I wrote the following story ran for The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer. It ran in both papers on Tuesday, Nov. 12; it runs here, in its original form with links.

“Fun,” “social” and “a great stress reliever” aren’t exactly terms Rocky Balboa would have used to describe his workouts. But then, Title Boxing Club isn’t Mighty Mick’s Boxing gym.

Title Boxing is a new millenium take on one of man’s oldest sports, replacing pugilism with a peppy workout designed to burn calories and tone muscles. Title opened its first new age boxing gym in Kansas City in 2008. It franchised the operation two years later and in May opened its 100th club, which are spread throughout 27 states. Title moved into North Carolina this past summer; it currently has two gyms in Charlotte and one in Cary, with plans to open more in both markets.

If you’re still envisioning Mighty Mick’s — a dark, dank, depressing, put-up-your-dukes dungeon located in an otherwise abandoned Philadelphia flatiron — and wondering why the popularity, again, Title Boxing is a far cry from the boxing gyms of old. Cary’s club, for instance, is located in an upscale retail/apartment community, has a glass facade, is carpeted and despite the intense workouts that go on within, is devoid of the stench of sweat-soaked dreams.

“We’re not a gym,” says Joe Saele, who owns the Title Boxing on Ayrsley Town Boulevard in Charlotte, “we’re a club.”
The distinction, according to Title Boxing, is several fold.

“In a normal gym,” says Max McGee, general manager of the Cary club, “you have the musclehead factor — guys standing around trying to impress one another. “Here, all you have to do is show up and we’ll do the rest.”

Charlotte club member Brian Richards elaborates: “They push you,” says Richards, who joined the club the first day it opened. “Before, in group workouts, I was on my own, and  I didn’t push myself hard enough. Here, the instructors push you hard.”

“There’s no cheating yourself,” adds Jim Bakey, 23, of Holly Springs.

Unlike the more traditional boxing gym, where you might leave with a black eye or cauliflower ear, the only contact you have here is with a traditional “heavy” bag (a k a, a body bag).

“You don’t get hit, there’s no spit-in-the-bucket,” says Saele. “We appeal to soccer moms. In fact most of our members are women.”
Max McGee, general manager of the Cary club, says, when they opened in September, about 80 percent of their clientele was female. “It’ll level out to about 60 percent,” he adds, based on memberships at other Title facilities.

Then there’s the club’s Trainer’s Circle, an arc of benches where participants arrive early to wrap their wrists (required, mainly to prevent wrist injury from punching the bag), talk to the trainer and talk to one another.

“It’s very social,” says Lauren Orlando, a 29-year-old who makes the drive from Chapel Hill to the Cary club several times a week.
And there’s mandatory trainer interaction with each club member.

“The trainer is required to touch each bag at least once during a session,” says McGee. And it’s not a social call. During the punching sessions, for instance, the trainer may don oversized punching mitts and get the boxer to spar with him — at a faster pace.

Title offers various hour-long classes, but its most popular is its “Power Hour.” The hour begins with 15 minutes of cardio and strength exercises, followed by 30 minutes of eight  3-minute rounds of boxing with “active resting” in between, followed by 15 minutes of core workouts. The initial 15 minutes consists of a flurry of movement — running, jumping jacks, squats, lunges; the final 15 minutes involves planks, pushups, and various takes on the sit-up.

The boxing segment relies on four main punches: cross, jab, hook and upper cut, all of which are gone over by the trainer with new boxers. In rapid succession, the instructor yells out various combinations — “cross, cross, jab, cross, cross, jab” — and class members try to keep pace. Each three-minute round is timed on a well-watched digital stopwatch on the wall.

Title boasts that you can burn up to 1,000 calories during a single Power Hour.

Brian Housle, a senior exercise physiologist with the Duke Diet & Fitness Center in Durham is a big fan of boxing workouts. A kickboxing instructor himself, he says the workouts cover it all. “Cardio, strength, coordination, balance, agility — it’s a total body exercise,” says Housle.

He is, however, skeptical of the 1,000 calories per hour claim.

“It’s not an imaginary number,” says Housle. “But its unlikely that the average person could burn that many calories per minute.”
“On a moderately strenuous bike ride,” Housle explains, “the average person will burn 6 to 10 calories per minute. That’s about 300 to 500 calories per hour.”

“To burn 1,000 calories in an hour you need to burn 16 to 17 calories per minute, and that’s very, very, very, very, very vigorous activity,” says Housle. It’s also activity performed by an already big, muscular fit athlete, he adds, because it would take a lot of muscle mass to burn that many calories.”

