Ultimate Kickboxing: Kickboxing, fitness and nutrition in New Barnet, North London

10 Things to do with a Medicine Ball

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 06:00:00 +0000

We've recently added medicine balls to our equipment at the dojo; they are fantastic for building core strength and stability, and building strength. As we've started running open sessions for adults who would like to train independently, we thought we'd give you some ideas of how you can add this equipment into your workout.

Chops
This is essentially using the medicine ball the same way that you'd use a kettlebell. Stand with your feet slightly further than shoulder width apart, and hold the ball with both hands, with your arms straight and the ball at chest height. Lower the ball and bend your knees at the same time so that you end up in squat position with the ball slightly further back than your feet. Then bring the ball back to chest height while straightening your legs. Repeat.

Diagonal Chops
The same as chops, but instead of moving from the chest to between your legs, you move the ball from just above your right shoulder to just outside your left knee (and vice versa). This is great for your obliques.

Figure Eights
Begin with your feet shoulder-width apart and the ball at ear-height on your right. Bring the ball in an arch over your head and to your left, then down diagonally towards your right knee, and arch down to your left knee and up to your right ear again. Ensure that it's a smooth motion, and that the ball goes on the outside of your knees.

Circles
Like the figure eights, but instead of crossing over, you move in a circle.

Single Leg Chops
Like the chops detailed above, but standing on one leg. Make sure to alternate legs to get a balanced workout.

Squats
Stand with your feet slightly further than shoulder-width apart and the ball at chest height, with your arms straight. Squat down - make sure that you keep your back straight, face forwards and keep your shins upright (as if you're sitting down on a chair). Once you've reached a 90 degree angle, start moving back up. Don't lock your knees out when you straighten your legs.

Squat Throw
Same as squat, but instead of keeping the ball at the chest-height, throw the ball up above your head when you bend your legs and catch it at the bottom. Keep your arms above your head when catching, and don't throw it too high up! Return to chest height as you straighten your legs.

Lunges
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with the ball at chest height (with your arms straight). Step one foot forwards and bend that leg until your knee is at 90 degrees, with your back foot facing forwards and knee moving towards the floor (don't actually rest it on the floor). As you're bending your knee, raise the ball above your head until your arms are straight up above your head. Reverse the movement to go back to start position, and repeat on the other leg.

Medicine Ball Push Up
Get into push up position with both hands resting on the medicine ball. Keep both hands on the medicine ball and bend your arms to lower yourself towards the ground as far as you can go. Hold there for a breath and exhale as you straighten your arms again. Ensure that it's a smooth, controlled movement. If this is your first time, you may want to keep your feet slightly further apart than usual for stability.

Two-Arm Wall Pass
Stand in front of the wall, about an arm's length away. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and begin by holding the ball behind your head with both hands. Raise the ball over your head and forwards until it is against the wall, and move back behind your head. As always, ensure it's a smooth and controlled movement, and that your heels stay on the floor throughout the movement.

Thanks to Sean Walsh for the image.

10 Minute Workout

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:00:00 +0000

As with every quick workout, ensure that you stretch and warm up properly to avoid injuries.

Bounding (1 minute)
Used by Usain Bolt, this exercise is fantastic for building leg strength. It's essentially a slowed-down version of running; begin by squatting. Jump forward as far as you can and only land on one leg, and ensure that leg stays bent. Once you're balanced on that foot, bound forwards and land on the opposite leg and keep it bent. Run forwards like this for one minute.

Single-leg Side Pank (2 minutes)
Lie on your side with your hips and feet stacked. Raise yourself onto one hand, and ensure that your arm and body are perfectly straight. Raise your upper arm up straight towards the ceiling and then raise your upper leg (keeping it straight) so that your foot touches the hand in the air. Make sure that you don't twist your torso. Move your leg back down and repeat.

Perform the exercise for 1 minute on each side.

Walking Lunges (2 minutes)
Step forward with your right foot into a lunge position (with your right knee behind your right foot, back straight, toes pointing straight ahead). Then step forwards with your left foot so that you're in the lunge position with your left leg in front. The aim of this exercise is to walk without letting your legs straighten out (therefore performing lunges). When you take a step forwards, make sure that you're bending both knees and that your knee is pointing towards your big toe. Don't let your knees extend beyond your feet.

Rotating Push Ups (30)
Get into the standard push up position and bend your arms until your chest and nose are as close to the floor as you can get them, while keeping your body straight, and then push up (completing a standard push up). While you're up in push up position, extend one hand out to your side and then twist so that it is pointing up at the ceiling, while still at a 90 degree angle from your body. Once you've done that, resume press up position and repeat on the other side. Repeat 30 times in 3 sets of 10.

Tuck Jumps (30)
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hands by your sides. Jump up, tucking your knees up as close to your chest as possible. Repeat 30 times in 3 sets of 10.

Bounding (1 minute)
Repeat this exercise to finish your workout.

5 Ways to Get Out of a Frontal Strangle Hold

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:00:00 +0000

This can seem fairly difficult to get out of - largely because people start to panic when somebody has their hands clasped around their neck and start doing incredibly ineffective things like trying to pull their hand off by grabbing onto the attacker's forearm. There are a lot of fairly simply ways to get out of a frontal strangehold that don't require a massive amount of training or strength.

1) Arm over
Lift a straight arm up and over your attacker's arm (so that their arm ends up in your arm pit). To do that, you'll have to turn a little, and force their arm downwards in the process. Continue forcing their arm down until they have to let go - you'll have your bodyweight behind this manoeuvre so it doesn't require you to be stronger than your attacker. Your natural position at the end of this technique will lend itself to a backfist or knifehand strike.

2) Strike to temple
Just because you're not in a dominant position doesn't mean you should stop attacking - in fact, that's one of the worst things you could do. Make a fist, but instead of curling the thumb over your index and middle finger, bend it so that the knuckle of the thumb sticks out of the side of your fist, and the end of the thumb touches the first knuckle of your index finger. Use that thumb knuckle to strike your attacker in the temple - hard. It's generally best to do this with a straight arm (and you'll probably have to to reach).

3) Strike to inside of elbow
Joints are always a good weakpoint to aim for in a self-defense situaton - whether you want to bend them the wrong way to break, or minimise your attacker's reach advantage in a frontal strangle. It's is particularly effective if you can't reach to do a temple strike or eye gouge. If their arm is outstretched, simple use a ridgehand to strike to the elbow, forcing it to bend. A natural follow-on from this technique is to twist to the side slightly and then use a knife-hand strike to the throat.

