If boxing, MMA, or Muay Thai is your thing, you might want to check out Fight League, a gym devoted solely to combat sports training.
Looking for a unique workout or fitness regimen while also learning self-defense? Combat sports training might just be the thing for you. And Fight League, a new fitness center in Pasig, is a good place to start.
Fight League is the brainchild of Atty. Nilo Divina, managing partner of the Divina Law firm, who set it up as a gift to his son.
“This is for my son and all boxing enthusiasts and those who simply want to make boxing as part of their fitness regimen,” Atty. Divina told The GAME. “We have premium facilities. It’s not just a boxing gym but a movement for fitness.”
The gym is equipped with a regulation-size boxing ring, four punching bags, three speed balls, and a functional fitness area. Most of the equipment was provided by 360 Fit Teams of The GAME contributor Chappy Callanta.
“We wanted to pair a boxing and fighting environment with a functional fitness area,” Chappy said in explaining the layout. “That’s why we got a functional fitness gym with a lift area. So, we have dumbbells, we have racks, and we have specialized treadmills that are only seen here, actually, in fighting.
“We have a treadmill that goes 30 degrees. It’s the only treadmill that can go 30 degrees. You’re inclined. You can only see that here. And then the other one is a runner, so it goes up to 25 miles per hour. So, really, you can sprint on the treadmill. And then there’s a stair climber, and of course, your rower and your other equipment as well. And of course, we also have free weights.”
Training in combat sports, Chappy says, offers a unique experience not available in traditional gym workouts.
“The unique thing about being in a fighting environment, or let’s say an MMA fight or MMA training, is that it’s the intensity that it creates in terms of your heart rate, your breathing rate,” Chappy says. “So, when you are in a defensive position or in a defensive environment, then everything is hyper, on a hyper level. So, your defenses are up, your intensity is high, so your heart rate is elevated as well.
“So, when it comes to the fitness aspect of it, in that environment, it’s an intense exercise activity.”
Fight League isn’t just for seasoned martial arts practitioners looking to let off some steam in one-on-one sessions. It’s also for those looking to get started in combat sports.
“Muay Thai, striking, of course, boxing, mixed martial arts. Grappling, jiu-jitsu, things like that,” Chappy says. “And there are group classes as well, for MMA, Pilates, kettlebell classes, cardio strength classes. So, it’s not just boxing or fighting. It’s really a whole fitness experience.”
Down the road, Fight League will also host amateur boxing matches.
“We have the best coaches in town,” Atty. Divina says. “We promise to give our members the best of the best. Not just for facilities but also for coaches and training sessions.”
Atty. Divina already has a captured market: the over one hundred employees of his law firm.
“All the lawyers of the firm have agreed to sign up as members, and we’re talking about 137 members right away,” he says with a smile. “And of course, the friends of my friends likewise have expressed interest to sign up. So I’m sure we’ll see many members of this gym.”
If this flagship branch of Fight League takes off, Atty. Divina will definitely look into expansion.
“So if this clicks, and hopefully it will, so we hope to replicate this in Makati, BGC, and other major cities in Metro Manila.”