Keep Moving

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by Henrietta Street Gym

Keep Moving

By Neil Perkins

Nursing an injury and lying on a treatment table, I was given some advice on my sporting career by someone who’d been around professional sports at a high level. What came out of his mouth shocked me

‘you need to give up boxing, sports like boxing will be dominated by Black Africans’

On hearing this sentence I swallowed air, I am not shocked by what people say – but this one got me! It was made worse by an elbow probing into my back as I cried in agony on the treatment table, the advice continued…

‘There’s something in their muscle tissue and movement – they’re wider in the back, stronger in the glutes and better aligned. They are just more robust – stronger, faster and fitter’

This was a physio at a leading Football Club. I was becoming a regular visitor to one of his teams treatment table with injuries as my body repeatedly broke down.

My body certainly wasn’t well aligned, wide backed and my skin is light pink…..my glutes are pretty good though – albeit one stronger is stronger than the other. I’d be on the treatment table nursing an injury or having soft tissue work two to three times per week in my short professional boxing career. Intermittently between fight camps I did some yoga, but I never had time to re-align myself, when ‘fight camp’ kicked in I’d be back hard, hard, hard, injured, injured, injured. Ice and ibuprofen. Growth Hormone prolonged my career – but GH is illegal and it was expensive.

Prior to professional boxing, I was lucky to even have a contest. A week before my first contest, my shoulder dislocated for the 8th time. I was on the operating table twice in a 12-month window meaning 2 years out of the sport. With the first procedure done via keyhole, I was advised prior to the second operation that it was 50/50 if I’d box again. Upon waking from surgery, I was greeted the chirpy surgeon dressed in a kilt who was informing me about the operation in his thick Scottish accent! If instability is done on a 1-10 scale, I was a 12! This had all ben caused by my poor posture in my body, the result – a shoulder that would pop out front, back and top!

After professional boxing, I could structure my training better. I took the other option – don’t train. I was busy running a new business and without the date of a fight my weight increased. When the 36-inch waist jeans didn’t fit I’d decide I was going to train again. Chicken & rice, 4 litres of water and cardio and lifting. Two weeks in and I’d be thinking about fighting again, the suffering in fight camp and mountains of broccoli would fill me with hate! I’d increase my training and by week 4 – BANG….. Something on me would break….I’d be back on the treatment table. Intermittently over an 11 year period, this cycle recured. I’ve been treated by too many good and well renowned physio’s and they’ve all given me the same feedback

  • Week/ misbalanced glutes
  • Poor posture
  • Tight traps
  • Tight pec minor
  • Weak mid back
  • Tight hip flexors
  • Tight hamstrings

Lockdown 2020, time to start training again! I don’t know if I chose a more holistic route with my training due to my age, testosterone, wisdom or amount of weed I had smoked! My body alignment is terrible, I haven’t consistently stuck to a training regime for more than 4-weeks in the last 10 years due to injuries and I’m starting to feel old. if I was a client and I walked in my gym, how would we fix him? I knew the answer, the repetitive things I’d be told before, during and after boxing by countless health professionals. I then set about rectifying my weaknesses of weak/ misbalanced glutes, poor posture, tight traps, tight pec minor, weak mid back, tight hip flexors and tight hamstrings.

I’ve had spells of yoga and found it useful to prevent injuries, but 90 minutes on the mat is a long time. There is also another problem…from a vanity and performance view point, when have you ever seen a Yogi with an ass or a back?. Yogis have great alignment, but no back and no glutes – they’re not built to perform, they are built not to get injured. Flexibility is one big aspect to correcting alignment and posture, but along with stretching tight areas such as my hip flexors, I needed to strengthen antagonistic areas such as the glutes.

I’d had plenty of advice of the years from leading (even world renowned) physio’s and oesteo’s. I amalgamated the advice they’d given me I started to put together a pre-hab routine.
My previous remit was throwing heavy weights around, ballistically HIIT training and trying to punch a punch bag off the wall, things changed considerably. This was combined with a calorie restrictive diet and typical ‘diet’ foods – broccoli, chicken and egg whites….misery on a plate. I opted for a different approach this time. Short term I took HIIT training with anything remotely explosive out of my routine (box jumps and swings included), rather than training ‘power’ with heavy weight training, I worked time under tension which resulted in lower weights under control and with good form that reduced the risk of injury. I stretched daily and worked through building awareness in my body. Building awareness means doing all the ‘boring stuff’ that I’d been told to do for years by many leading health practitioners. Learning to engage and ‘pop’ your gluets at first is boring, until you can learn to do alternate pops – great fun and now I’ve found my lifts are increasing with ease. After 2 shoulder surgeries and countless minor injuries, I finally learnt to control my scapula and engage my mid back – this resulted in my posture being better.

I chose to eat ‘cheat meals’ 4 times per week, but I am very anti-diet. I’ve not eaten any grilled chicken, broccoli or steamed veg. I have never felt hungry and I have never craved to eat anything, lots of red meat, lots of salad and lots of food. I never felt hungry, deprived or angry! As training was always ‘sub maximal’, I’m not relying on Metalica in my headphones, some smelling salts, face slaps and two black coffee’s pre workout – I’m pretty much good to go on a nights sleep and some water. Structured, progressive and sub maximal – I kept moving well. Training intensity never went above a 7 out of 10.

I have resisted the urge to fall into the old trap of trying to lift something as heavy as possible and I only had to re-adjust my training after my knee flared up whilst over zealously showing off my trampolining skills to my daughter 4 months in. As nothing has gone pop, bang or snap I have progressively got stronger over a 10 month window, all because I’ve been able to keep moving. The good news is now I’m starting to do the fun stuff in – Olympic lifts, HIIT training and punching things.

