This weekend, I promised myself that I would drag my butt out of bed Monday morning to try the new Boxercise class offered at Ping — no excuses. So as difficult as it was to peel away from my cozy bed at 8 a.m., I reminded myself of how excited I had been to go to Boxercise. Plus, it would jumpstart my metabolism for the day, so how could I argue with that?
When I signed in outside of the Group Fitness Room, I saw that a different instructor was filling in today and the class would be High Intensity Interval Training (or HIIT) format instead. For a minute I debated leaving to run on the treadmill or something, but then I decided that I wasn’t going to let the unfamiliarity of this class stop me.
“Hey guys, my name’s Miranda, and I’m filling in today,” the instructor said. She explained that since she didn’t teach Boxercise, the class would be HIIT format with some boxing-based moves incorporated into the workout.
Fair enough. Let’s do it.
We started with a two-song warmup, followed by a circuit of four different moves, such as high knees alternated with punching. The way HIIT works is you do a circuit once for about five to seven minutes, then a 30-second-to-one-minute rest before repeating the circuit again. By doing short bursts of intense exercise followed by a brief break, your heart is challenged to work harder (as opposed to maintaining the same heart rate for an extended period of time, like during a run).
I’m not going to sugar coat it and tell you that it was fun or easy, because it was grueling. The moves in the circuit were actually simple to do, but repeating them with increased intensity each time was what made them challenging. The good news was we were encouraged to take things at a pace that was manageable, yet fast enough that it pushed us out of our comfort zone.
“Don’t let the workout control you! You are in control of the workout!” Miranda said. “If you need to take it down a notch, focus on aiming for proper form.”
I fought to give 110 percent down to that final countdown of five seconds left. I wanted to leave every ounce of effort in the room, knowing I gave it my all, and I did.
I still want to go back next week for the actual Boxercise course, but I was proud of myself for sticking through this tough-as-nails HIIT class. When it comes to fitness—or really any goal—you have to want it more than you fear it.
Emily McIntyre is a senior studying journalism with a focus in news and information. Are you going to the Boxercise class? Let Emily know by emailing her at em564912@ohio.edu or tweeting her @emjmac95.
