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I missed the LA Boxing burn and soreness… I think..
Thursday, March 29th, 2012
I hadn’t been to La boxing yorba linda in a while. The schedule and training had not aloud me to do so. I made it a point to get there last week and boy, I forgot how SORE I am after a LA boxing work out. I have become a little whimpy being away from the workouts. I forgot how amazing it felt and just how hard you work.
This class, again, nothing like the last. We did new warm up workouts and new bag drills. I have yet to find a class to be mirrored from the last. I love the change and exciting difference. My muscles are constantly challenged as well. The new moves and constant new drills leave me challenged and different muscle groups working. It was awesome.
One La boxing workout is like 3 workouts at any other gym. They just can’t compare. I feel so far a head with just one workout at La boxing, so far behind when I try to supplement there workouts any where else.
Get to La boxing. You’ll be glad you did, and will reach your goals faster. I promise.
Happy Sweating!
Aloe Vera – An Ancient Healer
Thursday, February 16th, 2012
The following is a article written by Andreas Mortis, a practitioner of Ayurveda, iridology, shiatsu and more. While many articles have been documented about the benefits of Aloe Vera; this commonly known natural healer has more to be discovered. As you participate in the LA Boxing Workout™, your body will be challenged to reach new levels of fitness health. With that, we encourage you to find ways to replenish your essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Here is just another example of the many options one can find to enhance performance and create nutritional balance!
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Throughout the ages, aloe vera has been known as the ‘medicine plant’, ‘burn plant’, ‘first-aid plant’ or ‘miracle plant’. Even today, it is one of the most effective plants for treating burns, healing wounds and relieving aches and pains. It is recommended for psoriasis, where, when used regularly, it reduces scaling and itching and greatly improves appearance.
Aloe vera became very popular for its use in combating the severe burning effects caused by x-rays and nuclear disasters. Radiation burns cause skin ulcerations that had been nearly incurable until physicians began trying the old folk remedy of the aloe leaf.
Today, this plant has gained such great popularity that it is being used in many cosmetics and health products. Aloe vera juice that is taken internally has been found to be effective in almost every illness, including cancer, heart disease and AIDS. In fact, there is hardly any disease or health problem for which this miracle plant has not been proven successful. It is helpful for all kinds of allergies, skin diseases, blood disorders, arthritis, infections, yeast overgrowth, cysts, diabetes, eye problems, digestive disorders, ulcers, liver diseases, hemorrhoids, high blood pressure, kidney stones and stroke, to name a few.
Its use is most beneficial if treatments are applied both internally and externally. It contains over 200 nutrients, including the vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, C, E, Folic acid, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, copper, barium, sulphate, 18 amino acids, important enzymes, glycosides, polysaccharides, etc.
There are an estimated 500 published independent research studies conducted by doctors and scientists on the healing agent found in the aloe vera plant and its non-toxic benefits. That is many more studies than one would find on any other natural substance, and hundreds of times the confirmation of safety and effectiveness of any drug available.
A word of caution: watch out for the frauds:
Since the consumer market has created a great demand for aloe vera juice, production is increasing rapidly. Unfortunately, many brands contain inadequate amounts of the plant juice to be effective. According to the law, if you take a 10,000-gallon vat and put 9,999 gallons of water in it and then add one gallon of aloe vera juice, you are allowed to advertise that it contains ’100 percent pure stabilized aloe vera’. You are not required to mention how much extra water has been added to the 100 percent aloe vera juice. Hence many people are disappointed because they do not receive the acclaimed benefits. Before using any brand it is good to check out the exact table of contents as mentioned in a company’s brochure or better ask the company to give you the exact figures of contents.
Also, don’t be tempted to buy the cheapest aloe juice for it is expensive. If you are not getting any benefits from it, you may have chosen the wrong product. Try other brands until you are satisfied. Tests have shown that less than one percent of readily available brands contain acceptable levels of aloe vera to be of any medicinal value. From the over 1,000 brands of aloe vera available on the market today, some hardly have a trace of the plant extract in them. Their labels contain such phrases ‘it tastes like mineral water’ and ‘no additives or preservatives’. Chemical analysis reveals that these ‘products’ contain almost nothing but plain mineral water.
