Casey Alston Casey Alston

The Complexity Tax

— Why Every New Skill Costs More Than You ThinkBy El Coach Casey | Discovery Performance

When I started coaching basketball I had cones everywhere.

Not a few cones. A gang of them. Spread across the gym floor like I was setting up an obstacle course for people who had never seen a basketball before. On top of that — drills stacked on drills, a different program every week, and a session that tried to accomplish everything simultaneously.

I thought more meant better. I thought the complexity was proof that I knew what I was doing.

I was wrong about all of it.

What the Complexity Tax Actually Is

The complexity tax is the extra cost — in time, energy, and confusion — that you pay at the beginning of any new skill or endeavor.

It is not a punishment. It is not a sign that you are bad at the thing. It is the entry fee to the game. Every beginner pays it. The problem is that most people do not know they are paying it. They think the complexity is the point. They think doing more is working harder. They are not working harder. They are just paying more tax.

Here is what the tax looks like in real life.

You start something new. You consume every piece of information you can find. You try to implement all of it immediately. Your program grows. Your process grows. Your confusion grows. Your results do not grow at the same rate. And you interpret this as — I need to add more.

You do not need to add more. You need to accumulate enough reps to know what to cut.

It Does Not Transfer

Here is the part that really stings.

When I moved from basketball coaching into strength and conditioning I thought the lesson would carry over. I had already learned it. Less is more. Keep it simple. I knew this.

Wrong.

New discipline. Same tax. I started programming strength and conditioning with the same overcomplicated approach I had used on the basketball court. Exercises stacked on exercises. Periodization models I had read about but never actually applied. Complex protocols that looked sophisticated on paper and produced confusion in practice.

Full complexity tax. Paid again from zero.

And then nutrition.

I genuinely considered writing a 100-recipe IIFYM cookbook. If you were on social media during that particular era of fitness culture — you know exactly what I am talking about. Poptarts and donuts as pre-workout. Look how bad I can eat and still have abs. I was reading everything. Trying to implement everything. The information was all technically accurate. The problem was I was trying to use all of it at the same time.

Third domain. Third time paying the complexity tax from the beginning.

Why the Lesson Does Not Transfer

The complexity tax does not transfer between domains because the knowledge that allows you to simplify is domain-specific.

Your ability to simplify a basketball practice does not automatically give you the ability to simplify a strength and conditioning program. The skill of simplification — knowing what to cut — requires understanding the domain deeply enough to identify what actually matters. And that understanding only comes from reps inside that domain.

You have to accumulate enough experience in a new area before you earn the right to remove things. Until then, everything looks equally important. Because you do not yet know what produces results and what just fills time.

The cones were not the problem. The drills were not the problem. The 100 recipes were not the problem. The problem was that I did not yet understand each domain deeply enough to know which of those things actually moved the needle.

So I kept all of them. That is what the tax looks like.

What Simplicity Actually Is

Simplicity is not the starting point. It is the reward for doing the work.

It takes more knowledge to do less — not less knowledge. The most experienced coaches have the shortest sessions. The most advanced lifters have the most minimal programs. The most dialed-in athletes eat the most boring diets. Not because they gave up on finding better answers — because they accumulated enough reps to identify which answers actually mattered and had the confidence to cut everything else.

The simplicity you see in an expert's process is not laziness. It is the residue of years of complexity tax payments. They earned the simple.

What To Do With This Information

Knowing the complexity tax exists does not exempt you from paying it. You will still pay it. Every new thing you start — boxing, nutrition, business, a new coaching method, a new parenting approach — you will overcomplicate it at the beginning. That is the game.

But knowing it exists means you can stop interpreting the complexity as the problem. The complexity is not the problem. The complexity is the entry point. The reps are the answer.

When you find yourself adding more and more to a system that is not yet producing results — that is not a sign that you need more. That is a sign that you have not yet accumulated enough reps to know what to remove.

Keep accumulating. The simple is on the other side.

Keep It Simple — But Earn the Simple

The lesson I would have told my earlier self — the basketball coach with cones spread across an entire gym floor — is this:

The cones are not making you a better coach. The reps are making you a better coach. At some point the reps will tell you which cones to put away. Until that point, the complexity is just the tax you are paying for being new. Pay it. Do not try to shortcut it. But know that it is temporary.

Every new endeavor starts here. The question is not whether you will pay the complexity tax. The question is whether you will recognize it when you are paying it — and have the patience to keep going until you earn the simple.

Train this week's system at elcoachcasey.com/thisweekstrainingish

The Daily ISH Fighter Library — 52 fighters, 52 combinations, six guided workouts per week. elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

Not sure where to start? Take the free quiz at elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

El Coach Casey Discovery Performance — Orange County CA How To Do The Ish That Matters

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Casey Alston Casey Alston

THE WEEKLY ISH

The ish you actually need to be doing. Week 5 | August 23 – August 29, 2026

This week we are studying one of the cleanest reads in boxing history.

Floyd Mayweather versus Ricky Hatton. Round ten. The check hook that ended the fight before Hatton even decided to throw. Nine rounds of conditioning a response. One punch to collect on it.

What I want you to take from this week is not just the combination. It is the idea that everything Hatton did right — pressing forward, cutting the ring, staying aggressive — was the setup. Mayweather did not react to Hatton. He read him. And by round ten the answer was already built before the question was asked.

That is what you are building this week. Not just the check hook. The read that makes it available.

Everything for this week is at the athlete hub — videos, schedule, nutrition, all of it in one place.

elcoachcasey.com/thisweekstrainingish

THIS WEEK'S FIGHTER — FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.

The check hook is not a fast punch. It is a positioned punch. Mayweather did not throw it faster than Hatton could see it coming. He was already in the right place before Hatton arrived. That is the concept this week covers — being early instead of being fast.

After the fight Mayweather said they taught him that in the amateurs. Not this camp. Not this fight. Years before this moment his body already knew. The reps were done long before the night.

That is what this week is about for you.

Watch the film study first before anything else this week. youtu.be/XdQwCCWyZQ4

THIS WEEK'S BOXING — SIX SESSIONS

One combination. Three emphasis areas. Six sessions.

FOOTWORK The check hook starts with the feet. The left foot lifts off the ground — because it is not attached to anything — and lands outside the opponent's frame before the punch fires. The exit and the score are the same movement. Two sessions this week are built around getting that step automatic before anything else.

HANDS AND DEFENSE The check hook fires and the passive hand protects simultaneously. One hand scores. One hand defends. Neither one does the other's job. Two sessions built around what both hands are doing through the combination.

HEAD MOVEMENT The head slot on the right heel is what makes the check hook available. Where your head is before you move determines where it ends up after the punch. Two sessions built around the head position — before the combination, through it, and after the exit.

Watch the mitt work breakdown here: youtu.be/BoeHzMvekss

Watch the heavy bag three emphasis breakdown here: youtu.be/DDPittYjoa8

THIS WEEK'S S&C — THREE EXERCISES. ZERO MILES.

You box but your body is not trained to box. That changes this week.

Conditioning is specific to the task. A marathon runner and a boxer both need cardio. But the demand is completely different. This week's S&C session is built around what boxing actually asks from your body — not what a general fitness program assumes it needs.

REAR DELT FLY + SEATED CALF RAISE Boxers are rounded forward by nature. The rear delt opens the shoulder back up so you can actually use the full range of your punch without your posture working against you. The calf stabilizes every start and stop through the entirety of your rounds. 3 x 8 each. One arm at a time on the rear delt. Strength not size — that is the goal.

SINGLE LEG LANDMINE RDL + BANDED BOXING STANCE SIDE TO SIDES Posterior chain strength paired with movement specific to boxing. The RDL builds it. The banded side to sides in your boxing stance put it into a pattern your sport actually uses. High weight. Low reps. The muscle does not have to be big. It has to work.

BIKE SPRINTS Three levels of cardio for boxing — low intensity steady state, moderate intensity steady state, and high intensity interval training. The bike sprint covers the explosive demand of a real round. Beginner — 6 intervals, 20 seconds on, 40 seconds off. Intermediate — 10 intervals, 30 on, 30 off. Advanced — 12 intervals, 30 on, 20 off.

Watch the full S&C breakdown here: youtu.be/bPSXKcr7EuM

THIS WEEK'S NUTRITION — THE BOWL PROTOCOL

Simple. Structured. Macro-targeted. Three bowls built to fuel the training and recover between sessions. The goal this week is to hit your protein target every single day before anything else. Everything else is secondary.

BREAKFAST BOWL — 530 calories Scrambled eggs, black beans, brown rice, avocado, salsa. Protein 38g — Carbs 52g — Fat 18g

Start muscle synthesis in the morning. The avocado fat gives sustained energy without spiking. The brown rice and beans keep you stable through a morning session.

LUNCH BOWL — 620 calories Ground beef, white rice, roasted peppers, corn, shredded cheese. Protein 46g — Carbs 58g — Fat 22g

Ground beef is dense protein and iron. Iron determines how efficiently your blood carries oxygen through your rounds. White rice for fast-release carbs around training.

DINNER BOWL — 560 calories Grilled chicken thighs, quinoa, roasted broccoli, olive oil and lemon. Protein 52g — Carbs 44g — Fat 16g

Chicken thighs repair muscle overnight. Quinoa is a complete protein. Broccoli reduces inflammation. Olive oil supports joint health.

Hydration this week: Body weight times 0.67 equals your daily ounce target. Start with 16 ounces before food or coffee every morning. Add 12 ounces for every 30 minutes of training.

JESSE'S FIGHT JOURNEY

Jesse is preparing for his first amateur fight. He has been in the sessions, on camera, putting in the work. Training is not free. If you want to support him — use code JESSE at checkout when you sign up for the Daily ISH Fighter Library or the Footwork Course. Every signup goes directly toward his fight journey.

He shows up. This is how you show up for him.

GET ACCESS THIS WEEK

Orange County — Train in person. DM me to book a session. We train at Art of Strength in Irvine, House of Power in Westminster, and THEBOX in Costa Mesa.

