In cities everywhere, boxing-inspired group
workouts are gaining popularity as people seek
new ways to burn fat, build muscle, and learn
self-defence. At EverybodyFights, you’re training
the way Foreman, the son of legendary “Big
George” and the creator of EverybodyFights, once
did. Most group boxing classes blend bag work
with calisthenics to spike your heart rate.
This gym pushes you through fat-blasting
old-school boxing drills, then uses other gym tools
to hone your boxing technique. Sure, you work
heavy bags, speed bags and punch machines, and
you spar in the ring. But you also battle Airdyne fan
bikes, rowing machines and kettlebells. You’re ruled
by the clock, fighting through three-minute rounds,
just like a boxer.
It’s all drawn from the training Foreman himself
endured. Back in 2006, with Big George as his
coach, he took up boxing in an effort to lose weight.
For four years, he trained under his famous father,
pummeling his way to a 16–0 record (with 15 KOs).
But the more father and son worked together, the
more tension built between them. In 2013, Foreman
decided to “take a break” from the sport. “I wasn’t
getting a dad, and he wasn’t getting a son,” says
Foreman, now 35.
But G-3 wanted to stay fight-ready, so he built
a gym for himself, making sure it had what he
needed to stay in fighting shape. Planning his
return to fighting, he trained circuit-style, going
from rower to Airdyne to kettlebells to suspension
trainers to ring work, finishing with core work.
When his gym opened to the public, the boxing
and circuit-training areas were underutilised, and a
friend suggested he turn his own workouts into a
group class called Trainx360, which is now his
flagship class.That’s not the only class here. Foreman learned
the value of yoga when fighting, so
EverybodyFights also offers a Flow class with
meditation. There’s also an endurance-focused
class with cycling, treadmill running and rowing.
“Only 20 per cent of what you do in our classes is
actual boxing,” he says. It all lays the foundation you
need to be a better boxer. Boxers do a lot of
woodchopping drills to build core and leg power; in
Trainx360, I slam medicine balls. I squat low to pick
up kettlebells, then stand and hoist them to my
chest, a lightweight version of the hay-bale flips
Foreman did under his dad’s watch. Foreman once
slammed mallets into a tyre to hone hand speed; he
has me whip battle ropes for the same reason.
Foreman keeps us moving, allowing just 15
seconds of rest between rounds. Twelve rounds in,
partly because of how hard we hit the bags early on
in the workout, I’m dripping sweat, my legs are jelly
and my shoulders are on fire. This must be less
painful than fighting Ali in his prime, but there’s
a moment there when I can’t see how.
That’s when Foreman cranks it up. The last
three rounds offer no rest, just planks, push-ups
and burpees. “Part of boxing,” he says, “is learning
how to push through fatigue, extending your
perceived limits and working while you recover.” I’m
not seeing the “recover” part.
Especially not during the final 30 seconds,
when I’m most gassed. That’s when Foreman
shouts to go all-out one more time on the heavy
bag. I throw a jab-jab-cross, fire back-to-back
hooks, then deliver another jab-cross. There’s
something invigorating about recruiting all your
strength to throw those final punches. It’s different
from banging out a final set of bench-press reps.
This makes me feel like a warrior.I’m approaching the end of round
10 in a 15-round gauntlet of a
workout class. My trainer, George
Foreman III (above), yells, “Go
hard! Unleash fury!” And for the
next 30 seconds all of us whale
away on heavy bags, delivering
hook after slamming hook. It’s the
Trainx360 class at EverybodyFights
in New York, and the lessons are
clear for the 50-50 mix of about 30
men and women in attendance.
First, punching something with all
your might feels great. Second, it’s
hellishly tiring. When the bell rings,
forget rest: I hit the floor, boxing
gloves still on, and hold a plank.FIGHT CLUB
Ding-ding.Time to take your
training into the combat zoneAt a glance
Trainx360 at
EverybodyFights
Lab rat: 180cm, 82kg
Workout: 55 minutes
Twelve 3-minute stations
(including heavy-bag and
speed-bag work, rowing,
push-ups, kettlebell work
and Airdyne fan-bike
work), followed by 9
minutes of ab work and
conditioning. A 5-minute
warm-up and 5-minute
cooldown bookend
every session.
Data
Kilojoules burned: 3372
Heart Rate:
Max: 192
Average: 149
Resting: 45114 menshealth.com.au