The good news is that more and more people have begun to see through the fraud business; hence, many other companies are now also introducing the real thing.
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To continue reading the full article, choose the link below:
http://www.andreasmoritzblog.com/2012/02/11/aloe-vera—an-ancient-healer.aspx?ref=rss
A Compact Guide to Creative the Fitness Habit
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
Post written by Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net.
A new year, a new slate of resolutions.
Perhaps the biggest resolution at New Year’s is to get fit — start exercising, start eating right, and all that jazz.
But resolutions never last. As you might already know, I’m not a fan of resolutions.
Instead of creating a list of resolutions this year, create a new habit.
Habits last, and they lead to long-term fitness (and more). They require more patience, but they are worth the wait.
As some of you know, fitness habits are what started me along the path to changing my life. I quit smoking, started running. Then I started eating healthier, became vegetarian (now vegan), quit the junk food addiction, started doing other types of workouts (bodyweight, weights, Crossfit, anything that was fun).
And six years later, I’m nearly 39 years old and in the best shape of my life. I have less bodyfat than any time since high school, more muscle than ever in my life, and I can run and hike and play longer than anytime in the history of Leo. That’s not to brag, but to show you what can be done with some simple fitness habits.
Reshaping Through Habits
The appealing thing about many fitness programs is that they promise quick results. You see testimonials from people who have gone through the program and lost 30 lbs. and gain a washboard stomach in just 4 weeks!
That’s all complete crap.
First, most people won’t achieve those results. Second, and more importantly, if you do get quick results, you’ll reverse those results very quickly … because you haven’t created new habits. You’ve just done something intense and unsustainable for a short period of time. That’s nearly worthless.
You should be focused on long-term results, and more importantly on a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle starts with changing your habits and ends with long-term results.
Changing habits takes time. I recommend one habit at a time, and give yourself about a month per habit. That takes patience, but you shouldn’t try to see amazing results in just 30 days. You should enjoy your new lifestyle, which will be an amazing result in itself that you can achieve immediately. In a matter of months and years, your body and health will change too.
Let’s say you change one habit at a time, one per month or so. You’ll have 12 new habits every year. Even if you only formed 6 habits that stuck and that you loved, you’d be amazed at what kind of changes those 6 habits would create in your life and fitness. If you did 6 habits a year for three years, you’d be transformed.
If you don’t have the patience to change one habit at a time, or focus on enjoying your new habits rather than getting quick results, you should stop reading now.
Which Habits to Choose
So let’s say you’re just starting out … what habit should you start with?
My favorite habit is daily exercise, but if you’re looking to lose weight probably the most important habits relate to eating.
In truth, which habit you choose first matters very little in the long run. You will be changing many little habits over the course of the next few years, and the order of those habits is unimportant. What matters is that you start.
Here are some habits that I’d start with, if you haven’t created them yet:
- Exercise for just 5 minutes a day, adding 5 minutes per week. Make it a fun exercise.
- Drink water instead of sweet drinks.
- Replace fried foods with vegetables.
- Eat fruit and nuts for snacks.
- Eat lean protein, including plant proteins, instead of red meat.
- Add strength exercises to your routine — pushups, pullups, squats, lunges.
- If you’ve been doing all of the above for awhile, add some weights — compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, dips, chinups, overhead presses and rows.
I’ve found that losing weight is simple: eat lots of veggies and plant or lean protein, reduce calories, do some kind of cardio, lift some weights to preserve muscle.
Gaining muscle is also fairly simple: eat lots of veggies and plant or lean protein, increase calories, do some kind of cardio to preserve heart health, lift heavy weights to grow muscle.
The weights should be compound lifts and heavy, the cardio should be enjoyable. Getting “toned”, btw, is just gaining muscle and losing the fat that covers the muscle, whether you’re a man or woman.
