- I've been
boxing for six years, and this is the first time it's felt like foreplay to me. - After a couple of dates, I invited my partner to box together, and there was no turning back.
"I love how sweaty you guys get," our personal trainer said, grinning.
My partner and I had just finished a boxing session, and it's fair to say we were dripping. We glanced up from wiping the sweat-streaked mats and caught each other's eye. I smiled and thought to myself, "So do I."
We both knew we'd be skipping the shower when we got home. It would be the bed, then shower, then bed again. Our weekly workouts had become a part of our
Boxing was what got us falling into bed in the first place. Aside from the rush of exercise-induced hormones, there's the confidence that comes from knowing you can throw a punch. Unlike other high-intensity interval training, there's something animalistic about it.
This is the first time boxing has turned sexual for me
If you had said to me three months ago that I would be getting turned on by boxing, I might have done my best no-judgment face and moved on. It's been six years since I started boxing, and not once had I felt the urge to jump anyone in the ring - not in that way. Boxing was for venting anger and building muscle.
Sure, there was a certain aesthetic appeal in how cool the hand wraps made me look. And nailing a combo made me feel good. Maybe that's why, after a couple of dates, I invited my now-partner to try out a heavy bag class with me. Up to that point, our relationship had been flirty but nonphysical. By the end of the class, something had shifted.
Whether it was the endorphins, the vulnerability in seeing each other sweat, or the intimacy of being in the same room without needing to talk, the experience supercharged our chemistry.
"So," I said, clearing my throat, "what did you think?"
He nodded and gave a thumbs-up. I watched him take long, deep gulps from his water bottle. "That was great," he said when he came up for air. "Really good."
We booked a private session next. While classes are good for a quick cardio hit, training with a coach one-on-one means more time to watch the other person. We take it in turns, punching the pads and learning new drills. Sometimes we spar. Once our trainer asked what we were finding difficult during sparring.
"Not punching him in the face," I said, with more feeling than I'd intended. My boyfriend responded, "Looking her in the eye."
Our trainer barked with laughter. "What, did you guys have a fight or something before you came?"
It turns out boxing can bring up frustrations you didn't even realize you had.
Boxing is part of our weekly schedule
Not a week goes by when we don't box together. It's early days for our relationship, and early days are when you lay the foundation for routines. Sharing an activity that we enjoy, in a space where we push each other to improve, has brought us closer than I thought possible in such a short time.
We box, and it's heightened by the anticipation of sex. We peel off each other's gym clothes and joke that our trainer doesn't know he's in a throuple.
If a kink is a nice to have and a fetish is a need to have, boxing falls firmly within the first category.
We can get off without getting on the mat. And while we're not among the 10% of women and 8% of men who have experienced a "coregasm" while working out, we do find the ritual of boxing and the delayed gratification it provides extremely hot.
Just please don't tell our trainer we call it "coreplay."