Boxing adds glam and gadgets to become the fitness fad of 2019

Boutique fight clubs combine glamour and gadgets for the ultimate fitness regime.

Chris Hemsworth working out on the heavy bag. Picture: Greg Funnell

At first glance, 12x3 in London looks like any other high-end fitness studio. Its sleek white foyer leads through a cafe selling protein balls, gluten-free cakes, juices and lattes made from a bewildering array of plant-based milks that is buzzing with regulars refuelling after a lunchtime workout.

Descend the cast-iron staircase, however, and there are no yoga mats or spin bikes in sight. Instead, the swanky changing rooms give way to a dimly lit room adorned with slogans such as No Guts, No Glory and filled with a boxing ring and a dozen or more bags each taking a battering from members.

Founded by former middleweight world champion Darren Barker, the gym is among those at the forefront of the fitness world’s attempt to glamorise boxing — singer Ellie Goulding comes here — transforming it in recent years from a spit-and-sawdust workout to one worthy of its own boutiques.

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With its popularity buoyed further on social media with stylish celebrities — Bella and Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Chris Hemsworth and Scott Eastwood, among others — not holding back in posting selfies of their best upper cuts and jabs, boxing became the killer body workout of the year around the world.

Many boutique gyms report a 50-50 ratio of men and women, a sign that any barriers that might have prevented participation have been broken down.

Even those least likely to try a combat sport have been giving it a go, inspired by the promise that it is the fastest route to fat loss and a slender physique. The trend promises further growth next year, but with an added twist: boxing goes digital and hi-tech.

At 12x3 I am fitted with a microchip Hykso Punch Tracker that sits beneath my gloves, held firmly in place by my wraps. Activated by Bluetooth technology, it is equipped to keep track of every punch I throw, measuring power, speed, frequency and method — jab, cross, hook or uppercut — as I work up a sweat. Barker came across the devices when he was training for the world title fight he won in 2013.

“A guy from the company who made them asked me if I would be willing to wear one and I gave it a try,” he says. “I was blown away that this tiny thing could track velocity and frequency of punches.”

Professional boxers have been using them for a while, but Barker sensed that his members were looking for a way to incorporate technology into their workouts.

“People love data and we now use these in some of our sessions to motivate members,” he says. “It’s downloaded to an app on your smartphone and means that you can compare your punch count and intensity not only with other users, but to see if your own fitness is improving as weeks go by.”

In trials Barker has seen members achieve a 21 per cent increase in workout intensity, a 6 per cent faster punch rate and a 33 per cent stronger jab when wearing a tracker compared with boxing without.

“All the time you are gaining knowledge about how to box better when you use this kind of feedback,” Barker says.

I can see how it would work. Even after a single workout wearing one I am inspired to improve my technique and power.

There’s no need to go to a boutique boxing gym to get sparring, though, thanks to the latest development in the digital world.

BoxVR is a boxing-inspired, virtual reality workout in which you get fit, led by professional instructors, in your living room. You need a VR headset, but once you have downloaded the game you have access to 45 choreographed routines of varying lengths and intensities or can create your own workout tailored to the intensity and tunes (a playlist of 110 tracks is included) you prefer. There’s also a multiplayer option allowing you to compete against up to five other people in real time to tackle the same boxing routine.

I was doubtful the experience would come close to replicating a boxing gym, but it did. Transported virtually to a choice of workout environment (from gym to space), your task is to hit and dodge fast-moving targets. It took a couple of trials to get the hang of it, but once I did I finished hot and sweaty without leaving the house.

Determining whether your punches are up to scratch is obviously not as straightforward as having a trainer yell in your ear, but Ianthe Mellors, BoxVR’s head of fitness, says the important thing is that you are throwing them and moving fast.

“When the moves were created they were designed with technique in mind so they are reaction-based,” she says. “If you do need help, there’s a YouTube channel to explain the correct form for punching, squats and dodges.”

Although technology has improved greatly since VR headsets were launched a few years ago, motion sickness is an issue for some people who use them. When your eyes tell your brain that you are moving about in a VR gym but your body is not keeping up (although you move with the workout, it is within a small space), it can cause mild nausea, and I felt slightly queasy each time I finished.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t use it again, and its convenience is appealing. Other gyms are widening their client base by opening classes to an online audience. From January at Kobox you will be able to book a trainer who will coach you via WhatsApp, providing a workout tailored to your requirements, while Boxx, which launched as an online boxing class provider, has flipped that concept on its head by recently opening its first real studio in south London.

“As well as conventional boxing classes, our new studio has large screens we will use to display our video workouts so that people come in at the scheduled time and they work out to our videos using our equipment,” co-founder Anna Samuels says.

Whichever method you choose, there are few rivals to the calorie-burning effects of boxing, and while most estimates suggest that you use about 500 to 600 calories an hour while skipping, punching, bobbing and weaving, they can be on the conservative side. It relies on controlled movement and momentum to produce results, so it won’t jar your joints.

“Anyone who has worked hard for just a few minutes on the bag will know that it can be an intense workout,” Barker says. “But there are so many elements to boxing, it doesn’t get boring or repetitive.”

Shifting from one foot to the other works the hamstrings, gluteal muscles and quads, while the twisting of the body tests the core muscles. Stick at it and the results will be a flat stomach and the firmest buttocks. “You work every single muscle in the body in boxing,” Barker says. “Do it two or three times a week and your body will be transformed.”

The Times