Regardless of the CBPM (calories burned per minute), Title Boxing guarantees that if you stick with the program by going at least three times a week for three months, you’ll see results — or your money back. (Those results, adds McGee, are mutually determined by the club and member at the start.) Drop 100 pounds and you get a year’s free membership.

Cary club member Bakey, a physical therapist, doesn’t care about weight loss. A marathon runner who has clocked a personal best of 3 hours and 20 minutes, he’s just in it for a good, hard workout. He uses a different gauge to determine how good of a workout he’s had.
“After the first class,” he says, “I came home and laid on the floor for two hours. I was spent. But it was a good spent.”

* * *

What a fledgling boxer should know

* The four punches used (as defined by ringsidebygus.com):

Cross — power punch thrown with the boxer’s dominant hand. It’s also called a straight right, right or straight punch.
Jab — punch thrown quickly with the boxer’s leading hand straight from the chin in direct line to the target
Upper cut — thrown at close range, with either hand. The jaw or the solar plexus is the target.
Hook — inside power punch; a short, sideways punch delivered with the elbow bent so the arm forms sort of hook. The temple, side of the jaw, ribs and liver is the target.

* There is no hitting of fellow classmates. The only hitting is of the 100-pound heavy bags, about 50 of which are in each gym.

* Boxing gloves are provided to first-timers.

* Physical concerns? As is the case when you start any exercise program, Duke Diet & Fitness Center Senior Exercise Physiologist Brian Housle says you should consult a physician beforehand if there are concerns about your health. While there can be a lot of wear and tear on the wrists and shoulders, Housle says learning proper technique from the start should mitigate those issues.

The post Punching those pounds away appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We’ll spend the first few weeks of 2013 looking at issues of particular relevance to many of you as the new year unfolds. Today, the first working day of the year, we start our Happy, Healthy New Year — heretofore shorthanded to HHNY — segments with what’s likely at the top of most of your lists: losing weight. I originally wrote the following for the Charlotte Observer, where it appeared last month. Click on each section entry for more information.

You want to lose 25 pounds and live a healthier lifestyle, but do you know why?

If the reason is simply because you think you should, then your resolve to lose weight in 2013 is already in deep trouble.

“It’s all about determining goals,” says Julianna P. Canfield, director of fitness for YWCA Central Carolinas. “Why do you want a healthier lifestyle? Is if for an upcoming trip? That’s good, but what is your next goal?” To keep pace with your kids? To not fit into your pants like sausage into casing? Your goals, she says, need to be specific and sustainable.

“It needs to become a behavior,” adds Dr. John Tomcho with the Carolinas Weight Management & Wellness Center in Charlotte. “It need to be something you can embrace, something you can picture yourself doing 10 years from now.”

And, your goal needs to be realistic.

“Some people think they should get back to the weight they were at 21,” says Tomcho. “But even reducing your weight by 10 or 15 percent, you’ll see a lot of health benefits.”

Now that we’ve got the big picture out of the way, what other advice do Canfield and Tomcho have for dropping weight — and keeping it off — in the new year?

Avoid fad diets. “Take a balanced approach to your diet,” says Tomcho. Diets that eliminate all  carbs or fats may result in short-term weight loss but aren’t sustainable, says Tomcho. While that balance varies from person to person, you should shoot for 30 percent of your diet to be protein (which will make you feel full longer), 45-50 percent should be from healthy carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables and whole grains), and 15-20 percent from unsaturated fats (nuts, avocados, fish, certain oils).

Avoid sugary drinks. Fruit drinks, sodas, sweet tea all can quickly pile on the calories. “Switch to flavored water, with or without bubbles,” suggests Tomcho.

Pace your weight loss. You may want to lose weight as quickly as possible but losing too much too quickly can be unhealthy. A general rule of thumb, endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is to lose no more than two pounds per week.
Be accountable. When it comes to New Years’ resolutions, Canfield says, “People are all gung-ho in January, then fizzle.” You’re less likely to fizzle, studies have found, if you’ve shared your goals with others. To that end, the YWCA will launch a program in February that will match people by age, the time they like to work out, the exercises they like to do, among other things. Then, says Canfield, they’ll be encouraged to workout together and keep in touch to monitor one another’s progress.

