Let’s be honest… EverybodyFights (EBF) looks like someone took the roof off of a sceney Southie watering hole (you know the one) and dumped its contents into a boxing gym. The interior is trendy and the people are sexy.
We were all in on Eliza’s BAGS+BEATS class after the super nice woman at the front desk suggested it to us (and yes, we are embarrassed we don’t know her name because we always see her there and she’s AWESOME!). We were chatting about how great “Kick It” is, and she asked, “Have you tried Eliza’s BAGS+BEATS class? It’s INSANE!” Since insane is kinda our thing, we signed up immediately. WOW–she wasn’t kidding. This 40-minute class (though we spotted a Friday 60-minute session we’ll for sure be attending) was really fun but also really hard! It’s run similarly to Eliza’s “Kick It” classes, but as opposed to clocked rounds each song is a round. The point of this class is to punch to the beat of the music, making it more dancey in that there’s choreography, but still very much a boxing class (Exhibit A being there were dudes in class).
Each song gets its own right- and left-side combos, and in between punches expect lots of jumping jacks, burpees, mountain climbers and pushups. We have learned from this class that nothing is more brutal than doing a bunch of pushups and then punching a bag as fast as humanly possible…nothing. By the end of class we could barely hold up our arms!
Beginners beware, the combinations are fast with a capital F. If you aren’t comfortable with the basic punches and their corresponding numbers, get in some practice before hitting up Eliza’s class or you may feel a bit overwhelmed.
Overall, this class is straight-up dope and has made it into our regular rotation. We have even adjusted our sweat schedules in order to get here a couple of times a week.
Eliza is a beast, which in our book is one of the highest forms of praise an instructor can receive. She’s a tiny person with incredibly high energy leaving everyone engaged and motivated. Eliza starts class by walking around to see everyone before she gets started–something not every instructor does but we think is important as it’s easy to feel invisible in that dark bag-filled room. She introduces herself, explains the class and tells us that if we get lost to just look around the room for guidance from your classmates (which we def did a few times).
And then she starts…FAST. No chill getting-to-know-you warm-up here! Throughout class you can hear Eliza clapping along to the beat and calling out the combos. When Eliza can tell the class is getting fatigued she reassures us that it’s OK to be tired but reminds us to just keep pushing. Maybe this is a sports-psychology-Jedi-mind-f*@k thing, but it actually worked on us. We were DYING at that point, but her prompts and energy pushed us to give juuuuust a little bit more.
Get your selfie sticks out! We said the place is trendy. It’s SO trendy in fact that Shape Magazine just named EBF one of “The Most Instagrammable Fitness Studios In the US.” It’s an old brick and beam building in Fort Point and they have done a great job of keeping that old factory vibe while still providing first class amenities. We climbed the industrial grated staircase to get to the locker rooms and were pleasantly surprised to find vessel sinks, clean showers, a steam room, and a sauna.
15 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210 Fort Point Spin $$$$
EverybodyFights Seaport
Fort Point HIIT, Boxing, Rowing, Spin $$$$
15 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
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EverybodyFightsHIIT
This is decidedly NOT a spin class. There is no choreography, or cycling shoes, you aren’t tapping shit back, crunching or pressing. ROAD+CYCLE is pure high intensity interval training (HIIT). This class was sprints, sprints, and more sprints. OK, there was some Tabata mixed in, but that too could actually be classified as sprints. Some sprints on hills, some sprints flat, some sprints sitting, some sprints standing…but literally ALL SPRINTS. Being HIIT means plenty of recovery time, but yeah nope…sprints.
Arms were a part of the recovery and kept pretty simple. They included a series of movements that helped us connect our legs to our punching rhythm, which we thought was cool and authentic to EBF. This class is supposed to be viewed as a supplement to fight training, but we promise that it will kick your ass regardless of what you are training for (marathoners we’re looking at you!). As you can probably guess, this class was HARD. There was an actual sweat puddle under our bike when we finished–not a random drip and drop here and there, but a puddle that definitely needed to be cleaned up with a mop. At one point we thought, “This could be the day we finally puke in a class.” We are gluttons for punishment so we obviously loved it. We loved it so much in fact that we went back the next day for a second go. Doesn’t that say it all?
In stark comparison to other EBF classes topping out at 75 people, ROAD+CYCLE classes are really small–maybe 15 bikes tops–so our instructor, Edwin, was able to give us a lot of personal attention. There is no podium bike for the instructor like you find in a typical spin class so Edwin stood in front and voiced the instructions. His directions were for the most part clear, and since we weren’t following any crazy choreography, we didn’t feel like we were missing anything by not having a visual.
