Miguel Lopez spends much of every day on a second-story boxing gym on Santa Clara Avenue near Lake Merritt catering to an American obsession: the human body. From 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. the talk revolves around weight, fat-to-muscle ratios, diets, heart rates and calories.

"People come stressed out and just want to get through the day feeling good," he said. "It's addictive when you look in the mirror and like what you see."

Lopez is 28, stands 5 feet, 8 inches tall and his fighting weight is 155 pounds. The pattern of a lightning bolt is shaved into his hair, which he keeps closely cropped.

On a Thursday afternoon he leads a group of about a dozen men and women through a series of crunches, push ups and reverse situps during a beginner cardio boxing class.

"Grab your hand wraps and gloves and we're going to jump on the bags," Lopez calls out after the last set. Everyone is sweating. A few are panting.

They rise from the mats padding the floor and wrap their hands in long strands of thick cotton that will protect their knuckles, thumbs and wrists. Pulling on boxing gloves -- pink Everlast gloves are popular among the women -- they begin to line up in front of heavy punching bags hanging in front of a wall covered by mirrors.

Some of Lopez's clients come to Boxing for Health to excise love handles. A few people have many pounds to shed. Two women are pregnant.

"I love getting people in shape. That's why you always

There is a cancer survivor, a Russian kick boxer improving his boxing skills, a former pro fighter from Brooklyn looking to slim down, a man with knee replacements, a local fitness trainer who brought in her class, a teenager aspiring to go pro and a 40-year-old woman who wants to fight in the amateur masters age division.

Stephen Anderson is 19 and a receiver for the UC Berkeley football team. The graduate of the Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose has been coming to the gym whenever he has a break since March. His mother and sister are members. "If you want to lose weight you will lose weight. If you want to get in shape you will get in shape," he said after a warm-up.

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Oakland's Boxing for Health is a place for fighters and fitness buffs