Fighting Fitness:The Boxing Club

118 Spring/Summer 2005

I love to box, but Im such

a novice I still get out of

breath during round one.

That doesnt stop me from

loving the attempt to pull

together a combination or

two. To that end, I found

myself lured to the new

chain of fitness centers

owned and operated by

former Wall Streeter and

boxing aficionado Steven

Wade. His newest location

in the Costa Verde shopping

center in La Jolla is in the

final stages of build-out, but

already fully functional on

one floor, where I watched

an intense group workout

that took my breath away.

Fighting Fitness:The Boxing Club

Story by Bree Walker Photography by Martin Mann

www.NImagazine.com 119

What is so attractive

about Steves

program is that for

as little as $65 per

month, a member

has unlimited access

to come literally any

time of the day and

find a wide range

of workouts of

varying intensity.

120 Spring/Summer 2005

A diverse group of members ranging in age from early twenties to late fties were pushed to the limits in a variety of cardiovascular exercises, including punching heavy bags, sprinting around the room, jumping rope, medicine ball tossing, and old fashioned calisthenics, drill sergeant style. Included in this hour were basic core strengthening routines, including Pilates and yoga-style stretching and oor mat work. This was a workout for individuals serious about tness, but entrepreneur Wade says that The Boxing Club training programs are designed for people of all tness levels. Customized group workouts occur nearly every hour, in addition to competitively priced one-on-one training for clients who want to focus on speci c body parts. His state of the art elliptical machines, treadmills, and stationary bikes are all hooked up to cable TV, so news junkies like me wont miss a minute of infotainment. What is so attractive about Steves program is that for as little as $65 per month, a member has

unlimited access to come literally any time of the day and nd a wide range of workouts of varying intensity. Upstairs, where this high intensity boxing class was going on, I put on my gloves to work with Steven in the Boxing Clubs centerpiece, a high-tech oored boxing ring that showcases anyone willing to show off his or her sparring technique. It humbled me.

As Steven and I nished posing, Wade asked me if Id ever tried kickboxing. I took a course in Krav Maga self-defense a long time ago in Los Angeles, where I did some kick moves, but no, kickboxing. Ive never triedshould I be scared? Steve laughed, walked me to the heavy bags, and showed me a few basic maneuvers like how to rotate my torso and pivot from my anchored foot to create a powerful impact from my instep. Getting my knee high enough to create height for the impact while not losing my balance, is the rst goal in a class for kickboxing. Again, I was humbled.

The Boxing Club was purchased by Wade when he was an investor on Wall Street. He came across the

opportunity to buy out the tness chain, and that was all it took for him to move his family to the sunny side of a healthier lifestyle. His love

of boxing and helping clients get in shape is the driving force behind the goal of expanding The Boxing Club throughout the country. His San Diego clubs have a steadily growing clientele of tness enthusiasts who understand their worst enemy is workout boredom. What our clientele already understands when they come here is that the factory environment of many workout clubs inevitably leads to drone-like malaise, and kills your motivation to go to the club. We know the difference and we do it in a competitively-priced way.

I know Ill be back, looking for another dose of humility and inspiration.

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FIGHTING FITNESS: THE BOXING CLUB

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