• Punch Fitness Center

  1015 Madison Ave., nr. 78th St.; 212-288-2375

  For those who think they’re fit after all those hours on the elliptical, leave it to a one-on-one sparring session to humble you. Among the city’s increasing number of pugilistic offerings—from Trinity Boxing Club to WBA champ Aaron Davis’s new Bronx center—Punch excels in butt-kicking workouts with the most easygoing atmosphere. Near the Louboutin–Kors stretch of Madison Avenue, the gym is approachably small, with a ring in one room and a pristine training floor equipped with water-filled punching bags (to protect hands). Kickboxing champ Adelino DaCosta and his crew play African music while running intense drills (like punching in plank pose while holding weights) to toughen up their clients, who are a mix of amateurs and more seasoned disciples.

From the 2011 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine