Blogging over 7 years ago by Liz Adams

Chicago Workout Review: Title Boxing Club

Title Boxing Club Chicago Sequins & Stripes Workout

Since the first quarter of the year always brings a renewed focus on wellness, Liz and I thought it would be fun to start a new monthly series where we review different workout classes around Chicago. We’re lucky that our city offers so many options for staying active, even when it can get pretty hard to drag yourself out of bed mid-February.

My typical routine consists of some combination of running, HIIT classes, yoga and spin, so I wanted to go out of my comfort zone for the first installment of our workout review series. After hearing a few friends rave about Title Boxing Club, I knew I had to give it a try. I recruited my friend (and fellow Sequins & Stripes fan) Jenny to come with me, and we signed up for a 6 pm Friday β€œBoxing 60” class at the Lincoln Park location. Here’s how it went down:

Title Boxing Club Review: Sequins & StripesTitle Boxing Club Review: Sequins & Stripes

The workout: Boxing 60 at Title Boxing Club (Title’s signature β€œPower hour” class)

Quick description: 15 minutes of warm-up, eight rounds of boxing with active recovery in between, then 15 minutes of core and cooldown

Price: Free for your first class! (Keep in mind that you’ll have to spend $10 to buy hand wraps, but these are yours to keep for every time you go back.) After that, one class will cost you $35, though you can purchase various packages depending on how often you want to go.

What it was like: This is going to sound silly, but when we first walked in, Jenny and I were both surprised at how much Title looked like a legit boxing gym (to be fair, my idea of a boxing gym is based on the three movies I’ve seen about boxing). It was also packed! We hurried to claim a bag and a spot on the floor, and then the staff showed us how to use the hand wraps that we had purchased. I’ll admit that I started to feel a little bit more badass at this point.

There were a few other newbies in the class, so our instructor, Veronika, gave us all a quick run-through of all the punches and stances we would be using. These included hooks, uppercuts, and jabsβ€”all intended to work different parts of the body and throw off a potential opponent (!). 

We were then ready for the warm-up: Veronika led us through a series of lunges, squats, burpees, jumping jacks, and other full-body moves. That probably sounds more miserable than it actually wasβ€”it felt like conditioning drills you would do before sports practice in high school, and the fifteen minutes flew by.

Next up: the boxing! The boxing portion of the class consisted of eight two-minute rounds of boxing, with two minutes of active recovery in between. Each round involved a different combination of punches at varying speeds and intensities. As someone who had never worn boxing gloves let alone hit a punching bag before, the first couple rounds did feel a bit awkward. But once I started to get the hang of it and figure out where to place my feet, I started to have fun. The eight rounds also went by super fastβ€”a big clock on the wall counts down every round, and it seemed like the two minutes would be gone before we knew it. This may have to do with the fact that I was concentrating so hard on hitting the bag in the right spot, but heyβ€”whatever works! Active recovery in between each round meant more lunges, squats, and pushups, or just a water break if you wanted it.

We finished up with ten minutes of core and five minutes of stretching (felt sooo good). 

Overall impression: I would definitely go back! We felt incredibly welcomed as first-timers, and it was a killer workout. I can’t even tell you how well I slept that night. I wasn’t too sore the next day (I mostly felt it in my upper back and obliques), but I bet that was because all my “moves” ended up kind of being the same for the whole class. As you go more often and get more comfortable with where to place your feet and how to swing your arms, I imagine you would get better at isolating certain muscles and increasing the intensity of your punches. My one tip for newcomers would be to get a spot as close to the instructor as you can…the playlist is awesome but loud, and it can be hard to hear the instructor’s directions over the music. 

Have any of you tried boxing for a workout? I’ll be trying SoulCycle next, but let me know if there are any other fitness classes in Chicago I should check out! 

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  1. Thank you so much for this review! I pass by a Title Boxing Club all the time in Wicker and have always thought about trying but have honestly been too intimidated! Now I think I will actually try it! πŸ™‚

    Also, Pure Barre is a super great workout class and they have several locations all over Chicago!

