Kickboxing As Exercise

If you read anything about exercising, you’ll come across the recommendation that one should change out the type of exercise on a regular basis so it stays effective.  One choice is kickboxing where you end up twisting, turning, kicking and punching so you use every part of the body.  

Kickboxing originated in Japan in the 1960’s when people combined techniques from Karate, Western boxing, MuayThai to form a hybrid martial arts.  About 30 years later, Billy Blanks began marketing Tae Bo, a cardio form of kickboxing for exercising. It was so successful, that local gyms began offering it also with all the other choices.  

Kickboxing is considered high intensity since it uses so many parts of the body and can help you use between 350 and 400 calories in just one hour. Through the course of the session, you’ll work on your core, arms, legs, glutes, and back, making it a good total body workout. This form of exercise can improve your flexibility, while pumping up the cardio aspect.  It also improves strength but it is not low impact due to all the bouncing involved.  

The nice thing about Kickboxing is that you can sign up for a class at your local gym or you could buy a DVD to do it at home inside.  The only equipment, you might need is a jump rope, gloves, and possibly a punching bag but none of those are needed at least for the classes I’ve taken.

One thing to keep in mind when starting to do kickboxing is that you don’t have to make your kicks as high as the instructor, your jabs as hard, or your upper cuts demanding.  Start at your level and work on increasing the intensity as time passes. 

There are at least eight good reasons for taking up kickboxing.  First thing is that it does a great job of toning your body overall making it leaner with a lower body fat ratio. Although most of the kickboxing we do is cardio based, it can still teach you some self-defense techniques.  As stated earlier, it burns calories while helping relieve stress.  It also improves endurance while boosting energy. Finally, it improves posture and coordination.

Since it is a high intensity form of exercise, it is important to check with your doctor to see if it is a good form of exercise for you.  It can be great for people with heart problems or diabetes but only with the permission of your doctor.  For those who can do it, it provides a great overall workout.  Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear.