Boxing benefits
* Enhanced cardiovascular health
* Increased agility
* Improved total body strength
* Enhanced hand-eye coordination
* Toning and improved body composition
* Reduced stress
* Calorie burning and weight loss
* Improved muscular endurance and core stability
* Enhanced confidence and self-esteem
Steve Duff can’t remember a time when he wasn’t overweight.
“I’ve been overweight my entire life, since I was a small kid,” he said. “Three times in my life, I got on a fitness kick, but I always gained it back.”
Until now.
Duff, 40, has worked off 80 pounds and he isn’t finished yet, as the Beavercreek man has his sights set on losing 15 more. What’s different this time? The workout is drastically different, as Duff is now hooked on boxing.
“I just love boxing. It’s always different every day,” he said. “I look forward to going to classes and I’m in the best shape of my life.”
Duff takes classes — at least two or three a week — at Title Boxing Club in Kettering. The Kettering boxing gym, which opened its doors just over a year ago, offers about 30 boxing and kickboxing classes a week with as many as 150 people working out each day.
The gym is in the Kettering Towne Center, on East Dorothy Lane near the Elder-Beerman store. The gym’s address is 2120 E. Dorothy Lane, Kettering.
From incredible individual weight loss stories to an entire family dedicating themselves to getting into shape, there are countless success stories, said general manager Dennis Hale.
But it isn’t just about burning calories — although you can burn as many as 1,000 in a single Power Hour class — it’s about camaraderie.
“It’s a community, that’s what sold me on this place the first time I came in,” Hale said. “You’re pushing each other and it’s very much a team atmosphere.”
Fitness and friendships go hand-in-hand for Rob Scott of Kettering.
“I’m probably the strongest I’ve ever been in my life,” Scott said. “And some of my closest friends I’ve met at Title.”
Some of Scott’s older friends barely recognize him these days as the 32-year-old has lost 80 pounds since he started working out at Title Boxing Club shortly after it opened.
“I was attending the ribbon cutting, and I thought I’d give it a try,” he said. “I bought a one-month gift certificate, and I fell in love with it. Now, I have to go every day or my world just isn’t right.”
Scott, like Duff, had tried a variety of other fitness options with little success.
“The thing about Title is that they push you, it’s tough and, sometimes, painful but they make it fun,” Scott said. “You get one heck of a workout but you always want more.”
There are as many, if not more, women in many of the classes and participants range in age from 8 to 73. It’s not about getting big, it’s about getting toned.
“It’s best for anyone who wants a lean body,” Hale said. “And it’s also great stress relief and we all need that.”
Scott and Duff have more in common than a love of boxing, they are both now sporting a new wardrobe.
“I’ve had to buy all new clothes and I love it,” Scott said. “I feel so much better.”
Duff, however, needed a little push to purge his closet.
“I always held onto my fat clothes – I had all ranges and sizes,” he said. “Dennis told me to just get rid of them and I finally did. I won’t need them any more.”
For more information about Title Boxing Club, go online to www.TitleBoxingKettering.com or Title Boxing Club Kettering on Facebook.
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