Confidence In and Out of the Ring

“I am the greatest; I said that even before I knew I was.” - Muhammad Ali

Building confidence in and out of the ring is an interesting topic to explore. We tend to think and believe that we need confidence in order to do something rather than focusing on how doing something builds confidence. We can even use not having confidence as an excuse to not do something we so badly would like to do. How many times have you heard someone say, "If I had more confidence than I would do ____."? Well the problem with that is confidence is not something that we just always have, it is built much of the time by doing the very things we believe we cannot do.

So people tend to "naturally" have more confidence than others. This can be the result of a variety of things including upbringing, experience, willingness to take risks, and positive support in one's life. The great thing about confidence is it can be built just like a muscle. And when it comes to fighting in the ring its important to work on building your confidence just like it is important to work on building your phsycial skills. Building confidence takes practice, work, and time just as skill development does. And just as building our muscles can result in post exercise soreness, you better believe that building confidence comes with its own post

"exercise" soreness as well!

Confidence is the result of taking risks and learning that you can survive and thrive in all areas of your life. Let's say you are terrified of the idea of competing, taking small risks to get you to the point of competing is how you build your confidence in your ability to take on this task. You must be disciplined in your path towards building confidence just as you maintain discipline in your training program. If you aren't challenging yourself daily, even in small ways, you will not reap the benefits of heightened confidence.

So how do you build confidence in and out of the ring? Here are a few easy steps to start the process...

1. Ask yourself, "Where am I lacking confidence?"

2. Then ask yourself, "If I had confidence (in that area), what would I be doing differently?"

3. Decide what your goal is (how do you want to show up?).

4. Think of 3-5 things you could do daily that involve some level of perceived risk (no matter how small)

5. Do one of those 3-5 "risky" things daily

Again you must take risks in order to build confidence. You don't just get to be confident in the ring because and have nothing to back it up...that is false confidence! You must believe in yourself on a deep level! You must know that you can do things and thrive because you have taken risks and survived. At Warrior, we want you to be successful and confident in and out of the ring. Getting in the ring can be a huge confidence builder whether you choose to compete or not. Training like a fighter also promotes confidence within. The combat sports and martial arts training at Warrior are designed to challenge you and bring out the best, strongest you!

When Times Get Tough

As an amateur boxer preparing to train for my first fight I began to realize the correlation between how I fight in the ring and how I live my life out of the ring. Some say boxing is a great lie detector! It's just you up there in that squared ring. No one to hide behind, no teammates to pass to, just you! Competing shows you who you really are, your strengths and your weaknesses, you bare it all! It can be very scary and incredibly empowering!

There are times in your training and in competition when things get tough. You are losing the fight, you mind isn't in it, you are distracted, you have a bad day of training filled with frustration...how do you handle tough times? Do you give in and give up? Do you dig down deep and keep fighting? Do you change your attack or strategy? Do you breath and focus? Do you blame yourself or others for not preparing you? Do you accept it and keep moving forward?

You don't have to have fought in the ring to know the answers to these questions. Simply think back to a time when life got tough and maybe things seemed like they would never get better. What did you do in that time? How did you show up?

Whether you ask yourself these questions about life, training or fighting you will find the answers enlightening. Knowing these answers can help you see what you need to change in order to be successful inside and outside of the ring.

Now I know that fighting is not for everyone, nor should it be, but for those of you that have contemplated the idea of fighting (sparring or competing) and have yet to step up and make strides towards doing so...what is stopping you? The answer is...you! I invite you to take the challenge and test yourself. Put yourself in a position where you will be learn more about yourself than ever before. You will learn how tough you are mentally and physically, you will learn where you are strong and where you are weak, you will learn how you show up in life especially when times get tough!

Sometimes we need to test ourselves to see where we are at otherwise we will keep moving through life without being our best. We will stay safe, small and just on the brink of our best self without ever manifesting it!

