My boxing gym, Nonantum Boxing Club, developed a circuit and heavy bag workout called Boxygen. I’ve done it myself and it’s a great workout because there’s always something different to do that keeps it interesting and you can go at your own level and pace.
While my boxing gym might seem intimidating as if it might house a fight club, it’s actually run by a family of brothers and cousins who treat everyone as if they are part of their family. They are very, very nice!
Eric is known for his hard workouts and I’ve never managed to take his Boxygen or Heavy Bag class. He’s really nice though and, as an English major, he sometimes uses SAT words during class.
He’s the creator of the Boxygen concept and now it’s come out as a DVD to use in the home …
A new type of training is coming your way and its a knockout!
Welcome to BOXYGEN!
The training series is a one-two punch with both men AND women and now its available as an in-home fitness DVD.
It’s a new fitness concept developed at Nonantum Boxing Club to combine the cardio and strengthening workout of a boxing workout with the core workout and stretching of yoga.
Why combine Yoga with Boxing?
Boxing actually has a lot in common with yoga. Both are all about the breath. You need to be able to control your breath in the ring to sustain your energy just as in yoga, the breath is what the practice is ultimately about.
Both yoga and boxing work the core muscles. The power for boxing punches doesn’t come from arms and shoulders; it’s actually from the core muscles in the lower body turning to create force. In yoga, core muscles are utilized in every pose.
What you will get out of a YogaBox workout:
strengthening
cardio vascular
stretching
core workout
abdominal workout
boxing skills
yoga poses (Vinyasa Flow Yoga)
fun
friendly and inviting atmosphere
No boxing or yoga experience necessary
Who is Teaching YogaBox?
It’s taught by the two best fitness instructors in their field! The YogaBox class is carefully constructed so that the yoga and boxing complement each other. The yoga routine designed by Dawn Davis who spent the last year learning to box, focuses on core strengthening as well as stretching the muscles used during the boxing workout. Marc Gargaro’s boxing workout will make you sweat.
Marc Gargaro
Marc Gargaro is a certified Level II USA Boxing Certified coach and licensed Professional trainer as well as a licensed boxing promoter. He was an accomplished amateur boxer for several years and was a finalist in the Heavyweight Division of the 2005 USA Northeast Regional Championship Tournament as well as a Lowell Golden Gloves semi-finalist in 2007. He has extensive experience in strength and conditioning programs and sport specific training.
Dawn Davis
Dawn Obeidallah Davis brings a rich set of experiences to the teaching of yoga. She is a Developmental Psychologist, a mother of three, and is trained in both the Baptiste and Elemental yoga traditions. In addition to her expertise and formal training, Dawn brings great enthusiasm to teaching yoga, celebrating the joy of life through movement and breath. A soulful teacher, Dawn helps students cultivate energy in an energetic yet systematically calming way. She is a former Harvard Medical School faculty member and is the author of scientific articles on child development. Dawn received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University, and has trained in Elemental Yoga with Bo Forbes and in Baptiste Power Yoga with Coeli Marsh.
YogaBox FREE Open House
What: Join us for the launch of a new fitness class: YogaBox! It combines strengthening, conditioning, stretching, core work and cardio for a fun and time efficient workout. We will be using the heavy bag, boxing gloves and wraps, and a yoga mat. You do NOT need to know how to box OR do yoga. Please bring a yoga mat and boxing gloves and wraps if you have them. You can also borrow boxing gloves from Nonantum Boxing Club.
When: Tuesday, October 7th at 9 am until 10:15 am (75 minutes)
Cost: FREE for this open house!
Classes will run Tuesdays at 9 am to 10:15 (30 minutes of boxing followed by 45 minutes of yoga for a total of 75 minutes).
Special promotional pricing: $75 for 5 classes (never expires and can be applied to any other class at Nonantum Boxing Club including Heavy Bag and Boxygen).
Classes are otherwise $20/drop in.
Questions: Contact Marc Gargaro at 617.340.3700 or info@nonantumboxingclub.com.
Sign Up: email info@nonantumboxingclub.com or leave a comment to reserve your spot. The Open House is limited to the first 20 people who sign up due to space constraints.
Please come and support my boxing gym, Nonantum Boxing Club, who is, in turn, supporting the John M. Barry Boys and Girls Club of Newton.
Nonantum Boxing Club’s very own trainer, Raf Rivera, will be sparring!
Rafael is a USA Boxing Level 1 Certified coach as well as a 2013 Lowell Golden Gloves Champion and New England Tournament of Champions Semi-finalist. Raf has extensive experience working with Youth and teens.
The John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club of Newton in partnership with Nonantum Boxing Club present Fight Night on Saturday, March 22, 2014.
This year we are changing locations to the Boys & Girls Club, 675 Watertown Street, Newton.
VIP tickets are $50-$65 and general admission tickets are $20.
There are two tiers of VIP tickets. Heavy Hitter VIP tickets are $65.00 each and include prime location table seating, a designated bar server, dinner and drink ticket. VIP Tickets are $50.00 each and include table seating and dinner.
Sanctioned by USA Boxing, Fight Night attracts more than 350 spectators. With a fight card of over five bouts between amateur fighters, VIP guests enjoy a sumptuous dinner catered by Jean’s Catering. Doors open at 5:30PM for VIP ticket holders, and 7:00 PM for general admission.
Tickets will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. VIP tickets are sold out. You can buy tickets here.
Nonantum Boxing Club held an exhibition sparring event a few weeks ago to raise money to send three boxers to a competition in California held this week. Children, men and women sparred and here are a few highlights. More sparring matches can be viewed here on YouTube.
Good luck to Joey, Amanda and Julie who are competing in California this week.
