Top 7 benefits of exercise for your body and mind

1.      It Can Make You Feel Happier: Exercising produces a happy hormone called Endorphins. These endorphins minimize the anxiety of exercise by blocking the feeling of pain and are often associated with a feeling of euphoria. It’s observed that on the days one works out their mood is a lot happier and feel more productive compared to the days they don’t.

2.      It Can Help with Weight Loss: Having a full-time job and an inactive life, it’s easy to pile up calories and fat, especially around the belly and the hips. Hence, it’s important to give your body some cardiovascular exercises to keep that weight in check. By running for around 30 minutes, you can burn an approximate of 300 calories.    

3.      It Is Good for Your Muscles and Bones: Exercise builds and strengthens muscles, which protects bones from injury. Strong muscles also give stability and improve balance and coordination. Exercise improves blood supply to the muscles and surges their capacity to use oxygen. Outdoor exercises such as swimming and bicycling can help build and maintain strong muscles and having cardiovascular benefits. Weight-bearing and resistance exercises are the best for bones since they force you to work against gravity. These include walking, hiking, jogging, tennis, and dancing. Resistance exercises, like lifting weights, strengthen bones too.

4.      It Can Increase Your Energy Levels:  – Exercising regularly increases our stamina and strength. This helps daily activities like climbing stairs become easier. It increases energy levels by strengthening the circulation and the heart muscle. When your body becomes more active internal mechanisms like metabolism and blood flow increase.

5.      It Can Reduce Your Risk of Chronic Disease: Sedentary lifestyles increase causes of Chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, depression and anxiety. You get prolonged life and reduced disease risk with a minimum of 45 minutes of exercising. The first 20 minutes of the workout, if someone has been deskbound, provide most of the health benefits.

6.      It Can Help Skin Health: The sweat caused by working out helps to keep the skin supple and cleans off the pores. It also reduced wrinkles as it maintains healthy levels of the stress-related hormone ‘cortisol’. Furthermore, by toning your muscles helps to reduce the appearance of cellulite.

7.      It Can Help Your Brain Health and Memory: Your brain is no different from the rest of the muscles in your body. Exercise boosts memory and thinking by improving mood and sleep, and by reducing stress and anxiety. It increases heart rate, which pumps more oxygen to the brain. It also releases a plethora of hormones that nourishes the growth of brain cells. Boxing for instance; Sparring or punching a bag sharpens the memory by challenging your mind and muscles to combat each move. Thus, improving hand-eye coordination.

My first class at the Golden Gloves Fitness

The following is an experience from a female member at our fitness gym in Vaughan:

When it comes to workout I have never been fascinated by commercial gyms, in the past, I did gym regularly for three years which garnered no result. My routine was cardio and abs on day one, upper body on day two and lower body on day three and repeat. However, this week, I decided to try out ‘Golden Gloves Fitness’, from the very first step into the gym, I felt a positive and energetic vibe.

The gym is well equipped for the requirements of boxing.

‘Boxing’, being a male-dominated profession it was refreshing to see many females getting trained and some as professional MMA fighters. Alex, the coach has a natural knack for teaching and is very patient yet strict with all his students.

After a quick introduction, Alex pushed the timer at which I had to start punching the smallest punching bag in the room until the end of the buzzer. After a few breaths, I was made to lift light dumbbell weights followed by a body bar workout. To keep the momentum going, Alex pushed the timer again, this time I had to punch a bigger punching bag with the help of gloves, its ideal to get your personal set of gloves but in case one doesn’t have it, the gym provides them to you. After punching the 2^nd bag, I was made to do the second rep of dumbbells, body bars and disk weights along with some squats. Off went the buzzer again, this time I had to punch the 3^rd largest bag on the floor. In the third rep, we ran around in circles with a few stretch exercises followed by dumbbells, body bar and disk weights, additionally a roller to stretch the abs. Buzzzz, it was time for punching the 4^th largest bag and by now I was breaking some serious sweat.