Keep a journal. “Studies have shown that an important factor in watching your diet is journaling,” says Tomcho. Recording what you eat, in particular, makes you conscious of exactly how much you’re eating and how many calories you’re consuming. Also record your activities and how you’re feeling. The latter can help you in figuring out better ways to …

… deal with stress. When we get stressed we have a tendency to eat. A lot, and typically not healthy foods. Not a good response, says Tomcho. Rather, he suggest you first figure out what stresses you then try to avoid it. Since that’s not always possible (unless, say, you can stop going to work or battling rush-hour traffic) figure out another way to deal with the stress. “Go for a walk, write in your journal, talk to a friend,” says Tomcho. “Anything to keep you from eating.”

Get active. Moving is key, say both Tomcho and Canfield. However, a lot of people think that once they start exercising they can eat anything. “Most people really don’t burn a lot of calories exercising,” says Tomcho, especially when they’re first starting out. But being and staying active is vital toward establishing healthy, long-term habits. Plus, exercising releases endorphins which can help you deal with the stress that causes you to eat in the first place.

Mix it up. Part of the February fizzle Canfield referred to results from people becoming bored with doing the same exercise over and over. Not only do you get bored but your body gets used to the routine and becomes more efficient at performing the exercise; as a result, you burn fewer calories. To combat the double whammy of boredom, for instance, the YWCA, for instance, offers an 11-week Winter Boot Camp in which no two workouts are the same.

Don’t deprive yourself. If you grew up in a house where your mom was constantly surviving on cottage cheese and grapefruit, you’re likely of a mind that healthy eating is boring eating. Not so, says Canfield. One of the YWCA’s programs aimed at New Year’s Resolutioners, New Year, New You, includes a grocery store tour and a cooking class conducted by a local business specializing in vegetarian and vegan dishes.

“You’re going through a healthy lifestyle change,” says Canfield. “The key is to do things in moderation.” Of that piece of cake or slice of pie, she advises, “You can have it as long as you’re paring it with with good diet and exercise.”

* * *

More info

• For more information on the healthy living classes offered through the YWCA of the Carolinas, go here.
• For information on recommended dietary guidelines, check out the USDA’s Food Pyramid here.
• For an overview of healthy weight loss, check out what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has to say on the subject:

The post Happy, Healthy New Year: Weight loss basics appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

For years, Debra Delano was content to carry extra weight — a lot of extra weight. Then, about four and a half years ago two things happened. One was Dr. Phil. “I saw him on Oprah, and he was saying that wearing a coat of 100 pounds of fat is not normal. People do it and they keep it on because it works for them. Then, one day, it doesn’t.” A couple days later she was walking through a department store when she caught sight of herself in a mirror. She took a long look and realized that her fat coat was no longer working for her. Within a year, she lost 100 pounds.

“I did it through nutrition at first,” says Delano, who lists her age “40-plus.” “I tried to keep my calories to around 1,200. I ate healthy, natural food, like my grandparents did. I held back on sugar and unnatural products.” The owner of an espresso bar, she also modified her business practices.

“I sell cookies and bagels and muffins and, I was constantly taste testing,” says Delano. “That food does not call my name anymore.”

She hasn’t had soda in years and keeps a close eye on sodium, carbohydrates, calorie content. She didn’t keep a food journal because she didn’t want to have to think that much about food. And she didn’t become militant. “I don’t like beef or chicken, but I love pork. Bacon — is there anything better in the world than bacon? I also have Ruffles potato chips every several months.”

Through modifying her diet alone, Delano dropped 40 pounds, especially interesting since once she started exercising, she become an adrenaline junkie. She sky dives, bungee jumps, scuba dives, zip lines and goes hot air ballooning, now sports a couple tattoos. Her daily exercise regimen consists of weight lifting and line dancing. The later she does once a week at a local club and daily, alone, for 45 minutes before work.

“It felt so good,” she says of being active, “that I just wanted to continue.”

That, she says, was what motived her to continue.

“When you feel better, your mind is clearer,” she says. “I can speak in clear sentences … food does affect you that way. It’s amazing that way. It’s,” she pause, “it’s maybe like an alcoholic giving up alcohol.”

“The thing is, I wanted it. That was big. I didn’t want the excuses. There are a lot of things in my life I can’t control, but what I chose to eat, I can. Nobody forces you to eat this stuff.”

She was made aware of that again last month. “Over the holidays, I ate cookies and sweet things. I was lethargic, had mood swings, went through highs and lows. I just didn’t feel me,” she says. She went cold turkey New Year’s Day. “After 3 or 4 days with no sugar I started feeling like myself again.”

Delano leads a radically different life than she did four and a half years and 100 pounds ago.

“Being a completely new me, I have a lot of things on my to-do list,” she says. “You know the book ‘100 Things to Do Before You Die?’ I’m speeding my way through that.

“I want to do it all.”

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