4) Drop and strike to knees
Another technique that goes for joints. Hold onto your attacker's wrists with both hands, and drop down. Use a low front kick to strike at your attacker's knee - go for the inside of the knee, right on the joint, and hit hard.

5) Eye gouge
Attacking eyes is one of those techniques that will work on pretty much anybody - protecting the eyes is a natural reaction, and an attack evokes the same sort of panic as a choke. Use a spear-hand to strike at the eyes - it doesn't need to be particularly hard to be effective, but it helps.

There are a myriad of other techniques you can use - jamming your keys into your attacker's wrist if they're handy, pinching them hard in the armpit or striking to the armpit, kicking to the groin etc. Which is these techniques works best will really depend on your situation - if your attacker has a longer reach than you, then 2 and 5 are not options. If there are a number of attackers, you may not want to use 4 as you will end up on the floor.

3 Common Kickboxing Mistakes

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:00:00 +0000

It takes a long time and a lot of practice to learn to control every part of your body, and use it in a way that is condusive to hard, accurate strikes. While beginners come in with varying physical fitness and experience in martial arts, there are a number of common errors that most beginners make due to inexperience. These are usually quite easy to correct and don't worry - eventually they will come naturally to you!

Striking with the wrong part of the body
This seems to be particularly prevalent with roundhouse kicks - a lot of beginners (especially juniors) tend to kick with the inside of the foot rather than the top, which makes it awkward, risks knee and hip injury and means you can't hit as hard. One of the worst things you can do during a kick is striking with your toes instead of the proper part of your foot - they break very easily.

When you're practicing these techniques, just run through them slowly a few times to get your body used to the correct movements and how you need to lean back to balance, or turn your hip slightly to get your foot into the right position. Your Sensei will always tell you which part of the foot or hand to strike with.

Lowering your guard
Your guard is there to protect you - use it! A lot of beginners (and sometimes more advanced grades) forget to guard their chin - particularly when you have to move the other hand to guard it during strikes from the back arm. One of the easiest ways to knock somebody out is a decent hit to the chin - in a competition, the fight's over. In a streetfight, you don't know what will or won't happen once you're unconscious - just make sure nobody manages to knock you out.

A lot of beginners also forget to protect their ribs during kicks - just because you are striking, it doesn't mean you can't be hit. Protect yourself at all times.

Not using the whole body
You don't just punch with your arm - it would be practically impossible to get a decent amount of force into a punch if you did. You move your body weight, you turn your hips, you push your shoulders into it. A punch actually involves your entire body. Kicks and knee-strikes are the same - you need to push your hips through to extend fully. It can take a while to get used to it.

Breathing: How To

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 18 May 2011 06:30:00 +0000

It's something that's reiterated in the dojo over and over again, and something that's essential to your existence. It seems strange that something so basic can be done wrong. In martial arts, correct breathing is the difference between being winded and not being able to continue fighting, and just having a punch bounce off. In self-defense, not breathing correctly can result in serious injury.

Breathing is something that beginners need to actively control when they are practicing - correct breathing will come naturally to advanced grades who have practised properly during training sessions.

How to breathe
You should breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Ensure that you are not simply breathing with your 'upper lungs' - you need to breathe as deeply as you can to get as much air as possible into your lungs. Ensure that your stomach is moving in and out when you are breathing, and that your ribs move up with you inhale and back down then you exhale. Pay attention to these movements and ensure you are doing this with every breath.

When to breathe
In order to maintain rhythm and ensure that your entire body is united when expressing a technique, you need to exhale when striking. Vocalisations help with this, as you need to exhale sharply to make a noise when striking.

You should apply this concept to all aspects of your training; exhale when performing the harder part of each exercise (i.e. the upwards motion on a push up or squat). This will get your body used to inhaling and exhaling at the right times, and will ensure healthy blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen transfer when exercising or fighting.

Effects of not breathing correctly
Taking a punch to the stomach can wind you if you are not breathing correctly. However, you can seriously injure yourself even if you have not been hit. If people have weak cardiovascular or respiratory systems, and frequently hold their breathe while contracting their abs and diaphragm or exhale sharply while constricting the glottis, they can induce black outs or even strokes. In order to perform techiques safely and effectively, it's essential that you learn to control your breathing.

Thanks to Chi Liu for the image.

Get More Out of Your Workouts: Perfect Your Technique

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 11 May 2011 06:30:00 +0000

A lot of people miss out on getting the full value from their exercises because of their form - a few simple changes to how your do your exercises can increase muscle growth and strength.

Squats

A mistake that a lot of people make is trying to bend their legs to crouch down. Instead, try to imagine sitting down on a chair - keep your shins as vertical as possible, and counter the imbalance by leaning your upper body forwards, but keep your body straight and your abs engaged throughout the exercise. When you come up. pop your hips forwards to complete the exercise. Look straight ahead throughout the exercise.

Lunges

A lot of people transfer the idea of squats and leaning forward to lunges, which is a mistake. Keep your front heel down, and do not lean your body forwards over your knee. You should not be able to see your front foot. Keep your body straight and vertical, and your abs engaged. Try not to rest your hands on your thigh, and look ahead throughout the exercise. The motion of the back leg should be a controlled bend, not just sagging down.

Push Ups
Instead of simply concentrating in moving up and down, you can improve this exercise by adding a little push to the end to increase the shoulder and back workout. After you've bent your arms, and when you've straightened them back out, try to push your upper back towards the ceiling a little more. Ensure that it is a slow and controlled push. So the movment is not simply up-down, it is up-push further up-down.

For more ways to make your exercise more effective, check out 5 virtually instant ways to improve you workout.

Thank you to Yelkaim for the image.

Photos from ECKA Full Contact Fight Night

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Sun, 08 May 2011 18:16:00 +0000

There were some fantastic fights at Fight Night on 7th May - spectators were treated to a mixture of ECKA kickboxing, MMA, K1 and boxing, as well as a capoiera demonstration during the interval. A massive congratulations to our sister school in Enfield, who now has their first female full contact champion!

One simple trick to staying on your diet

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Fri, 06 May 2011 06:30:00 +0000

It's week 4 of the diet, and both I and Jim are probably going to extend it further as it's going so well. I'm in the process of writing an ebook with plenty of recipes and tips on how to follow the diet. If there's one tip I had to give for staying on diets, it would be this: buy your food online.

