Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Friday, May 18, 2012
Former boxer makes comeback after near death experience.
by MICHELLE BOUDIN / NewChannel 36 Staff
Posted on May 16, 2012 at 11:45 PM
Updated yesterday at 9:00 AM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In her heyday, she was known as the female Mike Tyson. The woman who put women's boxing on the map.
But few had any idea of the real fight she was facing -- at home.
We found her working out at Charlotte's ultimate gym. To say the warehouse is no frills would be overstating it.
People working out inside these brick walls don’t pull any punches. And they barely notice the woman in the main ring. Christy Martin is training for her final fight.
“Boxing is the worst drug ever because you get so addicted to it, you can’t get it out of your system,” Martin said during our ringside interview.
She recounts the time when she was at her peak. She is still considered one of the greatest female boxers of all time.
“It’s probably the biggest high any junkie could have, here you are fighting in front of millions of people on the undercard of Mike Tyson," she said.
At the height of her career, Martin was often the opening act for Mike Tyson, a guest on Jay Leno and a Sports Illustrated cover girl.
“It was a cool time for me,” she said. “Professionally, people see the Christy that’s out there in front of the cameras, and getting the opportunity to do all these cool things.They don’t know the person that goes home and when the door closes, the basic hell that I lived in -- people didn't see that.”
Christy married her trainer -- Jim Martin -- when she was just 23.
In the ring, she was a champion with 31 knockouts under her belt. At home though, her husband was her toughest opponent.
“The whole time it was mental and emotional control and abuse. Physically, I’d never been knocked out except by Jim,” Martin said.
She finally ended their marriage in November, 2010 and he nearly ended her life.
“I’m like you stabbed me, you stabbed me and then I tried to get away. I couldn’t so I kicked at him and when I kicked at him he just cut my leg."
He shot her and left her dying.
Last month, Christy testified against her husband and helped convict Jim Martin of attempted murder.
It was the fight of her life, one she says she had to win before she could move on to the next. Now the 43-year-old boxer with 49 wins is focused on what she says will be her last fight.
“That was the whole goal, to get to 50 wins that’s been my goal for years. After the 50 then I can sit down do I want to continue.”
That’s why she's in Charlotte, training.
“It’s a number I picked a long long time ago. It has that nice round big fat number to get to 50 wins, I think it makes a statement.”
She's also hoping to use the national spotlight to send a message.
“People looked at me probably as a really strong woman..tough, she fights hard. Probably don’t realize at home how manipulated I was and abused. So I think people can hear my story it will give them more confidence to walk away from a bad situation they may be in."
Martin is hoping her story will give domestic violence victims the fighting spirit she didn't get - until it was almost too late.
NewsChannel 36 tried to arrange a jailhouse interview with Jim Martin but he declined. His attorney tells us they will appeal the verdict.
Christy Martin is scheduled to take on her final fight next month. After that she wants to do commentating.
by MICHELLE BOUDIN / NewChannel 36 Staff
Posted on May 16, 2012 at 11:45 PM
Updated yesterday at 9:00 AM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In her heyday, she was known as the female Mike Tyson. The woman who put women's boxing on the map.
But few had any idea of the real fight she was facing -- at home.
We found her working out at Charlotte's ultimate gym. To say the warehouse is no frills would be overstating it.
People working out inside these brick walls don’t pull any punches. And they barely notice the woman in the main ring. Christy Martin is training for her final fight.
“Boxing is the worst drug ever because you get so addicted to it, you can’t get it out of your system,” Martin said during our ringside interview.
She recounts the time when she was at her peak. She is still considered one of the greatest female boxers of all time.
“It’s probably the biggest high any junkie could have, here you are fighting in front of millions of people on the undercard of Mike Tyson," she said.
At the height of her career, Martin was often the opening act for Mike Tyson, a guest on Jay Leno and a Sports Illustrated cover girl.
“It was a cool time for me,” she said. “Professionally, people see the Christy that’s out there in front of the cameras, and getting the opportunity to do all these cool things.They don’t know the person that goes home and when the door closes, the basic hell that I lived in -- people didn't see that.”
Christy married her trainer -- Jim Martin -- when she was just 23.
