advertisement

Fittest Loser writer finds herself hitting the target

I'm not clumsy. But occasionally, I perform random gravity checks and give the floor a hug. Walls have a tendency to get in my way and furniture has been known to attack me.

On rare occasions, especially when I find myself in a state of increased activity, Mother Nature has been known to mess with my coordination. At times, this has spooked my personal trainer, Joshua Steckler, owner of Push Fitness in Schaumburg. Apparently, hand-eye coordination is somewhat important when you're taking boxing lessons.

At least once, I accidentally bounced my boxing glove off my own face. On several occasions, I made my trainer flinch when I almost missed his target mitt — coming close to his face. But that was so yesterday. From time to time, I still confuse my left with my right when boxing, but he says I'm getting much better.

“I'm not scared that I'm going to get hit in the face anymore,” Steckler says, grinning at me.

Boxing has become one of my favorite activities during my training in the Fittest Loser Challenge, organized by the Daily Herald and Push Fitness. You don't need to be a professional fighter to benefit from boxing. Punching target mitts and bags is an excellent option for calorie burn and stress relief — and it's cheaper than therapy.

“I know you enjoy it,” Steckler says. “But I don't do it only because you think it's fun, but because it's very effective. From an intensity standpoint, I can push you harder than if you are on a treadmill.”

Boxing lessons are a recent addition to my weekly exercise regime. With only three weeks left in the challenge, I've asked Steckler if he plans to make any other changes to my workouts.

“We need to keep you progressing with your big body movements,” he told me. “For most people who want to get into better shape and build muscle, those types of movements are most effective. Your body as a unit becomes stronger. With you, that was the game plan from day one.”

Some of these big body movements include lunges, dead lifts, squats and presses. I remember when I did my first set of lunges with Steckler. Positioning one leg forward with knee bent and foot flat on the ground while the other leg is positioned behind requires balance. It's a good thing the ground was there to catch me. But I'm progressing at this as well. Steckler, who enjoys seeing me sweat, now makes me do them with weights in my hands.

I've also learned to embrace squats. In the past, squatting was something I did in front of the refrigerator at 2 a.m., trying to find that hidden Snickers ice bar at the bottom of the freezer. My definition of a squat has definitely changed in the past two months.

“Your squat depth and stability have greatly improved,” says Steckler, referring to the squats I do at the gym. “(In the beginning), you were doing partial squats. They weren't as pretty as they should have been.”

Well, there you have it. I squat prettier now — and not in front of the refrigerator. Before the challenge is over, Steckler plans to teach me a few more simple mobility movements and keep working with me on different variations of big body movements.

“My hope for you is that you continue with what you have learned here. I want you to have a database of those foundational movements so you leave here with some type of direction,” he says. “It's up to you how far you'll take it.”

Though I often enjoy complaining about my physical abilities and limitations, I've learned to have fun while working out. During certain training exercises, I'm positive that I look very silly. But I've learned to check my ego at the door — at least partially.

Learning about strength training and how to optimize my cardio workouts has opened my eyes to new possibilities. I've also realized that “big body movements” have gotten me the types of results that I've never accomplished with cardio alone.

Life would be perfect if sweatpants were sexy and junk food didn't make you fat. But my life is far from perfect. That's why I feel fortunate to have learned so much about exercise and nutrition during this challenge — and I'm sure I have a few more tips to learn.

• Kat Zeman is a freelance journalist who has discovered that boxing requires a good amount of hand-eye coordination. Though she still occasionally confuses left with right, she's getting better at hitting her target. She lives in Darien.

By the numbers

<span class="fact box text bold">Starting weight:</span> 163

<span class="fact box text bold">Current weight:</span> 155

<span class="fact box text bold">Total weight lost:</span> 8 pounds, 4.9 percent

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.