New Business: Giving Your Paunch a One-Two Punch

It's not too many gyms that feature 61 "heavy bags" designed to take a beating during a one-hour workout, but Title Boxing Club owners Lori and Steve Anacker say that's the idea.

"There's not another facility in Wisconsin like this, with the heavy bags and the workout focused on power, strength, agility and increased cardio workout. It's not intimidating, but really explosive and empowering — women really love it because it gives them a sense of power," Lori explained.

The club is located at 17115 W. Bluemound Road at the corner of Calhoun and Bluemound. Similar to 9Round Boxing, which incorporates a boxing workout, Title Boxing Club differentiates itself by featuring trainer-led classes versus the circuit training workouts at 9Round.

Lined up like leather soldiers, the heavy bags are the center of class workouts, called "Power Hours," and Lori's son Matt, who is the gym's general manager, said participants are often caught smiling as they take swings during their workout.

"It's a stress reliever, to be sure, but as they're being led through the class, we're also making sure they are keeping the proper form, using basic boxing fundamentals," Matt explained. Although as many as 60 people can take a class together, they are overseen by trained instructors to make sure they're in the proper stance.

Equipment is available, like wrist and hand wraps and boxing gloves, either as loaners or to purchase, to futher put you in the boxer mindset. The one-hour workout begins with a warmup for the muscles that will be most involved, like the shoulders and abdomen. Then eight, three-minute "rounds" on the bags interspersed with one minute rest periods take you to a final cool down.

"It's a fast hour for most people, mainly because they're enjoying themselves," Matt said.

Ironically, boxing isn't Lori's favorite sport, in fact Matt said she's opposed to it.

"We want to stress we aren't a fight gym, we don't teach people to box," she said. However, the workout mirrors the conditioning that boxers undergo, and it was a key reason the Anackers decided upon the franchise.

"My husband and I had been looking at various franchises, and we weren't really driven by anything we had seen. And even when we were introduced to Title, I was hesitant," Lori explained. "However I was intrigued by the club, and visited a few that were in the stages of early operation in the Chicago area. We took a 'Power Hour,' and we were sold."

She called the demographics in Brookfield "perfect for our first club," and said that the family-owned gym will soon include locations in or near Menomonee Falls and somewhere in the Delafield area.

The gym is in its first week of opening, and anyone can stop in and try a "Power Hour" for free before signing up. For more information, call 262-395-4311, visit the club's website, titleboxingclub.com, or their Facebook page.