I bet if you were to ask what three things’ boxers need to have in their fight camp, most people would say: boxing (heavy bag drills, sparring, etc), running (conditioning), and strength training. I would add journaling.
Regardless of whether you are looking to compete in the sport or even just improve as a boxer, it is important to journal your progress - very similarly to when people lift weights, they write down the amount of weight they deadlifted, etc, or when people track their weight loss goals through inches and the weight noted on the scale. I would highly encourage competitive boxers to keep a journal throughout their fight camp. This can be done verbally through voice notes, pen and paper, or even typed on your computer/phone.
I encourage competitive boxers to keep this record because it is a great way to note your emotions as fight camp can be quite demanding and therefore expose things you didn’t think would come up, it’s a great tool to track tactics and drills that you may need to work on, it can be your resource to remember your why as your challenged in the gym, and it can be a great tool to help with the mental aspect of the sport – sometimes the most undervalued aspect of a fight camp.
Pen and paper journaling is my preference. I find it has more meaning when you are handwriting and there can be more moments of free flow writing [where you just put your pen on the paper and continuously write until you are done or your timer goes off]– which can help draw out emotions and possibly issues holding us back. You can also use this journal to reflect back during and even at the end of your training camp to see what were the peaks and dips, how you felt during each week, and track your progress. Some people will argue that it is 90% mental when you step into that ring (personally I agree with this!); therefore having a resource and a guide to continuously work on your mental game throughout your camp can be a game changer!
However, I do understand that journaling can be a daunting task – Where do I start? What do I write? How often do I need to do it?
To keep it simple, I am going to give you 4 quick questions (that can be answered in 5-10 minutes depending on how much you have to say for each) that you should try and journal 2-3x/week.
Questions to journal: 1) Why am I doing this? Aka why do I want to fight? 2) What is something I need to work on? 3) How will I work on this? and 4) What is one of my strengths?
*some of these questions may have the same answer week to week – that is okay as this is used as a continuous reminder of these answers and manifestation.
Why I chose the 4 questions above: 1) You need to know and be reminded of your why for when you have a tough day in the gym – this should help keep you going. 2) There are always improvements that we can make whether they are big or small. 3) It is important to note how we will turn these weaknesses into strengths and have an action plan. 4) We need to be confident in ourselves and be reminded of our strengths because when we step into that ring – you need to believe in yourself, no one can do that for you!
Do you journal? Do you have a boxing journal? Would love to know your thoughts on journaling for boxing. Would also like you to try using my question prompts above and journal for 1 week to see how it goes. Send me an email to: helene@girlsjustwannabox.com to let me know how it goes!
Comments are also welcomed below
