Church Street Boxing Park Place

New YorkBoxing,

Review:

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byHannah Sackett, September 24, 2017

The definition of a no frills gym, Church Street Boxing (Park Place) is all about old school sweat with very, very little focus on the aesthetic. This vibe is great, because sometimes in this city we learn about workouts via the electric mural post on Instagram before we hear about the quality of the workout, so a gym like this is super refreshing. Here the ring is not just for show as many pro and pro-hopeful boxers call it home for regular weekly training. There is certainly a feeling of both authenticity and neighborhood community upon walking in the doors. You simultaneously feel welcomed, but also that you have to “earn your stripes.” So sure, the locker rooms and equipment at Church Street Boxing are a bit run down, but man does this gym deliver in sweat. Just think to yourself: Rocky Balboa would have been proud to train here.

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

Ooh child, get ready to run. Church Street is known for the “gym class” style laps that directly follow each warm up. Sometimes it’s actual laps around the block, but more likely they are stair runs, and each location has a hefty amount of them. This typically wouldn’t be a huge deal, but the warm up itself is no joke: we kicked things off with moves like jump squats and plank push ups right out of the gate. So, naturally it made sense to transition into a six lap, three story stair run, after which we were rewarded with some active recovery in the form of partner boxing drills. Now this is where that gym class part comes back in: here was a lot of time spent standing in line waiting for our turn. Don’t get us wrong, it was nice to have a breather, but we could feel our heart rate crashing back down. We did get it back up again with some partner work on boxing technique and partner abs. Typically the all levels classes have a TON of attendees, so you may not get as much one-to-one time as you need for progress improvement on your punches. But, they will not let you skip a beat when it comes to finishing every last toe touch.

INSTRUCTOR

Ali or Mike Tyson, take the wheel! This is by far the most confusing instructor we’ve worked with in the boxing world. It was super clear to us that Kenny was making everything up as he went, which we are sure many instructors do, but rarely is it ever this noticeable. Plus, his long chain combinations caused a ton of “wait, what?” blank stares. We love when someone changes it up from just a simple jab, cross, but some of the sequences were complex enough that they slowed us down and prevented us from getting a really good sweat on. On top of everything, Kenny for some reason just seems really unhappy to see everyone during class. “Didn’t realize we were interrupting your snapchat sesh, should we come back another time?”

SPACE

Let’s just lay it out on the table. This space is raw. Located in the basement of a building just off of Church Street, you descend three flights and are welcomed by the sounds of super loud hip-hop or rap. As it is “open gym” during operating hours, there are tons of regulars spread out across the hardwood or in the ring, leaving classes to typically find space where available. Looking around, you can’t help but notice the collage depicting boxing history and boxing-related TV shows or movies really reinforcing the overall vibe. This “authenticity” comes with some drawbacks as compared to other NYC fitness options: there’s no towel service (either for sweat or for shower), you have to bring your own lock, and there’s a super cramped locker room. Not to mention that you really have to find your own way. The staff is perfectly friendly, but no one is going to hold your hand or put on your wraps for you. And y’all should hope and pray that your class is not in the dreaded “back room” down a long hallway that could have been used as a filming space for The Silence of the Lambs. It’s an unventilated room they typically use for MMA classes and sometimes boxing, with all the magic of fluorescent lighting and not a fan in sight. If you take any of the barefoot classes back there, your feet are going to be super dirty by the end.

Church Street Boxing Park Place

25 Park Pl, New York, NY 10007
Tribeca Boxing $$$

Church Street Boxing Park Place

Tribeca Boxing, $$$

25 Park Pl, New York, NY 10007




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