In March 2020, I was 116kg. My weight dropped down to as low as 104kg following a very whole foods/ paleo approach to nutrition. Now I’m increasing calories and carbohydrates and looking to build more strength as training volume and intensity can increase – I am now back up to 108kg, a deliberate plan as I’m aiming to get stronger. I am now lifting more weight than ever before, but this feels sub maximal (I could do more) and I’m integrating movements, exercises and mobility to ensure that I can keep on moving. I didn’t body fat test myself in March, I’d guestimate at around 23-24%? My body fat dropped to 14% at 104kg and I contemplated going for sub 10% for the first time since 2007, my reason for not pursuing this goal – diet foods, restriction of calories and training twice per day ceases to be fun. Anything you do in extreme is never good for your physical and mental health. At 39 years old, I’m happy around the 15% mark, happy to be able to move well and happy to perform, mentally I feel great. My body awareness is better, I can engage my glutes and my body is alignment is better – I am more like the physio’s vison of the super athlete – wide backed, strong in gluets and well aligned……now I’m starting to PB lifts too….. but I’m not black or African!

Keep moving is the message, work on your alignment and quality movements – repeat, repeat, repeat.

I see with my corporate client base the same problems I encountered. Hunched over a desk all day and sedentary life means lots of tight hip flexors, hamstrings and pec minor and weak backs and glutes. A strong back protects your shoulders from injury and strong glutes protect your back – both massively help good posture and good alignment. It why I am putting a keep moving section on our on demand area for all of our members. We have leading health practitioners involved in this project.

Sport is movement, exercise is movement and life is movement. Training is fun for the first time in over 10 years because my body moves well.

The Alien teaches us how to stay in great shape past 50

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by Henrietta Street Gym

The Alien teaches us how to stay in great shape past 50

by Neil Perkins

Bernard Hopkins was my favourite ever boxer. There is something about intellectual boxers who master the art of pugilism and shutting an opponent down. Boxing is one of the few sports where exceptional fighters are not always appreciated by the mainstream audience, but a man who moves around with every top class operator in several weight divisions and finishes the sport with his senses in tact and plenty of money in the bank needs to be admired? His face shows his long service to the sport, even if his body is that of a man 20 years his junior. What I admired most about Hopkins was his professionalism and lack of one particular ‘asset’. He mastered his craft by learning the art of boxing, looking after himself meticulously and staying in shape year round as the consummate professional. Unlike a lot of world class operators who have one exceptional asset, Hopkins never had that ‘one trick’ instead adapted to what was put in front of him. He never looked exceptional, his mastery was making others look ordinary. Roy Jones Jnr at his peak was like superman – it was like watching Michael Jordan play basketball, Lomu run with a ball in Rugby or Beckham bend a free kick. Hopkins my contrast was quite ordinary, this made him more exceptional.

Most ‘World class’ operators have to be rounded but they usually have exceptional assets- usually power, speed or reflexes. Hopkins, didn’t have one asset, he had a knack of fiddling his way through contests. As a boxing coach you loved to watch his bag of ‘dirty tricks’. Many an hour have a watched ‘The Executioner’. How he leverages on someone’s elbow to cause discomfort, how he waits to see so the ref isn’t looking before rolling a head but in and how he bumps round and positions his body as a shield from the ref before punching someone low. He is the master pro and a throwback fighter who knew every trick in the book. Technical he was perfect, hands high, chin down and elbows tucked in. He’d rotate with every shot and that enabled him to gain extra inch at range with the right hand and on the inside whip extra venom into body shots. ‘The Executioner’ was not only technically perfect, but tactically bang on. When facing the feared ‘Tito’ Felix Trinidad, Hopkins displayed every ounce of his professionalism, technically he was perfect, tactically he shut him down and yes, on the inside the head and low blows went in to further humiliate his opponent. When you’ve spent long enough in boxing, you see what he does and the learnt craft of pulling down hands, tapping elbows, every subtle nuisance he possessed and mastered.

 

His IQ was second to none and this methodical ‘schooling’ and tactical prowess meant that his preparation was second to none. Hopkins had a career that saw him box to 51! He won a world title at 46 and he boxed at elite level for 25 years – his body looked after him. Bernard wasn’t the strongest, fastest or gifted – he must have trained harder than anyone else? No, he trained smarter than anyone else. Later in his career he rebranded himself as ‘the alien’ testament to no one been able to understand how he kept up with men over 20 years his junior.

 

I first heard about Bernard when reading about Mackie Shilstone who was his conditioning coach. He talked about Hopkins dedication to his sport, but when employed by Hopkins he spent half the time telling him to do less. He acknowledged that lifestyle factors that he had to drill into athletes, Hopkins was no issue. He slept 8 hours per night, ate a year round diet of whole foods and looked after his body. Shilstone taught him to do less, not more. Mackie sacked off miles of ‘road work’ and worked alongside boxing coach Nazeem Richardson to ensure they we’re united in their approach. They employed weight training to improve his connective tissue strength (prevent injury and essential for his age) and power, used track sprint work, plyometrics and HIIT to improve his conditioning and used connective tissues therapists (masseuse) and yoga in camp to keep him loose, strong and injury free. Hopkins didn’t find this partnership until he was 36 – an age when most boxers are retired. But he had a career at the elite level that lasted a further 15 years. Hopkins said if he’d have discovered Shilstone when he was 20, he’s have been untouchable. Nutrition wise it was glutamine for intestinal health, fish oils for vitality and a diet that was as primal as it could be – fresh veg, meats and fish. Most significant was 8 litres of water per day.

