BOXING!!
Mwa-ha-ha-haaa! Bow before my Boxing Prowess, Mere Mortals!
I just got back from the first of four "Boxing Fundamentals" classes. There are only six students, and two instructors, which is an awesome ratio. One of the instructors is a woman with more defined biceps than I've ever seen on a woman in real life and I would like her arms, please.
I rocked the place. Got very few comments on things to work on, which means me stand up a little straighter and feel self-righteous. We went through putting on handwraps and gloves, basic foot positions, the jab, a few defensive moves, and a little heavy bag work. I stayed after to learn a bit about the speed bag - SO much harder than it looks, btw, and I was already expecting it to be harder than I thought. I improved a lot in those 15 minutes, though. Once I got up to 10 hits in a row before the thing went haywire! Mostly I was around 5 hits before losing the rhythm, though. I'm coming early next time to work on that some more. My biggest correction was to quit thinking so much, which is entirely unsurprising to me. I should at least un-scrunch my face.
The female instructor said she could tell I had done martial arts, just from the way I moved around the heavy bag! Yay me!
We only did a few 3-minute rounds on the bag at the end, and all six of us were huffing and puffing. I'm proud to say that I was outlasting at least some of the guys, because I could the instructor tell them to keep going and keep their gloves up while they stood there and wheezed. I tried to breathe properly so I could really work, and I think I did a pretty okay job. My white shirt was basically see-through by the end, and the bottom of my ponytail was all sweaty, just from where it kept hitting my neck. I'm not a fan of losing the use of my hands in those gloves. I couldn't really push sweaty hair out of my face or tighten my ponytail or yank my too-big pants up (I didn't know they were too big).
I'm bummed that we have no class next week due to the 4th of July, but I'll get over it. I have enough to work on a little on my own anyway.
I also found out there's another class (series of 4, similar price) after this one in August, which is tempting. Plus, it's taught by the cool female instructor. After that, if you join the gym, you can come to boxing nights on Mondays and Wednesdays without paying anything extra (after you join some national boxing group that means you're insured - we can't actually hit anyone until then). If you get a year's membership, it's only $27/month, which is pretty darn good . It's pretty much the opposite of LifeTime Fitness and such. No gleaming white machines and air-conditioning - just older-looking, mis-matched weight-lifting equipment and fans (another reason I was sweating so much!). It's kind of fitting for boxing training, though, you know? Now we just need some inspirational messages written on cardboard tacked to the walls!
I didn't feel sore at all during the class, but while walking the stairs back up to the main level, my quadriceps jumped up and said cheerfully, "Hi! Here we are! We're here! Being used! Your quads! Just wait until tomorrow, dumbass!"
I don't care, though. I wish I had a class EVERY DAY, man. This is awesome.
I just got back from the first of four "Boxing Fundamentals" classes. There are only six students, and two instructors, which is an awesome ratio. One of the instructors is a woman with more defined biceps than I've ever seen on a woman in real life and I would like her arms, please.
I rocked the place. Got very few comments on things to work on, which means me stand up a little straighter and feel self-righteous. We went through putting on handwraps and gloves, basic foot positions, the jab, a few defensive moves, and a little heavy bag work. I stayed after to learn a bit about the speed bag - SO much harder than it looks, btw, and I was already expecting it to be harder than I thought. I improved a lot in those 15 minutes, though. Once I got up to 10 hits in a row before the thing went haywire! Mostly I was around 5 hits before losing the rhythm, though. I'm coming early next time to work on that some more. My biggest correction was to quit thinking so much, which is entirely unsurprising to me. I should at least un-scrunch my face.
The female instructor said she could tell I had done martial arts, just from the way I moved around the heavy bag! Yay me!
We only did a few 3-minute rounds on the bag at the end, and all six of us were huffing and puffing. I'm proud to say that I was outlasting at least some of the guys, because I could the instructor tell them to keep going and keep their gloves up while they stood there and wheezed. I tried to breathe properly so I could really work, and I think I did a pretty okay job. My white shirt was basically see-through by the end, and the bottom of my ponytail was all sweaty, just from where it kept hitting my neck. I'm not a fan of losing the use of my hands in those gloves. I couldn't really push sweaty hair out of my face or tighten my ponytail or yank my too-big pants up (I didn't know they were too big).
I'm bummed that we have no class next week due to the 4th of July, but I'll get over it. I have enough to work on a little on my own anyway.
I also found out there's another class (series of 4, similar price) after this one in August, which is tempting. Plus, it's taught by the cool female instructor. After that, if you join the gym, you can come to boxing nights on Mondays and Wednesdays without paying anything extra (after you join some national boxing group that means you're insured - we can't actually hit anyone until then). If you get a year's membership, it's only $27/month, which is pretty darn good . It's pretty much the opposite of LifeTime Fitness and such. No gleaming white machines and air-conditioning - just older-looking, mis-matched weight-lifting equipment and fans (another reason I was sweating so much!). It's kind of fitting for boxing training, though, you know? Now we just need some inspirational messages written on cardboard tacked to the walls!
I didn't feel sore at all during the class, but while walking the stairs back up to the main level, my quadriceps jumped up and said cheerfully, "Hi! Here we are! We're here! Being used! Your quads! Just wait until tomorrow, dumbass!"
I don't care, though. I wish I had a class EVERY DAY, man. This is awesome.