Your first boxing class, minute by minute

Nervous about your first class? Here is exactly what happens, from the door to the stretch.

Walking into a boxing gym for the first time is the hardest part. After that, it’s mostly skipping.

Before the class

Arrive ten minutes early. Someone at the desk finds you gloves and a coach shows you how to wrap your hands. Wraps protect the small bones in your hand, so it’s worth getting them right.

The first half hour

A warm-up of skipping and shadow boxing, then your stance: feet shoulder width apart, lead foot forward, hands up by your chin. Then the jab, slowly, again and again.

The second half hour

Rounds on the bag, a coach on the pads and a short finisher. Nobody spars, nobody shouts at you, and everybody started exactly where you are.