What to Expect From Your First Rumble Boxing Class

Fitness is such a big part of so many people’s daily routines. But once you have kids, your routine changes — and that’s where problems can arise. Finding the time and motivation can be taxing and that’s where workout challenges, like the Rumble Boxing Blueprint — which I recently participated in — can be beneficial.

This particular challenge offered set packages of classes (12,16, and 20) at various rates. Participants then had the option to book as many classes as they would like from their package, up to two weeks in advance. Online booking and cancellation added to the ease of this process.

There were also a large variety of class time options which helped accommodate many different schedules. In Chicago, travel time to a workout and parking accessibility are two additional important factors. Rumble Boxing studio is located in the Gold Coast neighborhood, about a half block from Lake Shore Drive, making it relatively accessible. There are also ample “Pay to Park” street parking options on the surrounding blocks of the studio. 

Keep reading for the best tips I picked up from this challenge to help you rock your first Rumble boxing class.

rumble boxing

Your guide to your first Rumble Boxing class

Before class

When you walk up to Rumble and enter the two sets of doors, you’ll find yourself in a cool, modern, street-aesthetic main lobby area. The color scheme is black and white with pops of red. You’ll walk over to the front desk and check-in for your class by providing your last name. The front desk team member will confirm your reserved spot which will be a number and either “B” for bag or “F” for floor. This indicates which side of the room you start on at the beginning of class.

Out of the 11 total classes I attended, only one of them was so full that there were participants on both sides of the room at the start of class. That was a weekend class taught by the studio manager Cam (arguably one of the most popular trainers). Usually, the class size is small enough that everyone starts on one side of the room — the bags side. 

After your spot is confirmed (I was always 13B), the front desk team member will ask if you need gloves and wraps. Another benefit of the challenge was the ability to rent free boxing gloves for each class. At your first class, you will need to buy hand wraps if you don’t own a pair already. These you get to keep forever.

From there, I always went downstairs to the women’s locker room — both men’s and women’s locker rooms are located downstairs with additional lockers and a water fountain on the second floor outside of the studio entrance. You can lock up your items in a number code locker and take your gloves, wraps, and water bottle with you. I always brought my reusable water bottle from home and filled it at the dispenser downstairs right outside the locker rooms. 

There’s benched bleacher seating right by the door to the studio entrance where you can sit and hang out before class starts. I’d recommend grabbing a towel from the shelves across from the studio door because I broke a sweat in every class! At this point, if you’re completely new to boxing you’re fidgeting with your wraps trying to figure them out and get them on. Not only was that my experience but I also witnessed several other first-timers have the exact same ordeal throughout my weeks of attending classes. I even helped a few people get it figured out! 

During class

Once your wraps are on, you’re now just waiting patiently for class to begin. You’ll hear the instructor’s voice over the speaker system and see the studio door open cueing you to come on in. The first half of the studio is the floor side, and each numbered spot has a bench, weights, and brass knuckles. The second half of the studio is the bags side. Each numbered spot has a punching bag with a black circle underneath. Usually, this is the spot where you’d set down all your belongings, but in some classes I’ve attended they have you lie down under the bag and do sit-ups/bag touches. If the latter is the case, you can just slide your items to the side. 

As I mentioned before, in each class I attended I started on the bags side, then floor, then bags, ending on the floor side. The room is dark and there’s a cool black light effect with occasional strobe-type lights. The instructor is on an elevated platform and it very much gives DJ booth vibes. Depending on the instructor they may hop down to float around the class a bit but primarily they coach, demo, and DJ from there and provide positive feedback when they notice participants putting forth a strong effort. 

After class

By the end of class if you’re anything like me the workout plus the killer playlists will have wiped you out! Luckily, there’s a cool down stretch at the very end of the workout which I loved. You then grab everything you entered with, fist-bump the instructor on your way out, drop your towel in the laundry bin, and drop your rented gloves in the gloves return bin.

You can grab your belongings from your locker and head out or if you have something to do after the workout, you can shower and get dressed in the locker rooms downstairs. They even have Rumble plastic bags which you can use to store your sweaty clothes in. I almost always had something right after my morning workouts so I took advantage of the locker room amenities and got fully dressed for the day. This was really helpful for me because I didn’t have to run home to get ready and then head back out for the day. 

The bottom line on the Rumble Boxing challenge

Although I only made it to 11 out of my 12 class package, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and the classes. Being a solo parent, it can be challenging to set aside time for working out and for wellness — but it’s very necessary and always worth it!

Photo courtesy of Rumble Boxing

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About Kensli Diggs

Kensli Diggs is a mom of 2, raised on the southside of Chicago. She has an MBA in Hospitality with years of experience in the industry from working in casinos, to operations in hospitality interior design, to events. Some of her favorite things include cold pressed juice, journaling, and completely changing up her look every month or so. Yoga is her preferred form of fitness and she’s recently incorporated sound baths into her meditation practice. She is most passionate about reducing food waste, building friendships, and learning new things. When she’s not working out or mom-ing, you can find her listening to a good audiobook.