Joey Meuse, one of the Nonantum Boxing Club’s fighters going to California spars Pepe Deluca of Cyr-Farrell. This is Round 2. Joey is in white.
Boxing is not just for the young and spry! Bill Weeks of Nonantum Boxing Club spars Doug Glazier of Ashland PAL. Bill is 65-years-old! This is Round 1. Bill is in green shorts with blue headgear.
Shannon Gargaro puts in an impressive inaugural match against Karen Areyzaga from Quietman. This is Round 2 of 3. Shannon is in pink.
Felicia O’Brien from Nonantum Boxing Club versus Alicia Moulton from Boston Boxing. Round 1. Felicia has white headgear.
Finally, here is Round 2 with Mike Campanella from Nonantum Boxing Club versus Henry Ung from Harvard. Mike is wearing red.
Kate Durgin of Nonatum Boxing Club versus Jenn Chan of Boston Boxing. Kate is in black.
Gabriel Pineda from Nonatum Boxing Club versus John Bejar of Quietman. Round 3 of 3. Gabriel is in red.
My mom friend Lynn has both her 3rd grade son and her 7th grade son boxing at Nonatum Boxing Club. They love it. It’s their favorite activity, nudging out baseball, soccer and even video games!
Her 7th grade son, Max, takes a semi-private lesson with two other classmates — they are in the photos and video below. They have been taking for less than one year.
Sam, her 3rd grade son, takes the Saturday morning class.
I thought I’d find out more from co-founders Marc Gargaro and Nathan (Nate) Buso.
1) What are the benefits of boxing for kids?
It not only teaches kids hand eye coordination and physical fitness, it develops self-confidence and character.
2) What is your philosophy in teaching kids to box?
Show them fundamentals and try to make it interesting for them as they learn the ins and outs of the sport.
3) Is boxing a good sport for special needs kids? If so, what experience have you had training them?
We train many kids with special needs. It gives them a great outlet where they can work on their focus and coordination and build confidence as well.
4) Your classes for children start at age 5. What will they learn?
At 5 they will learn that being active and conditioned is fun. As they grow older they will learn more about the sport.
5) How old were you both when you learned to box? What did it teach you?
We grew up with the sport both at the Boys Club and through older siblings. I think the best thing it taught me when I was younger was that it’s ok to be afraid and nervous, as long as you can deal with it positively. Also to make sure you are always staying in top condition.
Youth Boxing Classes
Classes currently are on Saturday mornings. Nonantum Boxing Club is expanding to the downstairs space as well, so stay tuned for more kids’ classes!
5 to 9 Years Old Sat: 9 am to 10 am
10 to 14 Years Old Sat: 10 am to 11 am
Non-Stop Action for Non-Stop Boys
Music makes practicing the footwork fun!
Heavy bag work strengthens muscles and reinforces technique.
p.s. Did you ever wonder why Nonantum Boxing Club is so clean? The bathroom is spotless and the floors never seem to have a speck of dirt on them. And, thankfully, it never smells like a locker room. It turns out that Nate is a neat freak. Thank you Nate!
It all started with my mom friend Penny. She saw her brother during the holidays, and he had those Star Trek Cardasian trapezius muscles bulging out of his neck. He got them from boxing in the Bronx.
She, too, wanted to whip herself into shape through boxing. She put me in charge of figuring this out. I used to kickbox with a Muay Thai boxing champion last summer who was awesome, but alas, he was back in California.
The 3:oo school pick up was a fertile recruiting ground. Our friend Stella wanted to get back to pre-baby weight. Lydia had enjoyed karate back in England and wanted to get in shape. We also roped in our friend Katherine. We figured we needed her in case of injuries. She’s a nurse practitioner at Babson college.
Katherine is our resident nurse.
Finding the right place and instructor was easy. I just texted my dad friend Mike, a Golden Gloves champion.
“Nonantum Boxing. Ask for Marc. He’s the best!”
It only took one call and we were set up for a class the next day. And so we went.
First the basic punches. Jab. Cross. Hook. Uppercut. Marc is very technical and insists on perfect form. You need that in order not to injure yourself! We start on that white line and hit the mitts that Marc holds. We do this for about a third of the class.
On the line with Marc.
Heavy bag work is next. We each take a heavy bag and Marc calls out the drills. Punching. Then some foot work. Shuffle, shuffle, up. Shuffle, shuffle, back. Footwork with punching comes next.
Lydia throws a mean cross.
The final third of the class is a combination of heavy bags with conditioning. This last segment is non-stop with no rest in between.Some of the fitness exercises are yoga- like too, especially if your yoga has lots of core work: chair pose, plank, low plank, high to low push up, and side plank. Other exercises are bootcamp-like: burpees, Chavez hops, and other forms of torture. We usually end in abdominal exercises, different sequences that seem agonizingly difficult.
After six weeks,we’ve worked our way into punching sequences that include defense moves — slipping and ducking — also known as “the bob and weave.” Our friend Stella demonstrates:
In case you are wondering if you can do this, watch us progress. Here is Lydia after 3 weeks and again at 6 weeks. What a difference a few more weeks make! We are also noticing that we are getting stronger with more endurance, both for boxing and other sports.
For anyone who wants a fun workout, consider boxing! Nonantum Boxing Club has fitness classes for adults where typically the class make up is at least half women. They also have classes for kids.
If you want to learn to box, start your own semi-private group like we did. We recommend buying 10 pass pack and getting a group of 4 people. The price optimizes at 4 and you can also pair off!
We hope to see you at Nonantum Boxing Club!!
p.s. Our mom boxing group continues to grow. We now book Marc three times a week. Warning: boxing is very addicting!
