In the Media
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Ally's Boxing Boot Camp Offers Parkway Intense Workout
Owner Allyson Hubbard sees expansion in the future. By Adam Vaccaro/West Roxbury Patch Nov. 29, 2010 Some like their workouts leisurely. A jog around the track at Millennium Park, say, or a bike ride through the Arnold Arboretum. Those folks need not sign up at Ally's Boxing Boot Camp. "For the students it's a constant challenge," said the Ally in question, owner and trainer Allyson Hubbard, of the classes. Classes run four times a day Monday through Friday and twice on Saturdays. Each class lasts an hour and, according to Susan Palladino, a West Roxbury resident who is the only other on-staff trainer at the Boot Camp, offers "the most intense workout in the least amount of time." Palladino started out as a student at one of Hubbard's boot camps before beginning working alongside her this past summer. She says the benefits to the workout are plenty. "Emotionally and physically," she says. "You come in for an hour, focus on your workout, and don't think of other stresses. It's time for yourself, it builds self-esteem, and it makes you look good all at the same time." At the beginning of each four-week boot camp session - students can sign up for memberships ranging from one to 18 classes per week over the course of a camp - Hubbard compiles a portfolio for each student. She takes six different measurements of each student a week, provides dieting and nutrition advice, and works with students to set individual weight loss and fitness goals. But these goals, she says, are always reasonable. "I'll never set them up for failure," she says. "I'm very honest." Hubbard says business has been good, with each class regularly bringing in "five or six" students. Students are mostly from the Parkway area, but come from as far as Marlboro or the South Shore. Boot Camp students tend to be female, but Hubbard says she has occasionally had men train under her. She says that "men want to be surrounded by men" when working out, but says that once the workout begins, they tend not to notice the gender barrier. "Once the workout starts, you really don't care if there's cats or dogs running around you," she says. "You're just hoping and wanting to catch your next breath." Hubbard originally hales from West Roxbury and now lives in Foxboro with her fiance, David Ford, and two sons, Giavanni and Sloane. She says she hopes to move back to the neighborhood within a year. Hubbard has been running boot camps for over five years, and is in her third year focusing on boxing. This past Oct. 2, though, business took a big step forward with a grand opening at a new facility at 1600 VFW Parkway. Previously, Hubbard had run her classes at Gold's Gym, and before that, at the Knights of Columbus headquarters and in Millennium Park. Hubbard says "it was time" for her to expand operations, and doesn't think she's done yet. "We're planning on opening another one up in probably about six months," she said, citing Weston as a possible location for a second studio. "We want a chain of them." She says she's never been happier in her career, and sees herself sticking with the Boot Camp for the remainder of it. "Do you ever reach a point in your life where you feel like all your voids have been filled?" she said. "I know this is it." |
 Parkway ‘drill sergeant’ whips people into shape
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