 

By combining old school coaching under Nazeem Richardson he was coached in the subtle art of pugilism. He was taught techniques that many would fail to understand. He’d throw shots to miss so that he would pull down the opponents arms so that he’s open them up for the next shot, he’d rest his chin over the shoulder on the inside to make him safe, when the ref was blindsided he’d hit and hold and he’d hit low, in the kidneys and use his head – yet he got away with it by mastering his craft. With Shilstone he embraced modern S&C and he learnt by training outside the box to prioritise quality over quantity with his training – he ate well with nutritious foods (never starved), read, meditated, did yoga, worked HIIT and lifted weights to both prevent injury and improve performance. He combined the archaic sport of boxing and years of teachings passed down with modern S&C, discipline and common sense.

 

Sometimes I wish that more people had boxed so they can appreciate this genius, we can’t all be born with lightening reflexes, unbelievable power and god gifted speed. What Bernard and Mackie taught us is that you don’t even have to work harder than the competition – you just have to work smarter than them. We all have the same 24 hours in the day and if you set your goals, anyone can achieve them. Hopkins was far from a god given talent, he maximised everything at his disposal.

 

Got to love the Executioner/ Alien.

Looking for the fighter in you?

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Looking for the fighter in you?

by Neil Perkins

Boxing has taught me many things, for surviving Corona (hopefully) I owe it the biggest thanks yet. We hear rumours of the opponent coming, some say it will wipe everyone out, others say it’s just hype? Because everyone is talking about it, we are naturally cautious.

This may not be the only opponent and the aftermath and following opponents could be just as damming. A world recession not seen since 1929, social unrest, house prices plummeting and mass unemployment. When faced with the task of facing theses opponents yet to be seen with our own eyes, do we relax at home eating ice cream, sleeping in, forming negative habits and hope that it won’t be that bad?

Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Shannon Briggs are all citing they’re fitter than ever before, lockdown has become their fight camp.  As fighters, we’re wired a little differently. It’s like the scene from Rocky, we return to our rituals. The alarm goes off before the sun rises and we trudge downstairs and reach for our raw eggs to eat (no we don’t eat that anymore) and begin the day preparing for the fight whilst others sleep. We’re aware that every session ticked off to the point of vomiting prepares us physically and most importantly mentally for how bad this battle might be. We think about how we’ll negotiate everything that might be thrown at us, we prepare ourselves for how much it might hurt – conditioning our mind to face the fear. We know that overspending behind close doors pays dividends, you have to learn to make your mind and your body become comfortable about doing what is uncomfortable. We know that we must prepare our body and fuel it for a battle, longevity and for a hard fight.

We learn to enjoy the experience of preparing, we make sure we smile every day because one day we might not be able to fight anymore. We’ve learned from past experience  ‘in the trenches’ the cost of not preparing. In the final hours before the battle, backstage we won’t be panicked, our work is done and we’ll be ice cool for whatever is thrown at us. Is it a coincidence that when the hype of the baldest thing on the plant is coming, fighters the world over have started preparing their body and mind for what might come? Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Enzo Macranelli are just a few. We’ve prepared ourselves physically and mentally for the worst, we’d be disappointed now if we blew it out inside a round – we at least need to get a sweat on.

Tough times don’t last, tough people do. Time to look for the fighter in you, just in case it gets that bad.

 

Ready for War – Reasons For Exercise

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by Henrietta Street Gym

Ready for War – Reasons for exercise

by Neil Perkins

 

Exercise is a journey and it’s a journey that never ends.

 

Like any journey, you need to decide where you are going and a quantifiable goal should always be the benchmark of how successful your journey has been. Achieving goals will spur you on to achieve more. I always advocate that committing to exercise at a set time should be the starting point – commit to moving. From there you can be more specific. Years in the fitness industry has taught me that 95% of the people cite wanting to ‘get fit and lose weight’, but they fail to tell you the real reason the ‘why?’

Would they really tell you….

‘I want to exercise because my dick is no longer rock hard upon waking every morning’

‘I was advised that I shouldn’t be the face of my business looking that way that I do’

 

Truths like that are quite revealing and the kind of truths that make you feel like you’re running down the street naked. Those that have ever had the pleasure of a mad weekend away with me will reassure you – I have no issue with getting naked and running down a street. The above were two of my reasons.

 

There was third reason for me and the most important one – I knew that a fight was coming, my business and I would be put under immense pressure. I was going into fight camp, because I know that every burpee I do after I’ve vomited and every time I get up and train when I can think of 100 things that I’d rather be doing that are ‘more important’ will galvanise me mentally for whatever is thrown at me. I know that if I commit to an exercise goal, I will structure my food, sleep and lifestyle to accommodate. I won’t watch Netflix till 2am and I will be in bed by 10pm, I’ll also be the first one up, working whilst others sleep – that puts me ahead of the curve.

 

This will benefit me as I know that when the world is a shitstorm and everyone else around me is falling apart, I’ll choose not to buckle. I’ll choose to have a mind that sees things clearly, I’ll choose what I put in my body, I know that when I commit to a routine and exercise that I feel better, stronger and more confident.  If I’m going to go into a battle when I’m stood on the front line, I need to know that my body is fuelled, my mind is clear and that I’m ready for a tough fight – its just like boxing.

 

I’ve spent many years of my life wrangling with my many personalities, I know one thing about me – I need a fight, I just needed something in front of me to warrant my comeback. My goal in life is to always be a better version of myself. That doesn’t mean more people have to like me, it doesn’t mean I need to travel the world and stick it on Instagram, it doesn’t mean I need a new car, it doesn’t necessarily  mean I need to earn more money and  it doesn’t mean I try to offend less people – I can’t control what others think of me and have no desire to amend my actions to become more palatable to them. I need to be happy with myself, how my body performs is key to that. I can control the decisions I make, how often I exercise, what time I go to bed, my daily rituals and what I eat.

