Jab, Cross, Hook

I first went to Shadowbox, River North’s newest fitness studio, earlier this fall with my friend J. We had been talking about going to we heard about the studio opening in July.

Shadowbox is a 45-60 minute boxing class that combines punches with HIIT moves. You leave the class feeling stronger and for me less stressed. I’ve found that boxing is a better work stress reliever then yoga- not sure what that says about me as a person….

The in-studio class starts with a demo of the punches, and defense moves, followed by a warm up and 2 rounds of shadow boxing (punching the air without gloves on) followed by 7 rounds (45 min class) or 9 rounds (60 min class) of various punch combinations and HIIT moves (lots of squats and burpees).

With Covid-19 all fitness studios have been shut down- leaving a definite void. Luckily for me, Shadowbox has been offering free classes on their Instagram live; they have quickly become the highlight of my week. My friend J and I have been taking a class together every Saturday and then face timing after to discuss it- it’s almost like we were actually “under the blue lights”.

The live classes are either 45 or 60 minutes and don’t require a bag. It’s all shadow boxing rounds and HIIT moves taught by both the New York and Chicago instructors. Even without the bag the class still kicks my ass; there are plenty of lunges, burpees and mountain climbers packed into every class. My goal by the end of quarantine is to make it the full time when doing mountain climbers.

If you get a chance I recommend checking out the classes on their Instagram or signing up for a virtual class on their website- the instructors are lively and a lot of fun. Plus you will leave covered in sweat and feeling like you got your butt kicked (for me always a win).

Let me know if you’ve ever tried it! I can’t wait to get back into the studio!