A week or so ago, Jeremy sent out a link to a free boxing class he’d heard about. I’d been watching Lights Out, and I’m always interested in a new workout, so I said sure, I’m in. We met up yesterday morning at the Third Street Gym, armed only with vague, Hollywood-inspired ideas of what to expect.

We started by jumping rope. It’s surprisingly tricky, and harder exercise than I expected. I’m still not sure why it’s such an integral part of boxing – our trainer, Ed gave us the standard pitch about cardio and agility, which is all well and good, but hardly seems unique. No matter, though, it was still fun.

After that, we spread out in front of the mirrors and started a pretty standard group cardio workout. Squats, lunges, sit-ups, push-ups, even jumping jacks.

Before long, we broke to put gloves on. Ed quickly showed us the proper stance, foot and hand position, and then one by one, the basic punches. Number one, the left hand jab. Two, right jab. Three, left hook. Four, right hook. Five, uppercut.

We practiced each one in front of the mirror, over and over, while Ed walked around and corrected a hand position here, a turned hip there. Over and over we heard, “Keep those hands up! Glue them to your chin!”

After more practice, we paired off and took turns punching each other’s hands. “One! One, two! Three, two!” Ed corrected form here and there, gradually adding punches and ducking into the mix. “One, three, four! One, three, duck two three!”

We continued working out with our partners. More push-up and sit-up variations, lunge and plank position holds, and more punching. It didn’t seem like much, but we were wrecked by the end.

We had a blast with both the work out and the boxing fundamentals. We’re going back for fight night on March 18th. Mark your calendars!