Okay, truth be told, sometimes after getting up early in the morning or after a long day at work, the gym doesn’t seem that appealing. I’ll be honest, my senior year of high school I religiously went to the gym every day after class and one day on the weekend. I did my own workout routine and generally spent an hour to an hour and a half at the gym.

When I left for college, a very real freshman 15 happened. Well, in my case, freshman 12. I am in no way proud to share that with the world, but it adds a little push to this article. A little over one third of my freshman year semester went by and my mom decided to give 9Round Kickboxing a try. Immediately, she fell in love and told me that I needed to do it too.

As Christmas and spring break passed, I was too stuck in my ways and stubborn about trying a new gym. Finally, I decided to give it a try the summer after my freshman year of college. Before I dive into how amazing this gym is, I’ll tell you a little bit about the workout. The CEO, Shannon Hudson, explains it as ”three pieces to the fitness puzzle: aerobic activity, anaerobic activity, and resistance training.”

At 9Round, we utilize heavy bags, dumbbells, kettle bells, and body weight as main components to the workout. All of that activity and training is put into one challenging 30-minute workout!! Yes, only 30 minutes!! Obviously there are nine three-minute rounds, and between each round is a 30-second active rest period. Trust me, you will feel the burn and you will sweat like a dog.

One of the biggest things I want to point out about this gym, especially mine in Fort Mill, is that the trainers are BEYOND words. Not only do they help with explaining exercises, but they also motivate and encourage you to work as hard as you can. Do we love it when they make us do burpees? No. Do we do them anyways? Yes.

Now, lets bring it back to my home gym. My sweet, sweet mother was kind enough to share a little glimpse of what 9Round has done for her:

“I started 9Round kickboxing training overweight and out of shape, tired, somewhat depressed and full of 40-something woman's fog brain. With the help of Jordon "Deuce" Simmons, I pulled my crying, out of shape can off the floor and started to believe in myself. 2 years later I am 50 lbs lighter, have decent lean muscle, have an enviable resting heart and the best sweat therapy workout and trainers in the business.”

The summer after my freshman year of college, I worked my butt off getting to 9Round by six o’clock in the morning every day. With the help of Jordon, former owner and trainer, I lost all of my freshman 12 and then some. This gym gave me so much confidence back. We now are under a new owner who is rocking the house and making our gym better than ever.

My challenge to anyone who reads this is to try out a 9Round if you see one nearby, or any gym for that matter. Step out of your comfort zone. The only workout you will regret is the one you didn’t do.