The sport of kickboxing has its roots in muay thai fighting, dating back centuries. It has evolved to function as a martial art as well as a form of exercise. You can see the best full-contact kickboxing in international competitions as well as classic martial arts movies starring Bruce Lee. The best kickboxing workouts hardly resemble the moves you see on-screen, because the goals are to build strength and endurance while burning calories.
Cardiovascular Workout
The best kickboxing workouts have a fast pace that increase your heart rate and make you sweat. An effective kickboxing workout should burn between 500 and 800 calories per hour. Like circuit training, the best kickboxing workouts have you targeting the upper body, lower body and core muscle groups through a variety of moves and combinations.
Kickboxing Moves
Certain moves are essential to a session of kickboxing, be it in the ring or on the health club floor. Every kickboxer learns how to throw a variety of punches with both sides of the body, including the jab, cross, uppercut and hook. Moves with both sides of the lower body include front kicks, lateral kicks and roundhouse kicks. Most instructors also show students how to block with their hands, arms and legs.
Fusion
For people who get bored with drills, fusion kickboxing diversifies the workout. Some classes and DVDs combine kickboxing with dance, such as hip hop, while others add moves from other martial art forms. For an intense workout, try a kickboxing and boot camp fusion, which alternates shadowboxing and striking a heavy punching bag with calisthenics like squats, pushups, lunges, pullups, jumping jacks and jumping rope.
Challenges
The best kickboxing forces you to keep up the challenge level as you get stronger by engaging your core muscles so you can kick higher. Try combining punches and kicks into sequences. Sparring with a partner challenges you to diversify your moves.
Posted in: Kickboxing