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

Shadow Boxer and Tricep Kickbacks

Here's a great exercise to banish 'bingo wings' or develop your triceps so essential in the development of short range explosive power...if you like to punch things.

Shadow Boxer Freestyle Punching with Ex-Royal Marines

Hi all I know we haven't posted for a while. We've just been so busy. But we've got lots of exciting stuff happening that you will soon hear about. Here is a clip from an informal session we did with some ex-royal marines and and ex-amateur boxer. We will post some different exercises soon. This will add to your current repertoire of exercises.

A 40 Yr Old Woman says Shadow Boxer Improves Breasts, Waist, Arm, Bottom and Thighs...What can I say?

I bought the Shadow Boxer belt in August 2010. I am a hard working woman in my 40's and wanted a whole body workout but never get time to go to a gym and like many people have bought countless bits of rubbish over the years and so really was not expecting much. I loved the Shadow Boxer from the first moment I use it, and noticed results immediately, and planned to use it for the rest of my life.

Your service and product range is fantastic and I love the fact that you are a dedicated group of enthusiasts.

I think most women see the Shadow Boxer as a boxing training programme only they do not see its true potential for them – which is a shame. I bought one for my friend’s birthday and she loved it. For women there can be no better workout as it tackles all the problem areas in one workout and it works!!!!!!!!!

I do the 20min workout every morning using the light arm bands but have now started using the medium bands.

My breasts and waist showed immediate improvement.
Arms, bottom and thighs, 2 months later I noticed big changes, my body is changing shape and becoming toned and improving drastically.

The other noticeable effects are fitness and energy, I now take the stairs always two at a time and running for a train is a piece of cake. I can eat what I want and still lose weight. What better testimonial could women want??? All women everywhere should be doing this!!!!!!

Best wishes
Annie

Paul Briggs challenges Danny Green

Shadow Boxer's very own PAUL "Hurricane" Briggs is back - determined to give fight fans the one blockbuster he could never organise on The Contender.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Briggs, the bruising light-heavyweight who retired in 2007, is on the cusp of inking "a fight Australia wants to see" against IBO world cruiserweight champion Danny Green.

"Twice I've tried to fight Danny in the past and twice I've been denied.

"OK, so he wasn't dodging me, he legitimately had other things on his radar. But he doesn't have anything else on right now.

"So let's get it on. Because I know there's been talk about Green and Anthony Mundine but, mate, I commentated that fight and it was ordinary. Why would people want to see a rematch? This is about two natural punchers going at it ... it's a guaranteed ball-tearer."

A champion kickboxer in his youth, Briggs twice fought Polish brawler Tomasz Adamek for the WBC light-heavyweight title in bloody, brutal encounters. And the orthodox fighter, who most recently worked as a trainer on reality TV series The Contender, said he had no concerns about taking on Green despite his three years spent outside the ring.

"I'm a natural puncher. I'll be 80 and knocking blokes out," he said.

"You look at those Adamek fights, I tortured the guy. Gave him two massive fights and he's since gone on to become a three-time world champion, a bloke who has slayed them all.

"As for getting in shape, that won't be a problem either. That's the difference between natural fighters and those who train for it. Natural fighters, guys like myself or Garth Wood, we can jump out of bed any day of the week and be ready to go. (of course he also has a secret weapon to help get fighting fit...but then we would say that!)

"So I don't need any warm up fights. Don't need time to get myself organised. I can be in a car tomorrow headed for Sydney if we can get this deal across the line and do something positive for Australian fight fans."

"I mean, for the past couple of years I've had people asking me to come out of retirement. Saying 'when will you fight Choc or Danny Green?

"That's why I'm doing everything in my power to get this across the line. Sure, I'm taking this fight for me, no one else. But if there's one thing I've learnt about Aussie sports fans it's that they love seeing two Aussies go hard at it. Who wouldn't?"

Article courtesy of Nick Walshaw From The Daily Telegraph posted on Paul Briggs website The8Count

Shadow Boxer Classes in Oz

Check out this Shadow Boxer Class in Oz. Look like great fun. If you want to start a class of your own please contact us to discuss.
Keep punching.