Not local — everything is online. The full boxing and training system you can take anywhere. Film study. Coach breakdown. Heavy bag. Six guided workouts every week. Nutrition and S&C included. One fighter. Every week.

elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

Not sure where to start? Take the free quiz. 11 questions. Your exact training level, calorie target, water target, and the right product for where you are right now.

elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

How To Do The Ish That Matters. El Coach Casey — Discovery Performance — Orange County CA

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Casey Alston Casey Alston

THE WEEKLY !SH Week of August 10, 2026

Volume 1 Week 4

Week 4 is live.

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This week we are on Chávez.

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Julio César Chávez vs Meldrick Taylor. Round 12. Final seconds. One of the most dramatic finishes in boxing history. Taylor was ahead on all three scorecards with two seconds left in the fight. Chávez stopped him anyway.

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Most people remember the drama. This week you are learning the combination.

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THIS WEEK'S COACHING CONCEPT — He Didn't Throw Where You Were.

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Chávez did not throw where Taylor's head was. He threw where it was going to be.

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The jab went over the front foot — not to land but to move Taylor's head. The moment Taylor moved his head to get away from the jab he moved it directly into the path of the right hand. Chávez was not reacting. He was executing a sequence he had already decided on before the jab left his hand.

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That is the difference between punching and setting up.

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The jab has a job. The right hand has a job. The small angle step to the right has a job. The left to the body has a job. The right hand upstairs has a job. The shuffle back has a job. The left uppercut that missed has a job. The finishing right hand that slid across Taylor's face has a job.

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Every single punch in this sequence was doing something specific for the punch that came after it. That is what you are building this week.

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THIS WEEK'S VIDEOS

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Watch these in order. Each one builds on the last.

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Film Study — Chávez vs Taylor — The Combination That Ended Ithttps://youtu.be/oDPIRo5WzPg

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Mitt Work — The Chávez Sequence Drilled On The Mittshttps://youtu.be/Ix35OpdV5iE

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Heavy Bag ISH — One Combination Three Ways — Feet Head Handshttps://youtu.be/cyPZ98_4BhA

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Everything is also at the athlete hub with all three videos embedded: https://www.elcoachcasey.com/thisweekstrainingish

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YOUR FOCUS THIS WEEK

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Ladies ISH 🥊 — The Jab Is The Setup Not The Punch This week your jab has one job — move the head. Not land. Move it. Throw it over your front foot and watch where the head goes. That position is what tells you what comes next. You do not have to throw hard this week. You have to throw smart. The power comes from the angle. The angle comes from reading where the head is going.

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Fellas ISH 🔥 — Stop Throwing At The Target. Throw At The Position. Most people throw combinations at where the head is. Chávez threw combinations at where the head was going to be. This week every rep on the bag has one question — what is my jab creating for the right hand. If the answer is nothing you are punching. If the answer is a position you are setting up. That is the shift this week.

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Athletes and Fighters ISH ⚡ — The Miss That Loaded The Finish. Chávez's left uppercut missed. That miss was not an accident and it was not a problem. It loaded the right hand that ended the fight. This week in sparring — when you miss a punch do not reset. Ask what position that miss put you in and what the next punch is from that position. The best fighters do not react to misses. They use them.

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THIS WEEK'S COMBINATION — FULL SEQUENCE

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Jab over the front foot → Right hand over the right toe → Small angle step to the right → Left to the body → Right hand upstairs → Shuffle back → Left uppercut to load → Right hand to finish → Exit

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The three emphasis days:

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Feet day — every step, the angle, the shuffle, the exit. Full attention on foot position before anything else.

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Head day — where the head slots are through every punch so offense and defense happen in the same combination. Your head moves with your punches — not after them.

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Hands day — the passive hand through every punch. The non-punching hand has a job on every single shot in this sequence. Never caught out of position between punches.

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Beginner protocol: 1 minute on — 30 seconds off — 3 rounds per emphasis day.

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CONDITIONING THIS WEEK

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Every conditioning option this week has one added layer — the Chávez sequence built into your cardio so your body learns to execute the combination when it is already taxed.

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Option 1 — Miles By Level Beginner: 1 to 2 miles — 3 days. Intermediate: 3 to 4 miles — 3 to 4 days. Advanced: 5 to 6 miles — 4 to 5 days.

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New layer this week — shadow box the Chávez sequence in the final quarter mile. Jab, right hand, angle, left body, right hand, shuffle, finish. Slow motion. Let the feet remember the sequence when the lungs are already working.

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Option 2 — Bike Sprints 2 minutes slow. 6 minutes of sprints — 10 seconds all out, 20 seconds off. 12 intervals. 8 minutes total.

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New layer — immediately after the 8 minutes do 10 reps of the full Chávez sequence on the heavy bag with no rest. The sequence has to come out clean when you are already gassed. That is fight conditioning.

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Watch the full bike sprint protocol here: https://youtu.be/VQGRISnYHCI

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Option 3 — Punch Conditioning 24 rounds — 30 seconds rhythm, 30 seconds power. 12 minutes total. No rest.

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Every power round this week is the Chávez sequence. Full commitment. Full footwork. Angle included. By Saturday it should start feeling automatic.

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Watch the full punch conditioning protocol here: https://youtu.be/9aexJgECts8

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NUTRITION THIS WEEK

‍ ‍

Every meal has a job.

‍ ‍

Breakfast — Bacon, Eggs, Avocado — Sourdough Toast Optional Protein starts muscle synthesis. Avocado fat gives sustained energy. Add toast if training in the morning. Skip it if training in the afternoon.

‍ ‍

Lunch — Ground Beef and Potatoes Ground beef is dense protein and iron. Iron determines how efficiently your blood carries oxygen — which determines how fast you gas out. Potatoes are slow-release carbs that keep you stable through a full session.

‍ ‍

Dinner — Steak and Asparagus — or Steak Sandwich Steak repairs muscle overnight. Asparagus reduces inflammation and flushes training waste from your system.

‍ ‍

Fruit — Orange and Watermelon Orange Vitamin C helps absorb iron from your meals. Watermelon reduces soreness. Eat watermelon after training and orange with any iron-rich meal.

‍ ‍

HYDRATION — Your Number This Week

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Body weight multiplied by 0.67 equals your daily ounce target.

‍ ‍

Start your morning with 16 oz before food, coffee, or your phone. Add 12 oz for every 30 minutes of training.

‍ ‍

Not sure what your personal number is? The quiz calculates it for you: https://www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

‍ ‍

GET ACCESS TO THE FULL SYSTEM

‍ ‍

The Daily ISH Library — $97/month Film study, mitt work, heavy bag, and six full guided workouts every week. One combination per week. Library grows permanently. https://www.elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

‍ ‍

Not sure yet? Try this week for $15 — DM TRIAL at @elcoachcasey on Instagram or email sayhi@elcoachcasey.com

‍ ‍

The Complete Bundle — Foundation, Footwork, and three months of the Daily ISH Library. One price. Yours permanently. https://www.elcoachcasey.com/training/p/how-to-do-the-ish-that-matters-the-complete-boxing-bundle

‍ ‍

Not sure where to start: https://www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

‍ ‍

How To Do The Ish That Matters. El Coach Casey — Discovery Performance elcoachcasey.com

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Casey Alston Casey Alston

Wednesday Check-In — Week 3 — Tyson's 3-6

We are halfway through Week 3.

If you have been putting in the work this week the 3-6 should be starting to feel less like something you are thinking about and more like something you are building. That is the difference between drilling and training. Drilling is repetition. Training is repetition with a specific focus on what each piece is creating.

This week that focus is the lead hook dropping the head so the rear uppercut has a clear path. If you are only thinking about landing the punch you are missing the point. The punch is creating a position. That position is what you are training.

WHERE YOU SHOULD BE AT WEDNESDAY

If you followed the week correctly you have already been through the film study and the footwork emphasis days. By now you should have a feel for why the hook comes first and what it is supposed to do before the uppercut leaves your hand.

If you have not started yet — Wednesday is not too late. Start with the film study. Watch the breakdown. Then go straight to the heavy bag emphasis day. You will still get three solid training days before the week closes.

Everything for Week 3 is at the athlete hub →
www.elcoachcasey.com/thisweekstrainingish

THE WEDNESDAY FOCUS — HEAD MOVEMENT EMPHASIS

Today is head movement day. Every drill this session is built around the head movement that makes the 3-6 work — not just the punches.

Here is what that means practically. When you throw the lead hook today the question is not did it land. The question is where did your head go after it left. If your head stayed in the same position you gave someone a clear path back to your face. If your head moved with the hook — below the line of return — then the rear uppercut is coming from a protected position.

That is the coaching concept for today. The punch and the head move together. Not sequentially. Together.

WEDNESDAY TRIVIA

First 5 correct answers win a discount on the Footwork Course.

Tyson threw the lead hook to Spinks every time they exchanged. What did Spinks' head do every single time the hook landed — and what did that create for Tyson?

DM me your answer at @elcoachcasey on Instagram. First 5 correct answers win. I will DM you back and let you know how to get the discount.

CONDITIONING CHECK — MIDWEEK

You should have completed at least two conditioning sessions this week. If you have not — today is a good day to stack your head movement training with one of the three options.

Option 1 — Miles by level. Add the Tyson 3-6 shadow boxing in the final quarter mile. Footwork patterns, head movement, combination — all while your cardiovascular system is already taxed.

Option 2 — Bike sprints. Immediately after the 8 minute protocol do 10 reps of the 3-6 on the heavy bag with no rest. Execute the combination when you are already gassed.

Option 3 — Punch conditioning. Every power round this week is the 3-6. Lead hook then rear uppercut. Full commitment on every rep.

All three conditioning protocols are at the athlete hub →
www.elcoachcasey.com/thisweekstrainingish

NUTRITION MIDWEEK CHECK

Midweek is usually where the nutrition slips. You had a strong Monday. Tuesday felt okay. Wednesday the meal prep runs out and the easy option starts looking better.

Here is the only thing that matters today — hit your protein number. Everything else adjusts. But if you miss the protein your recovery from the first two training days does not happen the way it needs to and Thursday feels harder than it should.

Your protein target is 1 gram per pound of bodyweight. That number does not change based on how busy the day is.

