In-Shape or Out of Shape

There are moments in training, where you could early assess certain aspects of your current state. Questions like.. Am I fit? Am I In-shape or Out of shape? Through experience, I am able to learn some facts, that will easily determine whether a person is in-shape or out of shape. We may look ourselves in front of the mirror and see muscles and fat. We all know that more muscles, means more fit. Fats is what keeps anyone out of shape. It is in muscles that burn fats, and it is in fats that shows us we need more exercise. These two, are the determinants of how fit we are. Building Muscles is great, it gives you strength, endurance, and an increased metabolism. This is a permanent way to lay off the fat. Fats, on the other hand, gives you warmth, extra energy, and is useless when not used, and when it keeps building up, it gets worse. Fats make people prone to disease, it is a fact. Cardiovascular Disease, Obesity, Diabetes Mellitus, and a lot more, it keeps rolling. In the event of Industrialization, Food is easily available, making the average Joe into a "Sumo Rikishi". A lot more people are obese and overweight than it is to be normal. The only hopes for healthy lifestyle in the numbers can be found in developing countries like the Philippines. This is not all that is true though, as I once have been overweight. I guess being out of shape can happen to anyone whether in a poor, middle, or rich country they may live. Being out of shape is a problem for anyone. I know the feeling, because I've been there. I wanted to lose weight and almost gave up on anything until I discovered Boxing. Boxing is what saved me from being unhealthy, and out of shape. My tip for anyone who tries to achieve what I have, is to find something physical that you love to do, like sports. If it works for me, it may work for anyone as well. Losing weight doesn't always need to be a painful experience, it can also be fun. Boxing made it fun for me. After losing all that weight, you begin to get in shape, which then gives way to your conditioning. You will be so athletic that you will know a new meaning for being out of shape. It is not about being fat, or anything physical at all. It's about stamina. It's about finding out if you can last longer than what is expected. In my case, it is found in effective punching with appropriate defense in a span of twelve rounds. Through experience, I can interpret how a person is well-conditioned or out of shape through a scenario. A Scenario just like when you find yourself throwing an effective combination may have two possible outcomes; either you get exhausted, which indicates you are out of shape, or you get excited and keep throwing flurries, in this case you are in-shape. To keep yourself at top shape, it is important to have some intense cardiovascular work-out like running, sprinting, or jumping rope. Stamina is key. I've experienced these things, and I know a lot of athletes can agree to me on this. Being out of shape is a term that evolves as you progress in your lifestyle.