Finally, it was time for some abdominal workout on the inclined bench followed by a series of stretching exercises to ease the tensed up muscles. At the end of that one hour, it was indeed a satisfying full body workout under the supervision of Toronto’s best boxing coach. It is like an indoor boot camp perfectly suited for Canadian snow. The gym is located close to the Vaughan subway station making it easily accessible even by the TTC. I have just enrolled myself and I highly recommend the same for you.

-          Rinku Gala

An account of a weights-lifter at our gym

The following is a reflection & findings of a weight lifter at Golden Gloves Fitness:

I have been lifting weights since 2016 for about 5-6 times per week. In other words, barely missing a day. Usually doing the bench-press and lifting heavy dumbbells. The other day I went to Golden Gloves Fitness in Vaughan to hit the bag and was shocked that I did not have as much as power as I expected. The results really did fall far from my expectations.

What I found was that during the last couple years I accumulated a lot of muscle but not enough stamina. A lot of curves but not enough strength. And most of all, I really did not feel like I was dense enough. Why is that? It only took me until the next day to find out. The answer is: impact. There was not enough of  'impact' being sent back to my muscles & bones when I lift weights. I pumped them, sure. But, I did not use them as a skill or technique.

Boxing really did made me realize that density is super important for power. You don't want to be only bloated with muscles but you also want them to be stronger and resistant rather than just having a 'cotton-candy' body. Thankfully; hitting bags, pads and practicing punches with a partner allowed me to become stronger. The next day, my bones felt denser, my muscles felt more compact and, yes, I had that good muscle 'ache' feel that really do send the signal of progress to yourself and your body.

I also found my respiratory system improved substantially just from a single day at this boxing gym! Now, I did not do much treadmill or running before. I strictly stretched and did weights. When I first came to Golden Gloves, I was out of breath after a couple rounds! I don't smoke but at the same time my running was left to a minimum throughout the years. I was left out of breath after the first round and after the second round I was really starting to feel winded. This has led me to think that lifting weights does not have that much impact on breathing. Luckily, boxing really does get your breathing going and afterwards you feel great! It is a shock how fast boxing makes respiratory system work. No wonder those boxers are so fast with their hands & feet and can last so long in the ring! 

Finally, I am that guy who needs a lot of work before breaking a sweat. At the gym when I was lifting weights, it sometimes took me 20 minutes to be drenched in sweat and sometimes I barely broke a sweat at all. However, when I was boxing, I broke a sweat within 10 minutes! And, I mean that real sweat. That potent , fully drenched from head to toe sweat. I couldn't of been happier because once you break that first sweat the time flies and you know you are going to benefit from your workout the next day.

This is my take and experience when comparing boxing to weight lifting and I hope this insight will benefit you too. I really do recommend to mix lifting and boxing together just to see how hard you can punch that bag. However, doing weights alone felt like it was a cause without an effect. After this experience, I am definitely going to mix the two up from now on and I will surely follow up on my progress later. As always stay fit and looking for ways to better yourself! Until next time, I wish you all the best in your body building progress.

How do I know when my workout is done?

How do I know when my workout is done? This is a huge question at Golden Gloves Fitness and is very common. Shortly put, your work out is done when you're covered in that thin layer of sweat over the majority of your body. You don't exactly have to be soaked but pretty much wet; this is when you know you have made progress in your workout. Before that it is just a stretch or even worse: nothing.

So how do you avoid an unproductive workout? There two factors that come into play in order to make your workout complete. The first, it is time. Anything under 20 minutes simply won't work. After 20 minutes, you have invested enough time for you to be at least covered in sweat. If you are not, you are being too slow or you are doing something wrong. By the 20 minute mark, you should be well into your workout.

We recommend having at least 40 minute to 1 hour workouts, so just add another 20 minutes to that 20 minute mark and your workout all of the sudden feels more complete. The other factor that makes you sweat inside a gym is friction. The more you repeat a movement, the more friction there is between your muscles that lead to sweat. So if you find yourself not sweating enough, you might be simply moving too slow. Speed up your movement with your hands and feet, move your whole body, just don't stop! Remember: it is than thin layer of sweat that send the signal to your body to start forming!

