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Fit Boxing is certainly a sport, but it is also a great tool for managing emotions. With many clients, we have been able to solve problems with stress, insomnia and managing emotions.
This article may seem like a digression from other blog posts, but quite the contrary… In our daily lives, emotions can make us suffer. So we have to find different ways to deal with them. Fear and anger are among the four primary emotions. Fear and anger are often present in our daily lives, even if we do not live in a war zone. In front of our computers, in the warmth and safety of our homes, we can be subjected to subtle attacks. So subtle that we don't even notice them at the end of the day. These attacks generate toxic energy in us. What can we do ? 1. Behind the word fear, we use the words stress and fear. The stress of losing a contract, a lawsuit, of not being liked, of not succeeding... In the end, it's fear, the fear of losing, the fear of being hurt...
2. And behind anger, what is there? There are situations that do not go as we would like: injustice, lack of respect, questioned integrity, etc.
3. From there, a malaise can appear: that of not responding to these two emotions. Especially for those who have been educated on the altar of "shut up and smile". With age, the pressure cooker no longer supports the pressure, because this mechanism becomes intolerable for our mind and our body.
The number of Fit Boxing gyms has exploded in big cities like London and New York and it's not without reason. This high-intensity sport offers the many pleasures of boxing without its flaws.
1. Cardio: The first argument of this sport is obviously cardiovascular, we have to do a lot of movements very quickly, and after 20 seconds we start to get out of breath. Boxers have impressive cardiovascular capacities. The pros know that the end of a fight often comes down to who has the best cardio; cardiovascular work is therefore an integral part of boxing training. While talking with MMA pros, I was surprised to learn that the last phases of training were done on athletic tracks on series of 800, 1500 meters.
2. Muscular reinforcement: with training, therefore the repetition of movements, the muscles are strongly solicited and become stronger. Obviously it's not Crossfit...there's no load, but punching and kicking with strength and intensity allows for muscle development.
3. Strengthening of the fixing muscles: we have small muscles around the joint areas. Working these muscles allows us to have less fragile joints. We tend to overlook these muscles, but as we age they are essential to slow down the risk of trauma and wear and tear.
4. Reinforcement of other tissues:
the tendons, thanks to the jumping, to the repeated movements, the tendons become more powerful and resistant.
The bones, like any “loaded sport”: movement and small shocks send a message to the body, which helps renew its bone mass. For example: cycling and swimming are not chargeable sports.
Other tissues such as the skin will also be impacted; your arms will change in appearance quickly.
Let's talk about what's going on in our minds and bodies. Fear, anger and shut up...
We are built to react. Stress itself is a reaction to an event. It is not an end in itself, but rather a function, a boost that helps us to act. And like all vertebrates, we react with movement.
Indeed, taking an evolutionary view of our species, we consider that we are built to react through movement. Our autonomic nervous system is built on two axes. One axis is the flight or fight (sympathetic current) stress response. Failure to react can generate tension.
Among the relaxation techniques, we have methods that consist of contracting certain muscle groups and then relaxing them (among others: the Jacobson method). By doing this exercise, we become aware of our muscular and nervous tension and then seek relaxation.
At a certain level of stress, we don't know how tight our muscles are.
Let's take the example of electricity and light fixtures in our house: at a certain time of the day, when the sun gives a lot of light even inside our house, we can have doubts if a light bulb is on by error in a part. A possible reflex is to act on the switch: turn on/off quickly to see the difference in brightness, and thus put it in the right position (switch off).
Let's go back to our body, by dint of being tense, we are no longer aware of it. So by contracting voluntarily (switch on) we become aware of the tension. From there we can look for the opposite state (switch off) which is the trigger.
In fit boxing, there is this logic of contraction/relaxation. The more relaxed a muscle is, the less oxygen it consumes and the faster it will contract intensely and therefore efficiently in movement. At the moment of impact we are at the top of the contraction and to last 1, 2 or 3 minutes, it is necessary to relax just after each impact. So by doing these exercises we regain consciousness of the state in which we are. And obviously for an hour, the expenditure of energy (among other nervous) allows to go towards the state of relaxation.