 

My exercise goals (short term) are to commit to moving every day – some days its ‘active rest’ such as a walk or yoga, three time under tension sessions and two HIIT. I will get my body fat below 12% (long term goal and upon achieving it I will maintain it below 15%) and I will continually and quantifiably become fitter by meticulously recording and journaling every weight I lift, every burpee I do and record every training session. Exercise is moving, training is moving towards a goal. The reason for achieving this goal, my grade of morning wood wasn’t what it once was, I realised that I may need to be more ‘operational’ and a fat trainer on the gym floor does little to inspire and my most important reason – I need to be mentally ready for war.

 

I’ve trained fighters who have won national titles, fought professionally and won contracts with the UFC. I’ll ensure everyone under my watch is ready for war. Tough times don’t last, tough people do (with Grade “A” wood)

6 ways to come out of lockdown better than you went into it

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by Henrietta Street Gym

6 ways to come out of lockdown better than you went into it

By Neil Perkins

6 weeks down, 6kg lost – has it been that bad? I’d like to think that if I looked back in years to come that I enjoyed my lockdown as a time for a mental reset, to understand priorities and reflect. Judging by the huge financial losses I’ve suffered, don’t go thinking that it will be ‘easy’ when we come out as business will be under pressure and people will be apprehensive. You owe it to yourself to come out of this better than you went into it. Businesses will have to work smarter, if you are employee and you are not adding value to where you work your comeback will be short lived. That might scare some people, I look at it as a fight – and I love a fight. Here are six ways that you can survive lockdown and come out as better person.

  1. Establish a routine and rituals

When you have nothing to get up for, late nights and late mornings can soon become routine. You need to establish a routine that includes personal development, physical exercise, something productive and yes, some down time. You can form habits now that you’ll take into life when this all blows over. A good strategy is to work out when your day needs to start and when your day needs to end – everything else in the middle will take care of itself. Get up at a set time and go to bed at a set time. Form a morning and a bed time routine and a set rituals that you do each day (we’ll look at rituals in a later blog).

2. Eat nourishing foods

The supermarkets are filled with fresh produce – kale, spinach, nuts, seeds, broccoli – all the things we know we should eat. Eating a nutrient dense diet will improve your health and metal clarity. Going back to the grind with your waist narrower and your skin glowing with vitality will improve your outlook no end, imagine walking back into the office and everyone saying ‘you look good’ – customers, colleagues and competitors will see your ready for whatever is thrown at you.

When choosing foods remember these two rules

  1. Did it have eyes?
  2. Did it grow out of the ground?

3. Move your body

You body is designed to move, we are a hunter gatherer. Your morning ritual could be doing 10 squats and 5 press ups before everyone else in the house gets up. If you want to try some Yoga? Get the laptop out, plug in YouTube and get moving, so what it looks like are playing Twister in the front room – who is watching? Not everything has to be ballistic, sweaty and ‘balls to wall’. Grease the groves of your squat with some body weight squats, hinge your hips with some Glute Bridges (slow and controlled not Salt n’ Peppa style). Make sure you move every day, maybe then put two to three days aside if you want for real ‘balls to wall exercise’ – stuff that makes you sweat and vomit. If you want to keep moving while working it’s a good idea to get a walking pad treadmill and a standing desk. Your body and your mind will thank you for making this a priority in your day.

4. Meditate

I was told by a business coach in 2017 to mediate, I never really took it on board. If there was one thing I’d say that has enabled me to keep a check on the cloudy future during lockdown it’s been meditation. Like many of mans best things, it started in a dark room on my own and developed from there as I got better at it! (on a serious note, forming habits of falling into google holes or an hour an day on Pornhub is going to do little to make you a better person – I’ve tested both theories extensively) Mediation doesn’t have to be a £2,000 course, a good friend Bob Spour got me started with a very simple 10 minute breathing ritual. Find a quite space, ideally facing a wall. Sit facing the wall on cushion so that you are sitting tall, visualise a string coming out of the top of your head pulling you up towards the sky. Focus on the middle ground between the wall and keep thinking about nothing but your breath. Your mind will wander – just bring it back to the breath and keep thinking about the breath. Do this once or twice a day for a 2-week period and see how much more mental clarity you have. The ability to focus on one task at a time will be valuable for you, especially when the alternative is the uncertainty that is the world.

5. Be someone else’s superhero

In life there are sheep and there are shepherds – which one do you want to be? We all get a little bit scared and apprehensive, be the person that listens and engages with people – open your ears for people who need to vent and become a good listener, be empathetic towards their concerns, anger and frustrations – no matter how insignificant they seem to you. If you have children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren or younger siblings, never show fear in front of them. Listen to them and reassure them – the world must be a pretty scary and confusing place for them? Be their superhero.

6. Be ready to be first out of the blocks

The world will be slow to get started and the sheep will stay in the pen, the shepherd will show people the way. Work better, love better, engage more, keep focused and be positive – you can contribute to the world becoming a better place. Set you rituals, prepare your body and inspire those around you. Now is training camp, the fight begins when we are allowed back out. If nothing else I hope this blog has inspired, you to set your alarm and get up tomorrow.

Why I Prefer Training Females To Box

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by Henrietta Street Gym

Why I prefer to coach women to box?

By Neil Perkins

 

The statement ‘I prefer to coach women to box’ always gets a reaction! It’s provocative, challenges stereotypes and is 100% true. Stereotypes are associated with female boxers, especially amongst the male fraternity – of course gents all female boxers must be homosexual?

 

I’m not a feminist and I am not politically correct – why are they my preferred boxing clients?  They haven’t said I’m their preferred coach.

 

With respect to the female boxer stereotypes, I have coached my fair share of lesbians. That been said lesbian boxers are in the minority of female boxers based on who I’ve worked with.

 

As a coach you need to discover the reason why they’re doing it? That is the strongest driver and it’s how you get people to achieve their outcome. Especially when you are going to put them through a gruelling fight camp. So, one of the first questions I ask someone?

