A slammin' workout in the ring
Photo credit: Photo by Bobby Cassidy | Reporter Anne Machalinski works with Hector Roca, a boxing trainer who coached 18 world champions and Hilary Swank prior to her Oscar winning role in "Million Dollar Baby." They're pictured in Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn.
A boxing workout at Gleason's Gym
Hector Roca reached around and slapped the back of my head.
"Drop," he commanded.
Then he kicked my left foot.
"You bring too far to the side," he scolded.
I giggled nervously.
"Don't laugh, this is not game," he said with a heavy Panamanian accent. "You keep laughing, I walk away."
On a Tuesday morning a few weeks ago, I walked into a boxing gym for the first time. And not just any boxing gym. I walked into Gleason's, the New York institution where "Raging Bull" was filmed and 131 world champions, including Muhammad Ali, have trained.
As I entered the loft-like space located near the Brooklyn Bridge, I underwent a total sensory experience. The air was heavy, damp and smelled of sweat. Beads of perspiration formed on my forehead. The open room vibrated with the sound of gloves striking the heavy bags and feet rhythmically tapping the ground while jumping rope.
Bruce Silverglade, the gym's owner, said that in recent years, some women have traded in their yoga mats for boxing gloves. Out of about 1,200 gym members at Gleason's, more than 300 are women, including Belinda "Brown Sugar" Laracuente, one of the gym's three female world champions. To capitalize on the women's boxing trend, Silverglade co-wrote "The Gleason's Gym Total Body Boxing Workout For Women," which promises a head-to-toe makeover in just four weeks.
Silverglade stressed the physical benefits of the sport, which include trading in bulk for long, lean muscles, and also the superior mental benefits that come from training in the ring.
"In boxing, you have someone standing 18 to 24 inches in front of you trying to throw punches at you," he said. "There's a tremendous adrenaline rush."
Offered the chance to have a customized boxing workout, I jumped at the opportunity to jump-start my fitness regimen. I'm a former collegiate athlete, but years of working in offices with little time to exercise have taken their toll. Silverglade had just the man to train me.
Roca, a 68-year-old former Olympic cyclist and son of a Panamanian boxing champion, is also co-author of "The Gleason's Gym Total Body Boxing Workout For Women." He has trained world champions, including Arturo Gatti and Iran Barkley. He's also trained Hollywood heavyweights, including John Leguizamo, Michelle Rodriguez and most notably, Hilary Swank, who he conditioned prior to her Oscar-winning role in "Million Dollar Baby."
Roca warned me that he would be tough. Silverglade regaled me with tales of female clientele leaving the gym in tears after Roca followed up a grueling session with stern criticism.
Although the book outlines preparatory mental exercises and instructions on diet, hydration and rest, Roca and I headed straight to the ring.
Roca first had me move around the ring in a circle to loosen up, an exercise called running the cross. From there, Roca positioned me so that I was facing slightly to the right with my left foot in front. He formed my hands into fists and placed them in front of my body at chin level.
It felt awkward and unnatural at first. When Roca said move left, I moved right. He'd say forward, I'd move backward.
After a few more taps to the back of my head, a few more kicks to the foot, I successfully assumed my fighting position.
But just because I was able to move throughout the ring and stay in position didn't mean I could throw a punch. Or even relax.
Roca taught me the basic combos and maneuvers. The jab. The left hook. The duck.
"Screw out, screw back," he instructed. "Don't look for power."
Simple enough.
But I couldn't keep my shoulders down.
"Too stiff. Relax," he said. "You don't get loose, we can't do nothing."
Maybe this was where the mental part came.
After I could string a few punches while staying relatively relaxed, Roca seemed pleased with my progress. We moved on to conditioning exercises and stretching. Although the book outlines exhaustive day-by-day plans for drills, including crunches, push-ups and leg raises, thankfully, we didn't dwell on this step for too long.
After conditioning, we moved out of the ring. I jabbed at my reflection in a smudged mirror for a drill called shadowboxing.
Then Roca tightly wrapped my hands, which I fit into padded gloves before following him to the heavy bags.
With my feet firmly planted on the ground and my hands clenched in fists, Roca watched over me and barked out commands as I practiced my combinations. 1-2. Left-right. Front-back.
"Oh man, you so good," Roca applauded. "Beautiful, beautiful."
And with that praise, which Roca laid on as thickly as he had his criticisms, I was hooked.
