Your First Boxing Class: What to Expect and Bring

For your first boxing class all you need is comfortable sportswear, shoes with a clean sole, water and a towel — you do not have to buy any boxing kit yet. Sessions last 1.5 hours, they start with a warm-up and finish with stretching; nobody is going to send you into a sparring bout and nobody is going to judge your fitness. At BKS Rocky Szczecin your first session is free, so you can come along, get a feel for the atmosphere and only then decide about a pass.

What to bring to your first boxing class — the list

Pack your bag the night before so you don't have to think in the morning. The bare minimum is:

• A T-shirt — a cotton tee or a technical top (it handles sweat better).
• Shorts or leggings/training trousers — anything that lets you lunge and slip freely.
• Trainers with a clean, light-coloured sole — not the ones you walked in off the street in.
• Socks — a spare pair never hurts.
• A 0.5–1 l water bottle — over 90 minutes of work you'll drink more than you expect.
• A small towel — you'll be sweating by the end of the warm-up.
• Shower things — flip-flops, towel, soap.
• Deodorant — you train close to other people, it's just basic gym manners.

Optional items, if you already own them: hand wraps, gloves, a mouthguard. If you don't have them — don't buy anything before your first session. First check whether boxing is for you.

What not to bring: a watch, rings, earrings and chains. Jewellery gets in the way during partner work and is easy to snag. Leave it in the changing room.

What to wear and which shoes for your first session

Boxing doesn't call for any special outfit. The rule is simple: your clothes shouldn't restrict your movement or slide around when you lift your hands into a guard. Shorts or leggings plus a T-shirt — that's it.

With shoes, grip and low weight are what matter. Good options:

• lightweight running or training shoes with a flat sole,
• indoor court shoes with a light, non-marking sole,
• proper boxing boots — useful, but only once you decide to stick around.

Avoid heavy road-running shoes with thick, soft cushioning in the heel. They make it harder to pivot on the ball of your foot and to move your feet. A very high ankle collar doesn't help either — you need to feel the floor.

Tie long hair back and trim your nails. Small details, but they make a difference on the pads and in partner work.

Do you need your own gloves and wraps?

To start with — no. Your first session is mostly a warm-up, learning your stance, footwork and the first punches thrown into the air or lightly onto the pads. Buy kit once you know you'll be coming regularly. Before your trial session just ask when you book what you should get ready — we'll give you a straight answer, you'll find contact details and directions here.

When you do decide to buy your own kit, the usual order goes like this:

1. Hand wraps (most often 3.5–4.5 m) — they protect your wrist and knuckles, they're the cheapest and the most important.
2. Training gloves — for adults usually 12–16 oz, depending on your body weight and how much pad work you do versus bag work.
3. A mouthguard — needed once partner work with contact comes in.
4. A headguard and a groin guard — only at the sparring stage.

The best time to talk glove sizing through with a coach is after two or three sessions. By then it's clear what kind of work suits you, and you won't waste money on kit that sits in the cupboard.

What your first boxing class looks like, step by step

A session at the club lasts 1.5 hours. The order and the proportions change depending on the group and the day, but the pattern repeats:

Stage	Usual length	What you do
Warm-up	15–20 min	Skipping, running on the spot, arm circles, shoulder and hip mobility
Learning the stance and footwork	10–15 min	Boxing stance, guard, steps forwards, backwards and sideways
Punching technique	20–25 min	The straight punch, the double, work in front of the mirror, corrections from the coach
Equipment work	20–25 min	Bags, pads, partner drills with no contact to the head
Conditioning and core	10 min	Circuit exercises, abs, planks
Stretching and wrap-up	5–10 min	Cooling down, questions for the coach

Turn up 10–15 minutes before the session starts. You'll have time to change without rushing, tell the coach it's your first time, and mention any injuries or limitations. That matters — the coach will pick a version of each exercise that works for you.

The most common surprise? The warm-up is harder than people expect, and the technique work is slower. Boxing is learned through repetition, not through strength. If you run out of breath after a few minutes, take a break, have some water and come back. Nobody will comment on it.

What you don't need to worry about: there's no sparring in your first session

This is the number one fear among people signing up for boxing: "I'll get hit in the head on day one." You won't. At a boxing club, sparring is a stage you work up to — after you've got your stance, defence and control over the power of your punches. You go into sparring in a headguard and a mouthguard, at a pace set by the coach, with a partner at a similar level.

The second worry is fitness. "I'm too unfit, I'll go running for three months first." There's no need. The group sessions are for beginners and experienced boxers alike, and the coach adjusts the exercises to your level. Train at your own pace and build your technique gradually — fitness comes along the way, not beforehand.

The third one is age. In the boxing gym you'll meet people in their twenties alongside people in their forties. The coaches at Rocky Team have competitive backgrounds — a Master of Sport of Ukraine and a bronze medallist of the European Championships, medallists of the Polish Championships, a professional boxer and a strength and conditioning coach. They know how to match the workload to the person in front of them, not to some idea of boxing from the movies.

After the session: sore muscles, recovery and coming back

A day or two after your first session you may ache — most often in the shoulders, abs and calves. That's a normal muscle response to a new stimulus and it usually passes within 2–4 days. Gentle movement, hydration, sleep and a decent meal with some protein all help. If the pain is sharp, in one specific spot or in a joint, take a break and see a doctor.

A good rhythm to start with is two sessions a week, with a rest day in between. After a few weeks you can add a third. Consistency beats intensity: two steady sessions a week will do more for you than one exhausting one every fortnight.

When to come along

Sessions run six days a week at ul. Jagiellońska 67 in central Szczecin. Adults train on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 18:30 and 20:00, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 19:00. If you prefer training in the morning, there's an open group on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30, plus strength and conditioning on Saturday at 11:00. You can check the full training timetable on the website. Children and juniors have their own times — we've described them in the article on boxing for children in Szczecin.

What it costs if you stay

The first session is free. After that you choose: a single session for 40 zł, an 8-entry pass for 221 zł, 12 entries for 269 zł, 16 entries for 299 zł or OPEN for 319 zł (passes are valid for 30 days). There's also a family pass priced per person and self-guided training for 20 zł. You'll find the details in the pass price list.

Pack your bag, pick a time from the timetable and come and see how it works — book a trial session, the first one is free.