 

“Why do you want to box”?

 

This is where everyone tells you a lie! The first reason is never the truth. The female’s that you coach will reveal their reasons later – even if they don’t directly tell you what they are, men will always mask their reason with their ego. I think this is where stereotypes work against men? I’ve come full circle and I can tell you with a clear conscience – I do mind been punched in the face. I am unaware why when men feel the need to tell me ‘ I don’t mind been punched in the face’. Is this ‘fact’ or do they think they say it enough times that they will start to believe it – If it is fact, they haven’t been hit hard enough. Men are presumed and portrayed to be club swinging and sabretooth battling. What would this primitive ‘man’ do when faced with a threat, say like a 7 foot tall Sabre Tooth Tiger – attack him head on of course wouldn’t we boys? This is where your ego creating an illusion of a male stereotype is rather foolish. Primitive woman would tell you that when your primal response will be flight ‘the rabbit’ or fight ‘the chimp’ your small amount of time with your analytical and cognitive brain would say ‘Sabre Tooth Tiger has stronger assets than me so we will trigger the rabbit (flight mode) to come out when your adrenlin starts pumping, you will survive another day and come back when you have a spear! – gents they make better decisions under pressure than we do, even if they question it with lots of overthinking. We jump straight in and look to the chimp – look where that can get you (Prizefighter 3 2010)

 

You only need to stumble onto the dance floor anywhere in the UK on a Saturday night to see that women move far better that we do gents? (With the exception of me drinking Stella Artois) This is not a sexual come on (although I am huge admirer of the female form), but boxing is all rhythm and movement, it’s far easier to teach rhythm and movement to a women – they move so much better.

 

Telling me ‘You don’t mind been punched in the face’ is either lie or shows that you’re delusional. Neither are good traits in my world. I need to know that when I set you things to do, that you’ll do them and won’t lie to yourself and half do them. My mum still passes the steering wheel the same way (10-2-10-2 grip) when she turns the corner like when she passed her diving test in 1967? Females will do everything diligently and be willing to repeat until it’s perfect, men won’t – they’ll adapt. Watch a man tun a steering wheel compared to a woman, he has one hand on his crotch and one hand directly ontop of the steering wheel at 12 o’clock.

 

So, when we’re are military school drawing the battle plan and tactics you will be listening? You are absorbing where to attack and when to throw and how to counter. You know when you’ll have to make up points, when it will be nasty and when your pants (even if they aren’t a thong) will suck up your arse with fear – and yes, it may leave a stain. You realise I have ‘experience in the trenches’ and I know what battle will feel like and how you can win? Gent’s in this lesson in class you’ll be looking out of the window daydreaming about your KO finish. When it get’s nasty and you feel your lungs burn for the first time, you don’t recall me telling you how this would feel and how your first 1 minute in the corner will go in 10 seconds and that you’ll stand up off your stool and your legs will never have felt that weak before. Ladies, you listen to battle plans better, you understand the task in hand and what you need to do to win.

 

Now gents, it’s like 300 when Leonidas talks and roars to his men and declares battle, they cheer before diving in ahead of him to have the honour of being first to die in battle. Ladies, have a word please. Did no one question Leonidas plan? Was battling really the right thing to do? There is a reason why he has an army full of men! Women boxers will question the plan with you multiple times and ensure its right, this can be tiring as a coach. When they’re running into that first conflict they won’t question the plan on the moment of impact – they’ll have questioned it and ‘stress tested’ it 1000 times already, with the coach and in their head – they will truly buy in.

 

Of course, I’m a genius and I never get it wrong? I’m a man, that’s my ego talking! Men, you might buy into me, you might listen and you might be onboard – guess what it might start going wrong! Our female combatants will have learned in military school, questioned the plan and then implemented it – but they’d have questioned it that much that they’d already have a second and third exit planned and thought through on every level – they’ll have the instinct to make adjustments when they need to.

 

I celebrate the female boxers I’ve had input to, all special for different reasons. The First Lady, The Bad Ass Anaesthetist, The Box Cup Gold Medal Winner, The 67 Reasons Why I Can’t, The Lazer Focused Script Writter and so many others. I’m glad that you learned what you were capable of, and that you used me for what I was good for – that’s a turn up for the books. Ladies you will know that when it comes to coaching female boxers, it is one area of my life where I always get a women to peak at the right time.

 

I am scared of rollercoaster rides, don’t like needles, hate aeroplanes, have nightmares after horror films (I won’t watch them), I get bullied by children below ten years old and YES, I do mind been punched in the face. Gent’s if admit your starting point then I am more than willing to train you, just leave your ego at the door. Girls just keep on with your overthinking, analytical and slightly irrational self.

 

Neil Perkins, The Ladies Man (there goes my male ego again)

Complacency leads to downturns – it all started in Stoke!

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Complacency leads to downturns – it all started in Stoke

By Neil Perkins

 

On Friday March 27th, I would have been running my 47th White Collar Boxing Show – March Madness. After this I had a bumper year lined up with our July show ‘Summer Sizzler’ October we were at the ICC with Barratt & David Wilson Homes and the big one – the 50th show in November, that one was going to be special.

 

I jokingly told many of you the story of my drive to Stoke and the ‘judgement’ served upon me, this was at the end of January. Not even I knew the judgement would go this far!

 

I own three companies – Henrietta Street Gym, Fighting Fit Events and Neil Perkins Property. On the 4th January the gym was less than 30 members off capacity (Gym), I was finishing the onboarding for new team members meaning I was never required ‘operationally’ and my March show (events) was looking like been a stacked card. I was venturing up the M6 to my favourite place in the world to buy not one, but two properties. I’d pre agreed prices and was just giving the second one a first viewing having seen the other one prior. I’d lined up some investors, was putting my own money in and on paper this was a great investment.

