9Round at Falls River Ave offers high-energy, 30-minute full-body circuit workouts combining kickboxing HIIT with functional strength. With no scheduled class times and a certified trainer guiding every step, it delivers fast, flexible, and effective fitness.
9Round Kickboxing Fitness on Falls River Avenue in North Raleigh
9Round Kickboxing Fitness is a 30-minute kickboxing and circuit training gym in north Raleigh, North Carolina. The studio sits on Falls River Avenue, north of the Interstate 540 loop. Members work through a nine-station circuit with a trainer on the floor for every workout. The training is non-contact, so nobody gets hit while learning to punch and kick properly. The studio is a franchise of a brand that Shannon and Heather Hudson started in Greenville, South Carolina in 2008.
Why 30 Minutes? The Case Behind the 9Round Format
The brand built its format on a specific claim about time. Its founders argue that people do not need longer gym sessions, only more focus and intensity inside shorter ones. That belief produced a workout with no wasted minutes and no waiting between sets. It also removed class times from the equation entirely. Members start whenever they walk in, because a new round begins every few minutes.
Nine Rounds, Three Minutes Each, With Heart Rate Tracking
The circuit runs nine stations of three minutes each, split by 30-second active breaks. Stations mix kickboxing work on bags with functional strength and conditioning movements. The workout changes every day, so the same station never means the same exercise twice in a row. Members wear PULSE heart rate monitors that display effort on a screen throughout the session. A typical round through the circuit burns somewhere between 300 and 600 calories.
The Trainers at This North Raleigh Kickboxing Studio
A trainer is present in every session rather than available on request. Franchise owner Ray Braden has been a certified personal trainer since 2021 and works the floor himself. Anna Gutelius has held her certification since 2017, and Alvin Davis since 2023. Nicole Jardine came through 9Round’s own certification, and Brad Bonham brings a martial arts black belt to the bag work. The team also takes one-on-one personal training clients outside the circuit.
Busy Schedules, Beginners and Non-Contact Kickboxing
The gym fits people who struggle to protect a full hour for exercise. Parents, shift workers and commuters drop in around the rest of the day. Beginners get technique corrected on the spot, which matters when the movements involve strikes. Trainers scale each station rather than handing everyone the same round. Anyone nervous about sparring can train here without ever facing a partner. Experienced members push harder in the same 30 minutes, since intensity, not duration, sets the ceiling.
9Round Kickboxing Fitness in the Falls River Neighborhood
9Round Kickboxing Fitness serves the Falls River, Wakefield and Bedford corners of north Raleigh from a small storefront unit. The studio’s size keeps the room personal, with trainers learning names quickly. Reviews describe supportive coaching and members encouraging one another through the circuit. The location belongs to a network of roughly 700 studios across 17 countries. The brand calls itself the largest kickboxing franchise in the world. For north Raleigh, it is the neighborhood option for kickboxing without a fight camp attached.
