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What Makes A Vertical Climber Fitness Machine Awesome?

In this article, I will be breaking down what makes a vertical climber fitness machine awesome. There are so many home gym exercise machines out there that it can be difficult to find one that won’t collect dust in a few months.

When looking for the right exercise machine, you want to make sure you find one that will get you a great total body workout.

Working out the whole body allows you to burn MORE CALORIES, in LESS TIME! There are many machines out there that claim they can work the entire body, but few actually do that.

Throughout this article, I will be showing you why vertical climber machines are so effective for anyone that exercises at home. Continue reading

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What Is Cardio Kickboxing? – Why You Should Try It

Cardio Kickboxing is a group fitness class that combines martial arts with high intensity interval training, also known as HIIT.  It is more of a fitness workout and not competition as some would think.

Regardless if you are a beginner or a kickboxer elite, this workout will make sure to get your heart pumping and blood flowing every second of class.

Not only do you get an awesome cardio workout, but you also build lean muscles in the process. With every punch and kick on the bags, you will no doubt enjoy this fun and intense workout.

What To Expect

You should expect to be lead by an experienced instructor who’s job is not only to guide you through the workout, but also get you pumped up as you get ready to work your entire body with this exercise.

The classes are usually an hour long, but I doubt you will even notice since you will be too busy trying to wipe the sweat off your forehead.  Each class usually starts off with a 15 minute warm-up where you will do a series of upper and lower body exercises.

This usually is the toughest part for most members since there are very few moments to rest during each exercise. Keep in mind that you are allowed to rest, but the less rest the better the workout. Although make sure to use caution and go at your own pace.

The warmup is followed by stretching and then 25 minutes of heavy bag work. YES! The fun part. There is usually 6 rounds with 3 minutes for each round. You will go through a different set of combinations as you progress through each round.

Each round the volume of combos will increase testing both coordination and endurance. Some of the combos you will learn during your workout is:

Upper Body combos include:

• Jabs
• Cross
• Uppercut
• Hooks
• Spinning Back Fists
• Superman Punch

Lower Body combos include:

• Front Kicks
• Side Kicks
• Roundhouse Kicks

The Instructor’s job is to make sure to teach you proper technique with each combo learned.  After the heavy bag round, you will then partner up with a friend or any member available and instead of combos on the bag, you will be doing combos on your partner’s glove.

Keep in mind that this is a non-contact workout, so you are not allowed to hit your partner…on purpose that is. So doing partner drills is a great way to have fun and focus on accuracy and coordination.

Partner drills is then followed by cooperative conditioning and then the cool down. This workout is a great way to focus on challenging yourself both mentally and physically.

Who Should Try It

If you are someone looking to burn fat, build muscle and lose weight, then cardio kickboxing is for you. Especially if you are someone that has grown bored with their regular stationary cardio equipment like treadmills, ellipticals and stairmasters.

Regardless of skill level, you can try out cardio kickboxing. What makes taking a cardio kickboxing class so fun is that you don’t have to have any previous martial arts experience. If you are new, make sure you start off slow and that you are patient with yourself as you try learning the movements.

It’s easy to get frustrated as you learn these new techniques, but as long as you don’t give up on yourself. you will develop more confidence as you put in more reps. If you are someone that is experienced and looking for a workout that will keep you from being bored, then cardio kickboxing will make sure to keep you active and engaged.

How Many Calories Can You Burn?

Depending on how much effort you put into each class, you can burn anywhere from 500-900 calories. It is advised that if it is your first class, that you go about 50% and go at your own pace.

Than as you get comfortable and know what to expect, then you can increase the intensity with each class. Also if you are someone that is serious about getting real results, then it is recommended that you go at least 3 times a week. When it comes to getting results, you have to put in the time and effort.

If you want to learn how often you should exercise to lose weight, then I recommend you click here to learn more about losing weight.

