Triple Threat Part 7 - Cage Fighter

Monday was my first training session this year with Mark, so he said he would just ease me in with some warm ups then do some light exersises to "test my cardio". This means he was looking to see when my lungs gave out. We train at his house, so I arrive and his ever patient wife Vanessa is curled up in front of the TV watching the evenings soaps. When she says to me "Are you ready for this?" I am starting to think it isn't going to be what I consider to be light exercise.


Mark says with a wry smile "Choose A or B." I say A and hope for the best. Mark then instructs me to run up the stairs as lightly and quickly as I can using every step then walking down, 10 times. This sounds easy I think to myself, but by the time I get to ascent number seven, my heart is beginning to pound in my head like a steam hammer. I manage it though and gulping air, I get to the bottom and Mark gives me about a minutes rest. Then I'm instructed to do it again, but two stairs at a time. I manage this too, but every time I go back up, my legs start to feel heavier and heavier and the lactic acid build up feels like my thighs are on fire. The last two trips make me dig into the depths of my resolve and I'm panting like a dog in a hot car. It's not pretty.

Now for warm up number two. You may remember the 10 press ups, 10 squats and 10 sit ups 5 times in a row I have been dallying with? Mark puts on some high energy music and gets me to do it. I get to three times through before I have to stop as the room is starting to spin like a roulette wheel. While I'm lying on the floor trying to work out which way is up, I hear Mark say that three times through is my breaking point. I think to myself no, three is actually the brink of death.

Now we get to the actual exercises, which is shadow boxing for about four minutes to Invaders Must Die! by The Prodigy. A good track to focus to when exercising. I get through that and then we move to boxing drills. I put on a pair of mitts and Mark the pads and he explains to me how the drills go. Left jab, right jab, left hook, then right jab, left jab, right hook. Now, I'm a lover, not a fighter and don't have much experience with throwing punches, but I have to say it's lots of fun! Once Mark had shown me how to punch using my bodyweight, I was swinging like a pro. For a short while, I could have been a contender...

After this, out comes the kick pad and I'm laying into that with some verve and gusto and having daydreams that cage fighting is an avenue I should explore in my future. Mark then has a go with me holding the kick pad and I realise that being kicked by me must be like being kicked by a gnat. The warm down is about 5 minutes on the cross trainer. We finish after that and I get my reward of a really nice protien shake of Marks own concoction. This is my favourite part of the experience so far. I am still gasping for air and very aware that my lung capacity is really poor and something I must work on. I have had another training session with Mark this week and will tell you about that in the next missive. I feel I perfomed better the second time but still loads of room for improvement. See you next time. 

This blog is also available in the "Pour Homme" section on my good friend Amanda's lifestyle website Pretty Luscious Things. The link to it is below. Women will love it, men will be wise to read it.

http://www.prettylusciousthings.com/