Meal planning
To ensure that I didn't get sick to death of the food, and that I wasn't constantly nipping to the supermarket, I've had to plan meals for the entire week - shopping online really helps get everything together quickly and easily, and I can look up recipes depending on what was on offer there that week, which also helps with budgeting. Meal planning is a pretty integral part of sticking to any diet - if you fail to do this, you may well end up having to rely on takeaways or grabbing a bite to eat from the local cornershop (which isn't going to stock fresh sandwiches and fruit).

Resisting temptation
This is the biggest reason I tried not to venture into supermarkets this month; it's all to easy to accidentally wander into the biscuit section, or the bakery, or see the offers on the end of the aisles and just 'accidentally' buying it. It sounds odd. but I manage to get a lot of confectionary without meaning to if I'm not concentrating (damn that sweet tooth!). Without the temptation of BOGOF offers, the smell of freshly-baked croissants and the lure of the chocolate section, keeping healthy is a lot easier.

Budgeting
Cutting out additives, simple carbs and adding in more lean meat, fish and fresh fruit/veg/nuts is surprisingly expensive. Online shopping just helps to keep an eye on the price for the weekly shop without having to put too much effort into it.

Thanks to Phenuncle for the image

Stretching

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 04 May 2011 06:30:00 +0000

Stretching is an incredibly important part of exercise, and something that you should do regularly throughout your life as it helps minimise muscle tightening and restricted range of movement as you age. Stretching not only increases your flexibility and reduces the risk of injury - it also reduces muscle tension, helps circulation and increases energy levels.

Always warm up and stretch before undertaking any exercise, but it's also a good idea to stretch regularly even if you are not exercising. You naturally get the urge to stretch in mornings or when you're tired - why not simply do a range of stretches that work your entire body, instead of just your spine?

How to stretch safely

Do not bounce in your stretch
Make sure that increasing your stretch is a gradual movement
Take breaks between stretches; do one stretch, then move to another, and go back to the original one again. You should be able to stretch further than the first time you did the exercise.
Exhale when pushing further into the stretch
A stretching/burning pain in your muscles is ok, but if you start getting a sharp pain or any pain around your joints, stop immediately
Don't force your body to go too far - stretching involves pushing your body a little bit each day. Do not get frustrated and end up injuring yourself.

Different stretches

This diagram shows a range of stretches for your whole body.

1) Chest: Clasp your hands behind your back and hold them to pull your chest apart. Raise your hands up (still clasped) as far as you can.
2) Upper back: Clasp your hands on front of you and keep your arms straight, raise your hands up to chest height and pull your shoulder blades apart.
3) Triceps: bend one arm and put it down the middle of your back. Either push near the elbow (not on) with the other arm, or bring it up the back and try to join your hands.
4) Calves: Stand in the lunge position - instead of bending the back leg, keep it straight with the heel on the floor.
5) Hamstring: Either lie on your back with your legs bend, and raise and straighten one leg, pulling it towards your chest with your arms (keeping it straight), or stay standing and put one straight leg on a chair (heel on the chair) and push down a little).
6) Quads: Stand up and bend one leg - using your hands, pull it up and towards your body. Keep your knees together.If you have balance problems, you can do this lying down.
7) Outer thigh: Lie on your back, with both legs bent and in the air. Cross your legs over, using the upper leg to push the lower leg to the opposite side.
8) Inner thigh: Stand with your legs just over shoulder-width apart. Bring your bodyweight over one foot by bending the leg, which stretches the opposite thigh.
9) Inner thighs: Lie on your back, bend your legs and bring your feet together, letting your legs fall apart. You may want to push a little near your knees (not on)
10) Lower back: Either lie on your back with your legs bent and let your lets fall to one side, and keep your shoulders flat on the floor and point your hands in the opposite direction to your legs, or lie on your back, bend your legs and clasp your hands behind your legs (you can do this with both legs together, or one by one).
11) Torso and quads: Sit up straight with your legs out straight in front of you. Bend one leg and bring it over the other. Look over the other shoulder, and use the opposite arm to the leg push it further across.

Make sure that you stretch both sides equally, and do not push on joints.

Do you have any other stretches that you do regularly?

Photos from the ECKA Tipton Open Tournament

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:54:00 +0000

A huge congratulations to Isabella, Sezer and Archi, who took home first, second and third places in light and semi-contact fights this weekend.

Here are some photos of the action:

Great Ways to Get More Fruit in Your Diet

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Which fruits should I eat more of?

Apples and bananas are generally the most popular fruit - they're easy to eat, easy (and cheap) to buy and are generally fairly convenient. However, there are other fruits that are more easily incorporated into different parts of your diet, and more beneficial for you.

Melon, grapes or citrus fruits are great to blend into salads, or go nicely as a dessert, whereas fairly starchy or solid fruits are really better eaten on their own or with nuts to ensure that you digest them properly.

Some fruits are very well known for their antioxidant properties, such as blueberries, plums, kiwis, apricots and strawberries. Some of these need to be in season to ensure that you get the full nutritional and flavour benefits from them, so look out for them when they are! Strawberries are just so much sweeter when you get them at the right time of year.

When should I eat it?

As already mentioned, it's really best to eat fruits when they're in season. It varies your diet and ensures that you're eating foods when it's natural for you to do so. It also lessens the environmental impact of your diet, and ensures you're getting the most nutrients from them. Here's some info on a few of the fruits' seasons:

January: Apples, pears
February: Apples, pears
March: Pears, rhubarb
April: Rhubarb, strawberries
May: Rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries
June: Blackcurrant, blueberry, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, tayberries
July: Blackcurrants, blueberry, gooseberries, cherries, loganberries, pears, plums, raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries, white currants, tayberries
August: Blackcurrants, blackberries, cherries, elderberries, grapes, gooseberries, figs, mulberries, loganberries, peach, pears, plums, raspberries, redcurrants, rosehip, strawberries, tayberries
September: Apple, blackberries, blackcurrants, damson elderberries, figs, grapes, peach, pears, plums, raspberries, rosehip
October: Apple, blackcurrants, pears, plums
November: Apple, quince, pears
December: Apple, pears

Some ideas to get more fruit in your diet

Munching on fresh fruit is refreshing, but it can get a little tedious if that's what you predominantly snack on. Here are some ideas to get more fruit into your diet without having to eat piles of it by itself:

Apple pies (wonderful in winter, when they're in season)
On or in pancakes (banana and blueberry are particularly good for this - try wholemeal pancakes to make them healthier)
In salads (apples and plums are wonderful in leavy salads - or add walnuts and lettuce to apple to make a waldorf salad)
Baked into granola bars (make your own to regulate the sugar content, and put in as much fruit as you like!)
Add melon to cured meats for some extra protein and a wonderful starter - melon and parma ham is a classic for a reason!
Teas (swap your usual black tea for a lovely fruit tea, and use honey to sweeten)
Smoothies

