Becoming a Skinny Legend with Claire: Week 2

Introduction

Hello and welcome back to: Becoming a Skinny Legend with Claire. As mentioned last week, I decided to try boxing! Boxing, which has had a strong public resurgence in recent years, is an interesting sport due to its rich history. According to the official Olympic website, “The earliest evidence of boxing dates back to Egypt around 3000 BC. The sport was introduced to the ancient Olympic Games by the Greeks in the late 7th century BC, when soft leather thongs were used to bind boxers’ hands and forearms for protection.” However, it has mostly been a male-dominated sport, with women’s boxing making its Olympic debut during the 2012 Olympic Games. In recent years, boxing classes have been in high demand after models such as Gisele Bündchen and Karlie Kloss have sworn by the workout (Source: Self.com. With this increased demand, boxing has become more accessible than ever, and women have become increasingly involved in the sport as well.

Experience:

I went boxing at Title Boxing Club in Royal Palm Beach. As a beginner, I was definitely nervous. However, the website has a whole section dedicated to beginners titled: “For TITLE Newbies.” This section gave me tips, outlined the workout, and told me what to expect. When I got to the gym, the staff was incredibly welcoming, making me feel comfortable. They gave me a tour, helped me with my hand wraps, and gave me a few pointers on the correct stance. At least at this gym, it was very beginner-friendly, which made the whole experience more enjoyable and rewarding. The class started with a free-style warmup, with the instructor giving a few patterns for us to practice without the bag. Next, we followed the instructor in multiple punching patterns on the bag for the majority of the class. Fun music was blasting the whole time, and the instructor came over a few times to correct my form, which I appreciated. The ending of the workout was a mix between cardio and core, alternating with a jump rope and a series of floor exercises. The ending of the workout of the second time I went consisted of weights and lower body work. I appreciated that they switch it up each time, with each workout being unique.

Criteria:

Calories burned: I burned an average of 427 calories while boxing. Similar to OrangeTheory, you can make the workout as hard as you want through the intensity and speed of your punches/the reps you put in of the other exercises at the end.

Quality of the workout: As I mentioned last week, burning a lot of calories doesn’t necessarily equate to a high quality workout. I was expecting boxing to mostly be cardio, which I was nervous about because I am working on building strength as well. However, I was happily surprised by the amount of strength required for boxing, and the exercises at the end to target different parts of the body. I woke up the next morning very sore (in a good way), and felt as though I achieved a high quality workout. Additionally, similar to OrangeTheory, although it was in a big class format, the instructor was very attentive and gave me one-on-one tips. This improved my workout, as having a proper form allowed me to be more effective and deliberate in the moves we were doing. I also felt as though the instructors were knowledgeable and passionate about the sport.

Fun: Perhaps the best part of this workout was the amount of fun I had! I found it to be very stress-relieving and almost like dancing in a way. Furthermore, the music blasting and focusing on the patterns I was supposed to do made me forget I was working out, which is rare for me (usually I’m counting down the minutes until it’s done). Additionally, not only were the instructors cool, genuine people, but the other attendees were as well! There was a mix of experienced individuals and beginners such as myself, but everyone was unbelievably kind and inclusive, which fostered a sense of camaraderie.

Would I go again? I absolutely would go again and include boxing into my normal workout schedule. It was not only extremely fun, but also a great workout. Furthermore, I could see myself becoming friends with the staff and other attendees. I will definitely be attending more classes in the future.

Looking Forward

Next week, I’m going to mix it up and try something a bit more unique: skydiving. Don’t worry, it’s a sport, I looked it up! Stay tuned. Over and out.