Fists of fury at new Shoreline fitness clinic

If you’re looking for a change of pace or thinking about stepping up the intensity of your workout, a new gym opening in Shoreline has just one dominant piece of equipment and a singular focus: kickboxing.

The new business is located next to the Subway sandwich store in a strip mall near Aurora Avenue, the newest CKO Kickboxing Fitness franchise. It’s like no other gym. There is no cardio equipment, no swimming pool, no basketball court or running track, and just one weight bench in the back corner.

Garett Renon has hung 69 heavy bags from the ceiling, each weighing 125 pounds. They’re the style boxers use for training and swing from chains.

Renon is a triathlete who used to work for the Defense Department.

“We were doing weapons effect testing, which sounds much cooler than it really is and I basically hated every minute of it,” he said. “I was definitely not a 9-to-5 office type person.” So he jumped at the chance to open a kickboxing training studio. Renon says he runs boot camp style classes, but don’t get the wrong idea.

“We shout instructions at you, it’s an instructor led class, but it’s not the boot camp in the sense of the military where we’re getting in your face and screaming at you and calling you a maggot,” he said.

Renon promises the most bang for your fitness buck in an hour.

“When you’re in here and there’s 40-plus people and the music’s playing and the bags are being hit and the chains are swinging, the energy level just goes through the roof and that’s motivation unto itself and you will find yourself pushing yourself much harder than you ever could.”

Kickboxing has its roots in the martial arts, such as karate and has developed into a competitive sport. But remove the competition and you’re left with a form of exercise that’s hard to beat for its intensity and full body conditioning. Participants punch, pivot and kick their way to weight loss and strength.

Other gyms and fitness clubs also offer kickboxing classes but studios dedicated to just kickboxing fitness are not common. CKO Kickboxing has more than two dozen franchise studios in New York and New Jersey. This is the second on the west cost, including a franchise in San Francisco. Renon charges $99 a month for a membership.

This is not a fight club. There’s no contact among the clients and Renon is not keen on hiring competitive kickboxers as instructors.

“Our clientele is about 60 percent women and they don’t necessarily care about fighters, they just want to make sure they look good in their swimsuit,” said Renon.

The studio recently had a soft opening and Renon is teaching two classes a day with hopes of adding lunchtime and morning sessions.