50 Reasons Why Kickboxing is Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

You get to hit things - lets just call that stress relieving
The satisfaction you get from knowing you have a perfect spinning hook kick - and the look on your friends' faces when you show them
Kickboxing helps you sleep
Kickboxing helps your immune system function better
Kickboxing improves your appearance
Kickboxing helps you relax
Kickboxing reduces the risk of developing hypertension
Kickboxing reduces your anxiety levels
Kickboxing teaches you how to defend yourself
It helps overcome jetlag
It lowers your resting heart rate
It increases you anaerobic threshold (allows you to work or exercise for longer at a higher level before a lot of lactic acid builds up)
It helps to preserve lean body tissue
Kickboxing improves posture
Kickboxing helps you maintain your resting metabolic rate
It expands blood plasma volume
It boosts your energy levels
Kickboxing increases the supply of blood to the skin for cooling
It burns excess calories, and lets you eat more while maintaining a stable weight
It improves circulation in general
Kickboxing improves your reaction speeds
Kickboxing improves your mental alertness
It improves your discipline and self-esteem
It makes you more flexible
It improves your balance and coordination
It helps you lose weight - and keep it off (unlike dieting alone)
Kickboxing relieves the pain of tension headaches - possibly the most common type of headache
Kickboxing increases the density and breaking strength of your bones
It increases the circulating levels of HDL (good) cholesterol
It improves short-term memory
It reduces vulnerability to cardian dysrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms)
It reduces circulating levels of triglyderides
It beats watching reruns on Dave (and it's better for you)
It gives you more energy in day-to-day life
It increases the density and breaking strengths of ligaments and tendons
It increases your level of muscle endurance
Kickboxing helps to alleviate depression
Kickboxing increases your maximal oxygen uptake
Kickboxing teaches you to breathe properly when exercising
It expands blood plasma volume
It balances out the strength in your upper and lower body
It improves respiratory muscle strength and endurance
It reduces your risk of developing various diseases - from common colds to type II diabetes and coronary thrombosis
It improves skin tone
It improves your body's ability to use fat for energy during physical activity, so it's easier to shed fat
It improves your pain tolerance
It increases your overall health awareness
It improves heat and cold tolerances
It increases the diffusion capacity of your lungs, improcing the exchange of oxygen into the bloodstream
Kickboxing improves your overall quality of life

Thanks to truebluetitan for the image.

4 Pancake Recipes: I Can't Think of a Better Way to Start the Day

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:52:00 +0000

I adore pancakes - they put me in a fantastic mood for the day and they're incredibly versatile. I also think that they're pretty underrated as a reasonably healthy breakfast; granted, pancakes covered with maple syrup with bleached white flour aren't very healthy, adding bananas, cottage cheese and wholegrain spelt flour to recipes decreases the calories while increasing the protein and vitamin content, making them a healthier, filling breakfast. You don't even need to make them from scratch in the morning - just mix everything together the night before and leave it in the fridge.

For this post, I've just listed ingredients for each recipe, as the combination and cooking is the same for all of them (and I'm sure you know how to make pancakes!)

Banana Pancakes
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 mashed banana
1 knob of butter
pinch of salt
honey

Spelt Pancakes
1 cup whole spelt flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbs melted butter
1 ts vanilla extract
1ts baking powder
honey

Cottage Cheese Pancakes (these taste way better than they sound)
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
1 cup flour (may need to add more later)
pinch of salt
2 tbs melted butter

Blueberry Pancakes
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
handful of blueberries
1 knob of butter
pinch of salt
honey

Why not try adding slices of apple while you're cooking them, or frozen mixed berries? I haven't added sugar to any of the recipes as the banana or blueberry will make the pancakes sweet, and you can add honey to taste. The cottage cheese pancakes are savoury, as are the spelt ones (although they also taste great with yoghurt).

Thanks to ChannahG for the image.

Exercise Helps You Regenerate Brain Cells!

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

The Cell Transplantation Journal recently published a study that shows that brain cells do in fact regrow! Despite past claims (mostly up to the 60's), researchers in Hong Kong have found that brain cell regeneration does happen, and it plays a key part in reducing stress. They're also found that exercise is the key factor in brain cell regeneration (neurogenesis) - in fact, it activates the process.

Dr Kwok-Fai from Hong Kong said "Research has shown that exercise can improve mood and cognition and has also demonstrated that a deficit in adult neurogenesis may result in depressive disorders." His team's research looked at exercise as a means of combating stress and the idea that exercise promotes neurogenesis.

The effect of stress and depression on the brain is astounding; in severe cases, it impacts part of the brain called the hippocampus (part of the brain that is involved in memory and emotional regulation). It can actually go as far as shrinking that part of the brain, eliminating the possibility of brain cell regeneration.

Regular exercise helps the hippocampus mend damaged brain cells and grow neurons by maintaining 'plasticity' - the new neurons tend to enhance mood, maternal behaviour and reproductive function.

This study reinforces the message that exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle - both physically, and mentally.

Thanks to Liz Henry for the image.

Bananas 4 Ways

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Bananas have a lot of health benefits - they're high in fiber and potassium, fructooligosaccharide (a compound that nourishes 'good' bacteria in the digestive system), as well as vitamins such as B6 and B12. They're also low in sodium, and can help reduce your blood pressure, treat heartburn and are even said to help reduce morning sickness. Here are 4 ways so serve bananas so you can get more of their benefits, while varying your mealtimes.

Banana Porridge
A favourite of bodybuilders and children, this porridge is slightly sweeter than the plain stuff, without adding artificial sugars. Just mash up a banana with a fork and add the oats and milk to it and mix, then cook. Very quick, and contains around 12g of protein.

Banana Bread
Absolutely delicious! Try it with fruit and yoghurt with your tea. This is my favourite recipe:
125g butter
175g muscovado sugar (or any soft, unrefined brown sugar)
2 eggs
270g self-raising flour
salt
120ml milk
3 bananas (ripe)
splash of vanilla extract
any nuts you'd like to add

Preheat the oven to 180C, then just blend together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs, then the flour and the milk. Finally add the bananas (mashed) and nuts. Pop it in the oven for about an hour and you're done!

Healthy Banana Split
Instead of using ice cream, try frozen yoghurt. Add a sprinkling of nuts for yet more protein and you have a great pudding.