If you have not taken the where to start quiz yet it calculates your exact calorie target, protein number, and hydration goal based on your specific weight and training goal →
www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

TWO DAYS LEFT

Friday closes the week. Head movement emphasis today. Hands emphasis Thursday and Sunday. Use the rest of this week to make the combination automatic — not just something you can do but something that comes out without thinking.

That is the difference between knowing the 3-6 and owning it.

Everything is at the athlete hub →
www.elcoachcasey.com/thisweekstrainingish

How To Do The Ish That Matters.
El Coach Casey — Discovery Performance
elcoachcasey.com

Read More
Casey Alston Casey Alston

THE WEEKLY !SH -Week of August 2, 2026

Volume 1 Week 3

This week we are on Tyson.

Mike Tyson vs Michael Spinks. Round 1. 91 seconds. The fastest heavyweight title fight in history.

Most people think Tyson knocked Spinks out with raw power. He did not. He read where Spinks' head was going to land before the punch even left his hand — and threw the combination that fit that exact position. A lead hook to drop the head. A rear uppercut to lift it. Wrong punch. Right time.

THIS WEEK'S COACHING CONCEPT — Wrong Punch. Right Time.

The coaching concept this week is head slots and position.

Every opponent has tendencies. Spinks threw his right hand and his head ended up on his left heel — left handed position. Every time. Tyson recognized that pattern and waited for it. When Spinks threw the right hand Tyson did not react to the punch. He reacted to where the head was going to land. He threw the lead hook to drop the head lower and the rear uppercut to finish — not because those were the hardest punches he could throw but because those were the right punches for that exact head position.

That is what boxing IQ looks like in real time. You do not throw combinations. You throw solutions to positions.

This week every session starts with one question before the combination — where is the head and what does that position call for?

THIS WEEK'S VIDEOS

Watch these before you train. Each one builds on the last.

Film Study — Tyson vs Spinks — The 3-6 Breakdown
https://youtu.be/VM-3jfhJHMU

Mitt Work — Tyson's 3-6 Coached On The Mitts
https://youtu.be/JNUCcd9Uiio

Heavy Bag ISH — Tyson's 3-6 Three Emphasis Breakdown
https://youtu.be/7yUZV4LuMhQ

YOUR FOCUS THIS WEEK

Ladies ISH 🥊 — The Setup Punch
The lead hook this week is not the finish. It is the setup. Throw it with the intention of moving the head not ending the exchange. Feel the difference between throwing to land and throwing to create. That is the IQ shift this week.

Not sure where to start? Take the free quiz:
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

Want the full breakdown with mitt work, heavy bag, and six guided workouts?
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

Want everything — Foundation, Footwork, and three months of the Daily ISH Library?
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/training/p/how-to-do-the-ish-that-matters-the-complete-boxing-bundle

Fellas ISH 🔥 — Head Slots
Before you throw anything in sparring or drilling this week — where does your opponent's head go when they commit to their right hand? Find the tendency. Build your combination around that answer not around what you feel like throwing.

Not sure where to start? Take the free quiz:
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

Want the full breakdown with mitt work, heavy bag, and six guided workouts?
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

Want everything — Foundation, Footwork, and three months of the Daily ISH Library?
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/training/p/how-to-do-the-ish-that-matters-the-complete-boxing-bundle

Athletes and Fighters ISH ⚡ — Position Over Power
In sparring this week look for the moment your opponent commits their weight and their head goes to a predictable position. That is when the combination goes. Power is the last variable — position is the first.

Not sure where to start? Take the free quiz:
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

Want the full breakdown with mitt work, heavy bag, and six guided workouts?
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

Want everything — Foundation, Footwork, and three months of the Daily ISH Library?
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/training/p/how-to-do-the-ish-that-matters-the-complete-boxing-bundle

CONDITIONING THIS WEEK

This week every conditioning option has one added layer — the Tyson 3-6 combination is built directly into your cardio work so your body learns to execute the skill when it is already taxed. That is the only conditioning that transfers to a real exchange.

Option 1 — Miles By Level

Beginner: 1 to 2 miles — 3 days this week. Walk when you need to. Time on your feet is the goal.

Intermediate: 3 to 4 miles — 3 to 4 days. Consistent pace. No stops.

Advanced: 5 to 6 miles — 4 to 5 days. Add a tempo mile in the middle.

New layer this week — shadow box the final quarter mile. Footwork patterns, head movement, and the Tyson 3-6 in slow motion. Your cardiovascular system learns to perform the skill when already taxed.

Option 2 — Bike Sprints — Assault Bike or Regular Bike

2 minutes slow — warm up
6 minutes of sprints — 10 seconds all out, 20 seconds off
12 sprint intervals total
Total: 8 minutes

New layer this week — immediately after the 8 minutes do 10 reps of the Tyson 3-6 on the heavy bag with no rest. Lead hook then rear uppercut. Execute the combination when you are already gassed. That is fight conditioning.

Watch the full bike sprint protocol here:
https://youtu.be/VQGRISnYHCI

Option 3 — Punch Conditioning — 12 Minutes Total

Set interval timer to 24 rounds — no break between rounds
30 seconds rhythm shots — sharp, fast, snappy
30 seconds power shots — full commitment, full force
Total: 12 minutes. No rest.

New layer this week — every power round is the Tyson 3-6. Lead hook then rear uppercut. By Saturday it should start feeling automatic.

Watch the full punch conditioning protocol here:
https://youtu.be/9aexJgECts8

NUTRITION THIS WEEK

Every meal has a job.

Breakfast — Bacon, Eggs, Avocado — Sourdough Toast Optional
Protein starts muscle synthesis. Avocado fat gives sustained energy. Add toast if training in the morning. Skip it if training in the afternoon.

Lunch — Ground Beef and Potatoes
Ground beef is dense protein and iron. Iron determines how efficiently your blood carries oxygen — which determines how fast you gas out. Potatoes are slow-release carbs that keep you stable through a full session.

Dinner — Steak and Asparagus — or Steak Sandwich
Steak repairs muscle overnight. Asparagus reduces inflammation and flushes training waste from your system.

Fruit — Orange and Watermelon
Orange's Vitamin C helps absorb the iron from your meals. Watermelon reduces soreness. Eat it after training.

HYDRATION — Your Number This Week

Body weight multiplied by 0.67 equals your daily ounce target.

Example: 180 lbs × 0.67 = 120 oz per day.

Start your morning with 16 oz before food, coffee, or your phone. Add 12 oz for every 30 minutes of training.

GET ACCESS TO THE FULL SYSTEM

The Daily ISH Library — $97/month
Film study, mitt work, heavy bag, and six full guided workouts every week. One combination per week. Library grows permanently.
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

Not sure yet? Try this week for $15 — DM TRIAL at @elcoachcasey on Instagram or email sayhi@elcoachcasey.com

The Complete Bundle — Foundation, Footwork, and three months of the Daily ISH Library. One price. Yours permanently.
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/training/p/how-to-do-the-ish-that-matters-the-complete-boxing-bundle

Not sure where to start:
https://www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

How To Do The Ish That Matters.
El Coach Casey — Discovery Performance
elcoachcasey.com

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THE WEEKLY !SH LIVE Casey Alston THE WEEKLY !SH LIVE Casey Alston

THE WEEKLY ISH

Week of July 25, 2026

This week we are on Crawford.

Terence Crawford vs Egus Kavaliauskas. Round 9. Crawford switched to southpaw, walked him to the ropes with three punches, feinted low to drop his hands, shuffled back, shifted his weight to the front foot, and shot the rear uppercut. Fight over.

Most people think it was the uppercut that ended the fight. It was not. The uppercut was the last thing. Everything Crawford did before it is the lesson.

Watch the full breakdown here: https://youtu.be/g1hqqq1A1jU

THIS WEEK'S COACHING CONCEPT — The Feint Is The Combination

You do not just throw combinations. You create the conditions that make them work.

Crawford saw that Kavaliauskas kept moving his head to his back foot whenever he threw his right hand. He used that tendency deliberately — the feint low got him to drop his guard, and the shuffle loaded the front foot for the uppercut. The punch was the last thing in a sequence that was already won before it landed.

This week every session starts with the feint before the combination. Not just the combination. The whole sequence. Feint low, shuffle back, shift the weight, uppercut. Slow before fast.

YOUR FOCUS THIS WEEK

Ladies ISH 🥊 — The Feint Making your opponent react without committing to a punch is one of the most underrated skills in boxing. This week before every combination you throw on the bag do one feint low first. Build that habit before you build the speed. One feint then the combination every single rep.

Not sure where to start? Take the free quiz here: https://www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

Want the full breakdown with mitt work, heavy bag, and six guided workouts? https://www.elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

Want everything — Foundation, Footwork, and three months of the Daily ISH Library? https://www.elcoachcasey.com/training/p/how-to-do-the-ish-that-matters-the-complete-boxing-bundle

Fellas ISH 🔥 — The Shuffle and Weight Shift Isolate Crawford's shuffle back and weight shift to the front foot before the uppercut. Do it without the punch first. Shuffle back, front foot takes the weight, then shoot. The movement has to be right before the power transfers. Slow before fast. This movement is what separates a clean uppercut from one that has nothing behind it.

Not sure where to start? Take the free quiz here: https://www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

Want the full breakdown with mitt work, heavy bag, and six guided workouts? https://www.elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

Want everything — Foundation, Footwork, and three months of the Daily ISH Library? https://www.elcoachcasey.com/training/p/how-to-do-the-ish-that-matters-the-complete-boxing-bundle

Athletes and Fighters ISH ⚡ — The Stance Switch Read Crawford did not switch stances because he felt like it. He switched because he recognized a pattern. In sparring this week look for your opponent's head tendency. Where does their head go when they throw their right hand. Find the tendency. Build a combination around it. That is what Crawford did and it is what separates fighters who react from fighters who create.

Not sure where to start? Take the free quiz here: https://www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

Want the full breakdown with mitt work, heavy bag, and six guided workouts? https://www.elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

Want everything — Foundation, Footwork, and three months of the Daily ISH Library? https://www.elcoachcasey.com/training/p/how-to-do-the-ish-that-matters-the-complete-boxing-bundle

CONDITIONING THIS WEEK — Three Options

Long distance running builds a different energy system than the one you need in boxing or any stop-and-go sport. This week you have three options. Pick one or stack them. All three build the explosive-recovery capacity that shows up when it matters.