Forming the Habit
These are my top principles for forming habits. If you’ve read my writings on habits before, this won’t be new to you, but often it’s good to review these principles for things you’ve missed:
- Make it social. This is an incredibly powerful too. I highly, highly recommend Fitocracy to everyone, as it’s a way to make exercise fun and social (invite code: ZENHABITS). It turns fitness into a game, and you log your exercises, get points, encourage others, complete fitness quests, get props for workouts you’ve done. Other great ways to make your habit change social: report on your daily progress to friends and family through Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or email, find a workout partner, get a coach, join a running group, join online fitness forums, join a class.
- Do one habit at a time only. People often skip this one because they think they are different than everyone else, but I’ve found this to be extremely effective. You increase your odds of success with just one habit at a time, for many reasons: habits are hard to form because they require lots of focus and energy, having many habits means you’re spreading yourself too thin, and if you can’t commit to one habit at a time, you’re not fully committed.
- Make it your top priority. People often put off fitness and diet stuff because they’re too busy, too tired, to stressed out by big projects or the holidays, etc. But in my experience, those are great reasons you *should* be exercising. So make your new diet or exercise habit one of your absolute top priorities for the day. If you don’t have time, you need to make time.
- Enjoy the habit. This is extremely important, and most people ignore it. If the habit is fun, you will stick with it longer. And even better, if you are enjoying it, you immediately win. You don’t need to wait for a bunch of pounds lost or other results — you get instant results because you’re enjoying the change. I find activities I enjoy, I join challenges or races to make exercise fun, I enjoy a conversation with a friend during a run, I eat healthy foods that are delicious (berries — yum!) and focus on savoring those foods. Focus on the enjoyment, and don’t make the habit change a big sacrifice.
Final Recommendations
Many people set fitness goals for the year. I’ve done it myself, but lately I’ve found that I can get fit without them. For one thing, when you set goals, they are often arbitrary, and so you are spending all your effort working towards a basically meaningless number. And then if you don’t achieve it, you feel like you failed, even if the number was arbitrary to start with.
You can create habits without goals — I define goals as a predefined outcome that you’re striving for, not activities that you just want to do. So is creating a habit a goal? It can be, or you can approach it with the attitude of “it doesn’t matter what the outcome of this habit change is, but I want to enjoy the change as I do it”.
So enjoy the habit change, in the moment, and don’t worry what the outcome of the activity is. The outcome matters very little, if you enjoy the journey.
The journey to fitness can have an infinite number of paths, and setting your path in advance by setting goals is limiting. Allow yourself to change course on a whim, without guilt of not achieving a goal, and you’ll find new paths you’d never have anticipated when you set out.
But the most important step of the journey is the first one. After that, the most important step is the one you’re presently taking. So take that step, and enjoy it.
Yorba Linda has a new Trainer… Welcome Emanuel..
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
Let me just start by saying, boxing trainers are amazing. Personal Trainers from other gyms and fitness programs come to train with LA Boxing trainers. They are the best in the business, I think that is obvious. If you are questioning my opinion, watch Rocky again, you have 6 films to chose from..don’t worry.
It is always exciting to come to La Boxing and find a new member to the team, a new trainer. The current trainers are amazing, but a new trainer adds spice, and a change. Don’t get me wrong, I have yet to attend a class that was identical to the a previous one. This spring I will have been attending for 2 years. That is numerous months of training to have a class not be the same as the one before. Props to the trainers for keeping it fresh, and continuing to challenge my body.
Yorba Linda has found a new gem to add to the team. His name is Emanuel. He added an entire new element to the classes. His class was continuous with lots of running, jump squats and intense movements. It reminded me of a combination of typical boxing , Bodyrock TV( for those of you familiar with that) and insanity. It was fantastic!! He was encouraging and motivating. He roamed the class while doing the movements himself. It was new, exciting and HARD. Who wants to go to the gym for easy?
Currently Emanuel is teaching during the week at 6:30 and some 7:45. —> Click HERE for schedule. You can also contact the gym for personal training packages to get more of a one on one experience. I promise if you attend his classes, you will be more than satisfied , and sore before you’ve even had a chance to glance at the clock. It’s great, and I thank you Emanuel for my screaming buns the next day!!
