Wow, I’m hooked.

I just finished a one-on-one boxing session with a trainer at a nearby park.

I loved it.

It was such a great workout.

He had me jumping rope, taught me how to punch, and doing sit-ups to punch up with gloves. I was in a semi-squat position for most of the hour. I was also moving and engaging muscles in ways I normally don’t. It was also challenging to keep my core engaged, while keeping my shoulders relaxed.

I had so much fun.

I learned a lot in an hour. Everything about it was new. The stance. The counts. The combinations.

When the trainer started talking about the “2” punch being my “bread and butter,” I couldn’t help but laugh that this former boxing competitor is training little ol’ me.

I started to catch what I was doing incorrectly and attempt to self-correct. With little tweaks to my form, I could immediately tell the difference in my punches. I could start to feel the power in my punches. It was a really satisfying feeling when my glove properly connected with the mitts he was holding up. I wasn’t focused on punching hard because I wanted to get my form down, but I could definitely see why “fitness boxing” aka boxing for the workout is a great stress reliever and way to release tension or frankly anger or aggression.

In today’s session, I also noticed there’s a certain elegance to boxing. I assumed boxing is done via brute force, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.

I got so much positive reinforcement in a short period of time.

The trainer seemed very professional and trustworthy based on the reviews I read that were left by women who trained with him. I expected him to be nice, but I didn’t expect to walk away feeling so…positive.

He gave me lots of encouragement: “there it is. there you go.” I couldn’t help but smile at times and thought to myself, “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that much positive reinforcement in 60 minutes.” I tend to have negative self-talk, so to experience the radical opposite was an experience in and of itself.

What now?

I’m surprised that I liked it so much and that I picked it up quickly. I can now do a jab, cross, and left hook. I can’t wait to train again. I need to figure out a way to keep the sessions going (and budget for and pay for them).

I’m excited to learn more – and find other outlets. I know Rumble has boxing-inspired classes and found the SF Boxing Club offers outdoor group classes. I’m keeping an eye out for boxing gyms to join with a friend in the future.

I know it’s too early to tell, but I may have found something I really enjoy. Building strength and endurance are my main fitness goals, in addition to shedding my pandemic weight. I’m inspired to do other workouts to get fit and strong and get better at this boxing thing. 🙂