Pilger's Old Skool Boxing & Fitness Academy — Local services in Columbus

I've been working out at Old Skool for almost a year now. I had no boxing experience and I wasn't in great shape when I started. I honestly didn't know what to expect. What I found was a very nice gym with competent trainers full of dedicated people showing up to 'put in work.' Nobody was barking orders and I wasn't pushed beyond my limits. The workouts are hard, but you are encouraged to progress at your own pace. Just the atmosphere of everyone working hard was enough to push me to train hard. I've gotten in great shape and I'm learning actual boxing skill. Rob and Erin are incredibly respectful of everyone in the gym and that carries over to how the gym members treat each other. Nobody is walking around with a cocky 'tough guy' attitude--the owners won't stand for it. Everybody is very respectful. There are competitive fighters, business people, moms and teens training side by side. There are all different fitness levels, but everyone is treated equally. If you want to fight competitively you can go that route, but you never have to step in the ring if you don't want to . You'll never be pushed into sparring or competing, but if you're interested in that it is there for you (the gym even hosts amateur fights on a regular basis). There's fitness classes and boot camps if that's you're thing....I've never tried those as my main interest is in learning to box. But, there seem to be a lot of people who participate in those. I almost forgot to mention that there is a weight room for strength...

Having been a fighter for close to a decade, it is always challenging to find a gym you can call "home" during short stays in various cities all across the U.S. Having fought/trained out of Cincinnati, OH for most of my career, whenever I would travel to Columbus, OH for business and/or other affairs, I have always been able to train at Rob Pilgers "Pilgers Old Skool Boxing and Fitness Academy". Not only has the owner Rob always opened his gym to me for "as long as needed" but the facility itself is a thing of beauty! It is rare to find boxing gyms very much at all anymore but to find a gym w the amount of space as Pilgers', equipped with a full size boxing ring for sparring, and every type of bag you could ever need, it is truly a gift to the fighter and/or person looking to workout and/or learn boxing/self-defense. Having trained at various gyms throughout the country, often times after walking in to a gym you very rarely attend, you are looked at and/or made to feel like you are under a spotlight/microscope or even that "you dont belong". That has never been the case from any of my visits to Pilgers Old Skool Boxing gym (Columbus, OH) and that is why I like to call it "my gym away from gym". I am looking forward to training in Columbus, OH in the future and when I do, I know one thing; I won’t need to find a place to train!...

Never been there, but I have trained with 1 pro out of sam's gym in glouster who had the worst experience there. He even fought a handful of amateur bouts for rob and said he never even warmed his fighters up or wrapped their hands before bouts. In my opinion it is all smoke, mirrors and money. Another friend confirmed this last week telling me all the shady behavior you would expect from a pseudo martial arts school with a "black belt club". My friend ended up being charged over $400 to his debit/credit card for 5 days of training. How did that happen you ask? Well rob answered him by saying "did you read the fine print? Its $300 to cancel.." in my opinion he has attended more business seminars than boxing classes. He claims to have 80 amateur fights(of course doesn't state his record) and to have fought pro on a James Toney under card.. that sounds good and all except there is no trace of his record with USA boxing, and there certainly are no videos of these 80+ bouts that include a pro fight on the under card of one of the greats. Not a picture, not a video, just lots of strength training certificates. I give the 3 stars bc of the facility and the fact that he does attract decent boxers with his...