How to Start

Look for any martial art studio near you. Gyms also may offer cardio kickboxing classes well, so make sure to check your local gyms.  A couple of things you may want to take note of before you find a studio that offers cardio kickboxing classes are:

• Be prepared to workout in barefoot or socks as some studios do not allow any shoes on the mats. So Make sure to ask the studio what their policy regarding this matter.
• Make sure to wear comfortable clothing that you would wear at the gym. You will sweat so I would def leave the sweater at home.
• Bring a towel and a bottle of water since you will most likely sweat a lot and will find yourself needing to hydrate.
• If it’s your first class, be prepared to show up about 30 minutes before class starts to go over paperwork.
• Last but not least, bring your smile and awesome attitude, because the people there are
• usually there to help you and make you feel apart of the community within their studio.

Conclusion

When it comes to fitness, finding something you will like is very important as motivation is usually a struggle for most people working on taking care of their health.  For some people, the gym can be boring, and cardio kickboxing for some is a great way to relieve some stress and frustration and have fun all at the same time.

So if you can find a studio near you that offers classes, it’s definitely worth it to give it a try and you never know, you may come to really like it.

So please share below your thoughts on cardio kickboxing and let us know if you have ever taken a class.

Related Topics:

• How To Burn Fat With Kickboxing
• What is EPOC? – Does It Help You Burn More Calories?
• Should You Eat Before You Workout?

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Is Jumping Rope Good Exercise?

If you’ve ever seen the movie Rocky, every time he trained for a big fight, you would see him exercise with a jump rope.  He went from being a soft nobody, to a rock solid champ.  There is nothing more motivating than watching hard work at its finest.

Now granted it was only a movie, but if you have ever been in a boxing gym, jumping rope tends to be a very important exercise that boxers use to get in shape. Not enough people make jumping rope a part of their fitness routine, even though the benefits are tremendous especially when it comes to getting in shape.

How to Jump In

Before getting started, you want to make sure you take note of a few things to make sure you are using proper technique as you begin to jump rope.

1. Keep your elbows in and hands below your chest.
2. Stand Upright.
3. Maintain balance by looking straight ahead.
4. Elbow joints should be at a 45 degree angle.
5. Keep the weight on the balls of your feet as you begin to jump.
6. Rotate at the wrists while turning the rope.
7. Focus on form rather than speed.

Great for Cardio

You are guaranteed to get an amazing cardio workout when it comes to jumping rope.  This full body workout will make sure you are putting to work every muscle in your body.  You can burn up to 1200 calories per hour of vigorous activity compared to 30 minutes of jogging.  Just imagine adding jump rope to all your other exercise routines. All you need is about 10 minutes of it.

Easy on the Knees

You would think that jumping rope would put a lot of pressure on the knees, but since it is low-impact, it is one exercise that is actually good for the knees.  By staying on the balls of your feet, the continuous jumping will help develop stronger calves helping give better support for your knees.

Improves Coordination

Jumping rope helps improve coordination by forcing to focus on your feet.  Whether you are aware of it or not, your brain takes notice what you are doing with your feet, therefore increasing the coordination you have with your body.

This helps improve coordination due to the fact you are working on multiple parts of the body.  Many people who struggle with coordination, work on jumping rope to help improve in it.  Which can also improve brain function by how much concentration it takes to jump rope.

Doesn’t require a gym

Maybe the best thing about jumping rope as exercise is the fact you can take it with you anywhere.  Whether you are at work or at school you, you can have it with you especially because it doesn’t take up too much space.

Maybe you decided to stay at home because it’s raining outside and you don’t feel like stepping out.  You can get a full workout right in the comfort of your own home.  The fact that it is so portable, is reason enough to make this a part of your fitness arsenal.

Easy on the Wallet

Depending on where you shop, finding a good jump rope that doesn’t hurt the pockets shouldn’t be too hard to find.  What makes jump ropes such a good choice among fitness experts is the fact that you can get a good workout and not worry about spending too much.

So please make sure to share below how you use jump ropes as a part of your fitness routine

More about exercise:

• How Many Calories Do You Burn Jumping Rope
• Does Exercise Help Reduce Stress
• Should You Workout In The Morning
• How Often Should You Exercise To Lose Weight
• Should You Exercise When Sick