Erika Hammond Wants Equinox Class To Be a Boxing ‘Party’
Knockout, a boxing-inspired group fitness class created by Hammond, is now available at select Equinox locations in New York City
Erika Hammond wants to bring boxing training into the mainstream, and the fitness coach has joined forces with Equinox to make that goal a reality.
The luxury gym recently unveiled its latest offering, Knockout, a boxing-inspired group fitness class created by Hammond, a former WWE Diva turned group fitness aficionado.
Knockout features shadow boxing drills performed at a high pace, all set to curated music and led by Hammond and a team of trainers she hand picked to run the classes.
“Knockout is different from other classes,” Hammond told Athletech News. “There are so many workouts in the world, there are so many trainers in the world. So how do you make things different? By bringing your authentic self.”
Hammond designed the class to introduce Equinox members to the joys and challenges of boxing training without some of the sport’s more intimidating aspects. Members will use light hand-weights to perform shadow boxing movements, but they don’t have to worry about strapping on gloves or hitting a heavy bag.
“The shadow boxing was big for me, because it’s accessible,” Hammond said. “You don’t need bags, you don’t need gloves. I want people to know that boxing doesn’t have to be intimidating.”
Hammond fell in love with combat training as a teenager growing up in Waco, Texas. As a fourteen-year-old, she attended a Muay Thai training class with a friend and was instantly hooked.
“I hated running, I hated cardio,” Hammond said of her fitness preferences at that time despite being a track athlete. “When we went to the session, I came out and I was like, ‘I’m going to do that every single day.’”
Hammond wants Knockout to give Equinox members that same release.
The class will feature high-intensity, six-minute rounds where members learn the basics of boxing, including simple combination moves, The first four minutes of those rounds are dedicated to learning boxing moves, and the last two minutes feature “Callouts,” where instructors challenge class members to perform a given move they learned earlier in the class.
“That’s that moment where you’re fully in it, and you can’t think about anything else,” Hammond said.
Hammond’s unique professional background also influenced her vision for Knockout.
After college, Hammond became a WWE Diva, performing under the stage name Veronica Lane in the brand’s NTX competition.
Hammond left the wrestling grind after a year and a half to pursue her passion for fitness coaching, but she’s still an entertainer at heart.
“I sometimes joke that I’m not a trainer, I’m an ‘enter-trainer.’” she said. “I love being around a lot of people. I love to make it a party.”
In creating Knockout, Hammond also leaned on her background as a group fitness instructor, entrepreneur and founder.
After rising up the ranks as a fitness coach in Los Angeles following her departure from WWE, Hammond moved to New York to join Rumble Boxing as a founding trainer. She stayed with Rumble for over six years, leading classes and helping to transform the fledgling outfit into a pioneer in the boxing-focused group fitness space.
During COVID, Hammond found success leading group fitness classes on Instagram Live, posting workout videos that racked up millions of views. She also created Strong by Erika Hammond, an app that features boxing-inspired, high intensity interval training (HIIT) and strength training workouts.
“It was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done in my life, starting my own business during a pandemic,” she said.
It was after that experience that Hammond decided she wanted to create a class which combined some of the shadow boxing elements she used in her virtual classes with her past experiences at Rumble and WWE.
Hammond decided to partner with Equinox due to the brand’s recognition, global reach and, importantly, a strong rapport and common vision for growth she shared with the luxury gym’s executive team.
For Equinox, the boxing class is a way for the gym to offer something fresh to its members while also attracting new clients.
“We want their members to like it,” Hammond said. “But we also want Equinox to get new members, and bring them a class that’s different from anything they’ve had before.”
The Knockout classes went live earlier this month at 17 Equinox locations across Manhattan and Brooklyn. There are currently 22 classes per week being led by Hammond and ten other trainers. Equinox members will soon be able to access classes on Equinox+, the gym’s on-demand app.
There are plans to bring Knockout classes to Equinox locations in other cities in the near future.
“We’re already talking about, ‘We need to add more classes onto the New York City locations. Where are we rolling out next?’” Hammond said of her conversations with the Equinox team.
Based on the early success, Hammond has set an ambitious goal for Knockout.
“I hope to expand to all 106 (Equinox) clubs within the next year,” she said.