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The Independent 23
April 4, 2013
Courtney Scherer, left, takes instruction from Stan Welch, right, during an LA Boxing class. Women have been largely responsible for growth in the sports of boxing and kickboxing. Photos by Jane Reuter
Boxing is a big hit for fitness Workout trend on the upswing By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com Hope Frantom was, she said, “an uncoordinated mess” when she started boxing. Now, she’s not just coordinated but has gained a level of confidence she says permeates every aspect of her life. “I feel like whatever you throw at me, I could probably do,” said the Aurora resident, who works as a trainer at Lone Tree
Brett Hart, a kickboxing specialist at the Lone Tree Athletic Club, demonstrates a series of punches for his students.
Athletic Club. “I have more confidence about trying new things. I am more confident approaching men in a social situation. I’m also a more confident teacher. “It’s also a great workout.” Frantom is among a wave of women choosing boxing and kickboxing for fitness. A trend for several years, the sport got a boost with the debut of women’s boxing at the 2012 Olympics. Cardio kickboxing classes have grown 37 percent in the past three years, according to Women’s Health magazine. “Better than 60 percent of our class is made up of women,” said Stephen Stafford, general manager at Lone Tree’s LA Boxing. “I have a lot of teachers, medical professionals, lawyers, business executives — all high-stress jobs. It’s that release they get (from boxing), in an environment that’s not intimidating.” In addition to providing an emotional outlet, boxing offers “every aspect of fitness,” Stafford said, adding that most people burn between 800 and 1,000 calories per class. “Aside from heavyweights, have you ever seen a fat boxer?” he asked. The Lone Tree Athletic Club recently opened a boxing room in early 2013, with the urging of personal training manager Pat Jiner, who’s also a professional fighter. “The response has been overwhelming,” he said. As at LA Boxing, most of Jiner’s students are women. He, too, praises the calorieburning benefits of the sport, describing boxing as “one of the better total cardio exercises you can do.” But his first priority is form. “My boxing classes are very technical,”
Sandra Wong of Castle Rock, participates in a kickboxing class at the Lone Tree Athletic Club.
he said. “Your first class, you might not even break a sweat. Before you can start amping up, I need to make sure your feet are underneath you and you’re punching properly. You take one of my classes and have to remember combinations. “It’s a thinking sport. It’s a holistic sport. There’s a lot of spirituality involved in it as well. I like the physicality, the discipline, the mental focus of the sport.” Frantom agrees, and said boxing isn’t what she’d expected.
Jiner “kept telling me boxing is like dancing,” she said. “I’ve never been able to dance. I was very intimidated. You have to think about 500 different things at the same time.” She also had to first overcome an aversion to the idea of punching. “I remember telling him, `I’m from the South, I don’t hit people’,” Frantom said. “Now that I can do it, I think it makes a woman more attractive because she has the confidence that comes with knowing, `I can take care of myself.’”
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