It's seconds out for the gym as White Collar Boxing offers participants the chance to shape up while learning a new skill, writes RUTH OCONNOR
IF YOU WANT to lose weight efficiently, tone up rapidly, improve upper body strength and network while you do it, then White Collar Boxing might be for you.
The sport, established in New York in Gleason’s Gym in 1988, was introduced to Ireland by Cathal O’Grady, a former top class amateur boxer, some years ago. White Collar Boxing aims to engage professional men and women in a sporting experience that can be tackled as a short-term challenge or as a long-term fitness solution.
The main difference between White Collar and regular boxing is that an 18oz glove is used as opposed to the 10oz one used in professional boxing – more padding making for less severe damage upon impact.
The training is as close to regular boxing training as you can get and while some practitioners choose not to fight in the ring, others opt to do a course for about 10 weeks which culminates in a fight of three one-and-a-half minute rounds.
O’Grady says there are a variety of participants, from professional rugby players who use the training to enhance their co-ordination and develop their balance and fitness, to those who have never engaged in sport at a competitive level. They range from professional athletes to a 56-year-old psychiatrist nicknamed Dr Death.
“A man of 40 years of age came to me and told me he joins a gym every year and always cancels his direct debit around the middle of February because he feels intimidated in the gym,” says O’Grady.
“White Collar Boxing seems to engage people because the fitness and health benefits come about in tandem with the intrigue people feel for learning this new skill.”
O’Grady says he finds that when the primary focus of training is on weight loss, people can get fed up, whereas when a skill engages them on a mental level the impetus to train is maintained.
“People often look too superficially at boxing and think it’s just two lads knocking lumps off each other, but it’s about more than that,” he says. “The buzzword in training is functional training – something that makes you function better in everyday life.”
Paul Tighe is a marketing manager for a software company in Dublin. He started White Collar Boxing some months ago and is training towards his first fight in aid of charity. Tighe has always been fit and since taking up the sport, he has cancelled his gym membership.
“I was a member of the gym for years but found it boring and repetitious,” he says. “I’ve always admired boxers and the fitness levels they achieve. In two months I have lost two stone. I am also cycling a lot and watching what I am eating. The great motivating factor is in knowing you’re going into a ring to fight three rounds – there is nowhere to hide in the ring.”
Tighe says he finds great camaraderie at the training sessions, which he attends for one hour twice a week. “People are there for many reasons – as a challenge, to lose weight, to get fit or to learn to box. The training is tough, you’re going to get hit, it toughens you up and I’d say it’s a great confidence booster.
“There is also a great feel-good factor when you are losing weight so quickly in a controlled way. I’d say one session of this is like three in the gym.”
Rachel Tobin is a young barrister who has practised Taekwondo and finds White Collar Boxing terrific. She fought her first fight last year and was hooked. Within weeks of starting, Tobin noticed she was stronger, had lost weight, was more toned and was much fitter than ever before.
“It gives you an insight into just how fit boxers must be for a fight. Classes start out with a warm up, then some technique followed by sparring, running, push-ups, sit-ups and then bag or pad work. However, this training schedule can change and sometimes the trainers will do a circuits or weights class mixed with cardio,” she says.
While the proponents of White Collar Boxing say the physical benefits are undeniable, the mental health benefits seem noteworthy too. “It is amazing the adrenalin rush that people get,” says O’Grady. “There is a visceral or primal attraction to being in the ring. If you have the confidence to get into a boxing ring, I believe it is an omni- confidence that goes over into other parts of your life.”
Tobin believes that White Collar Boxing is about much more than hitting your rival. “It’s more about thinking on your feet and trying to outsmart your opponent. The obvious health benefits include getting into shape, learning a new skill and getting healthy.
“However, it allows you feel better about yourself in a number of ways. It gives you more determination, focus and patience, and acts as a great stress reliever. I would recommend it to anyone who finds they are bored in the gym, wants to learn a new skill and fancies a new challenge.”
For more information, see whitecollar boxing.ie