Option 1 — Miles By Level

Beginner: 1 to 2 miles, 3 days this week. Walk when you need to. Time on your feet is the goal not pace.

Intermediate: 3 to 4 miles, 3 to 4 days this week. Consistent pace. No stops. This is where your aerobic base actually builds.

Advanced: 5 to 6 miles, 4 to 5 days this week. Add a tempo mile in the middle where you push the pace. Your body needs to know what fast feels like at distance.

Option 2 — Bike Sprints — Assault Bike or Regular Bike

This builds the explosive-recovery cycle your sport demands. Not steady state. Intervals.

The protocol: 2 minutes slow — warm up, easy pace, get the legs moving 6 minutes of sprints — 10 seconds all out, 20 seconds off That is 12 sprint intervals in the 6 minute block Total time: 8 minutes. It will feel like more.

Watch the full protocol here: https://youtu.be/VQGRISnYHCI

Option 3 — Punch Conditioning — 12 Minutes Total

This builds conditioning and punching output at the same time. Rhythm shots develop timing and snap. Power shots develop force and commitment. Alternating between them teaches your body to stay sharp when it is tired — which is the whole game.

The protocol: Set your interval timer to 24 rounds with no break between rounds 30 seconds rhythm shots — sharp, fast, snappy 30 seconds power shots — full commitment, full force Alternate on and off for all 24 rounds Total time: 12 minutes. No rest.

Watch the full protocol here: https://youtu.be/9aexJgECts8

NUTRITION THIS WEEK — Built For Training Not Just Eating

Every meal this week has a job. Not just to fill you up — to fuel what you are doing in the gym and help you recover so you can go again.

Breakfast — Bacon, Eggs, Avocado — Sourdough Toast Optional Protein from the eggs and bacon starts muscle protein synthesis first thing. The fat from the avocado gives you sustained energy that does not spike and crash before your session. If you are training in the morning add the toast — the carbs will fuel the session. If you are training in the afternoon skip it.

Lunch — Ground Beef and Potatoes This is the meal that keeps you stable through a full training session without crashing. Ground beef is dense protein and iron — iron directly affects how fast you gas out by determining how efficiently your blood carries oxygen. Potatoes are slow-release carbs that give you energy that lasts the entire session instead of dropping in the first round.

Dinner — Steak and Asparagus — or Steak Sandwich if You Skipped Toast at Breakfast Steak at dinner means your body is repairing muscle tissue overnight while you sleep. Asparagus reduces inflammation and helps your kidneys flush the waste your muscles produced during training. The sandwich option keeps the same protein base and adds the carbs you need if your energy was low today.

Fruit This Week — Orange and Watermelon Orange gives you Vitamin C which helps your body absorb the iron from the ground beef and steak. Watermelon is 92 percent water and contains citrulline which reduces muscle soreness. Eat it after training not before.

HYDRATION — Your Number This Week

Most people are training dehydrated and do not know it. A two percent drop in hydration reduces your power output, your reaction time, and your mental clarity — all three things your sport requires at the same time.

Your formula: Body weight multiplied by 0.67 equals your daily ounce target.

Example: 180 lbs × 0.67 = 120 oz per day. That is about 15 glasses of water.

Add 12 oz for every 30 minutes of training on top of that base number.

Start your morning with 16 oz before food, coffee, or your phone. Your body has been running on no water for 7 to 8 hours overnight. Fix that first.

GET ACCESS TO THE FULL SYSTEM

The Daily ISH Library — $97/month Film study, mitt work, heavy bag, and six full guided workouts every week. One combination per week built around how the greatest fighters in history finished fights. New combination drops every week. Everything stays in your library permanently. https://www.elcoachcasey.com/thedailyishlibrary

The Complete Bundle — Foundation, Footwork, and three months of the Daily ISH Library. One price. Yours permanently. https://www.elcoachcasey.com/training/p/how-to-do-the-ish-that-matters-the-complete-boxing-bundle

Not sure where to start — take the free quiz: https://www.elcoachcasey.com/wheretostart

How To Do The Ish That Matters. El Coach Casey — Discovery Performance elcoachcasey.com

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BOXING Casey Alston BOXING Casey Alston

How To Use Your Hands To Protect And Punch On The Heavy Bag

Most people walk up to the heavy bag and think about one thing — punching. What they forget is that their opponent is punching back.

Defense is not something you add later when you get more advanced. Defense is what makes your offense work. And this week's heavy bag ISH is about using your hands to protect the space between your combinations so your opponent cannot walk through you while you are trying to walk through them.

The Same Combination — A Different Emphasis

Last week the focus was footwork. Same two combinations — the 1-1-2 and the 1-2 — but the emphasis was using your feet to create separation and read the space.

This week the emphasis is your hands. Same combination. Different intention. That is how the heavy bag ISH system works — one combination used multiple ways builds complete fighters not one dimensional punchers.

The 1-1-2 Block 1-2

You come in with the double jab right hand — the 1-1-2. That is your entry. You are pushing your opponent off the line with three punches.

But here is the reality — your opponent does not just stand there and take it. They throw back. So after the 1-1-2 lands you block. You protect the space you just created. Your hands stay up and active between the two combinations so you are not wide open when they respond.

Then the 1-2 finishes the job. Left right. Clean exit.

Why This Matters

The block between combinations is not a pause. It is an intentional defensive action that accomplishes two things simultaneously — it protects you from the counter and it separates the two combinations so they land as two distinct attacks rather than one long sloppy sequence.

Simple combinations with intentional defense beat fast combinations with no defense every single time. Five punches with a block in the middle is more dangerous than ten punches thrown with your hands down.

This is what catching counters means. You are not just throwing — you are reading, protecting, and finishing. That is boxing.

Work on this today.

Join The ISH Community free — skool.com/theweeklyish

Daily Boxing Workouts — www.elcoachcasey.com/dailyboxing

Footwork Course Bundle — www.elcoachcasey.com/footworkcourse

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BOXING Casey Alston BOXING Casey Alston

How To Use Your Feet To Set Up Combinations On The Heavy Bag

Most people punch their way into combinations. They walk up to the bag and start throwing. That is not boxing. That is hitting something.

Boxing is about creating openings. And the most powerful way to create an opening is with your feet — before your hands ever move.

Here is this week's heavy bag ISH and exactly how it works.

The Two Combinations

Everything this week is built on two beginner combinations paired together to create a setup and an opening.

Combination one — the 1-1-2. Double jab right hand. Simple. Effective. This is your entry. You are pushing your opponent off the line with these three punches.

Combination two — the 1-2. Left right. This is your payoff. After you create the separation with combination one your feet read what happens next and combination two finishes the job.

Between these two combinations is your footwork — specifically the anchor step. That is what connects them and that is what makes this work.

The Anchor Step

After the 1-1-2 lands you pull off the line with your anchor step. You are creating separation. You are getting out of the pocket. And while you are doing that your eyes are reading one thing — did they take the space you just created or did they stay where they are?

That read is everything. That is boxing intelligence built on the heavy bag.

The Two Reads

If the bag is coming into your space — your opponent took the space. You do not need to jump forward. The 1-2 is right there. Take it.

If the bag is going away from you — your opponent backed up or moved off. You jump back in and take that space yourself. Then land the 1-2.

Two reads. Two responses. One combination system that covers both situations.

Why Simple Works

The 1-1-2 is not a complicated combination. The 1-2 is not a complicated combination. Five punches total. But what happens between them — the footwork, the read, the decision — that is what makes it effective.

Simple combinations with good footwork beat complex combinations with bad footwork every single time. The bag does not lie. Work on this today.

Join The ISH Community free — skool.com/theweeklyish

Footwork Course Bundle — www.elcoachcasey.com/shop/p/footwork-coures-phase-one

Weekly Boxing Lessons — www.elcoachcasey.com/shop/p/weekly-boxing

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Casey Alston Casey Alston

What Is Punch Conditioning?

If you don't know what to work on today to get better at boxing — the answer is always punch conditioning and punch technique. Every time.

Here is exactly what punch conditioning is and how it works.

What Is Punch Conditioning

Punch conditioning is rhythm shots times three. Instead of the standard eight rounds of rhythm shots — 30 seconds of rhythm, 30 seconds of power — you are doing 24 rounds total. Twelve minutes of structured, intentional punch work broken into three phases.

This is not cardio for the sake of cardio. Conditioning is preparing yourself for the task at hand. In boxing that task is beating somebody up without getting beat up. Every round of punch conditioning is training your body to throw clean, powerful, technical punches when everything hurts and your arms feel like concrete.

Phase One — Single Shots — Rounds 1 through 4

The first four rounds are single shots. One punch at a time. Straights, uppercuts, overhands — one shot, return, reset. This is where you build the foundation of each individual punch before you combine anything.

The rhythm phase in each round is not a rest. It is where technique gets built. Every punch in rhythm should look as clean as every punch in power. If your technique breaks down the moment you slow down you do not own the technique yet. That is the work.

Phase Two — Doubles — Rounds 5 through 8

The second four rounds are doubles. One change, one stay. A big right hand from the back foot followed by a left hand from the front foot. Or a big left hand from the front foot to get you to the back foot followed by the right hand from there.

The footwork and the punch are one movement — not two things happening at the same time. This is where most people fall apart. They throw the punch and then move. The punch and the movement are the same thing.

Phase Three — Triples — Rounds 9 through 11

The last three rounds are triples. Three punch combinations. By this point your conditioning is built, your technique is locked in, and you are putting it all together under fatigue. This is where you find out what you actually own.

The Standard That Matters

The rhythm phase should look as technical as the power phase. Not close. Exactly as technical. If you are sloppy in rhythm and clean in power you are training yourself to be sloppy. The standard in rhythm is the standard everywhere.

Work on this today. If you do not know what to do — now you do.