Boozy Banana (not really that healthy, but everyone deserves a treat now and then)
Definitely one for the adults, and just as quick as the banana porridge. Put a few tablespoons of caster sugar on a hot frying pan and stir it until it begins to caramelise. Add a splash of Amaretto, and slice the banana down the middle. Put the banana on the frying pan and move around a little to ensure that it gets covered in plenty of Amaretto and sugar. Don't cook for any more than a minute and a half, and eat immediately.

Thanks to Luis Condessa for the image.

5 Virtually Instant Ways to Improve Your Work Out

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Very few people get the most out of the workouts - it only takes a few minor adjustments to how you train, and how you follow up your training to ensure that you are maximising the benefits of your work outs sessions, and that you are taking good care of your body.

1) Breathe Properly
Don't hold your breath while you're working out - to get the most out of your exercises take full breaths and breathe out when exerting (or hitting), and breathe in on the release. Learn to take full, complete breaths (by breathing from the diaphragm rather than just the top of your chest). This will help you to get the most oxygen possible to your muscles, and will improve your performance. Sensei Jim will tell you exhale when you are hitting, and will show you how to breathe properly when training - we'll be posting more on this subject soon.

2) Lose the Shoes
There are quite a few reasons we train barefoot in the dojo, and it can help you when working out in the gym/at home too. Removing your shoes creates more instability, which challenges the muscles in your feet and legs more, making you burn more calories during your work out. This can also increase your range of motion.

3) Add to Your Range of Motion
This makes each exercise harder, so that you gain more from every push up, sit up, dorsal raise, tricep dip... If sit ups don't challenge you enough, slip a folded towel under the small of your back to increase the range of motion. If push ups are getting easy, raise your hands off the floor so that you can dip lower with each one. There aren't many exercises that you can't 'improve' this way - you need to constantly push and challenge yourself if you want to continue to improve.

4) Don't Let Yourself Stay in Your Comfort Zone
Most people are guilty of doing this at least once - instead of pushing further and harder, it's easy to just do what you know you can and let your fitness plateau. Don't let yourself stay in your comfort zone! I'll take push ups for example - you can make them harder by pressing your elbows tight against the body, by moving your hands closer to the middle, by doing them on one hand, by jumping up and clapping between push ups. There is no reason to let yourself do exercises that you no longer find challenging - it's counterproductive, and will often mean that you'll start getting bored because it's too easy. Always go a little out of your comfort zone - a harder push up, a higher kick, a stretch that goes a little further than last time - and you will always improve.

5) Eat Properly Before and After Your Work Out
Paying close attention to your pre and post work out meals will help you achieve your body and fitness goals faster - whether you want to lose weight, add muscle or build strength. Ideally, you should eat quality carbs within 30 mins of your workout, and protein no later than 90 mins afterwards. The recommended carb to protein ratio for post workout meals is 4:1. Chicken, fish, egg whites, bananas, yoghurt are all good additions to a post workout meal or snack. The next blog post will look at 4 ways you can add bananas to a snack or meal!

Thanks to SkinnyGuyWorkoutPlan for the image.

Eating: You're Doing It Backwards

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

So you're going to drive somewhere, and you need to fill the car up. Do you put in 5 litres, then another 10 and then add another 30 when you're nearer the end of the trip, or do you fill up the tank straight away and go? Stupid question, but we don't seem to fuel our bodies the same way. Because of jobs, late nights (and mornings), alarm clocks, the time it takes to cook and quite a few other factors, in the west we tend to eat a tiny (and nutritionally useless) breakfast, a medium lunch and then a comparatively huge dinner, right before we settling down for the night and spend 6-9 hours sleeping.

Good News - You Need a Bigger Breakfast
To eat heathily, and fuel our bodies when they need it, rather than when it's convenient, we need to balance the size of our meals; we need to increase the size and nutritional content of our breakfasts, have better lunches and actually decrease the size of our dinners so that we're not trying to digest them when we're about to go to sleep. Remember that it's also the nutritional content of the breakfast, not just the size, so eating a second bowl of Special K in the morning just isn't going to cut it.

Even More Good News - Have Some Bacon!
Many nutritional experts believe that we also need to increase the amount of meat we have in the morning to ensure a balanced diet throughout the day. It also gives us plenty of time to digest it properly and make good use of the energy it gives us; meat is digested slowly, releasing a slow and long-lasting supply of sugar into the blood stream which will keep you going, and full, for longer. If you fill an empty stomach with carbs and no proteins, you're triggering insulin overkill which means your sugars will drop more quickly. Eggs are also a fantastic addition to any breakfast - you can even get toasters that boil your eggs while your toast is toasting! If you're not going to need a lot of energy for the evening, or if you're having a late dinner, it's a good idea to try to eat as little meat as possible, and reduce the size of your dinner to suit.

Protein is also instrumental in creating and maintaining muscle mass - the rate at which you can build muscle stays constant throughout your life, but lowering your protein intake has a larger impact on your muscle mass as you get older, which is why you need to maintain a decent diet throughout your life time, to ensure that you can stay active and strong for as long as possible. The average person eats around 10g of protein during breakfast, around 15g at lunch and then 25-30g at dinner - not only does it usually fall below the recommended daily amount (roughly 1g per kilo of weight, or 1.4g per kilo if you're active), but it's also very uneven. Aiming for equal amounts, spread throughout the day is far healthier, and will help you maintain constant levels of sugar and muscle mass.

If that hasn't convinced you to have an egg or some bacon with breakfast, then this should; experts investigated the impact of increasing protein on muscle mass; when increasing protein intake by as much as 300%, the ability to make muscle did not increase by much at all. It actually stayed pretty much the same. More protein doesn't necessarily lead to more muscle - that depends more onwhen you eat the protein and how you eat it – higher quality sources like eggs and dairy are more efficient than vegetable sources such as soy. Eating it throughout the day has a larger impact than eating a lot of protein once a day.

...And Try to Eat More Often!
Ideally, you should be eating 4-5 smaller meals throughout the day instead of 2-3. This will help increase your metabolism by ensuring that your body gets a steady stream of sugar into the blood, and doesn't feel the need to hold on to any extra fats in case of starvation.

It can be difficult to make healthy meals first thing in the morning, or even after a long day at work, or to think of quick snacks that don't make you pile on the pounds. I'll be posting healthy recipes and ideas on this blog to give you a bit more inspiration! If you'd like to receive these direct to your inbox, just subscribe using the box at the top right.

Thanks to Knick for the image.