So what did I learn about myself thus far after training for almost a year and fighting my first amateur match? I learned that no matter how tired I am I never give up! Which is parallel to my life...I have had my fair share of tough times and the thing I am most proud of is that I kept going and never gave up even when others thought I couldn't do it. I learned that I keep moving forward and I stay on it. I am focused! I will be damned if something or someone gets in my way of achieving what I set out to do. I also learned I need to work on relaxing and attacking situations from an angle. Sometimes attacking head on in the ring and in life is not the best strategy. I need to work on changing my approach and not getting tunnel vision. I also need to continue working on trusting my instincts. Fighting is the physical display of the mental game. Every time I get in that ring I learn something new about myself and become more confident and empowered!

My intent in blogging about this topic is to encourage each of you to assess how you handle things when times get tough. I want you to take a moment to get real with yourself and look at how your get in your own way and where you excel. I want you test yourself and become the best you! I want you to challenge yourself to approach life's challenges from a new position and grow from each tough experience.

Here are Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness we pride ourselves on investing in each individuals growth and development in and out of the ring. We have coaches in your corner supporting, motivating and challenging you to do more than you thought you could!

Knows that how you fight in the ring is parallel to how you live life! And I know that I never give up, I keep moving forward and I stay focused! It also teaches me what I need to work on both in and out the ring...relaxing, not always attacking things head on and trusting my instincts! Learning about yourself is key to success...what have you learned about yourself when things get tough?

5 Tips for Staying Motivated to Keep Training During the Holiday Season

Staying motivated to maintain your training is not always an easy task.  Very quickly life, work, and excuses can get in the way of getting to the gym.  As the holidays approach we find ourselves over scheduled and not making time to get our regular training sessions in.  We have work parties, family parties, traveling, cookies and treats in the office, shopping, eating on the go and more parties (oh and of course yummy ho ho mint milk chocolate mocha's at Caribou). 

So in the midst of being super busy and eating differently than usual this time of year how do we stay motivated to keep up with our training routine?

Well we have 5 tips to do just that!

1.  Schedule time! This is key because if you don't schedule time into your day to train it can easily slip down your priority list and get bumped to tomorrow's to do list.  

2.  Start with 10 minutes!  Okay so now you have scheduled time, and you don't want to go...what to do?  Start with 10 minutes.  Get 10 minutes of activity in and start there.  Once you are at the gym and doing 10 minutes of whatever (walking, jogging, jumping rope, etc.) you will be more inclined to stick it out a little longer and get in a full 30-60 minute workout.  And if you don't get in more than 10 minutes, not a problem you were 10 minutes more active than you would have been if you didn't do a thing!

3.  Get a workout buddy! Training with a partner keeps you accountable.  If you have an appointment with each other you are not only accountable to yourself you are accountable to your partner.  You can keep each other motivated when you just don't want to go it alone!  Accountability is a key to success! So whether you workout buddy is a friend or your coach/trainer, make sure to make and keep those appointments!

4.  Multitask!  The holidays are a busy time and squeezing in long training sessions can be a challenge.  So multitask when you train.  Make the best use of your time in the gym.  Get in a short run and some resistance training, or do a full body conditioning workout instead of a split muscle group routine.  Get focused! What is the best use of your time, what do you need to focus your training time on?  If you are a combat athlete, focus your time of what you need to improve on, pull back on your roadwork and training what needs improving.  If you are a runner, focus your training time on running and pull back on cross training.  The point is again use your time wisely and efficiently.

5.  Find motivation within!  Saved the best for last...the best motivation is that which is found within.  This is no easy task, many of us struggle with internal motivation for a variety of reasons, but at the end of the day this is truly the key to keeping your training routine going year round.  External motivation can only get us so far and then our mind can trip us up.  It always comes back to the mental game! So spend some time discovering your internal motivation.  Why are you training?  What is your goal? If you achieve your goal what will that give you?  Peel away the layers to discover the true motivation that lies deep within! I know that I keep myself going knowing that my opponent might be training hard if not harder than me and I am going to "sweat in the gym so I don't bleed in the ring".  Whatever your own personal inner motivation is let it carry you through the holiday season and anytime getting training in feels challenging. 

