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Fitness is one of my passions- i am a personal trainer and gym instructor, and nothing makes me happier than helping people. My main job role is very psychology based, which i love, and then i PT part time. Everything i do revolves around helping others to live their best lives and overcome obstacles.
When it comes to my own fitness, as well as the usual weightlifting with a little cardio thrown in, i absolutely swear by kickboxing as an amazing all over workout and calorie torcher. I have a black belt, and have started to incorporate kickboxing moves into my one to one PT sessions with clients. The results have been amazing so far! It is so high energy, as a lot of the movements challenge multiple muscle groups for an amazing total body workout.
So for those of you who may never have tried kickboxing before, or don't know much about it, here is a little background information.
It developed from Karate, mixed with boxing, and is generally practised for self defence, general fitness or as a contact sport. It's main focus is on striking a target, either with punches or kicks and it is classed as a martial art, like Taekwondo, Muay Thai and Karate.
There are many benefits to kickboxing in terms of your general health and fitness, some of which are listed here:
1. It is a great stress reducer! Imagine how satisfying it feels to kick and punch a target after a long hard day!
2. Boost Confidence levels- Kickboxing releases Endorphins, which boost your mood and your confidence. This is often prolonged for several hours after the workout is over!
3. It improves your co-ordination and posture. Kickboxing is a great core workout, and one of the main causes of poor posture is a weakened core area. By strengthening this area, you can improve your posture and rid yourself of aches and pains associated with it. Kickboxing also improves your reflexes and co-ordination, reducing your risk of injury and helping you to execute the moves successfully.
4. It burns A LOT of calories, up to 800 per hour in fact, so there are not many better ways to tone up your body and rev up that metabolism!
5. It gives you an amazing boost of energy, as well as helping you to sweat out toxins.
6. It teaches you to defend yourself. I hope you never need to, but it is good to know that you have those skills there to use in case you find yourself in a less than savoury situation.
All of these benefits and more besides make kickboxing one of the first things i recommend to people who want a high calorie burn. It is a social sport too, so for those of you who hate slogging away at the gym for ages on your own, this is a perfect way to get in shape, learn new skills and make new friends.
Another amazing thing about kickboxing is that there is no restriction in terms of age or gender. Children can take part in this, and often pick it up very quickly too. Keeping children active is very important in this age of the childhood obesity epidemic, and it gives parents peace of mind that they are doing something that is good for them, making friends and learning valuable defence skills as well. Older people would almost certainly benefit too, although it is advisable to seek medical approval prior to taking on any new exercise regime.
Kickboxing is great on it's own, and can also be incorporated into regular fitness moves. Try these 3 moves back to back for 40 seconds on, 10 seconds off, 4 times through:
1. Backward lunge to front kick.
2. Squat and Punch.
3. Fast Punches.
If you don't get hot and sweaty from that, you are a machine!
I am planning an online kickboxing fitness course, done via Facebook, for those of you who are not local to me. Those who are (South Yorkshire), i am now taking on new personal training clients and am also teaching a kickboxing class on sundays, 10-11 am at Fit4It gym.
Please use the contact form on this blog to get in touch about your fitness needs, questions or comments- i would love to hear from you!