10 Minute Work out (4)

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Here's the last in this series of 10 minute work outs. This one is slightly different to the rest - you will exercise for 1 minute (flat out) and then rest for 30 seconds and repeat that 6 times. As always, remember to stretch out and warm up properly.

First Exercise: Bicycle Sit Ups
Lie on your back, and raise your feet about 6 inches off the floor - keep them raised throughout the exercise. Hold your hands at your temples with your elbows wide out. Lift yourself up into the sitting position, while twisting your body slightly and bending one knee until your elbow touches the opposite knee. Then go back down into the original position and repeat with the opposite side.

(This exercise was also featured in our previous post 5 Simple Exercises to Better Abs)

Second Exercise: Squats
Stand with your feet facing forwards, roughly shoulder-width apart. Put your hands behind your head and bend your knees slowly (with your heels flat on the floor) until your thighs are parallel to the floor, then straighten your legs. Ensure that you continue this in a smooth motion, not to damage your knees.

Third Exercise: Crunches
Lie on your back with your knees slightly bent and raise your shoulder blades off the floor. Lift yourself another 4 inches towards your knees and then lower back to your original position. The idea is to do the 'middle' part of the sit up without fully sitting up or lying down, and to keep your abs engaged throughout. Pulse up and down to maintain continuous movement throughout the one minute.

Fourth Exercise: Plank
Hold the push up position (the plank) for one minute. Do not let your body sag or arch, and don't drop your knees to the floor.

Fifth Exercise: Monkey Push Ups
Put your feet together and sit upright on your heels with your knees apart. Then, put your hands on the floor in front of you (with your arms in between your knees) and bend your elbows to press down and push all the way back up to the original sitting position. The push up itself will need some speed to get you back to the original positions.

(This exercise was also featured in our previous post Push Up Masterclass)

Sixth Exercise: Dorsal Raise
Lie on your front with your legs straight and your hands behind your head. Without moving the bottom half of your body, and without putting your hands down, raise your chest off the floor (as far as you can). Lower and repeat.

Final Minute: Squat Jogs
Stand on your hands and feet, bent at the waist - ensure that you have enough weight on your hands to prevent you slipping before you starrt the exercise. Bring one foot forwards and then push it back again - repeat with the other leg and continue so that you are jogging your legs, but balancing some of your weight on your hands as you do it.

Hope you enjoyed this series! Let us know what you thought, and if you'd like more of these 10 minute work outs.

In case you missed the first 3:
10 minute workout 1
10 minute workout 2
10 minute workout 3

5 Reasons Why You're Not Losing Weight: Break the Habit

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Everyone knows the feeling of aiming to lose weight but not really feeling the benefits of the latest fad diet or work out. There are 5 pretty simple ways to help you lose weight, and then keep it off. They're largely rooted in day to day habits, which is why we never notice gaining the weight in the first place.

1) You're still drinking alcohol
A glass of wine has about 125 calories, a pint of beer has 250. That glass or two of wine after work and the few pints over the weekend easily add up to make you pile on the pounds. A lot of people find it difficult to consider the number of calories in drinks due to our associations when we hear the word 'calorie' (ie. we tend to think of fatty foods as having a lot of calories, not drinks) but that pint of beer has the same number of calories as a slice of pizza!. Cutting out alcohol has many health benefits - a lower calorie intake is just one of them.

2) You're losing track of what you're eating
When you have a busy schedule, didn't manage to get a lunch break at work and just feel peckish when you come home, it's very easy to lose track of what you're eating (and how healthy it is). It's especially easy to start grazing on junk like crisps since you can buy them more easily than fruit. What did you eat today - can you remember everything? If not, it may be worth keeping a food diary to get a realistic look at what you eat, and what you need to cut out. There's no point having a salad for lunch if you have crisps during a break and a chocolate bar the moment you come home.

3) You're not drinking enough water
Drink water with your meals and you will fill up faster, Drink it to stay hydrated so your body keeps functioning properly. Drink it because it has less calories than soft drinks or juice....just drink lots of water.

4) You're not eating often enough
A lot of people cut down what they eat and how often they eat when they're dieting - there are a lot of terrible diets out there like the master cleanse, which will work for a short period of time but actually slow down your metabolism, so you will gain weight then you start eating properly again, and it will be harder to shift it. Ideally, try to eat about 4-5 times a day - they don't need to be large meals (it's better that they aren't), but this will improve your metabolism and ensure that your body doesn't hold on to fat unnecessarily. Pack nuts in your bag to graze on, bring fruit, eat a lighter lunch and have a mid-afternoon snack as well. But remember - every single time you put something in your mouth you are making a choice, you are either choosing to make your body and overall health better, or to just eat something that's convenient. Healthy eating does take more planning, but it's definitely worth it.

5) You're not eating at the right times
Unfortunately, modern life means that we are usually rushed in the morning and have time to relax in the evening, which impacts our meals. A lot of people have a tiny breakfast (just cereal really doesn't cut it) and then have a comparatively huge dinner, with a medium lunch in between. Try to balance out your meal sizes so that you aren't taking in the most calories just before you go to bed.

I'll be posting more about properly tiering your meals soon. If you'd like to receive posts direct via email, just subscribe using the box at the top right of this blog.

10 Minute Workout (3)

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Here's the latest in our series of 10 minute workouts! As always, remember to warm up and stretch out to ensure that you don't pull any muscles. Unlike the previous work outs, you will do a circuit of exercises instead of doing a single exercise and then moving onto the next.

16 x Push Ups with Cross Kicks

Get into the push up position and do a complete push up. Before you repeat, lift one foot off the floor and kick (slow and controlled) across to the opposite side (so you kick left with your right leg, and right with your left leg so your kicks go under your body). Make sure that your hips stay as low as possible, and you are not twisting your body or dragging your foot on the floor. It may be easier to take one hand off the floor when doing this.

After the kick, bend the knee on the same leg and bring it to the elbow on the same side (right knee to right elbow), then return to original push up position and then repeat the push up and the leg movement on the other side. Alternate with each push up, and ensure that you're breathing in time with the exercise (out when you push up and when your leg moves across).

This is an extension of one of the exercises featured in 5 Simple Exercises to Better Abs.

10 x Rolling Push Ups

Stay in the push up position. Instead of simply moving up and down in a straight line, you will be moving your chest in a circle (from left, down, right and up again). So move your body weight to your left and then bend your arms down - stay down and bring your chest to the centre, and move to your right. Once your body weight is over to the right, push yourself up and then return to centre. Once complete circle is a push up. Ensure that you're doing slow, controlled movements and are doing a full push up to get the maximum benefit from this exercise.

