Boxing has seen a huge boom in popularity in the past 12 months, and now it appears it may have even surpassed yoga as the fitness class of choice.
Online sportswear platform Fashercise has seen a 130% increase in sales of boxing gloves compared to last year, while the term "boxing" has officially become the most searched term on the site, overtaking yoga as the most sought after activity for 2017.
© Photo: InstagramModels including Adriana Lima have help to boost the popularity of boxing
It's not surprising that more and more women have been inspired to take up boxing after seeing models including Gigi Hadid, Adriana Lima and Jourdan Dunn show off the impressive results from their own boxing workouts.
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Gigi also hailed her boxing routine for helping her to fight off prankster Vitali Sediuk, who grabbed her and lifted her up into the air when she was leaving a show at Milan Fashion Week in September. Urging other women to take up the sport, she told Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter: "I do have that fighter in me… practicing self-defence is important so that when you're in the moment, reacting from muscle memory comes more naturally to you than freezing up."
© Photo: InstagramBoxing has overtaken yoga in popularity on sportswear site Fashercise
Boxing workouts have also become increasingly accessible thanks to studios such as London's KOBOX, which offers a number of high intensity boxing classes.
British model Jourdan is a regular at the popular fitness studios, where her brother Antoine is a personal trainer and instructor.
"I know a lot of women who think, 'Oh I could never do that, I'm not strong enough,' or, 'I don't hit things,' but I'm telling you that after your first session you will be hooked," Antoine told HELLO! "I first started boxing as a part of my own routine when I was working in New York at a gym called Gotham and I noticed that more women were boxing than men, not only for cardio, but to give them the upper-body strength and definition they wanted and to beat stress. Think about it, punching a bag is a great way to relieve stress and tension."
