The gloves were off and I was ready for Round 1 of a workout that packs quite a punch.

Having hours of boxing experience under my would-be welterweight belt, which includes watching all five “Rocky” movies, I decided to take a crack at boxing aerobics.

Boxing aerobics, which is popular in the New York City area but new to Bangor, combines boxing skills with the muscle conditioning and cardiovascular workout common to aerobics. Classes are offered at the Bangor YMCA.

Laurie England, who instructs the boxing aerobics classes at the YMCA, keeps the class on its toes as participants attempt to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

“It gives them an opportunity to try something new in their routine. It gives them a variety,” says the 35-year-old East Holden woman who also instructs other aerobics classes in Bangor and has trained in seminars with fitness gurus such as Tamilee Webb of “Buns of Steel” fame.

As driving dance music rumbles from speakers in the aerobics studio, participants throw lightning-fast jabs and “power punches” and display some of the razzmatazz often seen in the footwork of prizefighters.

This footwork is initially a little challenging and can make a person feel like they have two left feet, but as the workout progressed, I began to bounce around almost like a true contender in the ring.

Although no equipment is used in the classes, participants perform exercises similar to jumping rope. This is another part of the workout that tends to trip people up.

“They’re not used to jump roping. I mean, when you’re a kid, you can do it all the time, but when you’re an adult — it’s been a while,” says England.

The fitness instructor adds that the punching, bobbing and weaving, jogging and jumping involved in boxing aerobics are an excellent workout for the calves and shoulders, and the benefits a person gains depend on the intensity of the classes.

“You can have it high-impact, which you can bring right up off the floor, or you can keep it low-impact, which is good for someone who is just starting out,” says England.

Mary Allen, who is married to a former boxer, says she was pleasantly surprised by her first boxing aerobics class.

“It was more of a workout than I thought it would be,” adds the 39-year-old Bangor woman. “I never thought of boxing as anything more than a bunch of sweaty guys hitting each other.”

Carol Lewandowski of Verona adds that boxing aerobics is a great alternative to other forms of exercise.

“It takes a lot more control than regular aerobics,” the 35-year-old Lewandowski says of the coordination necessary in boxing aerobics.

Lewandowski explains the jabs and punches in the class become easier if participants visualize hitting someone such as a “former boss.”

Although my calves occasionally made me feel like throwing in the towel, I made it to the final bell in my first boxing aerobics class. After going the distance in the 40-minute workout and resisting the temptation to yell, “Yo Adrienne, I did it,” I decided England could count me in for future classes.

Boxing aerobics is a super workout for athletes of all sizes, from featherweights to those who are perhaps a little closer to filling George Foreman’s trunks.

England, who began training in boxing aerobics about three years ago, says she believes the classes will begin to catch on in the Bangor area once misconceptions about it are erased and once more people actually know the ropes of the workout.

“They want to know if they have to wear gloves or if they have to punch somebody,” England says of those who are often wary of boxing aerobics.

Although the classes last longer than the average Mike Tyson fight, England says the only opponents participants face in boxing aerobics are their own inhibitions.

“Everbody that’s come in they’ve said `Wow, this is really good.’ They really seem to like it,” England says. “It’s just getting them in here to try it.

“Once they decide they’re not intimidated by it, I think they’ll like it.”