There’s 24 hours in your day. Let LA BOXING be the best of those 24. You’ll be glad you did.
Happy Sweating!!
Ivy
P.s. We live in CA, its always bikini( speedos for you men;)) season, get it together!:)
LA Boxing Member Profile: Meet Sage Dreith.
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
My name is Sage Dreith. I am a third year law student at San Joaquin College of Law in Clovis California. I work part time as a bartender and as an intern for the District Attorney’s office and for the Public defender. I have a huge family that I love and three crazy Jack Russell Terriers. To say my schedule is busy or that my life is crazy would be an understatement. My life is often planned down to the hour for weeks in advance. Weight loss has been a life long struggle for me, and law school only added to the stress and the pounds. I have been on every diet in existence and would often lose weight, only to gain it all back plus more. In the beginning of 2011, I weighed more than I have my whole life and was finding my size 18 pants too tight. I was devastated and really had no idea where to start.
My LA Boxing is located near a very popular Fresno restaurant, so I passed near it all the time. I never thought I would ever be a member. In the summer of 2011, we had a regular customer in the restaurant and bar where I work, Cory Moore. He worked for LA Boxing. Cory talked at great length about how LA Boxing would be a life changing experience. Finally after a few weeks of convincing, two other girls I work with and I went to take advantage of the free class we were offered. I was scared to say the least and almost chickened out a few times on my way to class. But I was overweight, overstressed and I decided to give it a try. My first class was with Shahean Eftekhar and I have been hooked ever since.
The best thing about an LA Boxing workout, for me, is the personal attention, pride, and dedication that each instructor has in getting you to your goal. Every class has something new, exciting and fresh. I feel stronger and more empowered with every workout. A personal challenge for me has always been finding the time and motivation to work out, as well as finding something that I enjoyed to do. LA Boxing has given me all those things. I took advantage of my free personal training session with Shahean and realized I wasn’t on my own; there were people out there who cared about my success and would help me if I wanted it. Shahean was that person for me. In addition the classes I regularly attend, I purchased some personal training sessions with Shahean. He drew up a personal meal plan for me, took all my measurements, and helped me set realistic attainable goals. Shahean taught me a great deal about how to work out correctly and how my diet affects my weight loss. I have completely changed how I eat. I’ve always enjoyed healthy foods but with the correct knowledge under my belt I can use food to my advantage now. I love my post work out breakfast of egg whites, spinach, mushrooms, salsa and whole wheat toast. It really is something I look forward to after my morning workout.
When people ask me what I have been doing I proud to tell them about my experience with LA Boxing. Most are curious about how a boxing gym works and are just as scared as I was to try it out. As a woman, there is nothing more empowering then just laying all your troubles out on the heavy bag. I always tell the curious how amazing the trainers are and how closely they work with everyone. The managers and staff are amazing; they know my name and make me feel welcome every time I walk inside.
Above all, LA Boxing is nothing like your typical “gym” experience. There is no waiting for machines, wondering what to do, gym rats hanging out, it is a place really dedicated to fitness and health. Next to home, and school, LA Boxing is where I spend my free time. To date I’ve lost 75 pounds and have gone from a size 18 to an 8. I’ve never been this size in my life. I’ve never been at this weight (and I still have a little more to go to my final goal.) I’ve never felt or looked better. Some people wonder how I stay motivated and keep up with my plan every day. I am honest, I have my slips, my up days and my down days, days where I just rather stay in bed, but in the end I know that I am not alone in my quest. Shahean and the rest of my LA Boxing family are just as invested as me, in my success and I know they truly care. For me, that makes all the difference. LA Boxing has completely changed my life.
Are Multivitamins Good For Us?
Thursday, December 8th, 2011
The effectiveness and safety of multivitamins have come into question on many occasions – so how do we know if they are good for us?
Over the past few years, consumer health organizations have done many studies on multivitamin labels and containments. In a test of 21 vitamins by ConsumerLab.com, just 10 met the stated claims on their labels or satisfied other quality standards.
