Training like a boxer is all about intensity. With the slogan ‘No Guts, No Glory’ branded across the wall and a coaching team made up of Britain’s most decorated boxers, I expect nothing less from new boxing club 12×3.
Words Helen Brown
The brainchild of champion boxers Darren Barker and Ryan Pickard, 12×3 embodies the spirit of the world-famous Repton Boxing Club in Bethnal Green where they first trained under the guidance of Tony Burns MBE. Boxing at Repton gave the duo the discipline and fighting spirit required to win. This new Aldgate-based gym gives fitness fanatics the chance to develop the same winning mentality. I’m here for one-to-one training with club and country boxer Lisa Moore.
If you don’t know your jab from your cross, this is where to start. Each session reflects a boxing match, in that it is split into 12 rounds of three minutes, with a minute rest between each. We begin with three minutes of rope skipping before moving onto three minutes of sprinting. Next is technique and footwork. I learn from Lisa that the boxing stance is crucial and am put through a number of drills. She also goes through various punching techniques and shows me how to put them into practise with some common combinations.
We move into the ring where we go through boxing defence; a rope is tied across the ring under which I bob and weave back and forth. Three minutes of this lasts a lifetime and I feel it in my legs for days after. Next we move onto a few rounds of pad work, where I can put all I’ve learnt into practise, before ending with a round on the bag, three minutes with ropes and medicine ball and a final round of ab exercises.
This workout is certainly one of the hardest you’ll find in London; Lisa definitely puts me through my paces and makes me realise that I can push myself harder than I ever do in the gym.
£75 for a one-on-one session, or £25 for a four-on-one session
76 Alie Street, E1
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