‘I went boxing twice a week for a month, here’s what happened’

Aware of its high-intensity nature and heavy emphasis on conditioning, boxing is a type of exercise that, until four weeks ago, I felt fortunate I’d been able to swerve in my seven years as a health and fitness writer. Similarly to jury service, I was grateful not to have been summoned, since it felt so far out of my comfort zone. And then, I was.

When Women’s Health’s Fitness Director Bridie Wilkins asked me to try boxing twice a week for a month (not so much of a summoning as a friendly and encouraging request, truthfully) I made a mental list of all the reasons I should avoid, before eventually concluding: why the hell not?

I’ve been strength training consistently for nearly a decade, and enjoy an exercise schedule that features everything from skipping and tennis to hiking and yoga. High-intensity training (HIIT), however, isn’t typically my cup of tea. Whether it’s the occasional post-workout migraines I experience or the general discomfort of maintaining near maximal energy for the duration of a session, my instinct is to steer clear of anything involving high-intensity intervals where I can’t personally dictate the pace and rest periods. Boxing, I knew, would therefore be a big challenge – in more ways than one.

What is boxing?

‘Boxing is a high-intensity, full-body workout that involves striking,’ says Casey Hewitt, master trainer at Virgin Active and the coach who led my first class. Not all classes follow the same format; depending where you go, you may be working with a punch bag or with focus pads and shields, Hewitt tells me. The classes I attended utilised the latter.

‘If you have never tried boxing before, expect to learn some movement patterns and coordination that will seem very unfamiliar to you to begin with,’ says Hewitt. ‘You can expect to have fun working to understand how your body moves with each combination, as well as a very intense, predominantly aerobic workout.’

The core elements of a class tend to include the basics, such as correct stance, guard and foot positioning. Plus, you’ll be taught all of the basic punches, as well as some basic defensive movements such as slips and rolls. Here’s all you need to know about the standard punch types, and defensive moves.

The Straights

Jabs and crosses are both considered ‘straight’ punches.

‘The Jab is the first punch which is from the front hand, and is designed to punch in a straight line without hip movement,’ says Cathy Brown, ex professional boxer and boxing coach at Third Space London. ‘It’s used for measuring range and setting up power shots.’

The Cross, Brown says, is always off the back hand and is a power shot. ‘The hand and arm positioning in The Cross is the same as The Jab but it’s a power shot so as you rotate through your hips, it’s designed to punch in a straight line.’

Form tip: ‘Ensure that your hands are coming back into your guard between each shot, and you aren’t flaring your elbows out wide –…