  2. I love love love Barry’s Bootcamp! Right now I just go on class pass but I am highly considering transitioning over to their full membership. Let me know if you want to join!

  3. SoulCycle is amazing-riding to the beat and with the whole class really keeps you going even when you feel like stopping. Can’t wait to hear what you think about it, Carolyn.

  4. My roommate goes to Title using ClassPass and she really likes it! Love this new series idea – I’m at yoga sculpt instructor at CorePower Yoga and would love to have you in a class sometime!

  5. Shred415. They are a busniess founded in Chicago and run by 2 working moms. have locations throughout Chicago, the North Shore and Hinsdale! They are great for parents because they have childcare!!!! Hit up the Lincoln Park location and ask for Kelly or Lyndsey!

  6. I will have to try as I live in LP!! Highly recommend Studio LaGree, OrangeTheory, SALT Fitness (cycling class) and Barry’s!

  7. Title Boxing is my favorite! I used to go multiple times a week for over a year, but moved a couple years ago to a place that doesn’t have a Title gym. I have not been able to find anything else that compares. It gave me the best workout, relieved stress, and just generally improved my confidence! So glad you loved it!

  8. Treadfit is great for interval and strength training for all fitness levels! They just opened their second Chicago location out by you in the Western suburbs

  9. Fave workout is Studio Lagree for sure! Found via classpass, bought a pack directly from them because I loved it so much. Erin is my fave instructor (Old Town location). Let me know if you want to join one day! (It’s @jenmoh by the way πŸ™‚ )

  10. I love this new series- what a great idea!! I am a big workout class person and my favorites in Chicago are (hands down)…
    – Bar Method (locations in Wicker Park, Lakeview, Loop, and Gold Coast)- AMAZING hands on teacher adjustment and super welcoming to new students!
    – Shred 415: all teachers are wonderful but Fadil is AMAZING if you can catch one of his classes. Locations throughout the city
    – CorePower Yoga: not specific to Chicago but wonderful yoga classes. Bridget S and Halle are some of my all-time fave instructors

  11. Love the fitness series you are doing! Sounds like a great workout at Title Boxing! I’d love to invite you in to try a class at my Orangetheory Fitness studios in La Grange or Willowbrook-Hinsdale. It’s a great one hour total body workout!

  12. I love the fitness series you are doing! We would love to have you in for a class at Orangetheory Fitness Willowbrook-Hinsdale or La Grange! It’s a great one hour total body workout.

  13. One of my good friends lives in Chicago and is OBSESSED with aerial fitness! Her IG shots of it look amazing! Let me find out what studio she attends, but a quick Google search tells me there’s a few in the greater Chicago area.

  14. great review, love this series! would love for you to try a lagree fitness class next to hear your thoughts. thanks!

  15. This is such a good idea for a series! I always want to try new classes, but what scares me is not knowing what to expect. So I appreciate the feedback of how the class went, what it entailed, and if she would recommend it.

    I used to go to Title Boxing all the time when we lived closer to one and I loved the workout. I definitely felt super powerful every time hahaha.

    xo Mary-Katherine
    http://www.goldhattedlover.com

  16. Check out the Group Conditioning Classes at HardPressed Chicago. They will kick your butt! They also offer 1:1 strength training.

  17. I love this new series!! Boxing is so fun but it is hard and a TOTAL workout. I hate how sweaty my hands get in the gloves. You have to try Power Sculpt Fitness in Lakeview on Lincoln!! I have been going there consistently for 3 1/2 years!! PSF offers so many different varieties of classes and different lengths (60 min, 45 min, 30 min, 20 min blasts). They have a cycling studio with screens so it is really fun to build up your power and intensity each time you cycle and you get an email of your workout summary after every cycle class! The signature class is the HIIT, circuit sculpt has you going around the studio doing different circuits which I love. There is kickbox interval on Saturdays and boxing with bags on Thursdays and Saturdays. You can do a combo too- cycle then tabata or cycle then 20 min ab blast, or cycle then barre or Signature then barre. They offer everything and the instructors are AMAZING with super fun music!!!