You can stay on track during the holidays! Make the conscious choice to do so! Follow these 5 tips and see yourself succeed when the odds are against you! At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness we provide you with scheduled time, the opportunity to get those 10 minutes in, workout buddies and time efficient workouts...you provide the motivation within...and we promise you will accomplish your goals!

#5 Reason Your Training Can Fail: No Accountability

While some of us prefer to train solo and others enjoy working with a team or group, having some sort of accountability is key.  Even when we are disciplined with our training program, not having accountability can limit our potential.  Accountability can be found in numerous places.  A coach or trainer, training partner, training team, etc.  Having someone to check in with, an appointment time with your coach or trainer, or practice time with your team can significantly increase your success rate.  

The truth is we get more done and do much more when we work with someone, when we work together.  We are more productive, we push harder, and we grow more when we work with others.  Working with others is never easy and in fact can be down right challenging at times, but in the end we become more.  We are humans and we are designed to desire relationships. So it would make sense that we need others to help us be the best we can be.  

When we make the commitment to a training partner, coach/trainer, or team and we honor the accompanying time commitments we are not only making ourselves accountable to the other, but to ourselves.  We are telling ourselves, "I count enough to make this commitment which will better me a priority, there I am a priority to me!".  

At Warrior Fighting Sports & Fitness, we provide the environment, the team, the coaches and you provide the "you"! We give you all the opportunity to grow, succeed (in and out of the ring), and change, you simply need to decide you are worth it!

All the greats in boxing didn't come from much but they did believe in themselves and had a team backing them and succeeded.  Now they could have decided that they weren't worth all the effort and bailed, but they didn't! They maintained their accountability to themselves, their trainers, coaches and their team.  If they hadn't honored their commitments and hadn't accountability they would not have accomplished what they did.  

Ask yourself, "where do I fall as a priority in my life?", "is training a priority to me?", "who or what am I accountable to?", "where do I need to make some shifts in accountability?".  The answers to these questions may help you uncover why your training might be failing you.  

Reason #4 Your Training Can Fail You: Overcomplicating the Process

We have all heard the phrase 'knowledge is power" ...which is is very true.  The problem with it is when it comes to training we have information overload and we can let it get in the way of our success.  We go searching for all the information available in attempts to train smarter and more efficiently.  There is a TON of information out there and unfortunately much of it is false or merely has a grain of truth which gets exaggerated as absolute truth.  

The real truth is training is not complicated.  We make it complicated.  Of course there is always developments in training science.  We are always discovering new things and improving on what we already know.  And while its important to train safely and be educated we must not let the information overload get in our way. 

What do you need as a combat athlete?  Speed.  Strength.  Endurance. Power. Stamina. Explosiveness.  Quick Reaction Time. Skills. 

So train those areas!  Run for aerobic foundation and speed training.  You are not training for a long distance race, so listen to your coach and keep it simple.  Do intervals and do, yet limit aerobic running.  Strength train.  Lift weights to build strength no more than 2-3 times per week, but don't hit the weight room like a bodybuilder.  Do plyometrics for power and explosiveness.  The training regimen for us is complex, but not complicated!

And at the end of the day you need to develop your skills and get ring time in.  All the conditioning in the world does you no good if you have zero skills.  

Don't over think things or complicated the process.  Set a goal.  Listen to your coach and follow your program.  Be patient! If you find yourself making things complicated you are probably getting in your own way and inhibiting your success.  Get rid of all the optional stuff in your head and keep it simple.   

If you need coaches you can trust, simple, safe, effective guidance and programming, and want to train in an environment that fosters success check us out at Warrior Fighting Sports and Fitness in Downers Grove, IL.