Edwin high-fived everyone both before and after class and took time to focus in on each student. He gave form reminders periodically and made sure we were pushing ourselves hard, but not off a cliff. He let us know it was OK to take a sprint off by saying, “if you miss this bus there is another one coming right after it!” He made a point to connect with us during class and after –he could honestly be our new bestie.
Back row riders beware: Only front row seats in this class! We will reiterate, this is not a typical spin experience and the room is not set up like a typical spin studio. It’s not the most glam set up, but hat-tip to EBF for making the most of the space. The ROAD+CYCLE room is a narrow space to the side of the main boxing area at EBF and is closed off by some insta-worthy spray painted garage doors. In addition to the 15 or so bikes, there is also a row of treadmills and rowers. The sliver of open space in the middle of the room is where Edwin taught the class. The treadmills and rowers being open to gym goers means a few people popping in during the class, and while a tad distracting, it’s not deal breaker for a workout this good.
EverybodyFightsDance
“Booty by Brabants,” the workout created by powerhouse Kelly Brabants, combines dance with classic exercise movements to create an entertaining and super sweaty experience. Other than busting a move at a wedding or late night grinding on the D-floor, we are NOT dancers (as in, sometimes we struggle with the choreography of a spin class). With that said, dancing for a workout can feel a little silly and awkward. But not this class–it was actually fun.
Despite the name, this is not all about the booty. “Booty by Brabants” is floor work, core work and a hella lot of burpees snuck in as mini “dance” routines. Our shoulders burned during “Formation” (as in sung by the Queen Bey), a routine Kelly must do in every class as everyone already seemed to know what it was. By the end of the core portion that followed, our abs ached. And maybe it’s because our booties are so strong, but we’re sad to say we didn’t feel it back there quite as much as we wanted to. Still, we certainly got our sweat on and enjoyed the workout overall.
Geeky as it may sound, Kelly Brabants is a star. There really isn’t any other way we can describe her, and that’s evidenced by her packed classes (with a packed waitlist) of Kelly Brabants devotees. The women who attend Kelly’s class dress like her (Kelly has a “fitness fashion” brand also called “Booty by Brabants”) and are all down with the lingo and exercises Kelly has cultivated, such as “Booty-Jacks” and her own take on lunges.
We were afraid we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the choreography after Kelly rattled off some instruction, but she is amazing at making the routines easy to follow. You can actually get a real workout in as opposed to tripping over your feet and stumbling with the steps. She was also sweating right alongside us, and smiling and dancing the ENTIRE time! She was so high energy, uninhibited and positive that we felt ourselves becoming devotees as well.
Kelly kept encouraging us along the ways, saying she was “so obsessed” with us and “oh my God, I love you, guys,” and we actually think she meant it. At one point Kelly gave us a motivational speech to pump us up about getting outside of our comfort zones, and it was genuinely inspiring (she actually got a standing-O for it). We may need to make “Booty” a part of our weekly routine–it’s not the toughest workout in town, but it might be the most fun and uplifting.
EverybodyFightsBoxing, HIIT
TRAIN+STRENGTH follows the general EverybodyFights-branded BOXFIIT format, where fighting and high-intensity interval training give your body the ol’ one-two punch. During our recent class, Reid got the party started with a light core “warmup” that felt more like the main event. He then amped up the training intensity, having us knock out four rounds of nine stations, where we pushed our bodies to the limits for 40 seconds, followed by what was surely the fastest 10-second rest before moving on to the next round.
Since this is the STRENGTH variation of the BOXFIIT workout, stations were all about the muscle. Reid warned us he was keeping things basic for this class, which we totally appreciated–we’re not fancy, after all. And in Reid-language, “basic” translates to a kick-ass workout of kettlebell swings, elevated pushups, elevated lunges, ball slams, squats and presses, battle ropes and more that our sore selves have mentally blocked. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: The classes at EverybodyFights are no joke, and we were down for the count after 60 minutes of training.
Full disclosure, Reid kinda makes us weak in the knees, but we don’t let it affect our journalistic integrity! That said, we truly love him as an instructor, as he takes the time to demo each station for the class–alarmingly, not the norm at EverybodyFights. In fact, we’ve experienced classes where entire groups of people are doing the wrong exercise because the explanation was so quickly glossed over. But not so with Reid. He took the time to explain proper form and technique, and show everyone how it’s supposed to be done. Much appreciated!
While EverybodyFights instructors tend to have a surly (albeit authentic) ringside coaching style, Reid’s the complete opposite. He was positive, supportive and motivating, pushing us to get in as many reps as we could without giving us a mental beatdown. Our workout was definitely better because of him. He even called us out personally for “moving some real weight” on our kettlebell swings. Swoon…we felt special!
