Where: Equinox, 897 Broadway, New York, NY

...RIGHT HERE IS WHERE YOU START PAYING... IN SWEAT.

Angel Alicea's Bo-Hi-Do class will make you sweat. Big time. Not just because it is a hard class, but also because it's conducted in a small boxing studio, with about 7 punching bags hanging from the ceiling - and minimal A/C. I usually can't stand A/C failure, but this one I didn't mind at all... it was just the right amount of heat, sweat, aggression and sex appeal.

Click here to check out Angel's RYB profile, and write your own review of his class.

On Angel:

Angel is a very handsome guy. Tall, just the right amount of muscle, handsome face, pretty smile. In such a small studio, he has no problem dominating the class, getting people's attention and riding our asses. He is mostly serious, and walks around between us and checks our form, performance and our combination memorizing skills, but there is something impersonal about him. I'm not saying that he doesn't care, but I wouldn't necessarily come to him for advice after class.

The class structure:

• First ~ 10 minutes is the warm up: consists of abs and some light cardio exercises such as squats, running in place or mountain climbers.
• For the next ~ 10 minutes, we walk through the combination we are about to perform on the bags. This is done without music. Angel breaks down the combination into a few parts, which we practice and add on to for a minute or two.
• 20 minutes into the class we get to the real work. Divided into 2 groups, some take the bags and start practicing the first part of the combination, and the rest do high repetition drills on the floor. Jump thrusts and jump squats, yoga pushups, etc. We switch every 2 minutes or so. The bags are super heavy and you become breathless very quickly just from the punching. The drills add to the increasingly humid atmosphere and soon you're dripping. 
• Last 5 minutes or so we split into couples: each couple takes a bag and punches quickly on each side, alternating between face and body level.
• the class is over after 45 minutes, but is followed by a 15 minutes ab class and stretch if you care to stay.

The crowd:

This was a small class with mostly young participants. I counted 11 people, 6 of which were boys. Yay! Always so excited when they show up. Can’t tell if there are many regulars, Angel didn't call out anyone in particular.

The music:

Music? What music? Was there any?

For the warm up and main work there was music, nothing special if I recall correctly, but to be honest, you’re so focused on the combination and the drills that you really pay no attention. At least I didn’t. And the class is not relying on music. You move at a fast pace but it's in no way rhythmic.

A few other comments:

• If you have your own boxing gloves, bring them. The gloves in that room were rather huge, and definitely gross. I also didn't see any plastic gloves that are usually supplied in such classes for the benefit of those who don't have wraps. Equinox, I know you can do better.
• I felt there was some redundancy in the introduction of the combination to the class. If Angel goes through the relevant part of the combination before each group takes its turn on the bags anyway, not sure such a lengthy introduction is necessary.

Altogether

A good hard workout that'll leave you feeling like a champ.

From the Equinox website: Angel Alicea, a New Jersey native, started his athletic career at the age of 7 with martial arts, which lead him to participate in basketball, baseball, football, wrestling, cross country running and collegiate division 1 track and field. He continues to hold two records in the Pentathlon for Seton Hall University. Angel believes there has to be a balance between the mental and the physical. "To be successful in anything, one must acquire motivation and attain education!"

Find out more about Equinox at www.equinox.com

Find Angel on facebook 

Read more about Angel on New York Post  and on Examiner website

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