Finally, you just know when your workout is done within your body's intuition or how we like to put it at our gym in Vaughan; behind the science of your body. You don't feel stiff like 'wood' anymore. A common complaint at our gym is my legs feel "stiff" like "wood". The reason for this being is not enough blood flow going to your legs or the stuff/ numb part of your body. Work that part out and warm up, this feeling should go away and when it does & you feel flexible; this is when you know you have progressed well into your workout.

At Golden Gloves Fitness, we understand that everybody is different and how important it is to work with people based on their body's needs. You cannot have the same approach to everyone because we all are different. We make sure that we work your way up based on your capabilities so that you make progress and there is never a dull day. We also put a positive, fun twist into our workout sessions so that you step out of the gym feeling that you have truly progressed. If you want to improve your body and enjoy it at the same time, please do not hesitate to contact us today to hear how we can workout a better you so that you can have a better body.

There is Boxing and then there is everything else

Being focused and avoiding distractions is the main topic of today here at our gym in Vaughan. Over here we like to separate everything from our paramount goals and that is: becoming the best and the fittest. But, how do we do that? That is the prize question. The biggest obstacle that most people face that we notice is their thoughts. Such as: “I can’t”, “I don’t want to”, or “I rather have a _____ (insert your delight)”. These types of thoughts are the ones that keeps people from being all the best they can be. 

“I rather have a donut because it feels good”. Well, guess what? Being fit feels even better! You get

endorphins, hormones and positive energy pumping through your body and if it is done right there is only positive impacts to it when being compared to sugary stuff or any other bad habit. At our gym, we make sure that you do your training right; our coach Alex has a keen eye for this and avoid redundant exercising at all costs. Finally, boxing really does get your body & circulation pumping so that you do reap the benefits of being active. Simply make it a part of your life.

 

“I can’t”. You are saying this because you are mixing fitness/ boxing with other unrelated situations. You got to separate & isolate working-out from everything else and you will feel much better. If you still find yourself struggling to get to the gym simply say this to yourself: “this is me, it is a part of my life”. Or, formulate sayings that work best for you. This leads to our next philosophy; at our gym we feel out what works best for YOU! Our programs are custom tailored for specifically your body. We understand that everybody is different, with a different learning curve and that is why we make sure that we progress with you to higher fitness levels. 

“I don’t want to” is another one of the most common sayings when it comes to training. We hear this so much that we are tired of it also, but we also observed that once people begin exercising and break that first sweat; they right away want more! We cannot stress this enough. Stress what? The once you break that first sweat everything changes saying. And, after you do get sweaty, you really do think that there is boxing and then there is everything else; you literally put everything aside and start saying “it can wait until I am done working-out” instead. Indeed, the tables do turn around quickly once you have the right mentality and we are dedicated to help you do that; you will be back for more & more, our guarantee!

We just want to go back to our programs and how things function here at our gym. We first assess your level of fitness/ boxing and then we take it from there. We provide you with all the tools & knowledge that you need to be successful in your bodybuilding process. That’s right, we really do have that personal approach to each & every person that comes through out doors because we are more than just a gym we are wellness, health and fitness center for anybody who wishes to improve their life. 

If you are interested in our boxing and/or fitness programs, contact us today to hear how we can help you become all the best that you can be. We are always looking forward to being in touch with you and to be here for you every step of the way. We are located just north of Toronto and we are dedicated to being your to go to stop for fitness and overall wellbeing. And, as always, stay tuned for more information on boxing/ fitness related news, info, and advice from Golden Gloves Fitness & staying fit!

The importance of cardio exercises

How do we make our boxers last in the ring so long? How come they are so fast? These are the types of questions we get at Golden Gloves. The reason for them being able to be so quick, so agile is because we have them do cardio; a lot of cardio work! It is very important to be able to breathe well during a match because you run out of breath quickly, even within one round! How do you avoid being winded or being out of breath? Again, doing cardio work, of course. So, what is it that we exactly do to improve that at our gym boxing & fitness in Vaughan? We will get right into this question in today's news.

