If you talk to any member of a club sport here on campus, you’ll get a sense for the commitment and dedication it takes to be an active member. This week, the Campus Times sat down with members of the UR Boxing Club—a new club that’s taken off quickly since its inception in 2012.
Diversity makes for a great team dynamic, President Marc Halbritter said. “We have a lot of people from different majors, different walks of life, and different experience levels. We all come together for a good workout and some sparring.”
There’s an emphasis on teaching and technique at UR Boxing, whether it’s in workouts or while sparring. It’s a point of interest to bring together like-minded athletes, regardless of their varied experiences and backgrounds.
“We have some members that show up on campus that are just looking for a good workout,” Halbritter said. “We have members that only go off campus for training and sparring, and others that go to every single event we have. They’re all valuable members to us.”
Callum Breene, a member since last spring, spoke to the off-campus logistics of the workouts.”We’re not allowed to spar on campus, which sometimes throws a wrench in our training,” he said. “Luckily, we are able to train at Roc Boxing on Saturdays, a local gym in the City of Rochester.”
In terms of the structure of the workouts, Business Manager Ben Gleed provided some insight. The workouts focus on cardio and technique, as those are two of the most important aspects of boxing as a sport.
“Typically, workouts are broken up into conditioning and technique drills,” he said. “We try to incorporate both into every workout, but we focus on one or the other on a given week. We do that to accommodate people that can only come to one workout a week.”
One workout might look something like:
First half:
Warmup: Five minutes of jumping rope and stretches
Three sets of each:
Pushups for 90 seconds
Jump squats for 90 seconds
Arm circles for 90 seconds
Burpees for 90 seconds
Water, rest
Four-minute stations:
Station 1: Heavy bag work
Station 2: Pad and glove drills
Station 3: Weighted shadow boxing
Station 4: Jab-step drills
These workouts benefit fitness enthusiasts and dedicated boxers alike. Publicity Manager Angel Carasquillo encourages any interested members to check out on-campus workouts from 7:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Leibner Cooper Room of the Goergen Athletic Center.
