Hot Work Out

This past Saturday, I decided it was high time that I add a third boxing workout to my week. My first option was to pay for a stand-alone boxing class (without having to sign up for full membership) at the martial arts school I used to attend. I had been promising the boxing coach over there for a few years now that I would eventually return. The cost is rather steep for only about a month and a half of classes, unfortunately, and I can't really swing paying that kind of money on a regular basis. Instead, I opted to go to JABB, a professional gym that has been open for about over a year. JABB was featured in The Ring magazine several months ago. It's a clean, open space on the northwest side of the city, several miles from the downtown area. It's a bit easier to get to on public transportation that Windy City Gym. A day pass to workout costs $5.00.

Despite all of the ceiling fans being on that day, it was very hot inside the gym. I got in a two-hour workout before becoming too tired to continue. Samantha was there with her father, training in a small ring on the other side of the room. She and I were the only females there.

The first thing I noticed was that I had to modify my workout slightly. There are no step risers there, so I didn't do that. I finally found a speed bag that wasn't very high, but it was still not low enough to be completely comfortable for me to work with. Unlike the one at Loyola's gym, I could have lowered it, but I didn't want to take the chance of accidently damaging it. They also had a Cobra bag, which Loyola doesn't have, and I went a few rounds on that. Over in a corner were two LifeFitness walking machines. I hadn't been on one of those for a long time, so I choose the "cardio" setting, and walked for 15 minutes. An uppercut bag had been mounted to the wall in a good position for me to get underneath it and run drills.

The shower was cold after that long sweaty workout, but welcomed in contrast to the stuffiness of the air in the gym. I will return again next Saturday, but I'll have to get there early: there were signs posted stating that JABB will be closed at 2:00 PM on Saturdays beginning this weekend.