Mixing it Up

Who among us was completely unaffected by the inspirational training sequence while watching the first Rocky movie?

And, partly inspired by that very sequence, Billy Blanks, a former amateur and professional karate champion, has enjoyed a long and successful career as a fitness personality with self-defense based aerobic workouts.

The fact is that boxing–based fitness programs are fun, effective and here to stay. But is boxing fitness right for you? What should you look for in a boxing fitness training program or coach? Here are the most important things to know about a boxing fitness program:

1. Is it right for me? If you are generally very healthy, interested in working hard, pushing yourself, learning a valuable set of self-defense skills and are in pretty good aerobic shape, that’s a great start. It’s not a good idea if you have a history of shoulder, neck, knee or back injuries.
2. Am I going to get hit? No fitness program that teaches boxing skills to novices should include the student receiving impact punches to the body and no contact should be made to the face at all. Competitive boxing, which includes sparring, is a different discipline altogether and not appropriate for most people.
3. What qualifications should my boxing fitness coach have? A more specific and relevant question is: “Should my coach be experienced in boxing or be a nationally certified fitness trainer?” The answer is “yes”, to both. That’s why there are so few quality programs out there for the general fitness audience. While it’s important that good, sound boxing skills are incorporated into the program and taught in a logical sequence from a solid foundation, the forces on the body need to be well understood and factored into the student’s program considering their particular fitness profile and the other aspects of their training and sports activities. That requires the expertise (and experience) of a qualified, high-caliber fitness professional. But not every fitness pro has enough first-hand experience with amateur or professional boxing training to ensure that the skills and training methods being taught are proper and authentic.
4. How do I find a good program? Boxing fitness is a very specialized style of training. You can start with a Google search to find programs in your area, but then you should talk to not only a representative of the gym or studio, but specifically to the person with whom you’d be working to verify they satisfy the requirements laid out in items 1-3 above. There should be no pressure to join or pay any kind of up-front deposit unless you are completely certain the program is a good fit for you. And you should be able to get a refund if, after the first session, you realize it isn’t.

At our studio, we don’t list boxing fitness as a feature on the website, except when we offer a limited series periodically as we’re doing this month. I teach it a few months each year. My background is 18 years as a full-time ACE/NASM-CPT trainer, but I also have sparred and trained for several years with many pros (Garden City Boxing Club) and amateur (PAL) fighters and trainers (both in San Jose, CA). I taught boxing for fitness at Club Sport and Fitness Express in Pleasanton, and as a workshop for certified trainers throughout the East SF Bay area, teaching them how to integrate training, bag and mitt drills into their clients’ programs.

If you have an interest in learning boxing skills and training methods to get into great shape or complement your current program, see what’s available in your area and use this article as a means of determining the quality of the program and whether it’s right for you.

Dan Taylor, ACE, NASM-CPT, is owner and head trainer at Pleasanton-based Tri Valley Trainer. They offer personal training and small group fitness solutions and an innovative, medically endorsed web-based group healthy eating coaching program.