Boxing For Dummies... continued: heavy bag

Once you have unraveled the mystery of how to punch, it will be time to put that knowledge to the test by having a go at the heavy bag.



Safety first, wrap both hands before slipping on your bag gloves. The heavy bag is unforgiving, so it's important that you take every precaution to protect your hands and wrists from injury. Attention to form is also equally important. The wrists and elbows should always be in alignment no matter what punch your throwing. Meaning do not bend the wrists when you are striking a target, otherwise the shock of the impact will come through your wrists in a very painful way. Despite being warned, there is no doubt in my mind that you will end up learning this lesson the hard way. So I suggest that you keep a bottle of Ibuprofen and a hot/cold gel pack on standby.



Now I know you are all bright-eyed, bushy tailed and ready to whack away at the heavy bag, but a more refined approach is needed. Initially stress technique and control over power and strength. Wildly punching the heavy bag creates bad habits and loads of injuries. Secondly, avoid punches that swipe the heavy bag. It is the equivalent of dragging your bare knuckles across a rough carpet at high speed. Punches should land flush to the target and retreat along the same path of initiation.



Hitting the Heavy Bag:

1. Begin from your basic fighting stance and find your correct distance by probing with your jab. Once you have established your positioning execute the jab at half speed, but with full mechanics and form.


2. Continue practicing each punch (cross, hook and upper-cut) in this manner. You will instantly notice that the distance in which you can stand away from the bag varies with each punch. Gathering and retaining this knowledge will be very important when I discuss punching in combinations.


3. For now stick with just throwing single punches, until you can readily judge the various striking distances for all punches from both front and back foot sides.

Work each punch for a round a piece (1-3 minutes) with a minute of rest in between rounds. You want to increase your staminia, but at the same time you can't be fatigued to the point that it's difficult to concentrate on form. Establishing a strong foundation is the most important thing at this stage of your boxing development, it will dictate everything else that follows.

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Congratulations Hafiz on The Birth of Your Beautiful Daughter 'Qaseh' Born August 30, 2008

Les Mills Austrialia comes to Gold's Gym in Malaysia

Kylie Gates
MegChalker

Recently Les Mills' Master Trainers, Meg Chalker for RPM and Kylie Gates for Body Attack, dropped by Gold's Gym KL from Australia and conducted good-will classes in the formats that they train.

However, my personal aversion to taking aerobic classes prevented me from joining in. But those that did make the effort to participate had an Aussie-Aussie-Aussie, oye-oye-oye good time.

VibroGym Evolution

Gold’s Gym Kuala Lumpur is pleased to announce it is the first commercial fitness centre in Malaysia to acquire a revolutionary new piece of fitness equipment designed to allow its members to undertake vibration training

Gold’s Gym Kuala Lumpur has bought a top-of-the-range VibroGym Evolution to enhance its Personal Training capabilities and provide its members with the exceptional benefits of revolutionary vibration training

Gold’s Gym Kuala Lumpur exclusively supports the use of the vibrating platform manufactured by VibroGym, the acknowledged pioneer in vertical whole body vibration

How does vibration training work? The VibroGym platform generates vibrations that are transferred from the fixed plate to your body during exercise and the muscles in your body automatically adjust to these mechanical stimuli with a stretch reflex. The effects of VibroTraining depend on the frequency and intensity of the vibrations set on the machine. Lower frequencies are more effective for strength training as the muscles are forced to contract more powerfully, whilst higher frequencies are used for warm-up, cool-down and recovery as the vibrations increase blood circulation and accelerate the process of ridding the body of toxins.

Whilst conventional training methods engage between 40 and 60% of the isolated muscle group, VibroTraining will engage almost 100% of the body’s muscles. Even the deeper lying postural muscles benefit from VibroTraining. Muscles which are rarely activated consciously will be engaged by reflex meaning that the entire musculature is stimulated. Additionally, vibrations have a positive impact on your hormone balance, help to reduce stress and allow users to feel more relaxed, fitter and more alert.

Ten minutes of vibration training can enable you to complete a total body workout as VibroTraining stimulates the whole musculature system at once, not one muscle after another.

As a company, Vibrogym is committed to research on vibration technology by funding and pursuing clinical studies in various medical directions to support and enhance the value of vibration training. Some of the key sectors in which VibroGym are conducting medical research are Metabolic Syndrome, osteoporosis, neuropathy and multiple sclerosis. To date, the VibroGym vibration plate has been approved as a class 2A medical device under the European Medical Device Directive and has secured full approval for use in Medical City, Dubai, UAE. Such professional endorsements as a proven platform for therapeutic use for increase in muscle strength, stimulation of blood flow and increase of stabilization and coordination are milestones for VibroGym and sets its product apart from similar vibration training systems which are relatively untested and unproven, attest to the medical and physical safety of using the VibroGym and prove that VibroTraining works as it advertises since it is a certified Medical Device with proven claims.

Gold’s Gym Kuala Lumpur views vibration training on a VibroGym Evolution as part of a holistic Personal Training programme, rather than as a stand-alone solution to your exercise and training needs. Carefully considered inclusion of vibration training into your regular exercise schedule can add significant value to core stability work, target muscles not stimulated or engaged during a more conventional workout routine and can add variety and interest to a standard exercise programme. Our members who opt for Personal Training will have the opportunity from now on to enhance their programmes with vibration training. Gold’s Gym Kuala Lumpur’s leading Personal Trainers are all currently undergoing vibration training certification to ensure they are well-versed and familiar with this new form of training.


For interest, the UK-based Distributors of VibroGym, and their Master Trainers, work closely with a number of well-known UK sportsmen, such as John Terry and Frank Lampard of Chelsea FC, and Clubs such as Bolton Wanderers FC, who use vibration training to enhance their fitness and warm up prior to matches.

Key Quotes

“Gold’s Gym, known globally for its heritage and professional approach to fitness training, should naturally be at the forefront of any advances in the fitness theatre, especially where such advances are clinically or medically proven as being effective contributors. After monitoring advances in vibration training since 2001, we are pleased to be the first commercial fitness centre in Malaysia to endorse and employ VibroGym’s new Evolution training plate in our centre and to afford our loyal members an opportunity to enhance their exercise routines with such a revolutionary and effective solution”- W. Thomas B. Curtis, Chairman, PS Fitness Sdn Bhd (owner / operator, Gold’s Gym Kuala Lumpur

“it’s cool, it’s exciting, it’s different and will interest and energise our members”- Nor Dina Ismail, Executive Director, PS Fitness Sdn Bhd

“Acquiring the VibroGym Evolution has significantly increased our fitness training staff’s ability to utilize the machine’s cutting edge technology to speed up desired results such as fat reduction, strength gain, flexibility and neuromuscular response. However, the most dramatic use of the VibroGym is in the area of post-workout recovery and massage. After all, the rest and recovery stage is when muscles grow and develop. In this way, the Evolution strikes the perfect balance between beating you down and raising you back up”- Brett M Crosby, Senior Fitness Consultant, Gold’s Gym Kuala Lumpur, NASM Certified Personal Trainer

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