White-collar boxing is about sharpening the mind, writes Diana Clement
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Like a growing band of executives, McGrath has taken up the formerly blue-collar sport of boxing. He jokes that he takes out the more frustrating aspects of his job on the punching bag as he powers the full force of his 100kg, 1.9m frame into each and every
thrust.
On a more serious note, McGrath says the discipline he developed training for his fight night, at Auckland's Ringside boxing gym, has helped him go the extra mile by day.
"I have a much tougher mindset now. Where I would think in the past that I would leave a task until the next day, now I think: 'Let's clear that now'." It also allowed him to step out of his comfort zone.
In McGrath's case, two fellow corporate executives joined the same intensive 12-week training programme, which helped the team become much more unified - cutting out any "serious corporate bullshit", which can happen at management level, he says.
Corporate fight nights where executives such as McGrath swap the safety of the office chair for the excitement of the ring are becoming increasingly common. Non-boxers train for a controlled bout in the ring against an opponent, learning the skills of the professional, right down to the pre-fight press conference.
The concept was born in the United States at Gleasons Gym in New York City, after two Wall Street businessmen who fancied themselves as fighters bet on who would be still standing if they went three rounds in the ring at the local boxing gym. The suits-by-day, boxing-gloves-by-night concept spread and white-collar boxing was born.
Unlike its blue-collar cousin, white collar boxing is designed to be empowering, not intimidating.
Bank manager or builder, it's a great way for busy executives to vent some aggression.
Mark Michaels, owner of Ringside Boxing in Auckland, says corporate workers that join the 12-week NZ White Collar Boxing programme are trained to the level of a professional boxer. The programme involves yoga, and swimming, nutritional information and motivational speakers.
"They do it for empowerment, personal accomplishment and it changes their lifestyle in terms of eating and drinking," says Michaels.
Katheren Leitner, corporate coach and director of TrainingPlus, who boxes and has taught boxing classes, says boxing and other fitness programmes enable people to sharpen their minds, bodies and souls - which has a positive spin-off at work.
Whether or not it's boxing, all of Leitner's coaching clients are encouraged to structure some form of exercise regime into their lives.
With increased workloads and increased levels of stress in all areas of life, keeping a fit, healthy body is vital.
On occasions, says Leitner, when she has found a coaching client to be stuck, they pack up tools and head out to talk over exercise. "Often within minutes, the [mental] haze that existed lifts and coaches get insight into situations that were previously obscured for one reason or another.
"I have trained overweight executives who have watched their work performance soar as their fitness levels increase. Energy levels have lifted; many have said that the quality of their thinking has improved significantly.
"Getting through a tough day has become much easier and, more importantly, when they get home at the end of the day they still have energy to interact with their loved ones."
Many have also found they no longer catch every sneeze or runny nose that is going around the office.
Those that train for the Ringside Boxing events get to fight like a pro in a real boxing ring.
But there are plenty of options for those that fancy the benefits of boxing without incurring the bruises. At Boxing Central in Mt Eden, white collar boxers can choose between a BoxFit class - which includes pad work, bag work and shadow boxing - and the Boxing Academy, where there is controlled contact.
Leitner says some gyms have dedicated boxing areas loaded with bags, boxing rings and the token spit bucket.
But more boxing studios are popping up around the place which cater not only for the serious "in the ring boxers" but also for the general population who want to use boxing as a form of fitness, says Leitner.
"Many of these places are well equipped with a wide variety of equipment and have started catering for those who want to experience the power and physical exhaustion but not necessarily take a blow to the head." Typically they offer classes and one-on-one training sessions.
Or if the boxing gym type environment isn't for you, other fitness centres incorporate boxing-styled aerobics classes into their group fitness timetables.
"These types of classes take boxing moves and combinations and put them together in routines choreographed to music."
When McGrath began boxing classes, he never expected to fight. He'd belonged to the gym but found his mind wandering back to work as he rowed or jogged on a machine - so decided to do something different.
"(Boxing classes) were great. There were real people there, not the posers you get at the gym. I felt like Muhammad Ali, boxing the bag and it didn't box back."
McGrath was recruited from boxing classes to join the intensive 12-week programme that led up to a corporate fight night.
The programme helped him develop his personal discipline to a higher level than ever before. "They push you and push you and push you," he says.
Andre Siegert, commercial sales and leasing broker at Bayleys Real Estate, who fought at ringside Boxing's Fight Night Round 2, has continued with his bag training and boxing with focus pads - a type of padded mitt.
For Siegert, training for the fight night was a journey into the unknown, which improved his confidence and ability to set goals. "It also brought me back down to earth."
While he found the training programme and corporate fight night empowering, there were some downsides, such as arriving at business meetings with black eyes.
As a result, Siegert has decided to get the benefits of twice-weekly training sessions but not do sparring. Punching the bag still enables him to let out his work frustrations.
So popular is corporate boxing becoming that training firm Sugar International has launched sales and leadership courses around it - called The Corporate Athlete.
The programme is designed to teach work skills such as sales and leadership and to challenge, improve, inspire and push the limits of participants.
It involves not just corporate learning and boxing, but a rounded training programme that includes nutrition, wealth management and professional development coaching.
Sugar's client services/brand manager, Kaitlin Phillips, says the courses, which were launched late last year, last for eight weeks and involve two personal training sessions a week as well as the professional development classes.
All too often, says Phillips, individuals seeking to reach the top of their game professionally let the physical side slip.
Yet there is plenty of evidence suggesting that being fit can be of enormous benefit to employees from all levels of the organisation.
Boxing was chosen as the physical component of the courses because it offered a balance between strength and endurance, and built confidence. Sugar's own staff completed the programme before it was opened to corporate Auckland.
What's more, over the eight weeks Sugar staff did the programme, the company's New Zealand office had the best two months' results since launching here. "Our sales team were making better calls and the team's morale built up."
Phillips adds: "As a woman, learning the stances and being able to throw punches makes you feel quite powerful. I was so pumped and into it."
The boxing side of the Sugar courses is held at Ringside Boxing. Other Auckland gyms offering white collar boxing include Corporate Boxing New Zealand, based in Panmure.
Leitner has taught boxing circuit and Tae-Bo styled classes to white collar workers.
"[Boxing] challenges the strength of the body and the mind. It has parallels to the boardroom in that you are only as good as your last performance. If your mind and body are not sharp and if your concentration wanders you will drop your guard and get hit by a bag, pad or sparring partner. It allows you to release stress and pent up aggression. "
Leitner believes that Fight for Life celebrity boxing bouts helped in increasing boxing's appeal in New Zealand putting non-boxers into the ring. "Up until then, most people had only ever watched professional boxers and for the majority heavy hits to the head and body were not appealing."
