Boxing Lesson - Day 1

Today was the day I would be changing my life...I hope. My plan was to sign up for and start my private boxing lessons.

My day started about 10am. I had a couple of bowls of cold cereal. Because of the 7 mile walk, I was tired when I woke up. However, I did manage to eventually get out of bed. My plan was to leave my apartment about 2:30pm. Leaving at that time would allow me to stop off at a sporting goods store that specialized in boxing equipment. I also wanted to stop off at an electronic store in the area to buy another cell phone. I can't find my cell phone.

Anyway, I ended up missing the 2:30pm MN train, but I wasn't worried since I had so much time. I took the Westchester bus down to NYC. I arrived at the sports store about 4:15pm. Wow, so much for early start. Anyway, I bought the following things:

Boxing shoes ($50)
Hand wraps ($5)
Boxing gloves ($50)
A stopwatch ($15)

With tax the total came up to $130.05. What about the boxing gloves I bought on Saturday. Those were made of plastic. I was told that the boxing gloves sold in the chain stores were cheap gloves not really designed for hitting the punching bags. So, I'll take the cheap gloves back some time this week.

Anyway, by the time I finished in the store, it was about 4:45pm. I took the train back to midtown Manhattan. When I got out of the station, I was feeling, hot and weak (mostly due to not eating lunch). I stopped off at MacDonald's. I ordered a Big Mac and a medium orange juice.

I arrived at the gym at about 5:50pm. I was having second thoughts about starting today, and when I entered the gym, the thought lingered:

There was no paperwork to fill out.
The locker area was very small crammed with too many lockers for the space.
The shower area only had two working showers
My "trainer" knew boxing, but I don't think he really knew how to teach it.

They say that doctors make the worst patients, I would like to say that teachers probably make the worst students. As the guy was "teaching me", I kept saying to myself that that isn't how I would teach this...knowing full well I don't know squat about boxing.

The Paperwork
Well, as I mentioned there was no paperwork. The lady who took my money, just verbally spoke about the days my private lessons would occur. When I mentioned that I needed to write the days down so I wouldn't forget, she offered to scribble it on the receipt she gave me. Then when the trainers changed, the days change also. I think my days will be M, T, W, and Thurs.

The Private Lesson
So what did I get for the my $280. The guy (I forgot his name) had me standing in front of the mirror with the same foot stance practicing various basic punches. Over the years, I've gone through great lengths to avoid mirrors like the plague, but there I was standing in front of the mirror for all to see...the Pillsbury Doughboy's black cousin from out of town trying to look tough....throwing limp-wristed punches into thin air. I did that for about 30 minutes on a "boxer's schedule" (meaning working out for 3 minutes with one minute break). No warm up, no stretching, just the same stance (right foot in front of the left, boxer's crouch, arms up). The guy wanted a different punch combination for each set, but the stance stayed the same. After thirty minutes, the guy put me on the treadmill. He told me to "walk a little and run a little for 30 minutes", then he went to train someone else. No warm up no stretching. When I finished "my walk", I told the guy I was finished. he said that tomorrow, I would do the same thing, but with gloves, he also said that he would teach me some exercises to deal with my gut, then he poked me in the stomach....

....And I giggled liked the Pillsbury Doughboy.

The Locker/Showers
The lockers are about 6inches wide, and of course, placed right next to each other. However, the aisles are only about 2 feet apart. Assuming the floor tiles are 1ft. squared (they could be smaller), the two aisles (there were only two) were two squares apart. The gym may have even used the floor tiles to do the spacing of the lockers.

The showers - Two toilets, but low on toilet paper. Four showers, but only two were operational. The showers in the corners were both disabled (the knobs and the shower heads were removed), so that only the two showers that are visable to the bathroom area were operational. Normally a jelly belly such as myself would shower in the corner, but that was not an option.

Well, so a less that positive experience. So, will I be back tomorrow? Yes. I've told myself that I am paying for the boxing lessons, that I would not get on my own. Having quit at so many things to list here, I really do need to make a change.

Pillsbury Doughboy's cousin does need to die -- no, I'm not being literal.

The place is not great. But at the very least, I should try to stick it out for a couple of months. Besides, when and if I quit, you (regular readers of this blog) know I'll be running for a pint of Haggen Daaz.

211bs / 32.2%BMI


Post Date - Sunday, August 31, 2008 11:35PM
Completion Date - Tuesday, August 5, 2008 1:03AM