Avoid the vitamins singled out by ConsumerLab.com, and stick with mainstream names such as Centrum Silver and One-A-Day Women’s, which were found to be free of impurities and accurately labeled. Also, check vitamin bottles for the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP), NSF International (NSF), or ConsumerLab.com (CL) seals. The USP and NSF are nonprofit groups that verify whether companies offer contamination-free products and use good manufacturing practices.
Vitamins are vital nutrients your body needs to function properly and help supplement your diet. If your diet is rich in fruit, vegetables, fiber and lean protein, you may not need to take a multivitamin and would be better off supplementing only the vitamins you don’t get through your diet such as vitamin D or anti inflammatory like fish oil pills.
Keep in mind – taking a multivitamin every day does not give you a “free pass” to eat a poor diet filled with processed, junk foods. And as always, it’s important to balance your diet with regular exercise. To get in the best shape of your life – try the LA Boxing workout and click here to try a free class.
Thanksgiving Day Damage Control..How not to store that stuffing..
Thursday, November 24th, 2011
We start the season with a candy filled holiday,( halloween) followed by a change in time(Day light savings), forcing us to be couch potatoes by nature. ( Its really not our fault, darkness causes a rise in serotonin, a hormone that makes us sleepy.) So when it’s dark at 4:00pm, our bodies naturally say, no gym, yes couch (no excuse for those potatoes chips,however)
That is all followed by Thanksgiving, a national holiday known for chowing down. There is always room for moderation, no matter what your fitness goals are. You can have your turkey, ( stuffing,gravy, three peices of pumpkin pie) and eat it too. Here are a few tips, I think you’ll be thankful for.
1. Drink Water. Water flushes our system, leaving less possibility of feeling bloated from all the salt, sugar, and extra calories. When your “plumbing” lacks water, it lacks the ability to rid your body of toxins. When you are dehydrated, you often confuse your bodies thirst signal for hunger. Drinking water all day long can help you recognize hunger pangs, versus thirst, leaving you less likely to head back for seconds, or fifths, again no judgement. Ice water burns more calories. Your body has to warm up that water to use it. So, Drink up, Water, that is.;) and make it cold.
2. MOVE. Your stuffed to the button, or past that point with that button unhooked hiding under your holiday sweater( no judegment;))… I know nap time is the typical thing to do. MOVE. Help clear dishes, clean dishes, pick up trash, go for a walk with your kids, play football, toss the ball, walk your dog, just MOVE. Your metabolism will think you needed those calories you just stuffed in your mouth and begin to burn them. Not near the amount you ate, but alot more than what you would burn sitting on the couch. You’ll thank yourself for this one. I promise.
3. Say NO to left overs. Don’t take those bags of chex mix covered in sugar, thinking you’ll give it to the neighbors, coworkers whatever your excuse. It wont make it over there, neither will that potato salad or those pumpkin pie slices. Leave your home as your safe healthy place, you have to fight junk everywhere you go, don’t make home be one of those places.
4. FIBER . Get fiber. Dinner time rolls around and you’ve already had plenty to eat, but your stomach is grumbling again. Instead of reaching for left overs( which hopefully you didn’t take home), reach for something light and high fiber. Water clings to soluble fiber in the body allowing it to flush out toxins in the colon. ( cleaning the “plumbing”) and taking those under eye bags with it. A light salad, a bowl of steel oats, raw veggies, or fruit would do wonders.
5. Take your supplements. It is more important now than before to take your supplements. The body is working so much harder to skim through the empty(nutritionally worthless) calories and find the nutrients it can use. Skinned sweet potatoes covered in marshmallows do not count as a vegetable. Once you cook vegetables above 115 degrees, it kills the naturally accruing enzymes that help you digest your food. You body can produce the enzymes but that takes energy, thus why you feel drained when you eat poorly. Don’t skip your supplements, your body NEEDS them more than ever, especially after three plates of stuffing with gravy.
6. Drink Green Tea/Coffee. Warm liquids help wake up your “plumbing” and green tea, is green tea! Add a little fresh squeezed lemon and your cleansing the blood stream. The caffeine also helps get the metabolism going. Green tea is known to hydrate faster than water itself. Watch creams and sugars in those lattes. Pumpkin spice doesn’t count. Try black coffee/tea, or skim milk if needed.
