Mama Said Knock You Out: Review of Title Boxing Club

Confession; running is not my first athletic love. I am completely head over heels for boxing. Not that cardio-body pump-girl power nonsense. I'm talking about the super unladylike grunting- intensely focused-sweat soaked gloves kind of boxing . My attraction to the sport was/is that is that it demands rapid fire short periods of strength, power, focus and intensity. In a proper boxing class, each punching sequence or exercise never lasts for more than 3 minutes (the length of a round of a boxing match). For three minutes you focus all you have into punching. For someone like me with a short attention span, this is perfect.

Back in my single days, I took a boxing class twice a week at the Sport and Health in Clarendon. It is the only time my biceps were referred to as "diesel" (ah youth!). Since the class ended, I've been on the look out for another class but haven't been satisfied with anything. I tried LA Boxing but was frustrated that it was filled with pink gloved instructors who didn't provide any instruction of the proper way to punch, stand, bob or weave. The die-hard Olympia Boxing Gym was excellent, but 8:00-9:30pm classes left me amped up and not able to sleep until well after midnight!

When I saw a Living Social deal for  Title Boxing in Fairfax, I thought it was a great chance to reunite with my love and add some much needed crosstraining into my running routine. Title is located in the Courthouse shopping center a few blocks from Old Town Fairfax.

The gym provides 50 heavy bags for participants, a treadmill and bike for warm-ups, medicine balls for core exercises and a regulation ring for people who are interested in sparring. Free gloves are available and required handwraps can be purchased for $6. Title offers boxing and kickboxing classes four times on weekdays, three times on Saturday and twice on Sunday with one of four trainers who all have backgrounds in one of the sports.

I was impressed that each class was organized more like a traditional boxing gym. Each hour long session begins with a 15 minute cardio warm-up that mixes running with exercises like hill climbers and jumping jacks. Next is 30 minutes of punching for boxing and punching/kicking for kickboxing. The final 15 minutes focuses on core exercises and stretching. 

Each punch combination is demonstrated by the instructor multiple times. There wasn't much focus on correct technique but the instructor was happy to provide advice and feedback when I asked him the best way to stand and punch. Throughout the class, music reminiscent of what you hear during the ESPN cheer leading competitions blasts loudly to keep everyone motivated.

After an intense hour of punching, bouncing on my tip toes and straining my way through the ab exercises I was exhausted and very happy. I would highly recommend this gym to anyone who wants to mix up their exercise routine and blow off a little steam!

In addition to Fairax, Title also has gyms in Loudon, Springfield and Herndon with a Falls Church location slated to open in the fall.