Join The ISH Community free — skool.com/theweeklyish Footwork Course Phase 1 and 2 Bundle — [Footwork course link] Weekly Boxing Lessons — [Weekly boxing lessons link]

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Nobody Told You Protein's Biggest Secret

AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MUSCLE

Everyone talks about protein and muscle. Build it. Maintain it. Feed it after training. That part is real — but it's not the reason most people actually need to hear about protein right now.The reason that changes behavior? The reason that makes eating feel less like a fight you keep losing?Protein keeps you full. Longer than anything else you can put on a plate. And that one fact, understood correctly, quietly solves about half the problems people have with their nutrition.

The Science Without the Lecture

Why Protein Is the Most Filling Food You Can Eat

Your body burns more energy digesting protein than it does digesting carbohydrates or fat. That process alone produces heat and keeps your metabolism working. But the bigger deal is the hormonal response — protein triggers the satiety signals in your gut faster and keeps them on longer. You stop reaching for food not because you have willpower. Because your body genuinely isn't asking for it.Carbs give you energy and go. Fat satisfies but it's calorie-dense. Protein does both jobs — fuels you and tells your brain you're done — without using as many calories to do it.

"Most people aren't losing the food battle because of willpower. They're losing it because they're underfed on the one thing that makes hunger manageable."

Why This Matters for You

What Changes When You Actually Prioritize Protein

You stop snacking out of habit. Not because you decided to be disciplined — because you aren't actually hungry at 3pm when your lunch had enough protein in it. That's not motivation. That's biology working the way it's supposed to.You stop dragging your way through a deficit. If you are trying to change your body composition — lose fat, get leaner, tighten up — a high protein diet makes that process feel dramatically more manageable. The hunger that normally derails people starts to quiet down.Your training stops getting sabotaged by your eating. You can't bring the effort level you need to a session when you're running on empty. Protein keeps the tank fuller, longer, and the work you put in actually means something when the fuel is there to back it up.

If you're training to change how you look — building shape, losing weight, trying to feel strong instead of just smaller — this is the lever that makes the whole thing sustainable. You don't have to eat less. You have to eat smarter, and smarter almost always starts with more protein.

If you're someone who used to train seriously and is trying to get back to something close to that — you know what your body can do when it's fueled right. Protein is the piece most people quietly let slip when life got busy. Getting it back changes how training feels within a week.

If you're performing at a high level and nutrition is part of your edge — you already know this. The question is whether you're actually hitting your number every day or just assuming you are. There's usually a gap.

The Practical Part

How to Actually Use This

Your body weight in grams is the starting point. If you weigh 170 pounds, you're aiming for 170 grams of protein a day. Not every day has to be perfect — but most days need to be close.Spread it across meals. Don't try to get it all in one sitting. Your body can only absorb and use so much at once, and spacing it out keeps the satiety effect working all day. Three or four solid protein anchors — eggs in the morning, ground beef at lunch, steak at dinner — and you're most of the way there without supplements or complicated tracking.Build meals you actually want to eat. This is the part most nutrition advice skips. If you don't enjoy the food, you won't eat it consistently. Consistency is the only thing that matters. Find your protein sources, build your meals around them, and make it something you can do forever — not just for thirty days.I am now set to hit 200g a day. Not because I'm obsessive about it — because I noticed the difference in how I train and how I feel when I'm at that number versus when I'm not. The hunger is quieter. The training is better. The rest takes care of itself.That's the secret nobody puts on the label.

Not Sure Where Your Nutrition Actually Stands?

Take the free quiz and find out which training and nutrition path fits where you are right now. It takes two minutes and it'll show you exactly what you're missing.Take the Free Quiz

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Casey Alston Casey Alston

POSITIONING

The theory underneath everything I teach — in boxing, in Muay Thai, and in life.

SECTION 1 — THE BOXING CONCEPT

This is a working theory.

Not a finished product. Not a doctrine handed down from some corner of the sport where everything is already figured out. This is something I have been developing, testing, and refining through years of coaching — and I am sharing it here because I believe it can make you better at boxing faster than most of what gets taught.

The theory starts with a simple observation.

There is a distance in boxing where everything feels safe. You can see the punches coming. You have time to react. The danger hasn't fully arrived yet. Most fighters want to live there — on the outside, where nothing can really reach you.

But nothing you throw from there can really reach them either.

The punches that change fights live somewhere else. The right hand that drops somebody, the body shot that makes people quit before their tells them to — those live at a specific address. Close. Uncomfortably close. Close enough to feel the other person there.

Getting to that address is the entire game. And the fighters who get there consistently are not the ones with the most power or the most heart. They are the ones who set it up.

What most people misread is that getting there is not about aggression. It is not about being tough enough to walk through fire. It is about positioning. And positioning can be manufactured from any direction.

A pressure fighter walks you down. They occupy space, make the ring feel smaller, impose their will until proximity is no longer your choice. They set it up by taking. A pull fighter does something more subtle — they invite you forward, make you feel like the aggressor, and then the walls close and you realize you delivered yourself exactly where they wanted you. They set it up by giving.

Remember a pressure/ push fighter or a pull fighter are terms i am experimenting with, this is a working theory and as the theory continues to get tested the verbiage will get solidified and improve.

Joe Frazier and Pernell Whitaker were solving the same problem from opposite directions. One pushed. One pulled. Both set it up. Both arrived at the same result.

Moving backward is not retreat. Moving forward is not recklessness. They are both strategies — tools in service of one objective. Get to the position where your offense is a weapon and theirs is compromised.

A fighter who can only go forward is readable. A fighter who can only go backward is survivable. A fighter who understands position — who can set it up from any direction, in any moment, from any range — that is a complete fighter.

The direction you travel is just a skill set. The destination is always position.

SECTION 2 — THE MUAY THAI LENS

I want to be straightforward with you.

I am not a Muay Thai coach. I am not going to walk in and tell you how to throw a teep or time a switch kick. You have a coach for that. What I can offer you is a lens — something that might make what your coach is already teaching you click faster and stick longer.

That lens is positioning. And I did not develop it in boxing alone.

Before I was deep in boxing I was coaching basketball. highschool,AAU level, high level, training pros, etc. And what I kept seeing on the court was the same problem I would later see in the ring. The player who controlled position on the floor controlled what happened next. The angle to the basket. The passing lane. The screen that created the opening. Every good play was set up before it looked like anything was happening. Basketball is a positioning sport dressed up as an athletics competition. When I moved deeper into boxing I brought that understanding with me — and the theory didn't just survive the transition. It sharpened.

Then I started working with Muay Thai fighters and the same thing happened again.

I am not here as your head coach. I am a boxing and movement consultant — someone brought in to sharpen one piece of your game. But what I found when I stepped into this sport is that the framework I have been building across my entire career applies here too. Not as a boxing concept transplanted into Muay Thai. As a fight theory that keeps showing up no matter what sport I walk into.

The theory is this. Who controlled position before this moment largely determined what happened in it. Who set it up — and who got caught.

You are managing more ranges than a boxer manages. Kicking range. Punching range. The clinch. Knees, Elbows, yall have more tools. Sometimes all three inside a single exchange. At every one of those ranges the same question is being asked — who arrived here with intention, and who got caught here by circumstance?

At kicking range position determines which weapons are available to you and which are exposed on you. It determines whether you have an exit or whether you are standing in front of someone else's offense with nowhere comfortable to go. The fighter who set up their position at that range chose that. The one who got caught there did not.

As the range closes into boxing range the theory stays identical. Someone pushed their way there or someone pulled their opponent there. The fighter who arrived with structure, with a plan, with their weight where they chose — that fighter set it up. That fighter has the advantage before a single punch lands.

And the clinch does not start when you grab. It starts earlier. It starts with whoever controlled position on the outside. The fighter who entered on their terms, from an angle they chose, from a setup they built — that fighter is already ahead before the referee separates you.

Your coach is teaching you the weapons. I am asking you to think about the ground you stand on when you use them.

That is all positioning is. Not a technique. A way of seeing. And once you have it you cannot unsee it — in Muay Thai, in boxing, on a basketball court, or anywhere else competition happens.

SECTION 3 — THE PHILOSOPHY

You are already somewhere.

Right now, in this moment, you are positioned. In your career. In your relationships. In the story you are telling yourself about where your life is going. You did not choose a neutral starting point and you do not get to opt out of having a position. That is not how this works. The only question that has ever mattered is whether you got there on purpose — and whether you are aware enough to work with where you are.

The gym taught me this. Not all at once. Across years and sports and fighters and players who all kept showing me the same thing in different rooms.

The boxer who drifts to the ropes is positioned. So is the one who cut the angle and set the trap. The basketball player who gets caught on the wrong side of the screen is positioned. So is the one who read the play two seconds early and was already there — because they set it up. The Muay Thai fighter who eats a knee in the clinch was positioned. So was the one who engineered that entry three exchanges earlier and made that outcome almost inevitable.

In every case something happened before the moment that determined the moment. The difference was never just talent. It was awareness and intention. Knowing where you were. Having some design on how you got there. Setting it up before it looked like anything was being set up.

Most people move through life the way an undisciplined fighter moves through a round. Reacting. Surviving. Occasionally landing something good by accident and calling it skill. They are being positioned by circumstance — by other people's decisions, other people's energy, other people's agenda — and they do not even feel it happening because they were never taught to look for it. Nobody ever asked them to set it up.

The work we do in the gym is not really about the gym.

When I teach a fighter to manufacture proximity — to push or pull their way into the position where their offense becomes a weapon — I am teaching them something that will outlast every combination we ever drill. I am teaching them to ask where am I, how did I get here, and did I set this up or did it happen to me.

That question will follow them out of the ring and into every room they walk into for the rest of their life.

Positioning is not a technique. It is not a tactic. It is a way of moving through the world with your eyes open. Intentional when possible. Adaptive when necessary. Always aware that you are somewhere — and that somewhere is either working for you or it is working against you.

The fighters who last. The coaches who build something real. The people who look up one day and feel like their life actually fits them — they are not the ones who got lucky with where they ended up.

They are the ones who learned to set it up.

Not Sure Where You Fit? Take the quiz. 60 seconds. It tells you where you are currently and ill give you the program to get you where you want to be → [QUIZ LINK]

El Coach Casey. Do the ish that matters.

