A Kickboxer's training on a bag activates the large muscles of the legs and back. The heavy bag is followed by the smaller speed bag, which improves agility and reflexes. The School of Hard Knocks At Gleason's Gym, a Brooklyn, New York landmark that has turned out champion boxers such as Jake LaMotta, Roberto Duran, and Muhammad Ali, more than half of the members never compete in the ring. Today, five current world champions and a number of competitive fighters train alongside Wall Street traders and midtown executives. As the oldest active boxing gym in the United States, Gleason's does not advertise, but the boxing bug has nonetheless spread rapidly all the more since the first of hundreds of women joined the club in 1983.
Boxers also develop a lean, low fat physique that is popular with men and women.
She followed a boxing regimen for more than a year until she moved out of the New York area. At Gleason's Gym, she worked out with a trainer who taught her technique and conditioning routines during her weekly sessions. A typical workout began with stretching and shadow boxing before moving on to three minute rounds of hitting the heavy bag, jumping rope, and working on combinations and ducking and dodging techniques. Although she has no interest in sparring, LePore claims her confidence level increased when she learned how to throw a punch. It was a lot of fun to find out that someone next to you was a top contender.