16 x Lunges

Stand up straight with your arms down by your sides. Take a step forward and bend the front knee so that your back knee also bends towards the floor - stop when the front knee is at 90 degrees. Straighten, and return to the original position to repeat with the other leg. Repeat 16 times.

Repeat this set of exercises 4 times.

The next 10 minute work out will be the last in this series - hope you enjoyed them! If you missed the last two 10 minute workouts, you can find them here and here.

To get workouts, technique tips and diets in your inbox, subscribe using the feedburner box on the top right of this page.

The 1 Change To Your Diet That You Have To Make

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

I'll admit that I'm not obsessed with food - I'm not someone that counts calories or obsesses over whether or not to have a biscuit with my tea. However, I am someone that doesn't want to die early because of what they eat, and I don't think I'm alone in that. I believe in eating healthily, and there's a single step that you have to take if you want to do that, which is fairly easy and doesn't even involve depriving yourself of treats or anything that you enjoy, and that's cutting down the additives that you eat.

I've never been a fan of processed food - my parents always cooked fresh food when I lived at home, and it just tastes better. Whenever I eat a ready-meal now I feel slightly sick because I'm just not used to the amount of salt that they put in them. However, when starting to research some of the additives they put in food for this post, I realised that salt is fairly low down on the list of issues with ready-meals and additives in bread and sweets. I'll list some of the most common additives and their effects further down.

Luckily, there's a fairly easy way to cut down the additives that you eat, and really just involves an element of common sense and maybe spending a little extra time cooking. Just eat fresh food - the only thing in a potato is a potato, the only thing in a fresh chicken breast should be a fresh chicken breast. If you pick up a pack of cheese, and you get a list of 20 ingredients there's clearly something wrong here - it doesn't take 20 ingredients to make! If there are more than 3 ingredients in something that I don't understand (or can't pronounce), it goes back in the shelf (especially if they're near the top of the list, meaning there's more of them). Using fresh ingredients does mean that I have to spend a little more time cooking, but it isn't much - it very rarely takes me more than 30-45 minutes to make dinner, and I don't have to stand watch over it the whole time. Trading that vs. ingesting carcinogens every dinner time, I know that I choose.

Here's a list of some fairly scary additives and their effects on your body:

FD&C Blue: Previously banned in a lot of EU countries (who later lifted the ban), this colorant causes cancer in rats and further studies have found it to be a skin and eye irritant and allergen.
FD&C Red Dye: Derived from coal tar, researchers reported hat this additive may interfere with transmission of nerve impulses in the brain. In 1996, researchers conduected studies that found that even low doses of this additive caused cancerous changes in human cell cultures.
BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole): used in cereals, crisps and chewing gum as a preservative, this additive accumulates in the body fat and is thought to disrupt the body's hormone balance. It's also been shown to cause cancer in mice, rats and hamsters, and it's considered a carcinogen by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Sodium Benzoate, Benzoic Acid: this additive is added to fruit juices which also contain ascorbis acid, which react to create small amounts of benzene, a chemical that causes leukemia. A 2006 law suit forced Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and other companies to reformulate affected drinks - that means you've probably drunk the original (harmful) recipe at some point.
Nonyl Alcohol: in experimental animals, this additive caused central nervous system and liver damage.
Polysorbate 80: used in a dairy products and various medical products, this additive causes changes to the womb lining, hormonal changes, ovary deformities and degenerative follicles in mice.
Trans Fats and Hydrogenated Fats: These raise the bad 'LDL' cholesterol levels, which increases the rish of coronary heart disease. There is no 'safe' intake level determined.
Other colourants such as Tartrazine E102, Quinoline yellow E104, E110, E122, E124, E129 (and plenty of other E numbers) have been linked to hyperactivity and mood disorders in children.
Acesulfame K: has been shown to stimulate dose-dependent insulin secretion in rats, and may be carcinogenic.

There are quite a few more, but I'm sure that gives you a decent idea of the consequences - they don't just make you put on weight; some could potentially cause serious diseases (and have). A large problem with additive testing is that it's often done in isolation, so they will test the effect of that single additive...but that's not how we eat them. They're coupled with dozens of others in ready meals, in sweets and will be eaten again and again throughout the day.

If buying fresh ingredients and making food from scratch will reduce your intake of carcinogens, fats that increase your risk of heart disease and other additives that could accumulate and react to cause various cancers, surely it's worth the extra 10 minutes a day?

---

Since I've been researching nutrition and diets for this post and others that are still scheduled (such as 'Eating: You're Doing it Backwards' - published on 8th April) I've realised that my diet could do with a bit of an overhaul. As such, both I and Sensei Jim are going to be doing a Food Challenge, starting next week and lasting a month (possibly more). We're going to be:

Eating more protein in the mornings, and ensuring that we have roughly equal amounts of protein in each meal
Eating more frequently - 5 times a day instead of 2-3
Decreasing carb intake, particularly in the evenings
Having a meat-free day each week
Allowing ourselves a 'cheat day' on Sundays
Cutting down on sugar
Cutting out additives/preservatives

At the end of the month, I'll let you know how easy it is, let you know if we feel any better/lose any weight and I'll even give you the best and easiest recipes to try out for yourselves. If you'd like the news and info in your inbox, just subscribe to this blog using the box at the top right of this page, or join our facebook page.

Image courtesy of Joe Pitz

10 Minute Workout (2)

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:21:00 +0000

Here's our second 10 minute workout - hope you enjoy it, and remember to warm up and stretch out!

60 x corkscrews
Lie on your back with your legs raised over your body (at 90 degrees) and knees slightly bent. Keep your hands by your sides, palms down. Use your abs to lift your hips off the floor while twisting your hips to the right. Hold that position and then to the starting position. Alternate sides when you repeat the exercise. Repeat 60 times in 5 sets of 12.

30 x dorsal raises
Lie on your front with your hands either side of your head, elbows out and your fingers at your temples. Raise your chest off the floor as much as you can by using your back muscles - ensure it's a fluid, controlled movement. Repeat 30 times in 3 sets of 10.

30 x bicycle sit-ups
Lie on your back with your knees slightly bent and your hands on either side of your head with your fingers at your temples. Raise your shoulders off the floor, twisting to one side. Raise one leg off the floor so that your elbow touches the opposite knee. Repeat in a bicycle motion without letting your feet or shoulders touch the floor until the end of the rep. Repeat 30 times in 3 sets of 10.

