A lot of the big gyms around Richmond offer kickboxing or cardio-kickboxing courses. It’s a great way to both lose weight and tone up, as well as improve your overall conditioning. Kickboxing in one form or another is among the top recommended aerobic activities for losing weight. An ACE (American Council on Exercise) study found that people participating in kickboxing programs burned, on average, between 350 and 450 calories per hour. Not bad right?
Can’t I just take one of those aerobic dance classes and get the same effect? Probably not. Kickboxing works your whole body. Punches work your shoulders, arms, and back while kicks work glutes, thighs, and calves. The turning of your upper and lower body as you punch and kick works your abs like crunches. Kickboxing also helps develop better balance. As an aerobic activity, it will also improve your heart and lung health.
Unlike many traditional workouts, kickboxing will leave you tired in the best way possible. After that first session, you’ll sleep great. The high energy environment and high-impact workout will help you rest better than you have before. As your body adjusts and you continue your classes, you’ll have more energy as well. Because it is a contact sport, either with bags or with partners, kickboxing is also a great means of stress relief. It’s also an easier exercise to stick with as you’ll often have a partner who needs you to be in class to help them. Relying and being relied on can give you that extra push to get to the gym.
It’s not exactly easy to find kickboxing courses in Richmond. Sure, a lot of the big gyms offer cardio kickboxing or something similar, but it’s not always easy to get information about the person teaching the course. Kickboxing is about proper technique as well as throwing punches and kicks. It’s the fine tuning of technique that works your muscles just the right way. That’s why it’s extremely important to work with someone who has extensive training and experience. Do your homework. Ask around town and check online to see who has the most experience teaching kickboxing.
We checked around and really liked MMA Institute on Jahnke Rd. The gym is owned by Rick McCoy, a big name in Virginia combat sports. He has years of experience training professional fighters, so you know you’re in good hands. They also offer a style of kickboxing from Thailand called Muay Thai. It adds elbows and knees to the usual kicks and punches. That means more moves and more muscles worked. They also offer some other classes we’ll be discussing later, such as kettlebells and strength and conditioning. You can click here to view their Class Schedule. We thought it was great that they offer daytime and weekend classes too, so you can be sure to get your workout in.
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Every year lots of women make the resolution to get into better shape by exercising regularly. Whether it’s about losing weight, or just getting into better shape, it’s a fantastic idea. Despite their best intentions, many ultimately give up. Exercising isn’t always the most exciting thing in the world and running on a treadmill or lifting weights can only be exciting for so long. Eventually, your workout becomes a chore. There are better, more exciting ways to work out and fulfill that New Year’s resolution. Here are a few you might want to try.
Think the only way to lose a few pounds or to meet your fitness goals is to run on a treadmill, work on the bulky and confusing machines at the gym, or engage in an embarrassing aerobic dance class? Think again. There are a ton of creative, challenging, and fun training programs out there that suit everyone from the beginning to the athlete. Here are just a few of them.
Over the next several posts, I’ll introduce you to each one of these workouts. I’ll discuss the pros and cons of each, as well as how they offer something different from your usual workout. I’ll also keep an eye on the comments section to answer any questions you might have. Additionally, we’ll be offering info and advice from the Richmond, VA athletic community. From marathon runners to personal trainers to equipment specialists, we’re going to help you you exercise better, smarter. Want to know more? Read About Us.
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