7. Drink Fresh squeezed juice. Either make this at home yourself, or pick some up the day after. Click –> Here for a site with awesome recipes. Juicing will change your life, why not start today. It is a way for the body to get immediate nutrients without expelling the energy to digest it and break it down. You are already sluggish from all the food you ate, give your body a break, and nutrients all at the same time.
Any Mothers Market in Southern California has a juice bar. I pick up 32 oz several times a week. Here is their link with maps.
Mothers Market you can also call ahead and have it pre-made. (its faster).
Nekter Juice bar Have not personally tried this, but heard they are good.
Whole Foods - Similar to Mothers market in ordering and pricing.
Ritual Cleanse - pre-order only. Fresh Juice, or Cleansing/detoxing systems. I’ve done the juice cleanse. Im addicted. It’s fantastic. I highly recommend it. The juice comes to your door, nationwide, or you can pick it up at certain locations in OC, LA area.
8. Remember everyday is a new day. Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful, not gluttonous. Tomorrow is friday, and it is not thanksgiving, you do not need pumpkin pie for breakfast, or stuffing. Start your morning with a high lean protien breakfast with lots of fiber. Protein smoothie with oats, egg whites with veggies, or grapefruit and nuts . What ever you like. Be conscious of carbs and fat, as most of us over consumed those the day before. You will not die, their is plenty in ” storage”. This will greatly reduce your bloated feeling, and get you back on track!
Happy Thanksgiving!! Be thankful for that delicious food, and be thankful our bodies are living, and we don’t have to store that stuffing in our rumps forever.:) The body is an ever changing beautiful thing. That is something to be thankful for.
Happy Sweating!-Ivy
5 Tips for NOT Gaining Weight During the Holidays
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
The holiday season doesn’t represent one day of overeating. It’s the period that begins around Thanksgiving and extends through the new year where there’s more alcohol, snacks, finger foods and appetizers, which are typically very high in calories.
A big part of enjoying the holidays is bonding with friends, family, coworkers, etc. around a table of food –eating, drinking and being merry. For this reason, the social aspect and family traditions can make it very difficult to avoid overindulging. If you want to still have fun and eat what you want, without paying the price of gaining weight and feeling uncomfortable – follow these 5 tips:
1. Eat what you want, just eat less of it. At parties, grab a small plate and arrange a few selections of your favorite things on the plate. Eat slowly, enjoy, and then get rid of the empty plate and grab yourself a beverage to cleanse your palette. The plate helps you see how much you are eating as opposed to grazing all evening.
2. Drink a lot of water. Not only does drinking water help prevent hangovers, it also makes you feel fuller and lessens food cravings. Try alternating one alcoholic drink with one glass of water.
3. Eat to fuel your body, and workout to stay healthy – don’t workout to eat. Many people think they need to exercise an extra 20 minutes because they ate a slice of pie, but by connecting food with exercise, you will miss the whole point. Food is fuel. Exercise keeps you fit and strong. A good workout routine is even more crucial during the holidays by helping you sleep, aiding digestion and reducing stress. Commit to exercise now – you will benefit from feeling and looking great while most people wait until January.
4. Divert your attention. Holiday celebrating goes beyond just food. Focus on enjoying the people in the room and having great conversations and dancing.
5. Start today. Be firm with yourself and don’t make excuses. There are many things in life we can’t control, but you do have the power to get in shape. Start today.
Breast Cancer Awareness Event – October 8, 2011
Monday, October 3rd, 2011
To help promote breast cancer awareness month, LA Boxing is offering no enrollment and a free Fitbook Pink for every new member who signs up this Saturday, October 8th. In honor of all the women who are fighting breast cancer, we’ll be offering free classes throughout the day, raffling prizes every hour and donating a portion of every membership sold to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. Help join the fight against breast cancer and come workout at LA Boxing this Saturday! No enrollment valid October 1-8, 2011.
We hope to see you there!