In the ring, she was a champion with 31 knockouts under her belt. At home though, her husband was her toughest opponent.
“The whole time it was mental and emotional control and abuse. Physically, I’d never been knocked out except by Jim,” Martin said.
She finally ended their marriage in November, 2010 and he nearly ended her life.
“I’m like you stabbed me, you stabbed me and then I tried to get away. I couldn’t so I kicked at him and when I kicked at him he just cut my leg."
He shot her and left her dying.
Last month, Christy testified against her husband and helped convict Jim Martin of attempted murder.
It was the fight of her life, one she says she had to win before she could move on to the next. Now the 43-year-old boxer with 49 wins is focused on what she says will be her last fight.
“That was the whole goal, to get to 50 wins that’s been my goal for years. After the 50 then I can sit down do I want to continue.”
That’s why she's in Charlotte, training.
“It’s a number I picked a long long time ago. It has that nice round big fat number to get to 50 wins, I think it makes a statement.”
She's also hoping to use the national spotlight to send a message.
“People looked at me probably as a really strong woman..tough, she fights hard. Probably don’t realize at home how manipulated I was and abused. So I think people can hear my story it will give them more confidence to walk away from a bad situation they may be in."
Martin is hoping her story will give domestic violence victims the fighting spirit she didn't get - until it was almost too late.
NewsChannel 36 tried to arrange a jailhouse interview with Jim Martin but he declined. His attorney tells us they will appeal the verdict.
Christy Martin is scheduled to take on her final fight next month. After that she wants to do commentating.
Bodyweight Workout: No Gym? No Problem
Monday, May 7, 2012 6:28 pmWritten by: Nick Bromberg\0020 1954 813
It's OK to admit it: We've all used the reason of traveling and/or not having accessible equipment as an excuse to skip a workout.
And while it's not the end of the world if you skip a training session on a rare occasion, being unable to find a weight room shouldn't ever be a reason because your bodyweight can be the only resistance you need to build some muscle -- even for advanced lifters.
Bodyweight exercises sometimes can have the rap of being too easy to perform, but not everyone can do a basic pushup or squat properly. And the great thing about them is that bodyweight exercises are easily modified.
"There are four ways to modify bodyweight exercises to make them harder or easier depending on your (training) level," strength coach Nick Tumminello says. "Number one is to change the range of motion. If you want to make it harder, increase the range, if you want to make it easier, you shorten the range."
So, for example, if you are having trouble with the depth of your squats, you can start to squat deeper as you progress to make them more difficult.
"Change the lever arm ... by shortening the lever arm it makes it easier. How would you shorten the lever arm (for pushups)? You would put your hands up on the side of your couch or side of your bed or something like that," Tumminello says.
"The other one I would say is to change the base of support. So instead of doing two legged squats, you would do one legged squats. You add a balance challenge, but you've also indirectly increased the load."
You can also change the speed of your exercises if you're looking for an increased challenge too. If you're someone who can crank out sets of 15 or more pushups fairly easily, next workout, perform them as fast as possible while staying under control. By doing that, you'll increase your training stimulus and recruit more fast-twitch muscle fibers.
So here's a couple great workouts to perform if you're stuck at home or in a hotel room. And remember, you can apply the four principles mentioned above to adapt your workout if necessary.
In this workout, Tumminello says to go for time -- anywhere from between 20 to 45 seconds per set, and perform them circuit style with as little time as you need between circuits. Perform as many circuits as you can. There is one challenge with bodyweight training -- rowing and upper body pulling movements aren't very easy to do without any equipment. However, unless you have focused on the exercises recently, you may find the posterior shoulder exercises more challenging than you think.
Beginner/Intermediate Workout
1. Incline pushups: You can perform these on the side of a couch or the seat of a chair like Tumminello mentions above.
2. Split Squats: To perform these, take a comfortable step out in front like a lunge, and touch your rear knee to the floor and stand back up and switch legs.
3. Shoulder Ts: With your knees comfortably bent, bend at the waist until your upper body is parallel to the floor. With your elbows extended, raise your arms out to your sides, forming a T.
4. Skip in Place: Remember skipping in gym class? Skipping in place is a great way to get your heart rate up to perform some conditioning work.
