Don't be a Slouch...!

Question from a Customer

I am interested in Shadow Boxer and wondered if shadow boxer can help with poor posture? I have slouching shoulders and bit of a hunch and am looking for some exercise equipment that can help with this and also improve my fitness. Can Shadow Boxer help with posture and to strengthen my lower back?

Our Answer

Rounded shoulders affects a lot of us, caused by a number of factors including working position and weak or inactive muscles. These can manifest as shoulder, neck and back pain. A combination of tight pecs, lats, weakness in the upper, mid back and core muscles can also contribute.

Below are examples of exercises you can perform with the Shadow Boxer to build the strength of the upper back muscles, that are responsible for good upper body posture and muscle balance.

Wide Rows - Rear Deltoids, mid and lower traps and rhomboids.

In a seated position, legs out straight position the belt against the underneath of you feet, grab the handles, sitting up straight, breathing in to lift the ribcage pull the arms back as far as you can without momentum, the upper arms should be at a 45 degree angle to the torso.

After your full range of motion has been achieved, slowly return to the start...
You should feel the muscles of the rear shoulders, lower neck and muscles between the shoulder blade working.

Rows – Lats, mid and lower traps and rhomboids.

The same seating position as the Wide Rows is needed, only difference is the arms now pull in flush the torso sides, the hands come into finish close to the arm pits.
You will feel the large v-shaped muscles of the back

These exercises are very straight forward, just remember to keep your shoulders down and the back position as if you standing tall and proud.

Keep the movements slow so you’re able to feel what’s going on and keep the maximum control over the muscles working.

For the Lower back

See our previous post on reverse crunches. This is an awesome exercise to improve posture and help with lower back pain.

Thanks

SB Team

Accelerate Those Legs

For those of you that have bought a Leg Accelerator I wanted to provide some tips as we just had a question from a customer and wanted to clarify a few key points? This will also help you get the most out of your leg accelerator workouts.

Question
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"I get virtually no resistance as my legs are so short"

Answer
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Leg Accelerator

• Lower level kicks to waist height or below -- We use the main shadow boxer bands say 'H' heavy band attached from leg to leg NOT hip to leg as in the brochure.
  
• Higher kicks to head height -- use the 'LB' attached from leg to leg.
• The key difference is you don't attach the bands from hip to leg this is for people that have either shorter legs or want to maximise the effectiveness of their workout. This was another insider tip we borrowed from professional fighters and we use it like this ourselves.
  

What we would recommend

• I would recommend use X-treme bands for the SB unit and use one heavy band from leg to leg, this is if you want the hardest workout. Vary the combination for different levels of workout. So maybe Medium bands on the Sb unit and one 'H' between the legs.
  
• This will allow you to use both bits of kit together.
• Benefits -- even if you do no kicking you should feel this on the legs. For example as you move around to drive forward with the legs you have to extend the front foot thus putting the band under tension then you retract the rear leg. So just with some foot work alone you will feel the difference. Add in some low kicks and you're cooking on gas!

There a lot of content here if you need any further clarification we can give you a buzz to explain. Let me know if this makes sense.

Even if you have any other questions and want others to benefit from the answers let us know.

Keeeeeeeeep punching

How to get the most from Your Shadow Boxer Workout? Just for Mums

We were recently helping some new mothers tone up and lose weight with advice on their workouts...whilst watching some we realised that they were making a few small errors when using the Shadow Boxer which drastically reduces the effectiveness of their workout. So here are some essential, must do tips that, if you implement will give you surprising results...firming up those wobbly bits...FAST.

1. Firstly, when you form the stance as in the DVD...assuming left foot is forward. We advise that you keep your hands up at all times

• A quick self check is that your left thumb should be able to touch your left cheek bone when you extend your thumb.
• Your right thumb should be able to touch your right chin, when you extend your thumb.
• Simply put keep your hands up...this will extend the bands and so you get a gentle shoulder, arm and tricep workout by just standing there!
• Please be aware this will be difficult to maintain at first but stick with it, you will see the benefits in a few weeks...I promise you....it will blast those bingo wings.

2. Secondly, when you throw a punch, punch to your own nose height. Now I know you're not necessarily going to get in to the boxing ring! But the reason for this is most people punch low and this means you get less resistance, therefore a less effective workout.

3. Finally, and most importantly, we noticed most people punched only with the upper body with their legs fixed. This means they are only getting an upper body workout. But what about exercising your bum, thighs, tummy, waist line etc...Well, this is the magic bullet...if you do nothing else do this and you will watch the pound drop off.

• The key to punching is it comes from the ground up and essentially it is the rotation of the hips that drives the punch forward...don't believe me...
  
• TRY THIS. Stand up legs slightly apart, relaxed, arms by your sides. Twist/rotate your hips from left to right. Relax your arms. Get into a rhythm. Notice what happens to your arms. If your doing it right they are swinging without you moving them. This is the SECRET to punching. Now you just add the punch with the rhythm of the hips at the end of the swing and BINGO. So why is this so important...
• When you punch like this you engage the entire body from the legs, bum, thighs, abs. What makes this really effective is when you punch say a left followed by a quick right, this quick change of direction requires that the entire body contracts so that you get the opposite punch to go forward.
• Normal punching is great exercise what Shadow Boxer does is accelerate all of this so you get the same effect in half the time!
  
• AND THAT"S THE MAGIC...this WILL tone up and pull in your waist, firm up your bum & thighs and generally firm up those wobbly bits.

Many of you already know this which is why we get so many emails back telling us what great results you get. But some don't and that is why we posted this rather long note.

Any questions or comments please let us know.

KEEP PUNCHING

How Much is Reaching Your Fitness Goals Worth?

As some of you may notice we put the prices up on 1st Feb, 2011. We tried our best to avoid this and haven't put the prices up for over two years. But it is a combination of things that meant we had to put the prices up. Obviously VAT went up on 4th of Jan but together with increasing freight costs and exchange rates means that we put our prices up on the Shadow Boxer and Leg Accelerator. All other prices have been held.
You still get great value from us (The Official Store), think about this:

• How much is reaching your fitness or weight loss goals really worth?
• The cost of one Shadow Boxer is still approximately the cost of 1 months gym membership
• The results people get speak for themselves whether it be weight loss or sharper, faster, punching, improved cardio etc. Just read some of our geniune testimonials.
• We offer free advice and support to help you reach your goals and have helped numerous people with useful hints and tips that have helped many people from amateur fighters to recent mothers improve their fitness

We do this because we are a company of enthusiasts and actually use the products not a company that sell loads of different fitness products. As such looking after our customers is at the heart of our business. Email us with any questions if you need help.

Keep punching