I took a boxing class on Sunday at Title Boxing Club Mountain View. I can’t believe I just wrote those words. It was the first time I had ever put on a pair of boxing gloves and it certainly won’t be the last. The owner of the club, Adrienne Rush, met with me before the class got started, showed me around and wrapped my hands. The class had about 18 people in it, 10 women and 8 men. The trainer, Armand, showed me how to position my feet as I punched the bag, how to twist my body and not just use my arms, and how to turn my hands so I didn’t injure my wrists. There was a silly grin on my face the whole time because I was having so much fun. My entire body was sore for a few days, which tells me it was a good workout, and that I need more of it.
The class involved warm-up cardio activities and stretches, then everyone put their gloves on for 8 three-minute rounds, with a 1 minute “active rest” in between each round. Armand walked around to all the students during the class and coached each person before moving on to the next. He shows everyone what to do during each round and then checks to see if you’re doing it correctly. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t doing anything correctly, but it didn’t matter. I was having a great time. After the 8 rounds, everyone grabs a floor mat and does some core exercises with a medicine ball. Oh, guess what… I had never even touched a medicine ball in my life before that. They’re heavy, in case you didn’t know. The toughest workout I had ever done before last Sunday was at Curves, so this part about actually punching stuff and sweating was new to me.
I felt very comfortable, even though I had no idea how to do the boxing part. There wasn’t any pressure on me to go faster, or harder than what I was capable of. And it wasn’t a fashion show. You know what I mean, everyone was totally focused on hitting the bag and working up a sweat.
I brought one of my Chamber of Commerce colleagues, Jennifer. And it turns out she throws a mean punch, just as I assumed she would, since she already owns a pair of fancy boxing gloves. It’s always more fun to workout with a friend, so take someone with you when you visit Title Boxing Club Mountain View.
Title Boxing Club is a nationwide company, but there are only 5 in California and the Mountain View location is the only one in the Bay Area. It’s the newest thing in cool-places-to-workout. The location is perfect for people who commute, because it is centrally located between 85 and 237. Adrienne (who lives in Mountain View) told me that she has members that live over an hour away. They prefer taking a boxing or kickboxing class in the evening as opposed to sitting in traffic. Some members work at large tech companies, but those companies don’t offer boxing classes, so they joined Title Boxing instead of exercising at their gym at work.
The address is157 E El Camino Real, Mountain View, California. One last detail that I love about the location of Title Boxing Club Mountain View is that it’s right next door to Nijiya Market, in the same shopping center as a Starbucks and a Walgreens. How convenient is that? Here’s a link to their class schedule. I love Mountain View.
Update: I joined Title Boxing and I love it even more now than when I wrote this story a few months ago.
