How this boxing studio coming to Columbus will bring a ‘boutique’ feel to workouts

When Rumble Boxing sales associate Alexis Hinton first took one of the franchise’s classes, she didn’t feel like she was engaged in an intense workout session.

It felt more like having fun dancing and boxing with friends.

The lights and music created an atmosphere that felt more like a dance club than a boxing gym.

It is this energetic workout experience that local health and wellness company HWH Lifestyles Inc. wants to bring to Midcity Yards later this year.

Rumble Boxing is a boutique boxing concept that began in New York City in 2017. The studio is small and quaint, said Brooke Wesley, director of operations, which gives it a more “boutique” experience.

“It’s not like a big box gym that you walk into and you scan your key card,” she said. “...It’s building those relationships and communities.”

Small classes and beginner-friendly

Classes will be a little larger than they are at the company’s other upcoming boutique studio, Club Pilates, which will be opening soon at Highside Market. Rumble Boxing classes will have between 24 and 48 people.

“You get to know the other individuals in the class,” Wesley said. “And you really get to know your instructor a lot, too.”

The small class sizes allow trainers to provide one-on-one time with participants during the workout, said Adam Garrett, director of finance.

Rumble Boxing workouts are 45 minutes long and divided between two styles of training, according to the franchise’s website. Half the class focuses on boxing skills and drills, and the balance focuses on resistance training.

Depending on the class size, participants will split into two groups, Garrett said. Half of the class would be on the bags boxing and the other half would be doing bench presses and free weights. Then the groups will switch halfway through the workout.

Beginners will be able to do the Rumble Boxing workout, Garrett said. Before classes begin, instructors will demonstrate how to do the punches, Hinton said.

“They show you your stance,” she said. “They show you how you should be hitting the bag. And then you kind of get into the workout a little slower.”

A social event

Rumble Boxing classes will run from 6 a.m. to about 7 or 8 p.m. on Mondays through Thursday, Wesley said. The hours will be shorter on the weekends and end between 3-5 p.m.

The studio is expected to open in November, she said.

HWH Lifestyles is opening both Club Pilates and Rumble Boxing in The Cotton Companies’ developments, Highside Market and Midcity Yards respectively, because of the developers’ family-oriented mindset, Wesley said.

“They care about their tenants,” she said. “They care about Columbus. They care about their clients and customers, and they want to bring them the absolute best.”

Visiting Midcity Yards could be a social event, Garrett said.

“I feel like it’s going to be a really neat thing for people to add to their list of things to do each week, for sure,” he said.