work out stories

Today was a good workout.  I pushed myself for a longer run than usual even though my legs were absolutely killing me.  Then I hit the speed bag for awhile, hit the heavy bag for a few, and then sparred for three rounds with a buddy.  It was really good to work on my footwork and head movements with this guy.  I hadn’t sparred in a week or two so it was good to get back into the ring.  Here was my workout routine today.
Warmup

• .8 Mile Run on the Elliptical Machine (the treadmills were all occupied)

I didn’t lift weights today.  I met up with a buddy at the gym and we ended up taking a boxing class at LA Boxing.  I got there a little early so I could warmup.  It’s amazing…I think I’m in good shape, but that boxing class kicked my ass.  An hour of straight cardio and boxing with such little rest is incredibly difficult.

Warmup

• 1 Mile on Eliptical Machine

Boxing Training Class (1 hour)

• Too many things to list
• The trainer mixed cardio, heavy bag work, combinations, and many other things into the class.   

Warmup

• 1 mile run (my shins are still KILLING me!  I hope they heal soon…)

Boxing Training

• Speed bag work
• Jumping rope
• Heavy bag work
• Rope dips (forward)
• Rope dips (backwards)
• Heavy bag work

Weight Lifting

• Superset 1
  • Dumbbell chest press w/ 60 pound dumbbells (2 sets of 10)
  • Dumbbell chest press w/ 70 pound dumbbells (2 sets of 10)
  • Machine seated row w/ 100 pounds (2 sets of 10)
  • Machine seated row w/ 115 pounds (2 sets of 10)
  • Decline situps (4 sets of 10)

I took today off from weight lifting…rest is important for building muscle so I took today off and will start a new cycle tomorrow.  So today I focused on boxing training and cardio so I can increase my stamina.  Unfortunately my shins are still killing me so running on the treadmill was tough.  This was my workout today.

Warmup

• 1 mile run on the treadmill

Boxing Training

• Shadow boxing
• Jumping rope (1:30 minute sets in between shadow boxing)
• Speed bag work
• Jumping rope (1:00 minute sets in between working on the speed bag)

Warmup

• 0.8 Mile Run (I would’ve gone further but I think I have shin splits or just very sore shins from yesterday’s run. It hurt like hell and I had to stop)

Boxing Training

• Speed bag work (3 sets of 3 minutes)
• Jumping rope (3 sets of 1.5 minutes between speed bag work)
• Heavy bag work (2 sets of 3 minutes, 3 sets of 2 minutes)

Weight Lifting - Focus on Shoulder & Arms

• Superset 1
  • Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press w/ 40 pound dumbbells (2 sets of 10)

Over the past year I’ve been trying to gain weight and muscle. If you’re built like me, this is not easy. I’ve been skinny all my life…I could eat whatever I wanted and pretty much stayed the same size and shape. Putting on weight and muscle is difficult for me and takes a lot of time and work.

I’ve been eating like a horse and working out religiously, but I’ve also been taking some supplements. Here’s what I’m currently taking for muscle building supplements.

• Cytosport Cytogainer shakes - 3 to 4 per day (contains small amounts of creatine and glutamine)

I had the day off today for President’s day and it turned out to be a great day of exercise.

The wife and I went for a 2 or 3 mile hike for about an hour and a half. Great workout while being outside. Loved it.

Then I hit up LA Boxing for the real work out.

Warmup

• 1 mile run with interval speed changes
• Jump rope for 5 minutes

Boxing Training

• Speed bag training (10 minutes)
• High medicine ball toss in between speed bag sessions (2 sets of 20)

I was reading the Lebron James work out schedule at WebMD and saw that on one of the days he integrates “Unstable Jump Rope” into the routine.

Skip rope for 45 seconds on a cushiony surface, such as a stretching mat. The instability will help strengthen your ankles.

During my boxing training I’ve been jumping rope every day as part of my effort to increase stamina, get a cardio work out, and increase my leg strength.   Playing other sports, mostly football and basketball, have left me with a weak left ankle from being rolled too many times.