  It looked like a lame version of the Kumatai from "Bloodsport". 

After this, it was time for conditioning.  We would take 5 lb weights and punch as fast as we can doing the 1-2-1-2-1-2 etc for a minute straight then do "down thrusts".  Normally, something with that name is pretty appealing, but not this time.  You fall down to all fours like you are doing a push up and thrust your knees up to your chest and leap up with your hands in the air and land on two feet and repeat.  We would punch for 60 seconds, down thrust for another 60 and rest for 30.  We did this 4 times.

I then went home, showered and passed out to the Jets and Giants game.