Throw more than 1,000 punches in Knockout and work up a sweat with the former WWE wrestler turned fitness star.
There aren’t many 14-year-old girls who would slip into a boxing ring with zero fear, but Erika Hammond has never been like anyone else. From her very first boxing session as a middle schooler, she was hooked. “I remember it being the most fun workout,” she says. “At the time, I hated running and boxing was a fun way to do cardio and, oh my god, I just felt so powerful after.”
Eighteen years later, she’s still just as fired up about boxing and her passion has been the bedrock of her career as a trainer. After being part of the founding Rumble boxing team and a stint on WWE NXT Diva (where she didn’t box, but did plenty of wrestling), she’s created her own class at Equinox, Knockout, a total body workout that’s sure to get your heart pumping.
Punching Out Insecurity and Tapping Into Her Inner Confidence
Hammond is a sought-after trainer for both her intense workouts and her energetic spirit. To her, making people feel empowered and confident is a must for any class she teaches or session she leads. One reason that she says she’s so passionate about boxing is that this is exactly how it’s always made her feel. “Boxing makes me feel so freaking powerful,” she says.
While Hammond says she was pretty athletic growing up, she started prioritizing boxing early on, in her late teens, working with both personal trainers and boxing coaches. She says that teaching people how to box was one of her goals as soon as she realized she wanted to pursue fitness instructing as a career. As a co-founder of Rumble boxing, Hammond says she liked that the class was accessible to everyone—hitting a bag was less intimidating than stepping into a ring—and it’s the same pillar of accessibility that was important to her to bring to Equinox when creating Knockout.
The confidence boxing has given her isn’t something that stays inside the ring or studio; it spills over into every facet of her life—including when she was on WWE NXT Diva. “That was such a fun time in my life,” Hammond says. She explains that, originally, she auditioned to be a host on the show. But during the two week audition, the casting directors were quick to notice her athletic ability and persuaded her to be a wrestler on the show instead. “That job really helped me learn how to become an entertainer, which you do have to tap into a bit as a fitness instructor,” she says. “I tap into my energizer bunny alter ego when I’m instructing. I can be dead tired before class, but the moment I start teaching, it’s like a switch is turned on,” she says. Anyone who takes her latest class with attest to that being true.
Knockout: How It’s Structured and How You’ll Benefit
“Knockout is your one-stop shop for strength training and cardio,” Hammond says. She explains that the class is structured into six, six-minute rounds, with short breaks in between: three shadow boxing rounds with light weights, one round focused on upper body, one focused on lower body, and a final round that brings it all together. In the span of 45 minutes, Hammond says you can expect to throw more than 1,000 punches.
If you’ve been too intimidated to try a boxing class before, Knockout is a great one to start with because you don’t need wraps or gloves and you aren’t boxing against another person or hitting a bag. At the same time, clients who are no stranger to boxing workouts will be challenged too: Everyone will leave class sweaty and spent.
While many people are quick to recognize boxing’s upper strength benefits, Hammond emphasizes that the class is truly a full-body workout. “Your core is bracing you for every punch. “The power of each punch is being dragged up in your core and then transferred into your upper body,” Hammond says of how boxing engages the abdominal muscles. She also says that one of the six minute rounds is devoted to the lower body, including some fancy footwork of pivoting and stepping in and out.
Hammond’s favorite benefit of Knockout isn’t physical; it’s mental. Focusing on the punch sequences requires focus and concentration; it’s impossible to think about anything else at the same time, meaning that life’s stressors are left at the door. You can also expect to leave feeling pretty damn good about yourself. “Every minute on the minute, you have to throw 100 punches. It sounds crazy, but everyone is capable of doing it,” Hammond says. “People come in and think, ‘that’s crazy. How am I going to do it?’ Then they prove to themselves that they can conquer that challenge and it’s so empowering. You feel like you can go off and crush anything.”
Between the total body workout and the mental health benefits, Knockout is the full package. It’s one class that certainly lives up to its name, that’s for sure.