Maryland Boxing: Odenton Fitness in Odenton

Boxing At Odenton Fitness

If you have ever heard any expert on health and fitness talk about the boxing, all you will hear is praise for what an incredible total body workout boxing is. Boxing’s only rival as a complete body exercise is swimming which, as exercise, is about as boring as watching paint dry. Then why aren’t more people boxing? Well, have you ever been to a boxing gym? At the risk of overgeneralizing, boxing clubs, on the East Coast anyway, are usually dirty, poorly equipped, dingy places you would not want to work out in (think Rocky I).  (To see the club, check out this Washington Post profile, this HBO video, or watch this video.)

On your first step into Odenton Fitness, you will quickly realize we have something very different. Our boxing area has everything – and we mean everything – you could ever want to train as a boxer. It is the most comprehensive boxing facility in Maryland. The club is spotlessly clean with a friendly, upbeat atmosphere. We have some fine boxers but most of our members are boxing not to hit someone else,but for the incredibly life changing fitness and stress relief boxing affords its disciples. There are many times more homemakers, accountants and doctors than there are professional boxers. The gym achieves a balance between being a serious boxing gym and a place that’s not intimidating for those who don’t plan to mix it up with a live opponent, but just want to get in shape, work off some stress and have some fun.

In essense, what our fitness boxing progam has done is take the best training practices of boxers, who are clearly some of the best conditioned athletes in the world, and create a fun, stress relieving fitness program that is both save and enjoyable for everyday people people who want to get fit as they can as quickly as they can.

If Odenton Fitness’ boxing program was in Los Angeles or San Diego, it would have lots of competitors. In Maryland, it is the only white collar boxing gym in the state. We have members that literally drive an hour to come to Club One – people as far away as Washington D.C. – because there are no other legitimate boxing options available. Moreover, most of our members do more than box. We are a full service health club. If you don’t feel like throwing a punch one day, you can jump on a treadmill or a strength machine and use the best equipment available.

Below you will find questions and answers about our boxing program at Odenton Fitness. If you have other questions, just give me a call. My name is Christen, I am one of the owners and the general manager of the club. You can reach me at 410-729-3900 or you can email me at clubonefitness@earthlink.net. If you are wondering if the boxing program at Odenton Fitness is right for you, write me or call me and we can figure it out together.

Question: Do you have boxing and kickboxing classes at Odenton Fitness?

Answer: Yes! All of our boxing classes are free! We between 2 and 4 boxing classes for all levels every weekday at Odenton Fitness. Our classes are usually 1 hour long. What you do in class depends on the skill level of the class. Our classes are not intimidating, they are designed to help you improve from beginner who have never thrown a punch to more advanced boxers. Boxing burns a ton of calories for those of us who are trying to stay in shape on a limited time budget. As you can imagine, boxing is also a great stress reliever. You will find after a boxing class that many of the daily stresses they may have been carrying all day have mysteriously disappeared! The cliche joke is imagining you not hitting the bag, are hitting your boss or the man that cut you off this morning. As silly as that might sound, it really works!

Question: I love the idea of throwing punches. The idea of getting hit, far less so! Can I take a boxing class at Club One without getting hit and still feel comfortable and get the same thing out of it.

Answer: We have hundreds of people training as boxers at Club One. The vast majority have never taken a single punch. We absolutely have full contact classes for those who are interested but the focus of Club One’s boxing program is the wonderful cardiovascular exercise that you get and the stress that boxing relieves for every day people. The take home message is this: if you want to get the boxing experience without risking a fat lip, this is the place for you.

Question: Why boxing over other means to get in shape?

Answer: This is a good question. We are a full service health club so we do not question the efficacy of other ways to get in shape. But there is no denying that boxing is a uniquely effective way of getting as fit and getting fit quickly. If you get on a bike – and we have plenty of them at Club One – for an hour, you are going to get the same workout you get boxing for a half an hour. This is what is drawing professional people to train like boxers. They want to get the best results in the shortest amount of time which is what boxing can do for you.

Question: I am woman. Will I fit in boxing with these men?

Answer: Absolutely. We have women in almost every class. In some boxing classes, the majority of the class are girls or women.

Question: Okay, I’m convinced you have a nice boxing club, good boxing instructors, and a great staff. Here’s my concern: I still have to box with other boxers. And I have to think that some of these boxers are complete jerks.

Answer: This is a really good question. When we started this boxing gym, we strugged with this issue because we had a lot of great boxers in our club that were not very nice people. Nothing awful, just bad attitudes, and not respectful to the other members. Not the kind of place we wanted. For us, it was a difficult issue because we believe Club One members are always right. But when a boxer makes difficult for other members to enjoy boxing with us, all bets are off. Consequently, some who were among our best boxers are no longer with us because they were asked to leave.

Question: Are there other things to do besides boxing at Club One?

Answer: Odenton Fitness is a full health and fitness club that also happens to have the best white collar boxing gym in Maryland. Club One has a full line of cardio and strength equipment, aerobics class and everything else you would expect from a state-of-the-art full service health club.

Question: Do you have any great boxers at Odenton Fitness?

Answer: Yes, our boxing gym has many fine boxers that are continuing to make new strides every day. For example, Nick Kisner recently won the USA Junior Olympics title for Super Heavy Weight (over 201 lbs) in the 15-16 year old age group. An incredible accomplishment! Channel 13 news correspondent, Stan Stovall, came to the club to interview Nick and his Dad (wearing Odenton Fitness shirts!). Channel 2 News also came out for an interview, the Baltimore Sun did a sports cover story on Nick, it was awesome, it really was. We have other boxers that are also making a name for themselves. But, in the end, that is just a component of what the Club One boxing program is doing. What we are most proud of about our boxing program at Odenton Fitness is that someone like Nick can be on a bag next to a beginner throwing their first punches and both are comfortable with each other and are getting the most out of their Odenton Fitness boxing experience. Really, there are three kinds of boxers: amateur, professional and everyone else. We have all three but, largely, Odenton Fitness is the boxing gym for everyone else.

Question: I’m excited about the idea of being a part of your boxing program but I think I live too far away. What are my options?

Answer: It depends on what you are looking for. There are many other boxing clubs in Maryland if you don’t mind the hardcore gyms (again, think Rocky I). (If you Google “Maryland boxing gyms” or “Maryland boxing clubs” you should find your options.) But if you are looking for a white collar boxing club with the quality and quanity of equipment Club One has that is dominated by professional people who are not looking to become professional boxers, Odenton Fitness’ boxing program is pretty much your only option in Maryland. While the majority of our members who box live in the Annapolis/Odenton/Baltimore area, we have people who train at Odenton Fitness that live in Virginia and Washington D.C.