Big Hit Studios is a new boxing gym that lets you take a swing at a B.O.B. (That stands for Body Opponent Bag, by the way.) Found on Sudbury St., just south of Queen, the studio offers a variety of fitness classes that provide each participant with his or her own B.O.B., which is essentially a fake dude for you to beat up.

It's a compact gym with the workout space in the centre, and change rooms equipped with showers at the back. The decor is simple and attractive, and the space is immaculate. It's neither boutique-gym elegant nor Crossfit gym industrial but somewhere in the middle.

If you think that boxing gyms are only for gorilla-sized men with cauliflower ears, you need to think again. Boxing offers serious fitness benefits for everyone. Punching doesn't just require arm strength; to generate force you need to throw your whole body into it. Kicking gets your heart rate up while strengthening the lower body and the core. Not only that, it's cathartic, empowering and really fun.

A mid-week, midday class brought a half-dozen of us in for a sweat session. The studio provides you with boxing gloves to wear during class. While I've done my fair share of martial arts and boxercise-type workouts, I had never used a B.O.B. Admittedly, they look a bit creepy at first, but their benefits are immediately obvious. It's one thing to jab, cross, hook or kick air; it's another thing to be smacking something with weight and resistance.

Our tough-as-nails instructor, Karina, put us through a killer workout involving punching and kicking sequences, way too many squats and lunges, burpees, blanks and core exercises that got everyone sweating buckets. If you like a challenge but want a change from the treadmill, you have got to try this. It's the most fun you can have while getting your butt kicked. If you just can't wrap your head around becoming a boxer, you can check out their boxing/yoga hybrid or boxing/Zumba hybrid classes.

A single session will cost you $20, while five sessions is $95 and 10 sessions will run you $180. A package of 20 sessions is $340. You can also buy 1-month unlimited class packages for $139 or open studio space to play with B.O.B. outside of class time for $100.

Photos by Jesse Milns.