Boxing Lesson - Day 1

Today was the day I would be changing my life...I hope. My plan was to sign up for and start my private boxing lessons.

My day started about 10am. I had a couple of bowls of cold cereal. Because of the 7 mile walk, I was tired when I woke up. However, I did manage to eventually get out of bed. My plan was to leave my apartment about 2:30pm. Leaving at that time would allow me to stop off at a sporting goods store that specialized in boxing equipment. I also wanted to stop off at an electronic store in the area to buy another cell phone. I can't find my cell phone.

Anyway, I ended up missing the 2:30pm MN train, but I wasn't worried since I had so much time. I took the Westchester bus down to NYC. I arrived at the sports store about 4:15pm. Wow, so much for early start. Anyway, I bought the following things:

Boxing shoes ($50)
Hand wraps ($5)
Boxing gloves ($50)
A stopwatch ($15)

With tax the total came up to $130.05. What about the boxing gloves I bought on Saturday. Those were made of plastic. I was told that the boxing gloves sold in the chain stores were cheap gloves not really designed for hitting the punching bags. So, I'll take the cheap gloves back some time this week.

Anyway, by the time I finished in the store, it was about 4:45pm. I took the train back to midtown Manhattan. When I got out of the station, I was feeling, hot and weak (mostly due to not eating lunch). I stopped off at MacDonald's. I ordered a Big Mac and a medium orange juice.

I arrived at the gym at about 5:50pm. I was having second thoughts about starting today, and when I entered the gym, the thought lingered:

There was no paperwork to fill out.
The locker area was very small crammed with too many lockers for the space.
The shower area only had two working showers
My "trainer" knew boxing, but I don't think he really knew how to teach it.

They say that doctors make the worst patients, I would like to say that teachers probably make the worst students. As the guy was "teaching me", I kept saying to myself that that isn't how I would teach this...knowing full well I don't know squat about boxing.

The Paperwork
Well, as I mentioned there was no paperwork. The lady who took my money, just verbally spoke about the days my private lessons would occur. When I mentioned that I needed to write the days down so I wouldn't forget, she offered to scribble it on the receipt she gave me. Then when the trainers changed, the days change also. I think my days will be M, T, W, and Thurs.

The Private Lesson
So what did I get for the my $280. The guy (I forgot his name) had me standing in front of the mirror with the same foot stance practicing various basic punches. Over the years, I've gone through great lengths to avoid mirrors like the plague, but there I was standing in front of the mirror for all to see...the Pillsbury Doughboy's black cousin from out of town trying to look tough....throwing limp-wristed punches into thin air. I did that for about 30 minutes on a "boxer's schedule" (meaning working out for 3 minutes with one minute break). No warm up, no stretching, just the same stance (right foot in front of the left, boxer's crouch, arms up). The guy wanted a different punch combination for each set, but the stance stayed the same. After thirty minutes, the guy put me on the treadmill. He told me to "walk a little and run a little for 30 minutes", then he went to train someone else. No warm up no stretching. When I finished "my walk", I told the guy I was finished. he said that tomorrow, I would do the same thing, but with gloves, he also said that he would teach me some exercises to deal with my gut, then he poked me in the stomach....

....And I giggled liked the Pillsbury Doughboy.

The Locker/Showers
The lockers are about 6inches wide, and of course, placed right next to each other. However, the aisles are only about 2 feet apart. Assuming the floor tiles are 1ft. squared (they could be smaller), the two aisles (there were only two) were two squares apart. The gym may have even used the floor tiles to do the spacing of the lockers.

The showers - Two toilets, but low on toilet paper. Four showers, but only two were operational. The showers in the corners were both disabled (the knobs and the shower heads were removed), so that only the two showers that are visable to the bathroom area were operational. Normally a jelly belly such as myself would shower in the corner, but that was not an option.

Well, so a less that positive experience. So, will I be back tomorrow? Yes. I've told myself that I am paying for the boxing lessons, that I would not get on my own. Having quit at so many things to list here, I really do need to make a change.

Pillsbury Doughboy's cousin does need to die -- no, I'm not being literal.

The place is not great. But at the very least, I should try to stick it out for a couple of months. Besides, when and if I quit, you (regular readers of this blog) know I'll be running for a pint of Haggen Daaz.