1. Against anger… As we are programmed to react physically by flight or by fighting. Fit Boxing allows us to respond to the subtle and toxic energies that accumulate within us.
Indeed, by wearing pads (protections that we put on our hands), our partner leaves us free to type without hurting him.
If certain things make us angry, our evening session will be a way to bring out this energy that has remained in us. That's a good thing because it can be toxic. In physiology, we talk about misdirection when it comes to stress damaging the body.
By hitting these little pushing balls, we express our reaction to stress through movement: it is a real outlet.
Example: an event made me angry during my work day, I have this toxic energy in me. I didn't react immediately for some reason. The Fit boxing class will allow me to exteriorize this energy, to get it out of my body and so I am relaxed and cleansed.
2. Managing fear
After a day, you can list the most subtle effects of fear: after meeting an aggressive driver on the road, being late, involved in a dispute, waiting for medical results... Then you add up at the end of the day.
Perhaps the most primary fear is not the fear of receiving a fine or an abusive email. If we go back 120,000 years: the ultimate fear is to receive physical violence that could jeopardise our physical integrity. It's in our DNA. Our survival depends on this reflex: preserving our body in order to survive.
In Fit Boxing, when the partner hit on these pads we realize that our apprehensions are exaggerated. We have a tendency to anticipate and exaggerate problems that rarely occur. By doing this type of exercise we put reality, yes it hits but in the end I don't have pain... Obviously this does not list all the fears of life, but a certain number can find their solution by this type of exercise. You understand that nothing tragic is happening, you take no hits, you have no pain! So we rationalise our fears. Finally everything goes well. We tend to be afraid of things that very rarely happen in reality.
Our physiology is coded to react and our education may have been part of the "shut up and smile...". No, let's express ourselves, and let's not go against our natural process.
Here is a typical example to understand: I am boxer A, I simulate punching you in the face, you boxer B, you avoid it and respond with two punches and a kick! That's it... When we look for you... You answer... We feel better, don't we :)?
Obviously during the day, in a more civilised way, therefore verbal, courteous, and constructive, we respond. But during our sessions, we find an outlet because it is not so easy to always respond to everything and as we would like.
CONCLUSION
1. The way of ZEN : No, Fit Boxing does not make you more aggressive and does not cultivate anger and violence. Like many sports, there is a framework with rules and respect. After a Fit Boxing session, you feel cleansed, drained, and your muscular and nervous tensions decrease.
2. Do it Robert's style, fight style… No, Do it with a pro. The movements are technical and precise. The objective is in the harmony of the movement, in the understanding of its bone and muscular structure, the efficiency of the gesture without hurting and wearing out. Indeed, after several weeks, we take pleasure in a global, pleasant and powerful movement. A kind of highway to send everything, get our energy out with a feeling of simplicity and efficiency thanks to a multiplier effect. It's like hitting the first day with a golf club or a tennis racket. It's not intuitive, and after a few practices everything is coherent, the body and the mind are one. These are rapid movements with contact: there is a risk of injury: wrist, shoulder, hip, knees and ankle. It's technical. Doing this with Robert your sports coach (sorry Robert :) ) it's fun once, it doesn't lead to anything the second time.
Obviously, to fully express this energy within us, we must do the right thing. And the supervision by a professional is judicious (focused on the kentos, straight trajectory, low shoulders, hips, logic of movements…). To take this path is to buy a ticket for the highway of relaxation and zenitude...
3. The solutions for stress management are very different depending on its nature, its concern, its environment and its history. Practicing relaxologist, I can use self-hypnosis, breathing, positive visualization exercises. etc But in specific situations, some sports can provide a complementary solution. This may seem atypical, but shouldn't solutions first be found?
Marco PAONESSA
Relaxologist practitioner
Life coach certified