Ten thousand steps and more. Kicks, punches, dodging, chasing steps… In duos or trios, they follow the exercises by alternating roles, to the rhythm of catchy music that gives their movements the look of choreography. It’s been half an hour since the three participants during the day put on the gloves, and fatigue is starting to be felt, despite the constant encouragement of Remy Boussougouth, the coach.
This is not boxing, but cardio boxing, a discipline on the borderline between boxing and fitness, which allows you to let off steam and burn calories without taking the risk of hurting yourself, since it does not there is no real fight. The blows are struck in the void – shadowboxing – or on a target. Other advantages of this activity, it requires little material and no specific place. This November afternoon, the session does not take place in a ring, or even in a gym, but in a small room whose windows overlook the pretty cloister of the Cochin hospital in Paris.
It is in this establishment of the AP-HP that the students of Remy Boussougouth work. On a daily basis, they – and more often they – work as caregivers or in administration. Once a week, they meet in “the bubble”, a space dedicated to staff relaxation, for a 45-minute session, as part of the Boxing program at the Villa M hospital supported by the Pasteur Group. Mutuality (health professionals mutual).
“What interested me at the start was being able to let off steam without hurting myself. Today, I see the benefits on cardio, concentration, morale… During the sessions, we give everything and it helps to hold on. », says Nadia (who did not wish to give her name), laboratory technician. Cardio boxing is his main physical activity, apart from walking. “We are more zen”says Stéphane, 53, an archivist, who appreciates having rediscovered boxing in a different way, which he had practiced in his youth.
Transcendence
“The idea of the Boxing program at the hospital germinated in 2020, during the Covid, to support caregivers by offering them sessions at their workplace”, says Erwan Leon, director of mutualist activities at Pasteur Mutualité. Very invested in health sport, the mutual fund pays for the coach and the equipment, the hospital provides the room, and the activity is free for participants. Since September 2020, 800 sessions have been provided, with 4,000 professionals, in 50 health establishments and boarding schools in the territory.
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