211bs / 32.2%BMI


Post Date - Sunday, August 31, 2008 11:35PM
Completion Date - Tuesday, August 5, 2008 1:03AM

Boxing Plans

Another lazy day. Not much to write about. However, I did receive a phone call from the gym in uptown Manhattan(the one I visited July 8th after day 2 of jury duty). It was the owner who had made the call. She wanted to know if I had found another gym. She also mentioned a few other things:

* She mentioned how there is no real competition, but wanted me to know that if I wasn't happy with my new choice, I could always come to her.
* She mentioned how her place isn't about prices (still won't tell me how much it would cost to take lessons).
* She mentioned about how her gym focuses on the needs of individual clients.
* She mentioned her boxing experiences, and physical fitness interests.
* She mentioned the senior program for adults over the age 55.

It was about a 10 minute call. Even though I did not get the information I wanted, I have to be honest, I did like her sales pitch.

I went to visit my foster father. And being a bit depressed that I had not done any thing productive these last few days, I ordered a take out dinner from the local soul food restaurant owned by Koreans (including a large piece of carrot cake with frosting).

When I got home, I was feeling a bit guilty for buying the greasy heart attack on a plate, so I decided to call another gym with a boxing program that I had Googled at the same time I found the uptown gym. At first, I wanted a gym that was close to home -- telling myself that I would be more likely to go if the gym was closer to home. But lately, I've been thinking that another reason is my "homebody" mentality. I mostly stay home, and I am a bit of a waiter. I have a bit of a habit of waiting for opportunities to (almost literally) knock on my door. If opportunity doesn't knock, then I will usually just stay home. I guess you probably figured that out from this blog. What have I been doing since my vacation started? Eating and sleeping it away. Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked.

I decided to take a different approach. I thought about going to a gym that was not "on my way". I managed to find a gym that has boxing lessons downtown. The cost -- they actually posted their prices. The cost (per month) would be $230 for private lessons and $135 for group lessons. At first, I was thinking that there was no way I would be paying for private lessons, but now I'm not sure. Considering I wasted almost half of my summer doing nothing in the way of exercising. Now I'm thinking about using some of my tax refund to splurge on myself by signing up for a one month of private lessons to get me started, and then continue with group lessons after that. My tax refund (and fed stimulus check) are both still laying on my radio. A part of me knows that as soon as I deposit them, somehow or someway, they will evaporate. Sorry, sidetracked again.

Well, that is the plan now. As you regular blog readers know by now, I am Mr. Planner. I'm a good planner, but a poor follow througher. Hopefully, this time will be different. In a couple of months, I will be reaching the big 4-0. I would like a new me -- I'll even settle for an almost new me.

Well, it is late. I'll "keep you posted". Pun intended.

Post Date - Sunday, August 17, 2008 11:12AM
Completion Date - Friday, July 25, 2008 12:06PM

Looking for a new gym

Quick Summary.
Wednesday, July 2nd., I didn't do much. I am slowly slipping into my comatose hermit lifestyle. Lots of sleep and not much else. After finally, getting a bit of motivation, I took a bath, got dressed and was out the door about 3PM. My goal was to visit a local gym offering boxing lessons. I did a Google search to find a gym that teaches boxing. A part of me would like to learn boxing. I think boxing would help me to build some confidence (both personally and professionally). Those of you regular readers of this blog know by now that I go through phases of self-help ideas (gym membership, rowing machine, walking, and now boxing).

Anyway, with the Google search, I was able to guesstimate the distance of the local gym at about 30 minutes. The map showed a fairly easy path (just walk along one avenue until I come to the main avenue). However, I live in mountain country. To get to the boxing gym, I had to do about a 15 walk up one side of a mountain, then the other 15 minutes down the other side of the mountain (mostly stairs). Yep, the second half of the walk was following a zig-zag route down a mountain side that was mostly stairs. Once I reached the bottom, I knew that I would not be attending this gym. I really could not see myself doing a 30 minute or an hour workout, then having to do a 30 minute hike over a mountain, with the first leg of the journey being about 15 minutes worth of stairs to climb. I'm delusional, but not that delusional.

However, since I did the hike there, I decided the least I could do was take a look at the gym. The gym was located in a large warehouse. The warehouse was about the size of a city block. I'm not sure if I came in the building through the back way or not, but after climbing 3 flights of stairs (no elevator), I could not find the gym. I gave up. I was too tired to climb the mountain stairs back, so I waited for the nearest bus that would take me around the perimeter of the mountain.

It took two buses for me to get home. Since there wasn't a lot of wait time for the buses, I was back home at 4PM. I was planning to try another gym in upper Manhattan, but I was too tired. I also canceled my planned trip to the grocery store. Instead, I just took a nap.


Completion Date - Thursday, July 3, 2008 1:04PM
Post Date - Wednesday, July 16, 2008 3:38PM