Local Boxer Tony Suggs Starts 2021 Swinging with New Exercise Class

The classes may be smaller and the boxers may be masked, but local boxer Tony Suggs keeps the hits coming through coronavirus with a new Boxercise class.

Suggs, a local boxing star, has launched a new boxing class to help locals stay fit and focused.

“It started virtually on my own, just to give back to the community, ” said Suggs. “That started going really well, so when we went back to work with the city I was telling my managers how I thought a program like this was working.”

Suggs said the program was seeing active participation from both parents and kids. Suggs started with virtual sessions last summer but the first in-person, 45-minute sessions for local teens and young adults started two weeks ago.

“45-Minute HIT & Cardio” is offered every Thursday from 6-7 p.m. at the Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe Street). The class is available through the city website as class 313616. Enrollment to the class is $39 for city residents or $64 for non-residents.

Because of COVID precautions, the program is only allowed to have nine participants currently, with some parents exercising alongside their kids. If conditions improve in Alexandria, Suggs said he hopes to gradually open the class up to more participants.

“It’s high intensity training, but it’s really catering to the audience,” Suggs said. “I ramp it up for the kids and tone it down for the parents. We do step work, speed ladder, burpees, ab work, push ups, punching bag and hit the hand mitts.”

Beyond the boxing program, Suggs said he’s spent the last few months helping to train T.C. Williams athletes while school sports aren’t meeting to practice. Suggs says training for boxing can help enhance coordination for any other type of sport.

“It’s shut down and they want to stay in shape,” Suggs said. “I have a couple guys I’ve been voluntarily training.”

Suggs said training with masks on and being distanced can be difficult for young athletes, but ultimately Suggs said it could be a boon to those who get used to training in these conditions.

“It’s hard on the kids sometime,” Suggs said, “but being a boxer — training in high altitudes like Colorado Springs — I know how important it is to have thin air. That makes you better in shape.”

The city website described the HIT and Cardio training class as:

Ages 12 & up. Join us for a workout thats geared to get the heart pumping. This 45 minute class will include exercises like boxing movements, jump rope combinations, and mixed aerobics with resistance trainings. This class is ideal for teens and young adults.

Photo via Tony Suggs/Facebook