When he’s in training mode, Capitals player Tom Wilson spends most of his time at the ice rink that sits on the top floor of Ballston Quarter. But, gearing up for another shot at the Stanley Cup can’t be all ice, all the time. The Toronto-native gets in non-frozen fitness as well, which is how he discovered BASH Boxing, a new boutique boxing gym with a location in Rosslyn and a Ballston Quarter outpost set to open this summer.
“I did the workout a couple times this [past] fall and I fell in love with it,” says Wilson, a right wing for the Washington Capitals.
He loved it so much, in fact, that he’s now a partner in the locally owned business.
“It’s obviously not sport-specific to hockey. I get those workouts on a daily basis at the rink. What I love about BASH is it’s different from what I do,” says Wilson, of why he’s putting his high-profile personality behind the new business. “You go in there and it’s a hard workout, but you get an amazing sweat. It’s 45 minutes, and you walk out feeling confident and accomplished.”
Wilson joins the five existing local partners behind BASH, which include Alex Trakas, an Oakton-native.
“I got into boxing three years ago and saw that it was really on the rise for group fitness,” says Trakas, who worked with The Bar Method and Orangetheory Fitness before launching her own concept. “I thought ‘How do I bring this to more people?’”
But BASH isn’t simply a room with a bunch of heavy bags. The workout combines a number of components to offer a full-body workout. Participants work with joint-safe boxing bags, as well as free weights, medicine balls and resistance bands, alternating between boxing and strength training for several rounds.
And although Wilson is an elite athlete, he stresses the workout is for everyone. “I think the cool part, when it comes to the boxing aspect, a lot of people start out as beginners because not many people have a background in that,” he says. “So you can really improve, and the coaches there are really next level. They’re some of the best in the business.”
Look for Wilson working out alongside his fellow boxing enthusiasts—when he’s not on the ice of course.
“[Winning the Stanley Cup] was really cool to share with everyone and to share with the city,” says Wilson. “As a kid, it’s something you only dream about, and then it happened. It was a crazy whirlwind for sure, and now we’re just focused on the season and getting another crack at it.” // BASH Boxing: 1550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, 703-646-7890; $29 per class, monthly memberships and class packs available
This post was originally published in our May 2019 issue. Want more health content? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
