Carl Greaves’ boxers change pace of workout with Julie Simpson at the Align and Revive Pilates studio, Newark

A group of Carl Greaves’ boxers had a change of pace in their latest workout — swapping the gym for a Pilates studio.

Julie Simpson, owner of Align and Revive Reformer Pilates Studio on Castlegate, invited her upstairs neighbours from Carl Greaves’ boxing gym to explore the benefits of a high-intensity and low-impact workout.

Julie said: “Pilates is good for sportspeople for posture, flexibility, and range of motion. It’s higher intensity without putting pressure on your joints, so it’s particularly beneficial for people with past injuries.

“Anybody can do it, any age and I’ve been trying to get boxers, rowers, the netball teams, all of them, along.

“It’s an extra bow in their training.”

The five boxers, alongside their trainer and manager Carl, were guided through a range of Pilates exercises after finishing their regular training session on Friday (February 21).

It included a warm up, movement to work the core, legs, and arms, followed by a stretching session, all on the reformers.

The exercises had a particular focus on posture and controlled movement.

Carl said: “It was good, really good — a lot harder than I expected. We worked everything really, core, arms, legs, it was an all-around good workout.

“Honestly with me doing it myself today, I really think it’s a good thing to put in as part of the training.”

Boxer Connor Meanwell added: “It’s quite difficult to be honest — obviously we’ve just finished a training session but it has it’s benefits.

“It’s definitely something we could include in professional boxing.”