03 June 2009

back to boxing!

After more than a week of not boxing, I went to the boxing gym tonight after work. My hands were well-rested, and I was psyched to work out again with my trainer.

When I got there, the place was full of people. All this nasty rain and cold weather is forcing people to work up a sweat indoors. Ryan was in the middle of training this big guy, and so I did warm-ups and punching bags first to pass the time. As I worked on the bags, I watched as Mr. Big Guy punched away on Ryan's mitts, and I idly thought to myself that I might have to wait for 30 to 40 more minutes before I get to train with Ryan.

When the bell sounded after three rounds, Ryan nodded, dropped his mitts, and clapped the guy on the shoulder. "Okay, good. That's it for today."

What?

I stared at them in disbelief. Three rounds? Nine minutes only?

Ryan turned to me, rubbing his hands in an almost wicked way. "Ano, nakapagpahinga ka na? Box na tayo!"

How many rounds did that guy do on the mitts in total, I demanded. My trainer shrugged. "The usual. Six rounds. Three rounds earlier, then nag-punching bags sya, and then another three rounds."

"Six?! How come I get more than that? You make me work on the mitts for a minimum of 10 rounds!" I whispered to him furiously in Tagalog.

My wrath was totally lost on my trainer, who shrugged again and answered in amusement, "Ano ka ba, kaya mo naman mag-exceed ng 6 rounds eh. Why should I let you train below your capacity?"

Before I could retort that I wasn't training to compete anyway, the bell sounded again. Ryan touched my gloves with his mitts, raised the left mitt, and shouted, "Jab!"

He left no room for argument at the moment. And so we worked out, on the mitts, for 45 straight minutes and 15 more minutes on bags and ab crunches. No water breaks, as usual.

For that short span of time, I forgot to stay indignant, and just punched away. I was happy to be boxing again (it's something I really love to do in spite of the minor injuries), and I noticed that my punches had somehow improved in terms of power and speed. It really, really, really pays to rest.

Ryan was yelling out a series of combinations without pause, and I did my best to keep up. I was dimly aware that the music in the gym had stopped, and I was the only client left boxing on the training floor while the other trainees (mostly men, argh) stood around, resting. It's truly mortifying to be the center of attention.

Pride kicked in, and I grimly told myself not to f*ck up while everyone was watching. I was so absorbed in making my punches faster, that I went off timing, and threw an extra jab that wasn't supposed to be executed in the first place. It was a good thing Ryan still had his mitt up because I landed that jab on the mitt, which hit my trainer squarely on the jaw.

For a fleeting second, Ryan looked completely stunned. And then I could hear some people, mostly the other trainers, cheer in approval (of my stupid extra punch??). I gasped in horror, and I grabbed him by the arms in an awkward, apologetic semi-hug. "Omigod, omigod, sorry po!! So sorry!!"

Fortunately for me, Ryan wasn't angry. He even said teasingly, "Grabe, ma'am, bumibilis ka na, ha. Biro mo, di ako kaagad naka-iwas sa suntok mo."

Before I could react with a small smile, he added, quick as always, "So this means, bibilisan ko na yung pace ng next sessions mo."

Huhuhu.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous11:37 AM


    OT: Hey sports fans, i know this is a bit off topic, but just to let you know Manny Pacquiao will be getting back in the ring with Timothy Bradley this 2016. Fortunately we can still see his training and fights at Manny Pacquiao Video Channel

    ReplyDelete