5. Planks: Hold your body in a straight line like a pushup position with your forearms on the floor.
Advanced Workout
1. Squat jumps: With your hands behind your head or extended in front of you, squat down as far as possible (with good form) and jump as fast as you can.
2. Pushups with your feet elevated: Instead of placing your hands on the edge of your couch or bed, put your feet on them. That increases the range of motion and thus, the difficulty.
3. Shoulder Ys and Ts: Just like the setup for the Ts in the workout above, but with Ys included on every other rep. To perform the Y, pretend that you're rocking out to the Village People's "YMCA" at the roller rink -- only parallel to the floor.
4. Jumping Jacks or Burpees: Just like skipping, jumping jacks should bring back some great P.E. flashbacks. Watch the video below to see how to perform a burpee.
5. Ab Snails: Watch this.
Monday, May 7, 2012 6:28 pmWritten by: Nick Bromberg\0020 1954 813
It's OK to admit it: We've all used the reason of traveling and/or not having accessible equipment as an excuse to skip a workout.
And while it's not the end of the world if you skip a training session on a rare occasion, being unable to find a weight room shouldn't ever be a reason because your bodyweight can be the only resistance you need to build some muscle -- even for advanced lifters.
Bodyweight exercises sometimes can have the rap of being too easy to perform, but not everyone can do a basic pushup or squat properly. And the great thing about them is that bodyweight exercises are easily modified.
"There are four ways to modify bodyweight exercises to make them harder or easier depending on your (training) level," strength coach Nick Tumminello says. "Number one is to change the range of motion. If you want to make it harder, increase the range, if you want to make it easier, you shorten the range."
So, for example, if you are having trouble with the depth of your squats, you can start to squat deeper as you progress to make them more difficult.
"Change the lever arm ... by shortening the lever arm it makes it easier. How would you shorten the lever arm (for pushups)? You would put your hands up on the side of your couch or side of your bed or something like that," Tumminello says.
"The other one I would say is to change the base of support. So instead of doing two legged squats, you would do one legged squats. You add a balance challenge, but you've also indirectly increased the load."
You can also change the speed of your exercises if you're looking for an increased challenge too. If you're someone who can crank out sets of 15 or more pushups fairly easily, next workout, perform them as fast as possible while staying under control. By doing that, you'll increase your training stimulus and recruit more fast-twitch muscle fibers.
So here's a couple great workouts to perform if you're stuck at home or in a hotel room. And remember, you can apply the four principles mentioned above to adapt your workout if necessary.
In this workout, Tumminello says to go for time -- anywhere from between 20 to 45 seconds per set, and perform them circuit style with as little time as you need between circuits. Perform as many circuits as you can. There is one challenge with bodyweight training -- rowing and upper body pulling movements aren't very easy to do without any equipment. However, unless you have focused on the exercises recently, you may find the posterior shoulder exercises more challenging than you think.
Beginner/Intermediate Workout
1. Incline pushups: You can perform these on the side of a couch or the seat of a chair like Tumminello mentions above.
2. Split Squats: To perform these, take a comfortable step out in front like a lunge, and touch your rear knee to the floor and stand back up and switch legs.
3. Shoulder Ts: With your knees comfortably bent, bend at the waist until your upper body is parallel to the floor. With your elbows extended, raise your arms out to your sides, forming a T.
4. Skip in Place: Remember skipping in gym class? Skipping in place is a great way to get your heart rate up to perform some conditioning work.
5. Planks: Hold your body in a straight line like a pushup position with your forearms on the floor.
Advanced Workout
1. Squat jumps: With your hands behind your head or extended in front of you, squat down as far as possible (with good form) and jump as fast as you can.
2. Pushups with your feet elevated: Instead of placing your hands on the edge of your couch or bed, put your feet on them. That increases the range of motion and thus, the difficulty.
3. Shoulder Ys and Ts: Just like the setup for the Ts in the workout above, but with Ys included on every other rep. To perform the Y, pretend that you're rocking out to the Village People's "YMCA" at the roller rink -- only parallel to the floor.
4. Jumping Jacks or Burpees: Just like skipping, jumping jacks should bring back some great P.E. flashbacks. Watch the video below to see how to perform a burpee.
5. Ab Snails: Watch this.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
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