Free Gym Session

It was one day before my birthday, that I've decided to take the free session trial of the gym, that gifted me for my birthday. I was spirited, full of hope, and determined. As I reached the place, it did not fail to make me notice, the obvious Chinese-looking signboards, structures, and its people. Apparently, the location of the gym was in the renowned Chinatown district of the city where I live. As I reached the area, I felt hungry, and knowing that it is important to eat before you train, I decided to look for any food with protein available. As I go through the streets of Chinatown, I found vendors selling "Takoyaki", it is a ball-shaped dumpling made with scramble egg, cabbage shreds, carrots, green onions, topped with both mayonnaise and ketchup, sprinkled with some brown powder. I loved "Takoyaki" since I was a kid, and knowing its egg content and some healthy ingredients, I've decided to spend three orders for such, with one order composing of four balls. As I ate, I noticed street childrens along the sidewalk, and then I decided to give them some of the servings of "takoyaki", that I bought. As I felt full, I realized it was high-time that I get into the gym and work out a sweat. I then went to the second floor where gym was located, and was very impressed with the facilities. It was not like a boxing gym at all, but it was a very spacious work out area, where you can feel like working out and relaxing at the same time. I later asked the receptionist if there were boxing sessions available in that time, and she said, that the trainer left already a while ago. I was slightly disappointed, for I brought my pair of 18 oz boxing gloves. After placing my things in a cozy locker room, I decided to hit the cardio, and do some running on the treadmill, I then burned 270 calories, before I settled down into a fancy sofa to rest. Trying to recuperate, I noticed that there was a computer in the lobby, with free internet access. I then posted my progress via Facebook, and people responded well to what I have done. As I began to catch my breath, I then went to the upper level of the gym, and worked out for strength training. Coming into this circumstance, I already thought and planned to work out my lats or the latissimus dorsi, and so, I head to the Pull down exercise machine, in my hopes to improve the muscles, and build those wings. Watching boxing matches, I have always been fascinated with the body built of fighters, especially the latissimus dorsi which looked obvious and pretty solid. Working out this muscle in the gym was important for me, because it is the only device that I lack at home. I can do crunches, reverse crunches, isolation, running, jumping rope, heavy bag work-out and the like at home, but never for the lats. I have thought about a parallel bar for pull-ups as a substitute, but I never have come across it, for I don't have it. Only in the gym, can I work-out my lats. I did a hell amount of work-out focusing on the lats, and later worked out the lower aspect of my abdominal muscles. It was a huge machine, that is supported with some weights for resistance, and metal frames for doing a reverse crunches. It was a great experience to be working on different work-out machines at the time. I had to thank the instructors for helping me out, for it was the first time I worked-out on those types of machines at that time. Feeling the slight bulge and tightening of my muscles, I then decided to take a rest in that same spot on the fancy sofa, and went over a few magazines. As I recovered, I recalled the earlier experience on the treadmill, which I thought was a great. I then decided to go for the treadmill for a second time. Running solo, I was having an intense work-out on the treadmill as I was watching cabled television. I was watching a soccer match which motivated me to run, and made me burn an additional 200 calories. I was work-out crazy at the time, with a concern that I was a little out of shape due to the holiday season. After getting some rest, I head outside the lobby and bought some water. As I walk past the receptionist, she immediately told me that the boxing trainer was upstairs. I was so excited, I can't hardly wait. I rushed upstairs into the boxing area and found the trainer. I asked him if he was able to train me today, and he replied "sure." He helped me with the gloves, which was great, because as I recall, I was the only one helping myself with the gloves through my self-training. It sort of gave me some moral support, in such a simple act. He treated me with some mitt training, starting off with jabs, then complex combinations that I can hardly repeat. I was hitting the mitts on his hand so much that in the middle of my work-out, I began to not focus on the mitts anymore, I was looking at the trainers face, as if his face would be my next target. *chuckles* He stopped, and told me "hit the mitts, okay" as if concerned that I would hit him in the face. *LOL* It was hilarious, but I never had the time to laugh, only after I realized how funny it was. While the trainer was training me, he told me in Cebuano dialect, "kusog man lagi ka manumbag." which is translated to English as "You really hit hard." I told him "Yeah." He asked me, "Who was your trainer?", and I told him that I learned boxing on my own, that I have been watching boxing matches every single day possible. Soft spoken, He praised my power and was skeptic about the notion, that I was not trained by a trainer in the past. He gave me some weird combinations that I never trained in the past, like the double right cross. I had it easy with the jab, but a double cross made me feel awkward. I couldn't hit it as stronger as I have wanted it. As long as I keep learning, I'm all for that. If Roy Jones Jr. and Manny Pacquiao can do it, so can I. If they used it and become great, so will I be using it, and become great. These were the mindset that played to me when I was training. The trainer gave me repeated combinations, over and over, not to mention the fact, that I have been running on the treadmill for too long. I wanted to go on, but my body seemed to have reached its limit, and so I told the trainer that I have had enough. In the end of all that training, I was worried and asked him, "what else do I need to improve?" He told me that everything was good, and told me I need more stamina. As I removed the gloves, my hands were noticeably shaking tremendously, as I had a hard time writing a signature for the concluded session. It almost looked like "Parkinson's", but I knew it was all adrenaline. Retiring to the locker room, I joined some people in the sauna. (After a few days, my skin got so much better.) I showered, packed my things, and left. It was one heck of a training session that I will never forget.

Training

To some people, workouts are absolutely a waste of time. Through my experience, I can say that training will be a waste of time if you're doing it wrong or you do not like the training. Training will be only effective once it is continued. Doing it once at a time is the real waste. That is my opinion at least. Doing it everyday makes your muscles stronger and makes your body at best condition. It is important also to not overdo, as our body always has its limitation. If you are just starting, do not put yourself in the most extreme workout immediately. Start with the basics and don't forget to stretch. In the past, there was a point where I started doing ab crunches. Doing 100 at least was absolutely painful, just to wake up with muscle pain the next day. I just pushed forward, and now, I am capable of doing 1000 crunches in one training per day. Muscle pain is no problem after your muscles will get used to the work. So it is better to start small and bigger days will come. It is also important to keep yourself motivated every time you train. Think of the results. It is important to know the muscle group you want to work on. Proper execution is also essential for effective workout. Don't forget to drink water. Water promotes metabolism and helps burn fat. Do not be excited on the results, it will happen after a month of training. Furthermore, training is healthy so as early as now, start working those muscles.