Female Customers feedback on Shadow Boxer

Straight after I wrote the previous post on 'Can Shadow Boxer be Used by Women' I got this email from a customer and wanted to share it with you all.

"Have been using the Shadow Boxer VRT2 now, pretty much every day for 13 weeks, and have really noticed changes, many changes with overall health...especially using every day, just using the workout on the DVD has made one HELLAVA DIFFERENCE!!!!!! . Have worked up to using the 'Hard' resistance straps. Guess the next step is the Power Punch Leg Accelerator......Thank You"......Karen ffrench, (Older than forty, I didn't want to over step the mark by publishing Karen's age...I hope this is ok)

Another female customer was so enthusiastic about the product that she excitedly rang me up and proposed a slogan for us "THINK IT, DO IT, DONE IT". What Rosealind went onto explain was how Shadow Boxer was so easy to use was that all you had to do was think about using it, pick it up and before you know it you've finished a quick workout, but that it feels like a workout that was considerably longer!

Now remember, these people have not been paid to say these things and I know it may even sound as though I've embellished what they said...I promise you I have faithfully reproduced what they have said or emailed me. I even asked them to send in little video clips of themselves talking about how Shadow Boxer has helped them but, as expected they were both a bit bashful. So this is the only way I can pass on what they have said.

They demonstrate in my eyes that whether you're a professional fighter or someone wanting to lose a bit of weight or someone wanting to get a bit fit...that with some effort and determination you can achieve great results. SO I HOPE YOU SEE SHADOW BOXER IS NOT JUST FOR THE BOYS.

KEEP TRAINING

Can the Shadow Boxer VRT be used by Women?

We get many women that buy the Shadow Boxer VRT. Ironically, male fighters and women want the same thing!

• To tone up without putting too much muscle bulk on
• Burn Fat
• Improve fitness & endurance
• Resistance training minimise injuries which may happen using weights
• Flexible & compact device you can take any where
• Improve punching to keep your other half in check! (This last one's a joke)

Punching is a really good all round exercise especially for saggy arms as punching against resistance tones the triceps. But make no mistake it's not just about the upper body. If you punch correctly (see Paul Briggs lesson our DVD) this actually tones up your abs, waist line, legs and your bum, as you have to twist from the hips and push from the legs to drive punches forward. Doing this repeatedly will take inches of your tummy, tone your bottom and thigh muscles also.

Finally there are lots of other exercises on our blog that we are adding to when we get a chance. See our previous post on Reverse Crunches in March 09 for instance. This the best exercise for lower abs (often neglected) which encourages better posture AND strengthens your abs both which make you look a lot slimmer and in fact reduces the chance of lower back pain due to poor posture.

Finally, remember this basic equation...there is no quick fix to weight loss. If you use more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. Shadow Boxer ups the calories you burn in a fun way and so the pounds should fly off, if you use it regularly.

Good luck

Manny Pacquaio Uses Shadow Boxer

We introduced the 'PACMAN' to Shadow Boxer back in Decemeber 2007 courtesy of Tino Ceberano. Manny's hand speed is already legendary but being the perfectionist that he is continually looks for ways to improve his training both from a fitness and fightng perspective. Obviously, our commiserations to Ricky Hatton who unfortunately felt the full force of Manny speed and power.

Shadow Boxer Quick Release Mechanism

Firstly, apologies for not blogging for a while but we have really been inundated with orders. So many more people joining the Shadow Boxer Fitness Club! We do have more posts of some great new exercises in the pipeline.

We were recently asked for a video clip on using the quick release buttons on the belt so we've posted this quick video to help anyone having difficultly.




P.S. this request came from a user of the product that was 70+ years of age and he was keenly using shadow boxer to keep fit and trim! Hats off to Bernie...I'm hope I'm still using Shadowboxer when I get to your age. Keep punching.

Hope the video helps

Do you want a Slimmer, Trimmer, Summer?