60 x tricep dips
Sit on a chair (make sure it's not going to roll or slide away from you!) with your hands on the edge with the fingers pointing forwards. Slide off the chair, keeping your hands on it, and keep your legs straight out so that you are supporting yourself on your arms and your feet. Dip down as far as you can and then come up again to the same position - ensure it's a fluid, controlled movement. Repeat 60 times in 5 sets of 12.

Click here if you missed the last 10 minute workout, and if you want to receive workouts, diet tips and kickboxing info in your inbox, subscribe using the box on the top right!

Packed Lunch Alternative - Quesadillas

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:14:00 +0000

Quesadillas are a great alternative to sandwiches - you can vary the filling just as much (as long as you use cheese!), and they have far fewer carbs than a traditional sandwich.

I'd decided to fill mine with peppers, onion, chicken and cheese.

Chop the onion and peppers, and fry them in olive oil to soften slightly (you don't have to do this, but I prefer it).

After you've chopped the chicken and prepared the onion and pepper mix. it's time to start making the quesadillas. Just pile the ingredients into the centre of the tortilla, and make sure you have plenty of cheese throughout it to hold the whole thing together.

Place the quesadilla mix-up onto a hot frying pan. I prefer to add the second quesdilla when the cheese has already started to melt and I'm about to flip it over. Once the bottom of the tortilla is golden-brown, then carefully turn the quesadilla over to cook the other side. It's quite easy to spill the filling out when you're turning, so make sure your spatula goes right under it so you're supporting the whole thing.

Once you've cooked both sides, you're done! If you feel like giving them a bit of a kick, try adding paprika or chillis to the mixture.

10 Minute Workout (1)

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:05:00 +0000

Here's the first in a series of 10 minute work outs. These workouts are intense, and you won't need any equipment that you don't already have in the house (so you might occasionally need a chair or a door!). In addition to the tabata training , these are a great way to get a quick workout in on non-training days.

So here it is:

Warm up and stretch prior to exercising. Ensure that you do stretching before and after the work out to avoid injury and keep your muscles supple.

30 x hamstring raises on a chair
Lie on the floor with your feet up on a chair. Raise your body (keep your arms by your sides) so that the soles of your feet are flat on the seat of the chair, then slowly push down with your feet and arch your back until you're supported by your feet and your shoulders. Make sure all of your movements are slow and controlled to avoid injury and to get the most out of this exercise. If you want to make it harder, rest the heels of your feet on the chair instead of the whole sole of the foot. Do the 30 in 3 sets of 10 - make sure you're constantly moving throughout the reps and are engaging your glutes and abs throughout.

60 x obligue crunches
Lie on your side with your legs bent slightly. Put your hands either side of your head with your fingertips touching your temples, and raise your shoulder off the floor as high as you can, ensuring that it's a smooth, controlled movement throughout. Do 30 on each side, in 3 sets of 10.

30 x rotating push up
Get into the standard push up position and bend your arms until your chest and nose are as close to the floor as you can get them, while keeping your body straight, and then push up (completing a standard push up). While you're up in push up position, extend one hand out to your side and then twist so that it is pointing up at the ceiling, while still at a 90 degree angle from your body. Once you've done that, resume press up position and repeat on the other side. Repeat 30 times in 3 sets of 10.

60 x walking lunges
Step forward with your right foot into a lunge position (with your right knee behind your right foot, back straight, toes pointing straight ahead). Then step forwards with your left foot so that you're in the lunge position with your left leg in front. The aim of this exercise is to walk without letting your legs straighten out (therefore performing lunges). When you take a step forwards, make sure that you're bending both knees and that your knee is pointing towards your big toe. Don't let your knees extend beyond your feet. Repeat 60 times in 3 sets of 20 reps.

Thanks to DFMillington for the image.

How to Avoid Injuries When Training

noreply@blogger.com (North London Kickboxing) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

As with any sport, kickboxing carries a risk of injury if you don't take the proper precautions and don't respect the sport. Most injuries occur if people haven't prepared properly for their training session or if they are not showing adequate respect towards the sport or their partner, and end up hitting too hard or hurting themselves by doing techniques inaccurately. There are a few simple ways to avoid injuries, to ensure that you can continue training safely.

1) Warm up properly
We really can't stress this enough - lauching straight into exercises without warming up properly (and stretching) is dangerous. In the best case scenario, you may just pull a muscle. In the worst case, you could ruin your joints for life. If you turn up for your training on time, you will be taken through a rigorous warm up and stretches, which help maintain your fitness levels as well as getting you ready for the techniques/sparring/working on the punch bags. If you happen to turn up late, your sensei will tell you to do a quick warm up before you join the class - it's imperative that you do this properly, or you risk injuring yourself.

2) Pay attention, and express techniques accurately
There are mistakes that a lot of beginners make, such as hitting with the wrong part of the foot. The techiques in kickboxing are designed to inflict damage to the opponent (if used at full strength) without hurting yourself. Work through techniques slowly at first to ensure that you are hitting with the right part of your body (your sensei will tell you to 'show your weapon' clearly to make sure you're doing this), and if you're unsure of how to do a particular technique then ask!

3) Show respect to your partner and those around you
This does not simply mean bowing and touching gloves. Showing respect to your partner also means not hitting too hard when sparring, not pushing too hard in partnered stretching and generally ensuring that you are not going to injure anybody around you. Good communication is key, but common sense should tell you when you are doing something dangerous. Try to be aware of what's going on around you to avoid falling on/over other people as well.

4) Don't push yourself too hard
As athletes, we often want to push harder than our bodies want to go in order to achieve results, and see muscle ache and mild discomfort as the price we pay. It's important to understand the difference between 'good, normal' pain (such as the dull ache you experience when stretching, or the muscle burn during intense workouts) and 'bad, damaging' pain. If you feel pain in your joints at any point, or sharp pains, ease off whatever you are doing and sit down if you feel the need to. Equally, if you are asthmatic and feel short of breath, don't be afraid to sit down and recharge.

We've recently put up some new punchbags, and it's great to see students really pushing themselves on them. When you first start punching and kicking at full-speed and strength, it's recommended that you wear wrist wraps and build up instead of simply throwing punches as hard as you can to ensure that you build enough strength in your joints to take the power of your strikes.

If you take these precautions, you should be able to kickbox and train for decades without suffering serious injury. Serious sportsmen and women often suffer injuries simply because they are pushing their bodies harder than they want to go - taking good care of yourself entails working out safely, as well as eating and exercising well.