How (Title) Boxing changed our lives- Mikaela James

Mikaela James Written by Alfredo B.

“I’m a firm believer in having a mind and body connection” My name is Mikaela James I’m 21 and I’m a student at George Mason University. I have been boxing for a year and a few months and I have not had any boxing experience before I joined Title. I wanted to look into boxing because I used to play sports in high school and 2

when I got into college I didn’t have as much time to do a lot of things that I usually would have done like playing sports. I gained a bunch of weight and I was looking for something to lose weight and also get my mind off of the stress of school and work. My first time Boxing at Title was great and I took my first class with my current trainer, Eddie.

The first time I took his class, he came up to me, greeted me, and introduced himself and talked to me about Title. He showed me the combinations and what I really loved about the first class is, obviously I’m a beginner and I probably looked terrible, but there was no judgement and none of the members that have been there for years didn’t look at me in any type of way. Everybody was super encouraging and super nice, even though I was so lost during the combinations. I will never forget

what it’s like to walk into a fitness facility and to not be judged if you don’t lift a certain weight because that’s what I feel like in other gyms.

I’ve never gotten that feeling in Title Boxing.

Whether you’re in class or in training I feel like everybody there is one team and it feels very family like. The environment is very upbeat and when you walk in there is upbeat music playing to add to the fun environment. Everyone is very friendly and always greets you! I knew after the first class at Title that I would sign-up and when I came back for my second trial class and it didn’t take any convincing after the feel of the first class. After a short amount of time, they know your names which just adds to feeling like you’re apart of a community, rather than a large fitness establishment. They start to see who’s showing up and they genuinely care about member

success and concerns. They have always gone out of their way to ensure optimal member experience.

You feel like you matter and you’re not just “member,” you’re part of a friendly community.

No matter what it is, when you try something new there is always some discomfort; however, at Title, they do the best possible job of easing you into it! I remember my first class being gassed after just 15 minutes of warm-up, I thought how am I going to finish this class? But when you get to the end, the accomplishment you feel is undeniable. As time goes on, that 1-hour class builds up your strength and endurance to the point where you might be able to take two in a row! Regardless of your pace, if you need to take a breather, or get some water, no judgement I passed, everyone is in it together. I think people surprise themselves big time through these classes. You surprise 3

yourself once you get through the whole class and say to yourself “wow I did that!” Any person on any fitness level can do it and they can become better at it very fast, as long as you’re consistent with it. I was at a point where I was going five or six times a week and my endurance built up really fast!

One thing I learned from boxing is that you are more capable than you think really are because looking back I never would have imagined myself being good at something like boxing. Especially working with my trainer for close to a year now. When I started working with him it shifted a lot more to technique and learning how to defend myself and that’s when I surprised myself the most.

Though, I honestly don’t know if I want to get in the ring with someone, I think the cool thing about boxing and life is that the possibilities are endless. I never 4

would have thought I would be good at any of these techniques, especially mitts! Doing mitts has added level of difficulty and it really takes attention to detail. If I were to look back at a video of me hitting mitts with Eddie for the first time versus now, my footwork is better, my punches are better, I’m faster, my reflexes are better and overall, everything improved. Through personal training, not only did Eddie help me improve because he also pushed me to be all around the best I could possibly be and encouraged me daily!

I’m a firm believer in having a mind and body connection and if you’re healthy or active then it’s going to nourish your mind. I wasn’t making the best decisions for myself activity wise and that definitely affected where my mind was at. After I started boxing, I took exercise more seriously, my health seriously, and everything

else just fell in line. I even invested in an Apple Watch so I can start tracking my calories and how many steps I’m taking. Then eventually I joined another gym to do other conditioning things to help my body. Before boxing it was pretty much school and work and then when I started boxing it became a part of my schedule.

It was just as important to me as school and work was. My fitness and health become part of my daily routine. My confidence went up 175% and it’s crazy because you don’t realize it but when you start take care of yourself, everything follows. When I

started Title, I don’t remember my exact weight, but I dropped almost twenty pounds. You could see it in my face, my stomach, and my arms. Losing that weight, becoming stronger, and getting a hold of my life made me feel more confident about yourself.

People are really surprised when I tell them I box and they usually say “Really? You box?

That’s so cool!” They don’t expect somebody like me to box. People also ask me if I fight and I say “no, but I do train.” My favorite combination would be jab, cross, hook, hook to the body (1,2,3,3) and I know it sounds elementary but I just love the feeling of throwing that last hook cause it’s so powerful! One thing I love about boxing is that it’s a huge stress reliever 5

Mitt work with Trainer Eddie. cause no matter how your day went you go to Title and you hit the bag or hit the mitts and all of a sudden you feel like you have control over something. Another thing I love about boxing is you don’t need a whole lot of equipment; you throw 6

your gloves on or you shadow box.

When I did take the group classes, I’m in a competition with myself because I would strive to be better than I was last class.

Oftentimes when I was taking the groups classes I would see new

people coming in and trying the classes for the first time. You can tell when it’s their first time, they’re standing there with a confused look on their face and I remember how I felt when I first started. I would look at the person next to me struggling and I would help them.

One time, one person that I was helping, asked me if I was a trainer!

I definitely feel like a new person because of boxing. Once I found something that I love doing and it’s so motivating, it made me want to be a better person. I don’t know where I would be without boxing, I might be living not as my best self and I wouldn’t be as confident about things. I don’t want to think about my life without boxing! The thing that keeps me coming back is being able to surprise yourself and doing things you didn’t think was possible and that’s the biggest thing that keeps me coming back. Boxing has made me a better person overall

and I just care a lot more for myself now. It’s given more confidence and it proves to me that I can do anything I want. I miss boxing so much because of this virus! I’m so used to going and it feels like something is missing. I can’t wait until this whole thing passes so I can get back to it! Overall, I love Title Boxing Club Fairfax!

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