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10
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.
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6
What Is EPOC? – Does It Help You Burn More Calories?
If I told you there was a way to burn calories while resting, I’m sure you would give anything to get this info on how to do it. Luckily for you, I am giving this info out at no cost.
So when trying to understand what is epoc and how it helps you burn more calories after a workout, it’s best to compare your body to a car. Once you have arrived at your destination after a long trip, you will notice that the engine continues to stay warm as it gradually works back to its resting temperature.
Well the same thing occurs with your body as you finish exercising. Similar to how a car’s engine stays warm when trying to cool down, the body’s metabolism will continue to burn calories even while at rest. This process is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC.
Which is also the required amount of oxygen needed to bring the body back to its normal resting level metabolic function. So how does epoc help you burn more calories when it comes to exercise?
How Epoc Helps You Burn More Calories
What makes epoc so important when it comes to burning calories, is the fact that you are able to burn calories while resting. During a workout, it’s easy to understand that your body is burning calories due to the energy that is being exerted.
But when trying to understand how calories are being burned after, can be a little more difficult to understand. In order to burn calories, the body needs to use up energy.
So after exercising when your body is working to bring itself back to a normal resting state, this requires energy to do so, thus burning calories.
Factors That Affect Epoc
Duration and Intensity level are the 2 important factors that can help determine how many calories are being burned due to epoc. If you increase the intensity level of an exercise, then more oxygen is required to help restore the body to its normal state.
Along with Intensity, if you also add duration in which you decrease the amount of time you rest during each set, you are going to make your body work even harder to restore its oxygen levels back to normal. Thus allowing you to burn more calories.
Best Way To Increase The Epoc Effect
HIIT – Which stands for High Intensity Interval Training. What makes HIIT training so effective is its ability to restrict the amount of oxygen that is being restored to the body.
This type of training requires lest rest in between exercises, thus causing the body to work so much harder in order to bring oxygen back to the body.
Resistance Training – Which can involve lifting weights or any other type of exercise that puts stress on the muscles, is one of the most popular forms of training.
By increasing weight and not giving yourself much rest in between sets, you are restricting a lot of oxygen to the body as you complete each rep.
You will notice that after each set, your breathing will get heavier as the body tries to restore its oxygen levels back to normal. This requires a lot of energy and will allow more calories to be burned.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many benefits of epoc for anyone trying to lose weight. You don’t have to be an athlete in order to reap the benefits of it.
The only thing I would caution is that make sure you are medically cleared to perform such exercise routines as increasing intensity can be difficult for anyone not medically fit to perform them.
As always, please leave a comment if you have any questions about the article you’ve just read, and I will be glad to answer them.