 

I was winning at life, I pulled over at the services as I was early for my 10.30am first viewing. With my new clothes on (I am not one for material things), I catch a glimpse of myself in the refection in the window at the service station. I have been training regularly, sleeping well (I’m no longer opening my gym at 6am and locking up at 9pm every day) and I’m eating better. Plus, I have not got money in the bank – I’ve got money in every account, with zero’s on the end – I am looking good! The Streets played in my head, you know the song? – ‘fit but you know it’.  I stroll into the Starbucks and order a coconut milk cappuccino, the attractive young girl serving me embarrassingly asks for the £3 something it was, I hand over a crisp a £20 note, she gives me a £10 note, a £5 note and some change with a pound coin in it. I pour the coins in her hand, smile and tell her she can keep that. She looks at me and smiles, I strut out with my coconut cappuccino like a dog with ten dicks.

 

I arrive in Stoke for my 10.30am viewing, early on I realise this is not going to be my day. The estate agent (who I know) is shaking her head at me. There is an immaculately dressed man on his phone next to her, he gets in his car and drives off. He has offered the asking price on both the properties whilst viewing them. I sulk around Stoke for another two hours waiting for another viewing, the agent was 45 minutes late with intermittent phone calls to say ‘they’re 10 minutes away’ this one had ‘minor structural damage’ – a crack that ran up the side of the house that you could fit your hand in. Running late, I got in my car and drove home, without any new properties in the empire and having spent £5 on a shit a coffee from Starbucks – it was overpaid for so I could engage in some poor flirting with a girl who on paper was young enough to be my daughter. Stoke on a good day is sub 60 minutes door to door, this journey took me two hours. The journey back I had five significant phone calls.

  • Phone call one: a fighter is having to withdraw as he has torn his bicep – he would be one of the headline bouts.
  • Phone call two: a fighter (a huge ticket seller) has sparred at another gym and has a suspected fractured sternum
  • Phone call three: a trainer was late for his morning class and we are getting emails in complaining as it is a repeat occurrence.
  • Phone call four: a fighter has injured himself playing football and won’t be able to box
  • Phone call five: expect an email off the members as they’re unhappy about some of the classes and the new coaches.

I get home bursting for a piss, the shit coffee had got to my bladder and I’d just done 2 hours on the M6. After nearly wetting myself (just) I burst through the door and have the most relieved piss in the world. From the downstairs toilet, I walk in the back room to find the dog who I’d left longer than I expected had shit in his crate – this wasn’t a good day.

 

Over the next week I started delving into the problems with the gym. I have some informal responses and everyone is been very politically correct. I fire and email out to the members asking for feedback with a direct email back to my personal email, like the fisherman casting his line out, I then sit and wait for responses. The fish were biting, within 48 hours I’d had 38 ‘constructive feedback’ responses. This was painful, in the following week I had more ‘constructive feedback’ fed through directly from fresh sources. It appeared that I had a few problems. There was disparity in levels of coaching, disparity in the level of delivery and a high degree of complacency from the established team members. With the cushion of multiple income streams, I start strategizing, not panicking, but I’m aware I need to fix issues with a long-term solution. I think what are my primary issues and how am I going to solve them?

 

The route of the problems stem from clarity of my expectations to the team, coaches not understanding organization culture and not engaging with our community. My issues came from me not providing adequate training, not communicating expectations with Key Performance Indicators and not leading consistently – everything that goes wrong under my roof is my fault. My biggest issue was complacency.

 

With a cohort under of boxers training for the March 27th show I decide not to take any immediate action yet. One team member who had received a fair degree of ‘feedback’ antagonises a member again and I remove him immediately, the rest of my issues can wait until after the show. The feedback is reinforced when my figures come in for January, a gyms busiest month of the year – we’ve shrunk by 8 members. I sit and observe the gym over the next few weeks as the dust settles. Habits of complacency of the team creep back in and I observe the ‘feedback’ and start looking at the problems and planning resolutions.

 

Boxing taught me that you can give away around as long as you win the fight. One thing people fail to realise about me is that when I am a calm exterior, I’m the most frantic on the inside. Like the duck effortlessly gliding along the water, my feet are paddling like mad beneath the surface.

 

Early on in February, I’d lost interest in our March show. I use funds from my events company to pay for my holidays. I’d planned both Turkey (summer) and Jamaica (winter) this year with the bumper card throughout the year– our March show might have made enough profit to buy me a drink at the after party. I was planning beyond March. The Monday (23rd March) prior to the show, I was contacting the team and booking one to ones where I would discuss…

  • Clear expectations and KPI
  • The issues that I had with respect of their performance
  • The direction we were going as a gym

 

I’d prepared a new timetable, with the start of a new financial year I had new contracts in place for the team and I was phasing in a couple of new team members. After hearing the feedback at the end of January, I’d spent February planning and the countdown was on to March 27th where we start again. We’d get this chapter done and then race out of the blocks coming back better than before.

 

During the final weeks of preparation of the show, I was confident in my plan moving forward with respect to the team. I remind myself as I often do, that I am in control of everything that happens in my life, my outcomes are dependant on my actions. With this mindset, I’d started to observe our March show a lot more closely and dare I say it – I began to become excited about it. The characters had started to reveal themselves through the fight camps and the stories and personal development of the participants was starting to unravel – this one albeit not a financial barnburner, was going to be a good night. There were some great contests and it would be a significant event not only for the established members for their social night out, but also to showcase to recent members what we can get them to achieve – all this builds our unbelievable community. March 27th wasn’t go to signify the end of a bad quarter, it was going to be the start of an exciting new quarter. With this mindset, my February figures come in, we’ve grown by 2 members – whilst I still feel we’re underperforming and I have issues to resolve. I now have 36 spaces left for new members isn’t too bad when a month ago it feels like your world is falling apart and your business still isn’t performing how you feel it should be.

