For the past couple of decades, boxing training has come in two flavours: proper gyms where proper men properly hit each other; and fancy gyms where (mostly) women throw air punches with wrist weights. Many guys are understandably wary of rubbing sweaty shoulders with real fighters, but boxercise offers none of its visceral thrill.

But there’s now a third way: gyms that cater to men who want to learn how to fight, but don’t want to get hit in the face (at least, not yet). Their rise is in large part thanks to Anthony Joshua, the homegrown champion, who didn’t pick up gloves until he was 18. “It made guys think that they could do it too,” says Jamie Luis, who runs DW Fitness First’s new SPARR boxing classes. “And that it’s a way to look the way he does, too.”

Rightly so. The the boxer’s transformation, detailed in innumerable montages, is only achievable if you actually train like a boxer. “It’s about the explosive power and coordination of hitting something,” says Luis. Not that you need a butcher’s fridge or set of museum steps. Your gym’s probably already stocked with everything you need for a heavyweight workout.

The Benefits Of Boxing

Still Unconvinced? Here’s how boxing will punch up your normal routine.

Total-Body Muscle

Unlike your bench press PB, boxing is functional. “It’s great for total body strength and power as it uses the body from head to foot,” says James Trevorrow, who developed Virgin Active’s new Punch class. That means you’ll build that all-over muscle that makes boxers’ physiques so enviable. And feel the burn in muscles you never knew you had.

Burn Fat

Boxers fight for three minutes, then rest for one. “It’s high-intensity training,” says Luis. This spikes your metabolism for huge calorie burn while you’re training, then increased burn even when you’re out of the gym. You’ll knock out body fat even while you’re asleep.