When you hear the term ‘kickboxing’, you probably think of Jean Claude Van Damme fighting bad guys in Thailand. It is a sport associated with power, blood and violence but this is a gross misrepresentation of an activity that can be performed safely and effectively. How about boxing to lose weight – As well as being an excellent self defense class, kickboxing can also help you get in shape and lose weight. Cardio kickboxing is a relatively new phenomenon where students can lose anywhere from 600-1,000 calories in an hour depending on their weight. As an added bonus, your metabolism will be up to 15% higher for the next 18 hours thus promoting extra weight loss.

How do boxing to lose weight

Cardio kickboxing in particular is a rigorous workout and its main goal is to promote weight loss and improve fitness. This means you will not have to worry about sustaining injuries in sparring matches as you will be put through your paces by an instructor in a group lesson. Cardio kickboxing combines martial arts, boxing and aerobics and involves side kicks, front kicks and jabs. There are other forms of kickboxing for weight loss such as Tae Bo.

Fat Loss: Does cardio help you lose weight

If you are attending a cardio kickboxing class for the first time, you need to wear the right footwear and loose clothing because you will be moving side to side for much of the class. Generally, a cardio kickboxing class involves a warm up with light calisthenics, stretching and bodyweight exercises before beginning the main training. It has been proven that short bursts of high intensity training are more effective for fat loss than steady state cardio. Kickboxing is very much a stop-start form of exercise with high intensity exercises quickly followed by an active rest in the form of a low intensity exercise. Other moves include jabs, squats, knee kicks, roundhouse kicks and combination punching.

Taking Care

If you don’t perform cardio kickboxing with the right technique, you are risking injury. Potential injuries include sprained knees, twisted ankles and sore elbows so it is vital that you take kickboxing classes with qualified instructors that will help you foster excellent technique. Do not hyperextend kicks and punches, don’t lock your joints and avoid holding weights when performing kicks and punches. If you follow your instructor’s tips and come into the class in the right frame of mind, you will thoroughly enjoy it and will love the end result! Cardio kickboxing is proof that weight loss can be fun.

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About the author: I’m Cindy and I like to write about topics related to weight loss and the different ways to achieve it, such as enrolling in a Gilbert kickboxing course to use as an effective cardiovascular exercise.