Word is defintely spreading about the Shadowboxer VRT and the thing is this is not just with combat enthusiasts, people are starting to realise that exercises that fighters use are good for everyone to tone up and get fit. For a start punching exercises are a simple great way of exercising your entire body, of course if you got to do it right (see our DVD with a professional boxer showing you correct technique). But people are also realising that the Shadow Boxer VRT is not just for punching. It's great for abdominal exercises. So here's one that will not only improve your posture but also make you look a lot slimmer as it targets the lower abs, an often neglected part of the body. Targeting this area has a significant slimming effect as it tends to pull the hip to a neutral rotation position, just this has the effect of making you look as though you've lost pounds. It also happens to be good for you as it encourages better core stability and spinal alignment, which basically means you get less back pain from imapct caused from bad posture whilst walking, running etc. So here's the exercise...

Reverse Crunch



Place the Shadow Boxer VRT belt over your shins as shown in the image. Grasp the handles however it feels comfortable and place you hands on the floor. You can start with the feet on the floor if you prefer.

1. Then raise your feet to 90 degrees as shown in the first picture in the sequence. Please make sure you back is firmly pressed into the floor and not arching.
2. Keeping that hand grips pushed into the floor raise your hips off the floor whilst holding the hip to knee to feet position firm. In other words you are only rasing the hips off the ground a few inches in a controlled manner (not throwing the hips off the ground and usng momentum). ote it is the hip that raises off the ground and the feet follow almost incidentally...NOT the other way around. Breath out as you raise your hip.
3. Slowly lower to the starting position breathing in whilst you do.
4. Repeat 3 sets of 10. This sounds easy but as you will soon discover this may be too much so even if you can only manage a few that's fine to begin with. Vary few people exercise the lower ab muscles and so many won't be used to it and will find it hard to begin with.

The great benefit of this is that you get double whammy due to the fact that you are puching your hands to the ground whilst doing the exercise so you get a tricep workout as a 'Brucie' bonus. No more Bingo Wings.

Advanced Tip

Move your arms out to 45 degrees to your body and that takes the exercise to the next stage...still too easy...refer to out previous post of straight legged reverse crunches (do not try this is you are a beginner)

Is the Shadowboxer VRT too expensive?

To all those that think the Shadowboxer VRT is too expensive...We just noticed this review of the training DVD that comes FREE with your purchase. The boxing capital gang reviewed the DVD. Now I must admit we didn't know they did this but it makes for interesting reading. Click here to read the full review. Now remember the guys at Boxing Capital are either ex-boxers or still keep their hand in so they are talking from experience. They know about punching, overall cardio fitness and competitive fighting. So it's an informed opinion. They also provide in my opinion the most thorough reviews we have had and we are planning to use this expert feedback for future product development, which we could tell you about but then we have to kill you ; )

Anyway, they think it's worth £15+ when compared to all the celeb fitness DVD's out there, so bearing in mind the VRT is selling for £64.99 Free P&P we believe as a total package it represents fair value when you compare it to what's currently on the market. Consider this:

• One months gym membership would cost about the same
• Multi-gyms would cost substantially more and you can't really take them with you. They would be a rather large suspicious bulge in your bag and you might need a forklift to help!
  
• NO product currently offers you dynamic & mobile resistance to your punching and fitness exercises quite like the VRT

(ok ok I'll get off my soap box...and step away from the keyboard).

You gotta be in it to win it!

Urban Krav Maga & Shadowboxer

We recently visited the Central London School of Krav Maga, in Oxford Street under their Senior Instructor Stewart McGill. Stewart has impressive credentials, having been trained by Yamaguchi Hanshi, Goju Ryu and been an instructor with the International Krav Maga Federation. He has also trained with the Israel Krav Maga Association and trains in boxing and MMA so it should come as no surprise that Stewart has a no nosense, no frills and very direct attitude to training. What better place to test the Shadowboxer VRT out but with his students.

So Nigel (Bald guy, professional PT, 20 years of Jujitsu) and I took them through their paces with a 15-20 minute work out. See the video clips for a taste of the session.
After a nice gentle loosener we got them doing some military press sets...just to warm those shoulders up and great for developing punching power and stamina...

