Kylie Krabbe
Do you think you can handle the training regimen of a pro boxer? Find out at Wild Card Boxing Club. Run by renowned trainer Freddie Roach, the no-frills gym is open to pros as well as the public. For $5 a day, you'll train a few feet away from boxers who could be the next Manny Pacquiao or Miguel Cotto — and directly above the exclusive first-floor gym that both Pacquiao and Cotto call home. The facilities are unisex and feature all of the stations for a traditional boxing workout: jump rope, treadmill, heavy bag, speed bag, double-end bag, ground mat work and mitt slip-and-punch combination work. If you're a newbie, you can enlist a Wild Card trainer for an additional fee, and if you lack equipment or gear you can borrow or buy most of it on the premises. Sparring also is available — provided you sign the necessary waivers. On specific days the professionals and top-flight amateurs spar in one or both of the upstairs boxing rings. As an added bonus, Roach is an expert storyteller if he's feeling chatty between training sessions.
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