About BOX SMART
I would just like to take this opportunity to share my experience of the impact of sport in my life as a woman. I am a mother of 3 beautiful children. My ethnic origin is British Pakistani & I am a Muslim woman who chooses to wear the hijab.
I was a qualified lecturer teaching IT at College until 2007 when I fell pregnant with my second child and took maternity leave. I no longer wanted to teach & was looking for the missing part of my puzzle in life. The element that would satisfy my soul. I had always wanted to lose weight as I was 4 stones overweight, depressed, my confidence & self-esteem were non-existent & I was unhappy in life.
I hit 30 and thought wow life must change for me. I can't simply go on like this! Two years previously my brother bought me a cross trainer and it had sat gathering dust in my utility room! So I decided to give it a go. Slowly but surely I began to exercise daily & focused upon eating better.
I was a qualified lecturer teaching IT at College until 2007 when I fell pregnant with my second child and took maternity leave. I no longer wanted to teach & was looking for the missing part of my puzzle in life. The element that would satisfy my soul. I had always wanted to lose weight as I was 4 stones overweight, depressed, my confidence & self-esteem were non-existent & I was unhappy in life.
I hit 30 and thought wow life must change for me. I can't simply go on like this! Two years previously my brother bought me a cross trainer and it had sat gathering dust in my utility room! So I decided to give it a go. Slowly but surely I began to exercise daily & focused upon eating better.
Within two weeks I lost a stone! The impact exercise made upon my body and mind was phenomenal! I felt great I had so much energy, I felt happier & more positive. The physical changes were amazing! Clothes were looser & fat was melting away! My body shape was changing. I fell in love with my cross trainer and began doing HITT workouts & runs almost daily. I would wake up at 6am to fit them in around my children’s routine. But I was becoming bored of the same thing and wanted to try something new.
My brother suggested that I try boxing as he had trained for years and really loved it. I went with him to a training session & really enjoyed it. Even though it was a really tough session! I then decided to train 3 times a week at the Boxing Gym. As time passed my passion for boxing grew & fell in love with it. I lost 4 stone in weight, but what I gained was health, fitness, endurance, strength, confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, pride & independence.
My brother suggested that I try boxing as he had trained for years and really loved it. I went with him to a training session & really enjoyed it. Even though it was a really tough session! I then decided to train 3 times a week at the Boxing Gym. As time passed my passion for boxing grew & fell in love with it. I lost 4 stone in weight, but what I gained was health, fitness, endurance, strength, confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, pride & independence.
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I decided that I wanted to show other's how sport could empower & change their lives so I decided to train and become a Qualified England Boxing Coach!
I qualified in September and with my Boxing Coach we have set up a community group called Box Smart. Our initiative is to empower Women, Men & Children by using Boxing as a platform. In the short space of 6 months I am now running 3 Women's Box Fit classes a week, coaching on a one to one basis, offering nutritional support & plans to clients. I also Coach the Regional Women's Squad. We have 150 registered women on our database! |
As well as this in conjunction with Nottingham Forest Football Club I am delivering two Boxing Satellite Clubs and teaching Boxing to Year 7 & 8 children at a local comprehensive school.
My first women's class was funded through Sport England's Sportivate Funding. It was run at the Nottingham Women's Centre where I was once Chair but am still involved as a Volunteer. The Boxing was a huge success we had 30 women attending and had to turn away people as we had no room! It was an amazing experience and I still run a boxing class there each week. It's the most popular class out of the three that I do. |
It hasn't been an easy journey. I entered a predominantly male sport; people have laughed at me and have been shocked that I am a Boxing Coach. Being of Pakistani heritage I have had to break barriers and had to listen to ridiculous comments. My own family at first didn't understand why I wanted to become a Coach especially my parents. But now they support what I am doing. I wear the hijab too so I have been asked how I train with a scarf on my head, what do I wear, do I train with men there etc. I can tell you many stories about the hardships!
My Facebook page (Box Smart Nottingham) has a good following & I am working on conquering Twitter (@boxsmartnotts) now too!
I remember being on the cross trainer in my utility room thinking "I wish I could help people overcome their health & fitness goals!" My life has changed for the better & each day brings such amazing opportunities. I just want to show other Women who are in a negative place or doubt themselves that they too can achieve so much! Sport empowered me; it was the missing part of the puzzle that satisfied my soul.
My Facebook page (Box Smart Nottingham) has a good following & I am working on conquering Twitter (@boxsmartnotts) now too!
I remember being on the cross trainer in my utility room thinking "I wish I could help people overcome their health & fitness goals!" My life has changed for the better & each day brings such amazing opportunities. I just want to show other Women who are in a negative place or doubt themselves that they too can achieve so much! Sport empowered me; it was the missing part of the puzzle that satisfied my soul.
