Last Week's Lesson: The Mirror and The Ring

In each class we start with about 5-10 mins of cardio. The Ring is positioned in front of the students and the The Mirror is positioned behind them. In every class I review the representation of The Mirror and The Ring. Traditionally we would start with jumping rope but with the Teens we basically bounce on our toes. When I yell "DOWN" the students will execute a burpee and when I yell "UP" the students execute a plyo-metric jump. While we are going through the routine at some point I have them turn to The Mirror. In The Mirror you see your reflection, it's a reminder that you are only in competition with yourself. You looking in the mirror today means that you have another chance to improve and grow on the who you were yesterday. Also I reiterate that they are a team and not in competition with one another. That while in class it's beneficial to help each other versus trying to be better than one another. One of the main themes of class is to promote camaraderie among the group and that usually creates a better learning environment.

After a few cycles of burpees and jumps, I have them turn to The Ring. The Ring represents a GOAL. The goal for every fighter is to one day earn their way into the ring. To do that they need to put work in on the gym floor. Coming to classes, paying attention, putting in effort, helping other team members and listening / following instructions, all that translates into hard work. Only through this hard work do you earn a place in the ring. For the students who don't have a goal to get into the ring, the same theory can be applied to goals outside of the gym. The lesson is that you should visualize the goal you want to achieve and just like in the gym it's going to take hard work and dedication to get there. We finish out our cardio with dynamic stretches that focus on the 5 kinetic chain check points, then we get class started.

The purpose of these little lesson are to empower the students in and out of the ring. We talk about respect, safety and the importance of staying focused among a myriad of other topics, that will hopefully reinforce what you as parents value at home. If you'd like to see this in action and you are in the Brentwood/Antioch/Oakley/Discovery Bay area of California, don't hesitate to stop in Thursday Nights at 5pm for my Teen Kick Boxing Class. Don't be late or you'll pay with burpees! For directions and more information on Battle Fit Gym click the link and see what all we have to offer. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you in the gym. #justshowup #phatguyfitness