At our gym don't be surprised to be asked to make laps outside. This is routine and yes, we do believe it is better than the trend mill. How come you may ask? Firstly, the traction that you get from the ground is much different than the trend mill. You will see better results in muscle build-up in your legs running outside rather than from a trend mill, our guarantee. Secondly, wouldn't you rather enjoy the great outdoors when it is not cold outside; rather than running on some machine inside a building? A lot of people think they can bypass running outside by going on the trend mill, but, you know what, running outside is not that bad after all.

After you are done your laps, we don't leave cardio just there. We have you do skipping rope, jumping jacks, fast movements around the bags and once you have your breather going: sparring. This is when we test how well you breathe. We pay close attention, with a keen eye on how you are breathing. But, there is more benefits from having a respiratory system then just for boxing. Breathing well also means stress reduction, increase in confidence and aligning yourself with the nature of the world. That's right at our wellness center, we are here for you and for everything.

So there you have it, the key to our success in the ring is the breather. It is really important emphasize on cardio exercises and we do them all the time here at our gym in Vaughan. If you are interested in our classes, get in touch with us today! We are always looking forward to be hearing from you and improving your overall health. Stay tuned for more fitness, boxing and health related news. And remember: stay healthy, my friends!

Working-out as an adventure

The most common drawback people face when it comes to working-out is lack of excitement or interest in the hard work that involves in training. This lack of enthusiasm usually exists before exercising and, all of the sudden, there is a lot of sensation for training after the workout session. The reason for that being is: energy bursts. When the body is cold, it is hard for it to be excited for large scale movements. But, once it is all warmed up, all perspectives about exercising change. How can we remain excited for the gym at all times? This is what we are going to discuss today's post.

There are many tools at your disposal to make fitness a part of your life. You just simply haven't prepared them. First of all, your biggest obstacle is your thoughts: "ooh it is so hard to get to the gym", how about, try this: "the gym is my temple, my refuge, a place where I get to know my body better". This type of train of thoughts really brings out excitement for training and it really makes working-out an adventure. Stay ambitious, my friends.

After having the right mind frame, there is no telling how far you can go. You will quickly realize limits are set for yourself, by yourself. Now that you are thinking right, set up stations and be curious about how these 'stations' will develop your muscles. What are stations? For example; one spot is skipping rope, one spot is a bag and one is weights. Clock them in at 3 minute rounds and switch them up and like this you have stations set up. But, remember, when you approach these stations, to remain curious about how they work with the physiology of your muscles. If you don't see the results that you are looking for; switch your stations to other activities right away!

Progress is key. You can't stay motivated without seeing results. Those big & dense muscles is the prize & the end goal! Without the reward of strength, there is no point. Record your progress diligently and highlight the areas of your body that need work. You can do it mentally (if you have a good memory) or physically by writing it down on paper. The main point is for you to realize, actualize & materialize your goals of transforming your body to all the best it can be.

Lastly; be comfortable. This is last but not least of importance. Let's face it you can't workout well in uncomfortable pants or shoes or in an unwelcoming atmosphere. You want a positive, can-do & fun gym. Play good music, buy a new pair of running shoes and follow your favorite athletes. You being immersed in the world of fitness makes it so much easier for you to make it a part of your life. The difference is like night & day. Accept it as trait of your character: you are athletic. This is what you will tell people when they ask you what type of person you are.

At Golden Gloves Fitness, we are dedicated to make your fitness & boxing experience as profitable as possible. We make sure you progress and that you are fast on your feet and with your punches. At our gym we make you level up and at the same time we maintain a positive, welcoming and fun atmosphere to anybody who wishes to improve their fitness, boxing and overall health. We are located just north of Toronto, in Vaughan, and we are always looking forward to be seeing you here!

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