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Casey Alston Casey Alston

MORE TRAINING ISNT THE ANSWER

You can only workout so much, here’s what actually moves the needle

The Real Problem

If More Was the Answer, You'd Already Be There.

At some point most people hit a wall. The workouts are consistent. The effort is real. But the results slow down or stop altogether. And MOST OF US TAKE THAT AS A SIGN to do more — more sessions, more rounds, more volume.But here's the truth nobody wants to say out loud: there's a ceiling on how much training your body can actually use. And most people who are stuck aren't undertrained. They're underfed — or more accurately, they're eating without intention.

"If your strategy to get in better shape is to just do more — there will never be enough."

The thing that actually moves the needle isn't another workout. It's locking in your food routine.

The Shift

Diet Versus Food Routine — They Are Not the Same Thing.

A diet is something you go on. Which means it's something you go off. It has a start date and an end date and somewhere in the middle it has a moment where you feel like you're failing because you wanted something you weren't supposed to have.A food routine is different. It's built around your life, your schedule, and — this is the part people skip — the food you actually enjoy eating. It isn't restriction. It's intention.You don't need to eat food you hate to hit your goals. You need to understand what your food is doing for you and build a routine around that.

The Difference

Diet vs. Food Routine

Diet: Temporary. Restrictive. Built around what you can't have. Ends when willpower runs out.Food Routine: Permanent. Intentional. Built around what you enjoy. Gets better over time.

The Illustration

The Burger Analogy.

Here's how I think about it. I love burgers. Always have. And the question I had to ask myself wasn't "can I still eat burgers" — it was "how do I eat the burger and still win?"A fast food burger every day? Probably not going to get you there. The ingredients are working against you before you even finish eating it.But a homemade burger — built with the right protein, the right toppings, the right portions — that burger doesn't just fit your goals. It can push you past them. And you eat it with zero guilt because you built it, you know what's in it, and you actually enjoy it.

The Point

What's Your Burger?

It doesn't have to be a burger. It's whatever food you love that you've been told doesn't belong in a "healthy" routine.The work isn't eliminating it. The work is figuring out how to build a version of it that serves you — and making that part of your routine.That's the shift. From "I can't have that" to "here's how I make that work for me."

The Framework

How to Build a Food Routine That Actually Sticks.

1

Start With What You Already Eat

Don't blow up your current eating and start from scratch. Look at what you're already eating regularly and ask what's working and what isn't. Your routine is already there — it just needs intention applied to it.

2

Identify the Foods You Actually Enjoy

These aren't the enemy. These are the anchor of your routine. If you enjoy what you eat, you'll eat consistently. Consistency beats perfection every single time.

3

Understand What Your Food Is Doing

You don't need to obsess over macros. But you do need a basic understanding of what protein, carbs, and fat are doing for your body relative to your goals. That knowledge is what turns a meal into a decision instead of a guess.

4

Build the Homemade Version

Take the foods you love and figure out how to make versions of them that serve your goals. This isn't about sacrifice. It's about ownership. When you make it yourself, you control what goes in it — and that changes everything.

5

Repeat Until It's Just What You Do

A routine isn't a plan you follow. It's a habit you don't think about. The goal is to get your food to a place where you aren't making hard decisions every day — you're just doing what you do. That's peace. That's sustainable.

"You can hit your goals and enjoy what you eat along the way. Those are not opposing things."

The Bottom Line

The Training Gets You Strong. The Food Routine Gets You There.

The workout is the stimulus. The food is what your body uses to respond to that stimulus. You can do everything right in the gym and undo it every day at the table — not because you're eating bad food, but because you're eating without a routine.Lock in the food routine. Not a diet. Not a meal plan you follow for thirty days and abandon. A routine built around food you enjoy that you can run for the rest of your life.That's the work. And it starts with your burger.

Not sure where you're starting from? Take the free quiz and find out which path — and which nutrition approach — is yours.

Take the Free Quiz

El Coach Casey

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coach’s journal | week of april 26th

THE WEEKLY !SH WEEK OF APRIL 26TH

This is what I'm working on this week.

I put it on my lock screen so I see it first thing every morning. Four things. That's it. And I'm sharing it with you because I think you'll find something in here that applies to your week too.

S&C — Acclamation Week

I just started a new training block. And the trick with a new block is always to go hard right out of the gate — prove to yourself it's working, feel something, make it count.

I'm not doing that this week in the slightest.

Acclamation week means I'm letting my body adjust to the new stimulus. New demands, new patterns, new loading. Pushing too hard before your system adapts is how you get hurt or burnt out two weeks in. So this week I'm focused on quality over intensity. I'm paying attention to how my body responds. I'm being patient. I am in this for the long haul and as yall see in most of my posts 190 days is what I keep pushing, but its beyond that

If you just started something new — a program, a routine, a habit — don't skip the adjustment period. Let it land first.

Boxing — Feet, Combinations, Head Movement

I'm not a southpaw naturally, but i am teaching myself day by day to help with my fighters and those who may be southpaw. This week my emphasis is on my left foot push into my entry and my jabs. The foot has to go before the hand. If my base isn't right, nothing that follows is right.

On top of that I'm capping my combinations at three punches max — and making sure my off hand stays up the whole time. Then head movement. Low slot. Pull counter.

It sounds like a lot but it's really one idea: be assiduous, not busy.

That applies to your training too. Are you moving with intention or just moving?

Nutrition — Protein and Eating Meals I Actually Like

Here's something I don't always say out loud: I've been slipping on my own nutrition. Not dramatically — but enough that I noticed.

This week I'm getting back to hitting my protein and more importantly eating meals I genuinely enjoy. That second part matters more than people think. If the food feels like punishment you won't stay consistent. I know this. I coach it. And I still had to remind myself.

If you seem posting burgers and tacos that are homemade you know I am back

What's one meal this week you could build around food you actually want to eat and still hit your goals?

Coaching — Videos and Newsletter

This one's on me professionally. I've been letting content slide when life gets a tad, upsetting. This week I'm doubling down — videos filmed, newsletter in your inbox, no excuses.

I'm telling you this because accountability works both ways. You hold me to it.

Four things. All of them matter. None of them are complicated.

That's the week.

— El Coach Casey

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The Method That Turns 45 Minutes Into a Full Training Session

THE WEEKLY !SH | WORKOUT IQ SERIES

You're not wasting time at the gym because you're not trying hard enough. You're wasting it because nobody gave you the right system.

It's 5:30pm. The gym is packed. The lat pulldown is taken. You've got maybe 45 minutes before life pulls you somewhere else — family, work, whatever comes next. And you're standing there wondering how to make it count.

This week I dropped a new video breaking down exactly what I give my athletes to solve that problem. It works whether you're a former athlete trying to get your edge back, a woman who trains hard but still feels like something isn't connecting, or a serious competitor trying to close the gaps before they get exposed.

It's called myoreps. And it changes how you think about every set you do from here on.

Here's how it works.

Instead of 4 sets of 15 with 90 seconds of rest — which realistically eats 15 minutes of your session — you do this:

One set of 20 to load the muscle and start the fatigue. Then four mini sets of 5 with just five seconds of rest in between.

Done.

The science: your muscle never fully recovers in five seconds. So every set of 5 feels like sets 5 through 20 to your body. Same stimulus. Same muscle building signal. A fraction of the time. And nobody's walking up asking how many sets you have left.

Why a lagging muscle is more than an aesthetic problem.

This is what I program on Body Bulletproofing days — the resistance training component of my full S&C system built to target the muscle groups that are falling behind.

Here's why it matters beyond how you look:

WOMEN— a lagging glute or posterior chain means your boxing mechanics are off and your curves aren't developing the way they should regardless of how hard you train everything else.

EX ATHLETE/ SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO LOOK ATHLETIC/ MOVE BETTER— a lagging muscle from years of sport-specific movement patterns is a weak link waiting to become an injury. Your body has been compensating for it longer than you know.

CURRENT ATHLETE — at your level, weak links don't stay hidden. They show up under pressure, in the late rounds, when the margins are smallest and it matters most.

Myoreps fix the weak link. Efficiently. So you can get back to the training that actually moves the needle.

Watch the full breakdown here → [FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO]

I run the entire lat pulldown myorep set in real time in the video so you can see exactly how it looks, how long it takes, and what fatigue should feel like when you're doing it right.

Want every day mapped out?

Body Bulletproofing is one day inside a complete weekly system — vertical days, boxing sessions, nutrition, recovery. All of it is structured inside my online program, built specifically for where you are and what you're training for.

→ Full S&C Online Program: [LINK] → The Complete Boxing Application — : [LINK]

That's the ish that matters this week. See you in the next one.

— ELCOACHCASEY

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This Isn't a Fair Fight — And That's the Point

THE WEEKLY !SH | BOXING IQ SERIES

The double jab right hand. Circling. And the only rule that matters in boxing.

🥊 Mitts · 🏋️ Heavy Bag · 🪢 Slip Line · 🪞 Shadowboxing

THE ONLY RULE

Nobody Said You Had to Wait.

Boxing isn't a fair fight. There's no rule that says you throw when your opponent is ready. There's no agreement that they get to set their feet before you attack. The goal — the real goal — is to hit them when they aren't ready, and make sure you are always ready to get hit.

That's what today is about. The double jab right hand isn't a combination you randomly throw. It's a combination you release when the opening exists. The footwork isn't just a drill — it's the means to create the opening in the first place.

"The combination doesn't create the timing. Your read of your opponent creates the timing."

TODAY'S COMBINATION

Jab → Jab → Rear Hand (Right for my Orthodox Fighters, Left for my Southpaws)

Simple on the surface. But it only works if you're already somewhere your opponent isn't prepared for. That's what the circle is for.

WHAT CIRCLING ACTUALLY MEANS

Circling isn't only moving in a circle. It isn't moving for the sake of moving. It's a structured sequence of range/timing decisions — each step giving you and your opponent different information.

Step Over = In Range. You can attack. They can attack. This is a key moment of awarness.

Step Back = Out of Range. Neither of you can land. You're safe. You're resetting. still a moment of awareness, but potential breath of fresh air.

