Work Off That Thanksgiving Turkey With a Free Trial Class From Tarzana Boxing

Tarzana Boxing and Fitness is celebrating Thanksgiving by offering a free trial class to help locals burn off those turkey dinner and pumpkin pie calories. Click here to visit the fitness center's website and sign up for a session.

And there's another special deal that's exclusive to Patch readers: Anyone who mentions Patch and signs up for a membership in November will get December free as a holiday gift from Tarzana Boxing and Fitness.

Barbara Forsey, who started Tarzana Boxing with her husband over seven years ago, said that people often wait until January 1 and their new years' resolutions to start a new exercise regime.

"Why wait until the first of the year," said Forsey. "Don't wait until January, beat the crowds!"

Tarzana Boxing offers fitness, boxing and kick boxing classes for adults, tweens, and even children under 12.

"Instead of just exercising their thumbs they actually break a sweat," said Forsey, "it helps combat an increasing obesity problem in children."

Children over the age of 12 can join in the adult classes, and there is also a special class just for tweens, run by trainers Karen Hunt and Duane Bell.

In the adult classes, the exercise is designed to produce some serious results.

"You burn 800-1000 calories an hour in an adult class" said Forsey. "It starts with a warm up and stretching, there are rounds to the bag and then a cool down."

Members can also take Muay Thai classes. Muay Thai is a form of kick boxing from Thailand that uses elbows and knees, as well as Mixed Martial Art (MAA) classes with instructor Thor Skancke.

Forsey said that as she is not a boxer herself, inspiration to start the fitness center initially came from her husband, who did some amateur boxing as a youth.

Despite the general tough economic times, Forsey said that the business has expanded, both physically (the space is much larger than seven years ago) and in terms of membership.

"The bulk of our membership comes from within a ten-mile radius of our gym, and new members hear about us through word of mouth," said Forsey.

Tarzana Boxing also likes to give back to the community and to special causes, said Forsey, like Penny Lane, which helps children's social services in Southern California.

"We also sponsor amateur fighters," said Forsey. "To me they're my little boys."

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