 

The reality of looking at yourself in a reflection and getting a false sense of security is something I have done before, Stafford services wasn’t the first time I’ve done this. The key is learning to click back into reality and to take action. 15 years of running a business has shown me repeatedly that complacency leads to downturns in performance, you then re-plan, regroup and come back better than before. As a boxer, my 4 losses (amateur and pro) came off the back on stoppage or KO wins – when you start to believe your own bullshit.

 

I’ll just have to wait a little longer to put my plan into place. Now I’m ready to be first out of the blocks and do everything bigger, badder and better than before. The moral of the story. Never tip at a service in Stafford and flirt with a woman half your age.

 

I love running shows and watching people evolve through the process. On the morning of every show I have the same playlist that I always listen to whilst in the shower. The first song is topical with the current climate and it’s the same song I’ve played in the shower on the morning when I was boxing.

 

Here is the link to the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwXhI0I2iaM

 

We’ll be back, better than before.

 

Neil

Learning to be quiet in the noise

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Learning to be quiet in the noise

By Neil Perkins

I don’t know if business taught me about boxing or boxing taught me about business? I suppose that fighting is just something that you either have an appetite for, or you don’t? On the contrary, when you learn strategy and that boxing is about skills and controlling emotion as opposed to getting mad and ‘having it’ – anyone can learn to fight. Anyone who has ever run a business will tell you of the battles. In boxing you rationalise that everyone has two arms, one head and they can bleed. In business you learn that as long as your numbers stack up, your systems and process are good and you have the right people that you’ll be fine. In reality, both are a little more complex and require action to make you succeed. I am more scared of a spread sheet than I am of a world champion.

Boxing has an ability to unsettle you. If ever you watch a ‘fit person’ spar for the first time and they get ate up by nervous energy and incessant heavy breathing. Their primal instincts of ‘Fight, Flight or Freeze take over. When someone is panicked their body language changes, their disposition changes and as I refer to it ‘the noise’ takes over. There is a reason why man has dominated the globe, we are vindictive and capable of utilising our intellect for our self-gratification. I am not in the mood for debating the theory of evolution, but under pressure we resort to our primal instincts – Fight, Flight or Freeze. Letting your primal mind take over in a boxing ring is never a good idea – it’s a sure fire way to get you sat on your backside. Yes, our body may release the inner chimp and attack, but against someone who knows what they’re doing, it will end in a bad outcome.

It’s a perplexing situation when you’re been peppered with punches. Your ribs are sore, the bridge of your nose is swelling and you can taste the blood on the inside of your mouth that’s seeping into your mouth guard. Initially releasing your inner chimp feels good, we can use it to bully lesser men, but the real game comes when your chimp will get you sat on your arse. When your head keeps rocking back you realise that brain not brawn are the best way to overcome an obstacle. There is nothing better than making someone do what you want and setting traps, it’s better when the shot lands to closes the show. Under the pressure of combat and amongst the noise you have to find the peace in the noise to execute the shot. That’s the art of boxing.

Learning to be quiet in the panic of the noise, to pick my punches and close the show is one of the unique life skills that boxing has taught me. Someone asked me what I do for a job the other day, my response was simple

‘I make people better versions of themselves’

As part of business coaching, I have partaken in regular exercise and meditation to quiet my mind. Boxing taught me to make my mind quiet under the most intense noise. Learning to be quiet in the noise is a skill that I am grateful to have learned.

Looking forward to 2020

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Looking forward to 2020
By Neil Perkins

It has been a roller-coaster 12-months at Henrietta Street Gym. I am as excited as I have ever been about the direction we are taking and the foundations we’ve put into place to continue our upward trajectory for 2020 – watch this space.

 

At the start of 2019, everyone was mentioning Anarchy 45 and F45. I was resolute that as long as we keep our building fresh and equipment updated that these designer studio’s will struggle to keep up with us. What separates us from other gyms isn’t our equipment, showers or changing rooms – it is our service and our team, this is where we have took a leap forward in 2019. Anarchy 45 are long gone and as for F45 – you’re welcome to pay twice the price for half the quality if you need a fresh environment to train in.

 

A business is like a long-term relationship, you have moments when you are madly in love and moments when you are indifferent to it, the last 12 months have re-kindled my love with fitness and with my business. I am open to admit that the team we launched Henrietta Street Gym with in 2017 and into the start of 2018 was woeful. The consequence of a disgruntled owner who was facing battles in his personal and business life meant the gym lacked leadership and direction. From the tail end of 2017 I have not only become a better human being I have become a better business owner.
I had to acknowledge where I was, get a direction on where I wanted to go, leverage assistance where I needed it and take responsibility for everything that went wrong – the buck stopped with me. Waifs and strays in the coaching team do not last long and we have clear direction on what we can expect our members to achieve and what I expect my team to deliver.

 

We have collected a team of coaches who are goal driven and are the lifeblood of the brand. For anyone that has ever managed a team or staff, it can be challenging. I am embracing it now and celebrating their development as much as the gyms.

 

Anthony Rogan continues to inspire, an ultra-marathon in the Namibia desert finished his fitness filled year. Ste Foster was the man people said couldn’t run a PT company – he has had more success stories than some PT’s have clients and his programming for Barbell Club has kept members progressing all year. Paul Caldbeck will be missed when he goes to the USA, the short chapter he spent with us, Raw HIIT Cardio was one of the many positive impressions he will leave on us. Arron Seera and ‘H’ have slotted in and found valuable places in the team add their own dimension to the gym. Dan Husdon is like the song from The Streets ‘fit but you know it’ has mastered coaching people for boxing and is now expanding his diary above his five-star boxing coaches into S&C work. This year Jamie Cahill runs 100 miles in 24 hours – again he continues to inspire.