EverybodyFightsBoxing
The class began precisely at 6am. You’ll need to have wraps and gloves on, which they have available for drop-ins and the cute boy at the reception desk can help you put them on. As soon as the bell rang, we never stopped moving for 43 minutes. Rest is built in but don’t think that means you’ll be standing around chatting. Make sure to grab a bag near the front; if not, you’ll be stuck on the outside where it’s near impossible to see or hear the marching orders. The bag corner is also dark – great for working out but baaaaad for demos. Thankfully there was a TV on the wall with a timer and list of the movements we were instructed to do. We were grateful for the cheat sheet. At the start of each bag or body segment, George would quickly demo the movement. He made sure to include all punches in his sequences. George works you like a dog. By the end of the class our arms and legs felt like spaghetti and we were laying in a snow angel of sweat on the floor.
We were fortunate enough to take a class with George Foreman III himself. And this class wasn’t learning how to flip a burger on the grill; we learned to actually get down to business and hit things. This guy knows a thing or two about fitness, and more specifically boxing. He may be famous, but he does a great job of making all levels feel welcome, walking the room, making sure all boxers are performing the proper movements, even helping those who had no idea what was going on (who me?).
George was part motivational speaker, part army commander. But don’t panic, he wasn’t an ‘in-your-face-drill-sergeant’. He commanded the room with an enthusiastic tone and repeatedly asked us “How bad do you want it?” Make sure you when you walk into George’s class that you want it bad.
EverybodyFightsBoxing
With a Sunday morning hangover, the next best thing to hiding under the covers is obvious: Take an 8:30 am boxing class at EverybodyFights (we needed to sweat it out at some point, right?). We headed off to BAGS+KICKS, which was 12 rounds of three-minute periods of work (with little breaks peppered in) and then 45 seconds of rest. The “work” consisted mainly of punching and kicking combos on a bag, as well as a few freestyle rounds where you can go nuts and work out some frustrations–the perfect way to deal with those Sunday Scaries. Basically you started the class off with a lot of cardio to jack up your heart rate, then punched and kicked the bag for a bit, before finishing with some core work. The highlight of the class was when Sam had us go head-to head against another classmate. Basically you both punched the bag super-fast at the same time from opposite sides–kinda like playing keep-away with the bag but someone is punching against you. We did four 30-second rounds of this and were absolutely blasted by the end. Shout out to our partner; she was a tiny lil’ thang but she KILLED it. You go, girl!
Sam is awesome. She reminded us of our old babysitter, the one with whom we’d color and make flower crowns, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. Then she did some demo punching combinations and realized she’s a total badass! Our class was pretty small, so Sam was able to provide great individual attention. She checked in on us frequently and yelled encouragement over the music. When we started fade (we were hungover…give us a break!), she clapped, yelled and pushed us to do more. Sam kept our punching/kicking combos simple but fun, and our workout was better because of it.
EverybodyFightsBoxing
The general format was 10-12 stations where you work for 3 minutes on one movement with quick 15-30 second breaks peppered in and then switch to the next station during a 30 second transition time. The stations are similar to what you would find in boot camp (kettlebell swings, med-ball slams, squats, lunges, battle ropes) but at EBF there are 3 stations where you get to hit stuff!!! The punching “combos” were easy to follow this particular morning and it really made a difference. We could actually focus on the workout and not on whether or not we were doing the proper punching combinations.
We almost feel bad for the instructors here. The classes are huge (Rumor has it that Train360 caps at SEVENTY-FIVE PEOPLE); even at 5:30 in the morning we would estimate that there were at least 45 people in class. On top of that, students are spread out and tucked away in dark corners. It’s essentially impossible for instructors to make personal connections with students. Some form is corrected but there are just too many bodies – if you need modifications due to injury, this isn’t the place for you. That being said, Chris was good. He opted us out of the rest portion of the class and instead had us do jumping jacks/burpees/squat jumps/etc during our 15 second “break.” By the end of class we were dripping sweat and our legs were toast – it was a legit workout.
EverybodyFightsBoxing
TRAIN+CARDIO is 10-12 rounds of stations where you work for 1 minute, rest for 10 seconds, work for another minute, and then move on. Round 2 is the same stations but you work straight for 1 minute (we said it wasn’t groundbreaking). Stations include rowing, biking, mountain climbers, kettlebells, lunges, shadow boxing (awkward), and some 1 legged plyo thingies (again, awkward). After we finished with round 2, we were put through an additional mini-sesh of squat jumps, push-ups, and squat holds… it BUUUURNS!
David is really working that coach-you-had-in-high-school-who-you-think-is-mean-but-then-you-graduate-and-realize-that-he-actually-made-you-a-better-athlete-and-person-and-secretly-cared-about-you vibe. He was tough and called us out when we slacked off but was also surprisingly hands on for someone teaching a class of fifty or so. We do not envy the instructors who need to lead these gigantic classes in this huge space, but David made it work. He corrected form and pushed the class, though we did feel that the vibe toed the negativity line. We were cool with it, but some of you will be turned off.
