Well, it’s been a shorter week than usual training wise, but ultimately it’s been a good one. Despite having been loggerheads with the worst cold ever at the start of the week, I’ve managed to finish off having cut some weight with an all round good feeling. I think the good feeling is also down to the great run I had earlier on too. You can’t beat  sprints to shake the cobwebs off for the week ahead.

Despite having only got a few sessions in, I’ve noticed that I’m feeling sharper in sparring and as always my fitness is doing it’s thing. I’ve started to think about what I can start to do differently  for fight preparation for April, and I’ve already decided that I’m going to make more of a point than before of making use of my weights at home rather than just doing press ups and sit ups and some cardio (as well as at the gym.) And also I’m adding an additional day for running. And of course, when it comes to the training itself, I’ll keep improving and will do my best to add new strings to my bow.

I’m making sure from next week onward my training is constant as always, and I have a feeling that some big improvements are going to be made all round. One thing that makes me very happy is that I always seem to find the time to train, although missing one of  my gym’s inter club today due to other commitments was a little disappointing. But hey, sometimes you need to maintain balance so I guess it was just one of those things.

I’ve also taken the time out this week to start to try out mindfulness meditations, and next week I’m going to do my best to remember to do this every day before training. It’s a good state of mind and I can see why it benefits fighters. Being able to ignore the clutter and stay in the here and now is crucial when fighting. The meditation I’ve been trying is quite simple and you can find it in the Don Heatrick blog I’ve mentioned before. (Flow state mental training )

I really want to be able to get to a point where I stop thinking and just respond, but I guess this takes many years of training and ha you’ve guessed it..it’s a work in progress. I hope that by practicing mindfulness regularly I start to see benefits in my training and in fighting. In particular, I can see how this allows you to deal with nerves and maintain a positive mental attitude leading up to competition,and also more importantly stay in the moment when your in the fight. After all the time is now.

If it seems like I just flitted around the edges there with mindfulness it’s because I think I’ll be in a better position to talk about it and the benefits I am sure it will bring me after I put it into practice more. And that’s of course on top of the usual.It’s going to be interesting to see what it brings me. I’m looking forward to hitting the gym tomorrow and having a good week of training, and in terms of what’s coming up fight wise I feel positive. I know exactly what I want and I’m going to make sure I get it. Train hard, and as always, I’ll see you on the road.