April 23, 2015
Jim Davies is a man with a mission – he wants to lower anger levels in the community and believes an exercise program he’s developed is the perfect way to do it.
On Saturday mornings at 7:30am, Jim is running a free exercise class at the Kingaroy Boxing Club’s headquarters in Markwell Street.
And if you have anger management issues, he’d love to see you there.
His first class last Saturday drew five people with no publicity whatsoever.
Now he’d like more.
Jim believes anger levels in the general community have been rising in recent years, and this is being caused by a number factors.
One of the biggest causes is the social conditioning we all receive to repress displays of anger.
“We’re taught that it’s rude to show anger if we’re upset, so most people repress it and just stew,” Jim says.
“Over time – if you can’t let it go or work it out of your system – this builds up until the day comes when you explode. And in the meantime, bottling up anger can make us sick.”
Jim believes one of the best ways to get anger out of your system is hard, vigorous exercise.
And he says he’s got living proof this is true: himself.
The former builder freely admits he used to have some anger issues, but says they’ve now vanished.
“About four months ago I was overweight, out of condition and having constant arguments with my wife,” he said.
“But I started an exercise program and used my anger to push myself.
“Now I’m in the best shape I’ve been in for years; my anger has disappeared, I’m happy every day; and my wife and I no longer argue about anything.”
Jim believes that apart from repressing anger until we explode, another big cause of rising anger levels in the community is obesity.
“Overweight people tend to get depressed about their weight, and also get angry with themselves about their inability to take control of the problem,” he said.
“After awhile this creates a negative cycle where overweight people get depressed and eat more to console themselves, then get angry at what they’ve just done, then repress that anger, which causes more depression …. it’s a truly vicious cycle.”
Again, Jim believes the answer is exercise.
If you burn off enough calories weight will not be a problem.
Jim’s program covers a range of calorie-burning activities including skipping, sit-ups, push-ups, running, weights and several others.
Prior experience isn’t necessary and no-one is expected to perform beyond their ability.
“If you’re out of shape, you can’t expect to be an athlete overnight. But if you can work up a bit of sweat, you’ll be making progress. And the bonus is you’ll find any anger you’ve brought with you will either disappear or greatly diminish.”
Jim is also half-way through writing a 10- chapter book on his course, which he hopes to release later this year.
If you’re interested in coming to a Saturday exercise class or would like more information, Jim can be contacted on 0467-244-811.
