If you couldn’t tell after you read about my experience at Overthrow, I love boxing. The first gym I ever joined when I was a teenager was a boxing gym! It’s one of my favorite workouts and, in my opinion, one of the best. It’s high energy, grueling and overall ass-kicking.

Last week (yes, it has taken me quite some time to write this post), I took Julian Devine’s ‘After Dark’ class at Shadowbox. I’ve been to Shadowbox various times and I’ve always had the most amazing workout experiences. First of all, the studio is super trendy. It’s spacious, brightly lit and fosters major positive vibes. My favorite part (aside from the bag room) is the old school boxing ring. It makes for the perfect Instagram post, that’s for sure! It’s not just a display–they use it for personal training! The bag room, where group boxing classes take place, is dimly lit by blue lights and features thumping beats that power boxers through each session. I love how dark it is– it keeps me super focused, like it’s me and the bag rather than me and a group of people.

Julian’s class was awesome. So hard core! It was pretty much non-stop punching combinations on the bag (no kicking allowed– boxing only!) along with a lot of slipping and ducking to keep the whole body involved. We started with a warm up of cardio, pushups, lunges and some shadowboxing moves before hitting the bags. ‘After Dark’ classes are really intense and exhausting. The combinations are difficult as they contain a lot of different punches and defensive moves, which can get hard to follow sometimes, but I like the challenge of staying focused. I found myself needing a few breaks to catch my breath during rounds, especially when we were going at max effort. This workout is totally worth the immediate physical stress, every droplet of sweat, and the sore knuckles the next morning.

The Shadowbox instructors are awesome. I feel like they’re really attentive when it comes to monitoring form and always push people to the best of their abilities. They still allow people to work at their own pace, which is super important. Julian’s energy made me feel motivated to finish strong and go all out until the very end.

I love this place! I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re looking for a killer boxing workout in a posh setting. I would suggest either Julian’s or Jaw’s classes. They both rock! The studio has tons of classes, so whether you’re an early riser that hits the gym before work or a late night fitness junkie, there’s a class here for you. All levels welcome! Classes also make for a great Christmas gift!