Here’s How Boxing Saved Peloton Instructor Kendall Toole’s Life

This winter, Peloton launched boxing content on its app, and it’s quickly become one of the most popular class types. In fact, Peloton boxing, strength and cycling instructor Kendall Toole credits years of boxing training for showing her inner strength. In her words: “Boxing saved my life, gave me a way to fight through the mental battles and most importantly, discover a strength and power I never realized I possessed.” Open about her mental health struggles, including depression and anxiety, Kendall finds boxing a source of empowerment and healing movement. We chatted with Kendall to learn more. —Noa Nichol

Hi Kendall! Please tell us a bit about yourself to start.

I joined Peloton in 2019 after teaching at different fitness studios. Now, I’m a Peloton Cycling, Boxing and Pilates instructor. Really, I never thought I would get into fitness. I ended up here by way of creating both tech and media content, having first joined a tech startup I thought would be my dream job. Right after I graduated film school at USC, I took my passion for movement, boxing—and the way that the two help my mental health—and it turned into my career. 

We hear that Peloton’s two-week intro to boxing is one of the most highly requested class types. Why do you think it’s so in demand?

I think the two-week Boxing intro is in such high demand because of the power that comes in that form of movement. It aligns us with our inner strength or inner opportunity to have that fighter in us. I think oftentimes in society, especially for women, we’re told that we have to be palatable, diminished and demure, and in some way minimize ourselves to be accepted by the rest of society. I love that boxing allows and accepts the opposite. 

What’s so great about boxing? What makes it a unique form of fitness? Who is it for? What do you personally love about it?

It truly is a form of movement that is available to anybody. What makes it a unique form of fitness is that it is actually a skill and a sport. It’s unlike a lot of forms of fitness, where you can easily master the movements. With boxing, the opportunities are endless. You are constantly changing, evolving and learning. This is why the best professional fighters in the world still go back and practice the basics. The other element that I love about boxing is the mental component. It’s all about being present. The more that you’re in your head, the less you connect, the less you’re capable of moving in that functional way. When you’re in an actual fight, the more you’re in your head, the less likely you’re going to win that fight. So truly being able to be present, it almost has a meditative quality to it—that’s why boxing is so special. That’s why I love it. For me, boxing changed my life most significantly when it came to my mental health journey. It was the one time when I was in a very, very dark and struggling place that I allowed my brain to shut off because the second that I wouldn’t be present is the moment that I would get hit or that I would lose the flow. And so, it taught me that I needed to trust in myself, trust in my own individual power, but also the acknowledgement that all of the emotions, the intensity – all of that can be used in a proper and positive way. It doesn’t necessarily destroy, it creates. 

Beyond the physical benefits, how has years of boxing training helped your mental health and exposed or increased your own personal inner strength? Do you believe it can do the same for others?

Boxing is a form of movement almost in a similar category as yoga, where it’s a practice. It’s a form of movement that asks you to be both psychologically present as well as physically present. It really helps with one’s alignment, and so what I found it changed in me was being able to harness those more intense emotions, being able to understand that they have a purpose too. It’s not about living in this higher, hyper positive world that often society tells us is the goal. It’s about accepting the highs and the lows, the anger with the joy, the sadness with the exuberant happiness. Boxing has both. The other thing that I love about it is especially when you start boxing, and if anybody ever ventures into sparring and boxing with an opponent, it’s a deeply human experience. What people don’t recognize is there’s a lot of respect between fighters. Before you actually start fighting you tap gloves as a sign of acknowledgement of each other. When you fight, you’re looking into somebody else’s eyes, and you know their goal is to attack you and your goal is to attack them. To play chess in a sense, to play physical chess essentially, you see people’s insecurities. You see their fear, you see their joy, you see their intelligence. So, it’s really beautiful, the process, because you’re coming at it as humans. Just trying to both go after the same goal, and I think so often in life things can get very complicated. We all have a complex experience, but when you get back to the simplicity and to the acknowledgement of each other, because you’re both after the same goal, it can be a really beautiful, really transformative process. 

Your top tips for incorporating boxing into our fitness routine?

I would say start small, shadowboxing, and the classes we offer at Peloton is a great entry point. I highly, highly, could not even more highly recommend the two-week get hooked Peloton Boxing program. The reason why is that it was specifically curated by myself, Rad Lopez and Selena Samuela. All of us have fight experience and are able to build you from the basics. In boxing initially, you feel like a baby giraffe. You feel a little awkward, you feel a little off balance. It takes time to adjust to that type of movement pattern, but the way that this two-week program is built, you slowly start to build that skill set, you build that movement availability, that muscle memory and you start to solidify with your form. Form is everything. Speed and power come later, but understanding the basics of the movement, no different than yoga or something like Tai Chi, is really where it comes in. We also help educate for the why—the why behind the turning of the fist and how to drop deeper into the legs and still have that balance. So, I highly recommend that program if you’re just trying to incorporate it into your day to day. There is something so beautiful, especially with this languishing period while we’re all still dealing with the pandemic and the state of the world, to tap back into your power. You need nothing to throw a punch, you just need your fists and honestly, I really love a mirror. I love being able to fight oneself in the mirror, fight one’s own reflection and in many ways, it can be metaphorical for negative self-talk, self-doubt and thoughts. It’s you versus you really, and it’s for the greater of your growth. You’re fighting for something. I always say this, you’re not fighting against something and remembering the why. Fighting can be a creator instead of a destroyer and I think it’s a common misconception about that. I would say integrating 5 to 10 minutes is a great way to add it to your fitness routine. If you’re feeling a little stressed out, find your little nook and cranny at work, maybe there’s a little closet you can pop into, do a couple combos, get back into your body, get your power back. It’s a great reset tool. 

What are some basic boxing moves for beginners that are great for a workday break to help us refocus and boost our mood mid-day?

My favourite and the most important punch in boxing is the jab. That’s where you throw your lead hand, your non-dominant hand, toward your opponent. It feels a little awkward because it’s not your dominant hand, so you start with your jab and then you go jab, jab, jab and add a cross. That’s the crossbody punch, those straight punches with your dominant hand. I tend to love uppercuts because I love the feeling of my lat muscle activating and driving up underneath the chin, or a metaphorical chin. But truly, I would say, to keep it simple, give yourself a jab and cross. Give yourself a double jab cross, then hit those jabs and crosses for speed, start to build up that energy. Start to build up that cardio and then just throw power crosses. That dominant straight punch all the way to the finish. You can do it in about 30 seconds or 2 minutes—whatever feels best. But really to keep it simple, focus on the straight punches. If you’re a little bit more advanced, add an uppercut or two in there, but ultimately, really harnessing your power by keeping that explosion. Keeping that fist turned over, keeping that intensity and channeling it. It’s not a bad thing to feel things so deeply. It’s a gift. We just have to know how to use it.  

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