The step over is the destination — not the method. You can arrive there off a half step, anchor, shuffle, or shift depending on what the moment gives you. The circle is how you manage those two states — in range and out of range — at a moment your opponent isn't prepared for. all this comes from awareness

THE FOOTWORK

Circling Left

  1. Left foot steps over — you're in range. The awarness is there. Are they ready?

  2. Right foot follows — original stance is back. Your awarness is there. Are they ready?

  3. Right foot steps back — out of range. Still aware, are they?. Exit or re-engage, your choice.

  4. Left foot steps back — back to original stance. same rules apply. The circle is complete.

Circling Right

  1. Right foot steps over — in range on the right side. Read the moment.

  2. Left foot follows — base confirmed. Decision time.

  3. Right foot steps back — out of range. Head moved. Safe or attacking.

  4. Left foot closes — base restored. Complete.

The idea of circling is not completing a circle it is a way to weaponize footwork

WHEN DOES THE COMBINATION GO?

Before the circle. During the circle. After the circle.

The answer is: when they aren't ready.

That's not vague — that's the skill. Timing isn't a schedule, it's a read. The step over puts you in range. What your opponent does in that moment — or doesn't do — tells you whether to pull the trigger. The circle is the pressure that creates the opening. The combination is what you do when the opening appears.

"You don't throw when the combination calls for it. You throw when they can't answer it."

FOUR TOOLS. ONE PROBLEM TO SOLVE.

Every tool below is training the same thing: your ability to read readiness and act on it. The equipment just changes what part of that problem you're solving.

🥊 Mitt Work — With a Coach Your coach is the opponent. They create timing problems — moving, setting traps, closing angles — and you solve them in real time. The combination doesn't get thrown on command. It gets thrown when you see it. Mitts is where the read gets trained live.

🏋️ Heavy Bag — Solo The bag doesn't give you permission. You practice releasing the combination without waiting for a signal. Circle the bag — actually circle it, use the footwork — and throw when your position is right. The bag builds the habit of acting on your own read.

🪢 Slip Line — Solo The slip line adds a moving problem to solve while you work. Your head has to move — which means your timing has to account for your own positioning, not just your opponent's. It compounds the decision-making so the combination and the movement have to coexist.

🪞 Shadowboxing — The Most Honest Tool No coach. No bag. No line. Just you and an opponent that only exists in your mind — which makes it the hardest one.

Shadowboxing is where you practice the read when there's nothing to react to. You have to create the problem and solve it yourself. That's the work. If you can see the opening in shadowboxing, you can see it anywhere.

With a coach: shadowbox to open and close every session — before mitts, after bag work. Without a coach: shadowbox first, then bag, then slip line, then shadowbox again to lock it in.

Either way, shadowboxing bookends the session. You start with you. You end with you.

Not sure where you're starting from? Take the free quiz and find out which path is yours.

[ Take the Free Quiz → ]

El Coach Casey

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Stop Doing Cardio Like It's Punishment

THE WEEKLY !SH

Most people treat cardio like a sentence.

You did something wrong — ate too much, missed a week, looked in the mirror — and now you're on the treadmill paying for it.

That's not a strategy. Its guilt.

This week we're talking about how to actually use cardio as a tool. Not a punishment. Not a calorie incinerator. A precise tool — one that fits your goal, your body, and what you're already putting it through, and guess what its sustainable

And we're starting with a framework you may have heard of.

The 30/30/30 — And Why I Remix It

Tim Ferriss popularized the 30/30/30 protocol in The 4-Hour Body. The idea is simple — within 30 minutes of waking up, do 30 minutes of cardio and consume 30 grams of protein.

The science behind it is solid. Morning cardio before significant food intake taps into fat stores more efficiently. Protein within that first window stops your body from cannibalizing muscle and sets your metabolism in motion for the day. Together, they create a morning environment optimized for fat loss.

Here's my version — and it's smarter, well a better way of saying is, more sustainable.

The protein stays the same. 30 grams within 30 minutes of waking. Non-negotiable.

The cardio? That's where we get intentional.

10 minutes is your floor. Not 30. Not an hour. Ten.

From there, your time scales up based on one thing — how much fat loss is actually part of your goal. If you're primarily building, 10-15 minutes is probably your range. If fat loss is the mission, you work up from there. The point is that the cardio serves the goal — the goal doesn't serve the cardio.

Now let's talk about who you are and which tool belongs in your hand.

women who looking for curves and to look good, move well, feel great

You're training to build a strong, athletic body. Boxing, strength work, conditioning — you're putting real effort in.

Your machine: The incline treadmill walk.

I know it doesn't look impressive. That's actually the point.

The incline walk is one of the most effective fat loss tools for someone in your position because it costs almost nothing on the recovery side. You can do it every single morning, stack it on top of your training days, and never once compromise the work you're doing to actually build the body you want.

HIIT cardio might burn more calories in the session. It also competes with your strength and muscle building adaptations, spikes cortisol, and adds recovery debt that shows up in your training later that week. You just don't need that.

The play for You: 30g protein within 30 minutes of waking. Incline treadmill walk — start at 10-15 minutes and scale up only as fat loss becomes a more urgent part of your current phase. Keep the intensity steady and the incline working for you.

This is the cardio that builds the body without burning it down.

ex athletes or those who want to get their edge and look good

You were an athlete. or want to be more athletic. You still think like one. And you've got real demands on your time and your body.

Your machine: The StairMaster.

It fits how you think — it feels like actual work. The output is higher than a treadmill walk, it loads the quads and glutes in a way that has real carry over, and done at a controlled steady state pace it hits the fat burning zone without torching your recovery.

Here's what I need you to hear though — you are already training hard. That competitive edge in you wants to push every single session. But adding high intensity cardio on top of high intensity training doesn't compound your results. It compounds your fatigue, your cortisol, and your inflammation.

Steady state on the StairMaster is the move. Not because you can't handle more. Because you're smart enough to know that managing your total load IS the performance variable.

Your Program: 30g protein within 30 minutes of waking. StairMaster steady state — 15-20 minutes to start, scale to 25-30 if fat loss is the priority in your current block. Controlled pace. Not a race. Let it work.

current athletes

You're already training at high intensity. Probably multiple times a week. Your sport demands it.

Your machine: The assault bike — on steady state.

The assault bike is the most versatile cardio tool in the gym. It can be used for brutal HIIT or effective steady state. For you, right now, steady state is the default. Here's why.

Your training already provides the high intensity stimulus. Adding more intensity through cardio doesn't fill a gap — it creates one. It spikes inflammation, taxes the central nervous system, and eats into recovery that your performance actually depends on.

Steady state on the assault bike at a controlled output keeps you conditioning, keeps fat loss in motion, and manages your inflammatory load at the same time. That matters more than most athletes realize until they're overtrained and wondering what happened.

HIIT on the bike has a place — when your sport training volume is deliberately pulled back and you need a conditioning day. Not stacked on top of everything else.

Your Program: 30g protein within 30 minutes of waking. Assault bike steady state — 10-15 minutes as active recovery and fat management. Scale up only when programming allows. Keep the inflammation down. Protect the performance.

The Bottom Line

The protocol works. The tool matters. And the dose is personal.

30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking — every day.

Cardio starts at 10 minutes and scales with your goal — not with your guilt.

The machine you're on should match who you are and what you're already asking your body to do. Incline walk for building without breaking down. StairMaster for the competitive athlete managing load. Assault bike for the elite who needs steady state to protect performance.

That's the ish that matters.

ELCOACHCASEY

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Resistance Training Without The Bulk

THE WEEKLY !SH | ELCOACHCASEY

Let me destroy a myth real quick.

Resistance training does not make you big.

The way you use it makes you big. And if that's not your goal — if you're not trying to look like you live in a gym — then we need to talk about what resistance training is actually capable of when you point it in the right direction.

There Are Three Categories. Most People Only Know Two.

The typical conversation goes: lift heavy to get strong, do cardio. That's it. That's the whole menu most people are working from.

Buuuut there is a third category no one really talks about, and it might be the most useful one depending on what you're actually trying to do.

I call it Bodybulletproofing.

Here's how the three break down:

Heavy compound work — squats, deadlifts, plyos,ball throws, sport-specific power training. This is where you build strength and athletic output. High intensity. High CNS demand. Your body needs to recover from this.

Cardio and mobility work — keeps the engine running, improves flexibility, manages stress on the system. Most people understand this one.

Bodybulletproofing — deliberate isolation work at sub-maximal intensity, often using myo reps, designed to sculpt the body, reinforce movement patterns, and let you recover while still doing meaningful work. This is the missing middle.

What Bodybulletproofing Actually Does

It's not about going hard. It's about precisions and sustainability

When I program this for my athletes and my general population clients, and even when doing it myself, the goal isn't to destroy them — it's to switch muscles back on that have gone offline, and/or introduce them to a muscle they didnt know they needed as part of movement. Because here's what most people don't realize: you don't move poorly because you're weak overall. You move poorly because specific muscles aren't doing their job. The stabilizers. The small movers. The stuff that heavy compound work skips right over.

Isolation work at this intensity fills those gaps. It builds tendon and joint resilience. It trains your nervous system to recruit the right muscles at the right time. And because we're using myo reps — accumulating quality reps in a fatigued state without the same intensity as a sport or a max effort lift — you're driving real adaptation without wrecking your recovery budget and here’s a big one, SAVING YOU TIME

The result? A body that looks more sculpted and moves better. Not because you went harder. Because you went smarter.

Why This Matters For You

If you've been avoiding resistance training because you don't want to bulk up — this is your answer.

If you've been training hard but still moving like something's stuck — this is probably what's missing.

And if you're someone who needs to stay active on your recovery days but can't afford to just grind yourself further into the ground — this is exactly what those days are built for.

Resistance training is a tool. The outcome depends on how you use it.

Bodybulletproofing is how you use it to build the body you actually want — one that works, moves, and holds up.

That's the ish that matters.

— Coach Casey

Want to see what this looks like in practice? Reply and let me know — I might just make it the next Session topic.

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Heavy Bag Ish · Vol. 02

Same two punches. Infinite questions.

