In training, results are driven by pushing beyond your limits. While you should never overdo it, you need to go further than you've been to get as far as you can go. You're not going to get there by doing the same thing at the same level continually, you must push for progress.
If you're looking for serious results, don't jog until you drop - sprint, stop and repeat. Jogging, like any kind of moderate exercise, will burn a moderate amount of calories, but will never produce serious results for fighting - because your body is unchallenged, the effects are diminished. Going at full speed in bursts, pushes the entire system and provides a workout that is something to grow on. This is true in all forms of exercise, not just running.
Punching power comes from the upper body, right? No way, it’s the hips, girly! And you’ve got the potential to generate some wicked power there in your lower midsection. Hip mobility is severely under appreciated by most athletes, but when a fighter ignores her hips during training, she’s truly missing an opportunity to improve performance and even prevent injury.
Check it out - you can’t throw a solid punch by standing flat footed and simply shifting your weight towards your target. We’ve all seen this in the gym, and if this describes your style, try putting a little more swivel in your hips the next time you’re working the bags. Feel that extra power? Nice, right?
I know, I know, if you lift weights you’re going to get HUGE and muscle-y. Seems like every female believes this, as if somehow they are biologically unusual. Ironically, the truth is that lifting weights will allow you to reshape your body in a good way that very few other regimens can touch. More importantly (for this blog), lifting weights is a great way to complement your fight training and prepare “the machine” for endurance as well as intense bursts of power.
Resistance training can help burn away unwanted fat effectively and any muscle that’s added will be lean mass that actually takes up less space - one pound of fat reportedly bulges about 18% more than a pound of muscle. And you really needn’t worry about bulking up: women have a fraction of the testosterone, a necessary component of building muscle mass, that men have - typically about 1/20th. Plus an average woman may have only about 70% of the muscle density of a man of similar proportions. Yes, men naturally have a head start when it comes to muscle development.
You get cramps, I get cramps, professional basketball players named Lebron get cramps. It’s an unpleasant part of life and often comes coupled with a rigorous workout. Whether they happen in the middle of the night or in the middle of your gym day, cramps arrive unexpected and unwelcome.
Ultimately, the cause of common cramping is some kind of imbalance. That sounds borderline “new age-y”, but it’s an accurate way to describe and explain the condition, which is otherwise very difficult to explain. There is something not quite right, something missing, and your body is reacting the best way it knows how - freaking out!
As a human, you are designed to breathe through your nose. You need to take fewer breaths through your nose than the average mouth-breather takes to deliver the same amount of oxygen to the lungs. As a fighter, breathing efficiently during training will benefit you in many ways; breathing efficiently in competition can give you a huge edge over an opponent.
Because you’ll need fewer breaths through your nose, you’ll actually be able to breathe slower, which in turn will allow you to be more relaxed in the thick of the fight. Plus every breath you save equals precious energy you’ll save as well. You’ll enjoy more stamina and focus, all thanks to your nostrils.
