Yes. Absolutely. In fact, the right cardio kickboxing program can help you get fit very quickly.
Kickboxing is a timed workout where you, the kickboxer, throw a series of punches and kicks at a large, heavy bag. You usually don’t need to know any fancy combinations because the instructor will call them out. Even if you don’t know the first thing about throwing a punch or a kick, you’ll learn. There are hundreds of different combinations which help the workout not feel stale or the same.
Kickboxing is an excellent cardiovascular workout that burns tons of calories and builds slow-twitch muscle fibers. These are the muscle fibers that help with endurance and fatigue.
Kickboxing also improves hand-eye coordination and balance. You meet new people who’ll become workout friends and working out with a group of people is so much easier than working out alone. As the old saying goes, “many hands make work light”.
What about weight training?
Weight training builds strong, lean muscle. The kind of muscle that makes you look good in clothes and out of them. Strength training builds fast-twitch muscle fibers. These muscle fibers support quick, powerful movements for shorter durations and fatigue quickly.
For most people, weight training requires a gym membership or a similarly large investment in at-home workout equipment. However, unless you invest in a personal trainer you better be a strong self-motivator. Working out in isolation isn’t for everyone.
In the simplest of terms, to build muscle the body needs to consume extra calories then overload the muscle which promotes muscle growth. Burning excess calories through cardio exercise is punitive to building muscle mass. However, building muscle without a plan to maintain flexibility turns you into one of those bodybuilders that has trouble moving, always drinking a workout shake and calling everyone “Bro…”
The goal for most is to be fit and look strong, while still maintaining good cardio and flexibility. We want to have it all.
Which is better, strength training in a gym or a fitness kickboxing workout?
Why not do both? The solution is to take a balanced approach to weight training and cardio. Find a program that provides at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise followed quickly by muscle-building exercises and weight training.
How can I make getting healthy a habit?
As with most attempts to get healthy or lose weight, what you do is only part of the solution. How hard and how often you exercise are just as important as the what. Any discussion of getting into shape begins with goals. You need to set goals that are within your current capability, goals that push you but don’t break you. It does you no good to push yourself so hard out the gate that your body quits and doesn’t want to continue. On the other hand, you don’t want to be so easy on your muscles they aren’t working.
Additionally, you need to make sure you stay with it for at least two months. It requires at least 60 or more days to build a new habit. That’s when motivating yourself to exercise starts to get easier. Your body and mind fight you less. You begin to look forward to the exercise. You might even need it to feel like yourself (we promise to not tell anyone).
Finally, don’t expect results too soon. Scale watching can be detrimental to your goal and mindset. Instead, ask yourself if you feel better? Stronger? Do you breathe less hard when taking the stairs? These are tangible, measurable successes that mean much more than losing a pound per week.
If you’d like to learn more about HMA’s fitness kickboxing class, click here.
Written by Brian Shotton