SERIES: Heavy Bag Ish · Vol. 02 · The 1-2

You already know the 1-2. You've thrown it a thousand times. Jab, cross. Left, right. The most basic combination in boxing.

But here's the question I want you to sit with — do you actually know what those two punches can do?

In Vol. 01 we talked about how the bag is a teacher. How every shot has a purpose, every moment has a decision, and the bag gives you honest feedback if you know how to read it. That's still true. Everything from Vol. 01 is still in the room.

Vol. 02 goes one layer deeper. Because now that you know how to listen to the bag — I want to show you how to control what the conversation is about.

Here's the principle that everything in this issue is built on:

The punch is fixed. The variables are infinite.

The 1 sets up the 2. The left sets up the right. Every punch asks a question — and whatever your opponent does is the answer. The 2 is what you do with that answer.

But here's what most people never figure out. What your feet and your head do around those two punches changes the question entirely. Same combination. Completely different conversation.

That's why Floyd Mayweather can throw the same two punches his entire career and never look the same twice. He's not changing the punches. He's changing the question.

This week I want to show you two ways to do exactly that.

Chapter 1 · The feet

Move the feet, change the question.

Start with your intention on your feet. The punches stay the same — 1-2, clean and deliberate. But now your feet are part of the combination.

A half step before the jab — you're already moving before the question gets asked. Your opponent has to adjust to where you are now, not where you were. The cross lands from a position they didn't prepare for.

Before the jab Half step first, then throw. You changed the angle before the conversation started.

During the jab The step and the punch happen together. The rhythm shifts. The timing of the question changes mid-sentence.

After the jab, into the 2 The jab lands, then the step, then the cross. Three distinct moments. The opponent reads the jab and the step comes before they've finished answering.

Any direction is possible. Left, right, forward, diagonal. The three variations above are the principle — once you understand the timing, the direction is your choice every single time. That's what makes you unpredictable. Not a different combination. A different question.

Chapter 2 · The head

Feet completely still. Head does all the work.

Here's where it gets interesting. Everything I just described with the feet — the same principle applies to your head. Same timing. Same three moments. Before, during, after. But your feet do not move. That is the entire point of this chapter.

You don't need your feet to change the question. Your head alone creates variation, creates unpredictability, creates angle. And it keeps you off the line at the same time.

Before the jab Head moves first, then the jab goes. You're already off the line before the punch leaves your hand.

During the jab The head and the jab move together. The punch goes out as the head slips. One motion, two things happening.

After the jab, into the 2 Jab lands, head moves, then the cross. The head movement is the transition between the two punches. It's the punctuation in the sentence.

Same principle as the feet chapter. Same timing. Different tool. And here's what the bag teaches you when you work both chapters back to back — you start to feel how much variation is available to you inside two punches that most people think they already know.

One more thing before you take this to the bag.

If you watched Vol. 01 — you were doing all three things we talked about in every single variation above. The setup was still there. The money shot was still earned. The exit was still a decision you had to make. Vol. 02 just put the emphasis on the doing — the middle — and showed you how much is living inside it.

The system compounds. Every volume builds on the one before it. That's intentional.

Your homework this week:

Take this to the bag. Work the feet chapter first — all three timing variations, any direction you choose. Then put the feet completely still and work the head chapter the same way. Feel the difference between the two tools. Feel how much the question changes each time.

The bag already knows all of this. You're just finally asking the right questions.

Full breakdown video dropping soon. Every variation demonstrated on the bag. Every timing moment broken down. Set your reminder.

→ Video dropping [DATE]

Join the Daily Ish newsletter — it's free. The Heavy Bag Ish series lives here. Every volume, every breakdown, every coaching detail written out so you can take it straight to the bag. One email. No fluff.

Sign up → [Newsletter Link]

Miss Vol. 01? The bag doesn't lie. → [Vol. 01 Link]

Take the quiz — Do You Know Your ISH? → [Quiz Link]

Start here — The Boxing Foundation Course → [Course Link]

Follow — Instagram daily content → elcoachcasey

— El Coach Casey ·

How To Do The ISH That Matters

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THE CARB WINDOW FOR ATHLETES: SERIOUS !SH

The Carb Window Is a Performance Variable. Treat It Like One.

You've put in the work. The training is serious. The commitment is real. But if your nutrition around training is still organized around protein timing as the priority, you're leaving performance on the table — and at your level, that gap shows up when it matters most.

The window around your training isn't primarily a protein window. It's a carb window. And the precision with which you manage it directly affects output, recovery speed, and how you show up for the next session.

Timing Over Combination

In boxing, the combination is important. But elite fighters don't win on combinations alone — they win on timing. The right punch at the right moment does more than the perfect combination thrown a half-second late.

Carb timing is that same variable in your nutrition. The macros matter. The training matters. But if carb timing is off, the whole system underperforms. You don't feel it as dramatically on easy days. You feel it when the sessions stack, when camp gets heavy, when recovery has to be fast because you're back in the gym tomorrow.

The Physiology

Training depletes glycogen. That's your primary fuel — stored carbohydrate in muscle and liver. At high training volumes and intensities, glycogen depletion happens faster than most athletes account for. When glycogen runs low, performance drops, muscle protein breakdown increases, and the hormonal environment shifts away from anabolism.

Post-workout, insulin sensitivity is elevated. Your muscles are primed to absorb and store nutrients at a rate that doesn't exist outside of this window. Carbohydrates drive insulin, insulin shuttles nutrients — including amino acids — into muscle cells. Without carbs initiating that process, protein is being diverted toward energy metabolism instead of repair and adaptation.

This is not a secondary concern. At your training load, it's a primary one.

The Three Windows

Before Your Workout 55–65% of your pre-workout meal should be carbohydrate. Eaten 1.5–2 hours before training. At high volume and intensity, your glycogen stores need to be as full as possible going in. You are not starting from neutral — you are loading the tank.

Early morning session? A banana, dates, honey in water, or rice cakes 20–30 minutes out is a non-negotiable minimum. Simple, fast-digesting, and enough to protect muscle tissue and sustain early output. Training fasted at your intensity level is not a fat loss strategy — it is a performance liability.

During Your Workout For sessions exceeding 75–90 minutes, or any high-intensity training block, intra-workout carbs are not optional. Fruit, a sports drink, a fast-digesting carb source mid-session keeps glycogen available and delays the catabolic shift. Your output in the second half of a session should match the first half. If it doesn't, your intra-workout fueling is the first place to look.

After Your Workout The post-workout window is urgent. Within 30–45 minutes, fast-digesting carbs at 55–65% of your post-workout intake paired with quality protein. This is the window where glycogen replenishment is fastest and the anabolic environment is most favorable. The next session starts here. How you recover in the next 45 minutes determines how you perform in the next 24–48 hours.

At high training frequency — especially if you're running two-a-days — there is no margin for missing this window. Every session you miss post-workout carbs, you are starting the next session already behind.

The Reframe

Carb timing is not a dietary preference. It is a performance variable with direct and measurable impact on output, recovery, and adaptation.

Protein has its role. But protein works inside a system. Carbs build and maintain the conditions that make that system function at the level your training demands.

Manage the window with the same precision you bring to everything else. That's the difference between training hard and training smart.

Need more answers and a system to follow daily that bridges the gap for where you are and where you want to be take this quiz and lets get you started

QUIZ

El Coach Casey | The Weekly Ish — keeping you ahead of the noise, one issue at a time.

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THE BAG DOESNT LIE

HEAVY BAG ISH Vol. 01  ·  1-1-2-block-3-2-1-2

Watch Floyd Mayweather work a heavy bag and you'll notice something most people miss. Nobody's calling out shots. Nobody's feeding instructions. He's not waiting to be told what to do next.

He's having a conversation with the bag — and the bag is answering back.

That's the difference between someone who goes to the bag and hits it, and someone who goes to the bag and learns from it. One person is getting tired. The other person is getting better.

This week I want to teach you one combination that has three full lessons inside it. You don't need a coach in the room for any of them. That's the point.

The combination is: 1-1-2-block3-2-1-2-exit

Here's how to read it.

Chapter 1  ·  1-1-2-block-3-2-1

The setup is the lesson.

Most people skip this part. They want to get to the power shot. But the setup is where your boxing intelligence lives. The double jab isn't just two punches — it's you measuring distance, creating an angle, and telling the bag what's coming next without committing to it yet. The block in the middle forces you to think defensively while you're still in the offense. That's an advanced concept. Most people only practice blocking when they're defending. You're practicing it inside an attack sequence. The 3-2-1 after the block is the acceleration — you're building rhythm, building pressure, setting the table.

Chapter 2  ·  the 2

Patience is a punch.

Everything before this moment was about earning this moment. The right hand at the end of a long setup lands different than a right hand thrown cold. It's faster because the opponent is reactive. It's harder because your body is already moving. The bag gives you honest feedback here — if your 2 feels scattered or awkward, the setup wasn't right. Go back. Fix the setup. The money shot is a symptom of everything that came before it.

Chapter 3  ·  the exit

The most undercoached moment in boxing.

You threw the shot. Now what? This is where most people — beginners and intermediates — mentally check out. They freeze. They drift backwards with no intention. They drop their hands. The bag doesn't care, so it keeps teaching — it swings back. That return swing is the lesson. You are still in range. You either exit completely and intentionally, or you stay in range and you know it. One of those is a choice. The other is a mistake. The bag trains you to make the choice every single time.

The reason I want you to work this combo on the bag isn't just to learn the combination. It's to train a way of thinking.

Every shot has a reason. Every moment between shots has a decision. And the moment after your last punch is not the end — it's the next decision.

When you train this on the bag enough times, you stop needing someone to tell you what to do. You start hearing it yourself.

That's the goal. That's always been the goal.

Go work this combination this week. Don't rush the setup. Feel where the 2 lands when you earn it versus when you force it. And pay attention to what you do after the last punch — that's your homework.

The bag will tell you if you're doing it right.

Full breakdown video dropping soon.

Every moment of this combination broken down on camera — setup, money shot, exit. Set your reminder.

Video dropping - FRIDAY APRIL 10TH 2026

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