 

One of our main words for 2020 is personal development. All of the above have demonstrated this, but the one that truly signifies that is Dan Tucker. Originally the ‘runt of the litter’ of three apprentices, he was cast aside and left to work on a freelance basis with limited experience. He has developed into a top boxing coach and is a valuable member of the team – you couldn’t imagine the gym without him now.

 

I have always maintained that when you hire a coach you should always hire someone that has achieved the goal that you are trying to reach or has guided someone else on the journey. All of this forms personal development and your goal may change, but your desire for personal development should always be there. All my coaches are continually striving to become better versions of themselves.

 

In 2020 we will continue to develop our own apprentices, we’ve already lined two more to join the team at the mid-point of next year, watching them develop is a key point. I have three new Strength & Conditioning coaches coming on board, again I have leveraged my experience of ‘lessons in the trenches’ and taken young hungry coaches who are keen to develop and learn – not egos that no better and unfortunately that the fitness industry is flooded with. What is key to their development is the right community and with our existing team how can you not be inspired to be a better version of yourself when you work in this community? Community is my second word of 2020.

 

It is our community that encourages people to develop and we appreciate that this goes beyond a burpee jump. I’ve set a goal of four external races and four internal fitness games to be added to our schedule for 2020, this is to enrich our community. With these offering something above and beyond those who wan to box on a show, we will continue to bring like-minded and goal driven people who want to achieve personal development into our thriving community.

 

Our pilot schools boxing project gave me an insight to the social inequality that exists in our city. Within a stones throw of the gym there are multiple schools who face issues with disenfranchised children, our schools project pilot was a huge success and the newly formed Jewellery Quarter Community Boxing project will offer these children a lifeline for community integration and social change by providing them with an after schools project – this will work with three educational establishments and run five days per week. This will be the default charity for all gym events and will ensure that this wonderful building and inspirational coaching team are open to all.

 

Mick Maguire is still heading up the amateur boxing team – Jewellery Quarter Boxing Club. This year we have become a real force in boxing with the crowing of a national champion. Linked to the Jewellery Quarter Community Boxing project, again we are providing direction for the young men and women who want to become the best that they can be.

We start the year at 281 members and have space for 39 more. I look forward to nurturing the right members and staff to enrich our little slice of the Jewellery Quarter. Thanks to an amazing team and an inspirational cohort of members for a memorable 2019.

Some people would call what I do work, with what I am surrounded with every day, I would call it an honour. Self-development all the way in our kick-ass community for 2020.

Understanding your inner ape

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Understanding your inner ape

By Neil Perkins

Our link to our ancient ancestors seems to dominate the thoughts of modern man. Nutrition is all the rage and paleo and vegan are two popular food choices that are surprisingly closely related despite their apparent differences as they are based on eating like our ancestors. Whole foods, raw foods and organic seem to be buzz words in nutrition. Thankfully regards to training, things like the Primal Blueprint are promoting heavy lifting, basic movements, HIIT training and ‘raw’ movements – I am glad the fad promotes the truth.

For those keen on personal development above and beyond your physical being (the two should go hand in hand) best selling books such as the Chimp Paradox and Sapiens give an insight to the development of man. Both relate to our animalistic nature.

 

With the growth of Henrietta Street Gym and Fighting Fit White Collar Boxing I’m starting to find ‘financial freedom’ for the first time. I still chose to ‘fight’ everyday, but I can assure you that money does not bring happiness – it only offers you choices. I am realising that simpler things bring happiness.

 

I am forever SWOT analysing my business and I understand why Henrietta Street Gym and Fighting Fit White Collar Boxing are enjoying such successes. To understand fully, you must understand a person’s inner ape.

 

Like the primal blueprint, we offer training that is raw and effective. When your focus is on combat training, lifting heavy weights and HIIT training you can not get more in tune with your inner ape. Our HIIT classes involve jumping, crawling, slamming, flipping and striking – what is more rewarding. Our Barbell Club promotes heavy lifting, massive adrenaline surges as you move raw heavy weights in compound movements. Combat training and boxing offers an inner peace that only persons who’ve done it can appreciate. Once the fear reduces so that your anal sphincter no longer sucks your pants up your backside, you’ll find a therapeutic inner peace as you realise ultimate concentration. Imagine the Palaeolithic man stalking a dear in the woods, nothing except catching the dear is on his mind – that is the level of concentration required from boxing, the satisfaction of landing the perfect shot must be how are ancestors felt when their spear penetrated the dear.

 

The ultimate reason for our success is an intangible asset that correlates with man’s ability to dominate the globe – it was when we formed bonds and encouraged tribes to work together. Our community is second to none. Our team and our members promote fitness and lifestyle, they share a goal and from bonds that go beyond exercise. Barbell Club is group led and engages a community, sparring is about developing and learning and our HIIT classes group focused. We enjoy so many people achieving their goals – boxing on a show, becoming fitter than ever before, lifting unprecedented weights and transforming their physique, we have the blueprint to make you achieve any of the above. We understand the support needed to achieve these goals and understand that these physical achievements are irrelevant to their physiological benefits to the person achieving them.

 

We’ve had three budget gyms open within a 1 mile radius, been hit with unprecedented numbers of ‘White Collar Promotions’ launching and even Brexit (if it ever happens) – yet we are busier than ever.

Company directors, solicitors, property developers, barristers, recruitment consultants, police officers and even a few ‘road men’ – all form our unique and successful community. The tribe is growing as are the people who champion the brand.

 

To everyone in the community, we thank you for making this a truly wonderful place to spend the week, there is no other tribe I’d prefer to co-ordinate.

 

The Alpha

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