I Tried It: TITLE Boxing Club and The Boxing Gym

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Photograph courtesy of TITLE Boxing Club

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	The Boxing Club	TITLE Boxing Gym
Convenience	If you’re an a.m. exerciser, there are only three morning classes at the gym's West County location and none in the CWE. On the other hand if you work out after 5 p.m. the club has a lot of evening classes. Plus they offer half-hour classes if you’re on the go.  8	With classes all day (including ones at 6 a.m.) and five locations, this is a very convenient gym. But the classes are all an hour long, which can be a big time commitment for some people.  8.5
Atmosphere	It’s simple and a bit on the small side, but it offers lots of weight equipment and towels. It loses points for not having a water fountain (at least they don't at the West County location).  8	Despite constantly mopping, the place always smells like sweat, even more so than a normal gym. It could be because they keep the place so warm. There’s a boxing ring, weight equipment, changing rooms, and a water fountain.  9
Friendliness	Within minutes everyone knows your name, and the owner is very friendly and welcoming. Zero intimidation factor.  10	While the staff was friendly no one bothered to learn your name. The place is so busy it's hard for the instructors to get to know you.  8
Workout	They have all kinds of classes. You can really learn about boxing here too.  10	The workouts are great but with only kickboxing and boxing classes, it’s easy to see someone getting bored.  9.5
Cost	$59 per month or $129 for a 10-class pass.	$64 (first and last month upfront)
Overall	The owner will let you try out a class for free, so what do you have to lose? When I was there, Ingamells invited me to try a couple classes. 9.5	Print out the First Shot, Free coupon and check it out yourself.  9

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Wanna feel like a bad ass and lose weight? Try Boxing.

Over the last few weeks I tried two St. Louis boxing clubs. The first was the Rock Hill branch of the Kansas City–based chain  TITLE Boxing Club, which has five locations in St. Louis. The other was the locally owned The Boxing Gym in West County. There's also a branch in the Central West End.

They both offer instructor-led group classes that are centered around bag work (in some classes you can try sparring, but bag work is more common).  Every boxing class includes loud music, lots of sweating, and “rounds” where you hit the bag for a minute or two then break and do other exercises like push-ups, lunges, jump squats, etc. Then it’s back to the bag. (See how to incoproate some boxing training into your next workout by clicking here.)

There, the similarities end. TITLE Boxing Club offers high-intensity boxing and kickboxing workouts. The instructor will show you how to throw a punch but you don't actually learn how to box. (The club does offer private lessons and special seminars in self defense and other subjects.)

At The Boxing Gym they do teach boxing technique. Members can even join an amateur boxing team. (At the Central West End, joining the team is $99). The gym also offers cross fitness, cardio kickboxing, yoga, youth boxing and body sculpting classes (classes vary by location).

A word to the wise: Buy your own gloves and wraps. David Ingamells, owner of The Boxing Gym, compared sharing boxing gloves to sharing underwear. He's right, but I’m cheap, so I held my nose and slipped my hands into communal gloves that left my hands smelling like old gym socks and death. Don’t do that to yourself.