EverybodyFightsDance, Boxing, HIIT
Eliza Shirazi is a Boston fitness celeb, she has actual fans and we might just be one of them. She has a “Kick It Crew,” which is a group of regulars who follow her around town (they are the ones whoopin it up throughout class!). Eliza also does free workouts and charity events all over the city. Since there are so many opportunities to Kick it with Eliza, we highly recommend that you take the opportunity to do so; your legs won’t regret it!
We thought we knew what we were getting ourselves into with the Kick It by Eliza™ class, as the EBF website described it as “cardio kickboxing.” We assumed our morning would be filled with shadow boxing mixed with core work, but instead we felt as if we walked straight into a dance party.
The format of the class was 13 rounds, each round was one song, and each song targeted a different part of the body. First round got underway with a warm up, and though we felt a little awkward with some of the dance-type steps, the vibe in the room was really non-judgmental even when we missed a step or two. As we continued, we easily abandoned our preconceived boxing notions and settled into getting our groove on for the the next 45 mins.
Squats were on deck for the second song and all we can say is: DAY-UM! The booty burning was legit! Other rounds were more cardio-focused, with arms ending it all. The genius of this class is that after those four minutes at the beginning of class spent squatting, the rest of the crazy jumping around in subsequent rounds cashed out our legs completely. It was no easy feat keeping up, and we were really pushing.
Mixed into the rounds was partner work, which was interesting because even though we didn’t need a partner for 99.9 percent of what we were doing, it oddly connected everyone and created a team feel you don’t usually find in an aerobics class setting. It also made you way less likely to take a break. Speaking of breaks, there were essentially none. Literally just 20 seconds of built-in downtime in this class, which guarantees you’ll be feeling this workout for days to come. Our only saving grace was when the intensity ended, and we finished class with a chilled restorative “om” type of deal.
Kick It by Eliza™ is a trademarked workout by Beantown fitness up-and-comer Eliza Shirazi. Eliza has a following and we can totally see why. We loved her vibe; she had a monster smile on her face throughout the entire class and seemed really happy to be teaching. We were also impressed with the way she was able to bring the class together. When we first started the partner work, we thought, “well, this is awkward,” but it really wasn’t. In fact, it was actually motivating and a totally genius move on Eliza’s part. She also encouraged us to high five and smile at each other. We know; it sounds corny. But it didn’t come off that way. It was sincere and totally made a big difference in the class.
EverybodyFightsBoxing
We were all in on Eliza’s BAGS+BEATS class after the super nice woman at the front desk suggested it to us (and yes, we are embarrassed we don’t know her name because we always see her there and she’s AWESOME!). We were chatting about how great “Kick It” is, and she asked, “Have you tried Eliza’s BAGS+BEATS class? It’s INSANE!” Since insane is kinda our thing, we signed up immediately. WOW–she wasn’t kidding. This 40-minute class (though we spotted a Friday 60-minute session we’ll for sure be attending) was really fun but also really hard! It’s run similarly to Eliza’s “Kick It” classes, but as opposed to clocked rounds each song is a round. The point of this class is to punch to the beat of the music, making it more dancey in that there’s choreography, but still very much a boxing class (Exhibit A being there were dudes in class).
Each song gets its own right- and left-side combos, and in between punches expect lots of jumping jacks, burpees, mountain climbers and pushups. We have learned from this class that nothing is more brutal than doing a bunch of pushups and then punching a bag as fast as humanly possible…nothing. By the end of class we could barely hold up our arms!
Beginners beware, the combinations are fast with a capital F. If you aren’t comfortable with the basic punches and their corresponding numbers, get in some practice before hitting up Eliza’s class or you may feel a bit overwhelmed.
Overall, this class is straight-up dope and has made it into our regular rotation. We have even adjusted our sweat schedules in order to get here a couple of times a week. Try it!
Eliza is a beast, which in our book is one of the highest forms of praise an instructor can receive. She’s a tiny person with incredibly high energy leaving everyone engaged and motivated. Eliza starts class by walking around to see everyone before she gets started–something not every instructor does but we think is important as it’s easy to feel invisible in that dark bag-filled room. She introduces herself, explains the class and tells us that if we get lost to just look around the room for guidance from your classmates (which we def did a few times).
And then she starts…FAST. No chill getting-to-know-you warm-up here! Throughout class you can hear Eliza clapping along to the beat and calling out the combos. When Eliza can tell the class is getting fatigued she reassures us that it’s OK to be tired but reminds us to just keep pushing. Maybe this is a sports-psychology-Jedi-mind-f*@k thing, but it actually worked on us. We were DYING at that point, but her prompts and energy pushed us to give juuuuust a little bit more.
