TITLE Boxing North Station

Title Boxing Club North Station is definitely not your run-of-the-mill fitness franchise. It is a small, exclusive studio that offers only two classes: boxing and kickboxing. This helps takes all of the guess-work out of which class to sign up for. The studio is clean and bright and the only smell leaves with the 50 sweaty people at the end of class. Whether you’re new to boxing or you have been doing it for years, this class will kick your ass so go ahead and give it a try (hint: first class is free).

Be prepared to do work. The class is an hour long and we were moving THE ENTIRE TIME. Our muscles were burning and our bodies were covered in sweat. Thankfully we brought extra clothes to change into otherwise there would have been a wet white tee-shirt contest taking place in the streets of the North End.

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

We arrived at Title Boxing North Station 15 minutes early to sign our lives away and claim a heavy bag at the edge of the room. There were a number of trainers available to assist us newbies with hand wraps and fit us with a pair of Title Boxing gloves. Side note: wearing a pair of boxing gloves makes your feel like a total badass even if you don’t know how to box. If you’re a total newbie and don’t know what a jab is, try to get a bag as close as possible to the instructor, or just show up a few minutes early and get a quick synopsis from your instructor.

The actual class was broken down into three segments: a 15 minute warm up, eight 3-minute boxing rounds, and a 15 minute core/ab session. The warm up left no muscle untouched as we were jumping, squatting, crunching, lunging, and dying for a break. Once that was over, we had 30 seconds to get our gloves on before the boxing began. Aaron had us doing basic boxing combinations including jabs, crosses, hooks, and uppercuts. The class is for all fitness levels which was quite apparent as we observed a group of women gently tapping the bag, probably worried about ruining their gel manicure.

The final 15 minutes was the core portion consisting of planks, sit ups, and v-up holds. By the end of the 60 minutes, our muscles were exhausted and our hair was a sweaty mess. This class is a full body workout, upper, lower and core; no muscle group is spared. Throughout the whole class there was hip-hop music blaring over the speakers. There’s something really satisfying about punching a heavy bag while super loud hip-hop music is playing.

INSTRUCTOR

If there was a Richter Scale for instructors Aaron would be off the charts. He knew EXACTLY what to say to get you to push just a little harder when all you wanted to do was give up and curl into fetal position under your heavy bag. Despite the loud music, you could hear everything he said thanks to the microphone stealthilyy tucked behind his ear. During class he made sure to demonstrate all of the movements and would walk around to help people including those clueless girls I mentioned earlier. He was incredibly fun, motivating, and an all-around great guy. After class, he made himself available to anyone who had questions or simply wanted talk to the super fit boxing instructor.

SPACE

The gym is near North Station so it’s easy to get to via public transportation. When we stepped inside, the super helpful front desk staff was there to greet us and get us signed up. Next to the front desk is the retail area where they sell gloves, hand wraps, shirts, bags, and other fun but over-priced accessories. Just beyond the retail area is a small boxing ring where they do private sessions or just go at it for a few rounds. It’s the main section of the studio where the magic happens: rows on rows of heavy bags. On the far side of the bags are the free weights, ellipticals, lockers, and bathrooms. Pretty much everything you would need to get in a great workout.