I have to say that I’ve always been interested in boxing. I used to watch it a lot on TV and in the early 2000s, Sylvester Stallone had a reality show, The Contender, that I loved. I also wanted a punching bag that I could hang somewhere in my house (that’s the part I could never figure out) and pound out my frustrations whenever I needed to. That’s another story.

So, I took up the challenge of my girlfriend, Debbie, and decided to sign up for a local boxing class, which meets twice a week in the evenings for the last month, at a local recreation center. I’m still attempting to retain the full mobility of my right shoulder after shoulder surgery last December. I thought that it might help, unless I wound up jacking both it and my left shoulder up as a result. Keeping that in the back of my mind, I met my boxing trainer (that’s him, to the right, in the blue T-shirt), and threw myself wholeheartedly into my new pursuit.

Warming up, learning how to stand and protect my face, along with building up my strength and endurance are some of the things I’ve learned during my sessions at the rec center. I’m pretty sure that I’m older than the other three ladies in my class, as well as my trainer, so it made me feel good when he remarked on how I have improved since I began the sessions.

Although I have had some issues with both of my ankles, I have really enjoyed the experience. If I can rectify the ankle issue, I may continue using boxing as a form of exercise. But for those of you who talk yourselves out of trying things that take you out of your comfort zone, unless it is something death-defying, like running with the bulls, I implore you to try whatever it is at least once. You’ll be rewarded with a sense of accomplishment and even if you don’t succeed, I’m sure that you’ll feel good knowing that you tried.