As you can see it's hard work and it really works those shoulders. I won't go through the entire workout. But we also did some punching (milling) sets with pads. You don't really need to do this with pads but it is a martial arts class so we thought it would be rude not to.

We finished off with some reverse crunch situps (see 1st picture) and paired resisted sits ups. All in all the Krav Maga students seemed to like the workout and realised how versatile the VRT truly is. As we always say "the proof of the pudding is in the eating". The Krav Maga guys have voted with their pockets and bought quite a few units.
Thanks to Stewart McGill for graciously inviting us to his class and allowing us to teach and thanks to his students, whom gave it everything they had for the workout, they didn't hold back and were truly knackered after the workout. If you would like to know more about Krav Maga Stewart McGill, despite being pretty lethal, is a friendly, approachable guy and would, I'm sure would welcome enquiries.

Work Those Legs...Drive with the HIPS!

Sorry we haven't had a chance to blog recently, but is seems that everyone's is rushing to buy the VRT's for Christmas, so we've been rushed off our feet!

Here's a little exercise that we borrowed from a boxing gym, courtesy of Tony Cesay. We have shared this with many fighters and here's a picture of Dean Amasinger, MMA Team Rough House, trying it out.

Wear the Shadowboxer VRT as shown in the picture and make sure your coach or training partner has a firm grip of the handles.

1. Get within range with a heavy bag and then make sure your trainer/partner pulls back so the cords are under tension.
2. DON'T LEAN FORWARD from the upper body. which is the temptation but instead use your legs to drive forward from the hips keeping the body position upright. Get your trainer/partner to periodically correct you.
3. Do your usual punching sets or sequences on the heavy bag

Advanced tip:
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If you're feeling energetic your partner should move rapidly from side to side destabilising your stance. This means you really have to grip the ground with your legs and drive forward from the hips to hit the heavy bag.

Boxers and martial artists use this to develop strong footwork and using the Shadowoxer VRT in this way makes you very aware of your footwork so you can work it.

Have fun.

Independent Review from Boxingcapital.com

We are interested in feedback from everyone that uses our product but it's always nice to hear views and reviews from boxers, fighters and fitness professionals alike as you know that these people are likely to be more discerning than the average person (you and I).

Boxing Capital is a new website that uniquely combines Boxing News, Comprehensive Equipment Reviews, Technique Tips, Betting and Travel advice. It is run by boxers and enthusiasts for boxers and enthusiasts so we supplied them with a Versatile Resistance Trainer gave them a quick demo in a London Pub which got some strange looks, then we sat back and eagerly awaited the review to see what they thought. In total three guys with fight experience literally fought over trying the product out! A good start.

In summary they said "We believe this products really is an essential training accessory and an item every Professional Boxer and Amateur Boxing Club should give serious consideration to. It is so easy to use absolutely anywhere and can be used in a wide variety of exercises. Add in the potential benefits from regular use and the price of GBP 64.99 represents excellent value."

For the full, detailed, unedited review click here.

Dean 'The Renagade' using Shadowboxer VRT on a Heavy Bag

We've been really busy at Shadow Boxer UK and so apologies for not posting for a while. Here's a great little clip of Dean 'The Renegade' Amasinger using the Shadowboxer VRT on the heavy bag. The VRT is designed so that you don't have to hit things and risk damaging your hands but if you want the best of both worlds...

Look out for us in the upcoming issue of Fighters Only Magazine. Keep training.

Warning: Do not attempt this unless you are used to hitting a heavy bag, BARE KNUCKLE.

What George Hillyard (Pro-Boxer) thinks...

I recent met George Hillyard a young professional boxer who uses the Shadowboxer VRT. After a short discussion and sharing some ideas on how we both use the VRT, I just had to film him. Remember, we don't sponsor George but I loved his enthusiasm so much that I just had to get him talking about the product on camera, hence you can hear me laughing in the background. See the two video clips.


Suffice to say that we are now looking at sponsoring George such was his enthusiasm, added to the fact that he is just such a nice bloke. He is truly a good role model and we want to support George in the challenges that lie ahead of him.

We have been invited to film one of George's training sessions and will post this also so you can get an idea of the wide range of things that you can use the shadowboxer for.