The Daily Balance

So I may have mentioned his before, but I’m a black belt. Yep, you can be a little impressed, it was a lot of hard work. With the exception of breaking a guy’s arm (another story for another day), I have been lucky enough that I haven’t had to use my skills to fend off an attacker. However, there are certain moves that ALL OF YOU should know. Try and incorporate them into your fitness routine. All it takes is a few extra minutes on the punching bag.

Image credit: bangkokfitnesstraining.com

According to an article in Fitness Magazine, kickboxing burns an average of 500 calories an hour (some estimates reach 810). The exercises effectively target your arms, shoulders, abs, thighs and butt all in one workout (talk about killing a few birds with one stone!) In addition, kickboxing serves as a fantastic form of stress release (how often do you get to pretend you’re beating up your archenemy – or at some times, The Mister?!? hehe!)

First, we need to make sure you know the moves and are using the correct form. Review the following list of moves to make sure you are performing the correctly. Start with the jab and work your way down the list.

Once you feel ready for it, put on some rockin’ tunes and jam jab out to the following routine:

4 Jabs in the front, uppercut (left side)

Jab, cross, hook, uppercut (2x) (left side)

4 Jabs in the front, uppercut (right side)

50 Front kicks (alternate legs)

30 round house kicks (alternate legs)

25 side kicks (alternate legs)

Combination (left foot forward): Jab (L), uppercut (R), front kick (L) (repeat 10 times)

Combination (right foot forward): Jab (R), uppercut (L), front kick (R) (repeat 10 times)

Double-time jabs (speed up) (20x right side)

Double-time jabs (speed up) (20x left side)

Combination (left foot forward): Jab (L), uppercut (R), roundhouse kick (L) (repeat 10 times)

Combination (right foot forward): Jab (R), uppercut (L), roundhouse kick (R) (repeat 10 times)

Once you learn the moves, feel free to get creative with your own routine, too!

Enjoy!

Do you ever kickbox? What is your favorite move? I love the roundhouse kick — makes me feel so powerful!

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12 Responses to “Work it – ‘Kick’ up your fitness routine”

1. insideiamdancing said:

   I literally just wrote in someone else’s blog about wanting to learn some self-defense moves. Being a single female, living alone and looking very young, safety is a big concern for me. Thanks for posting this!

   Posted on July 8, 2009 at 9:00 am | Reply
2. Anne said:

   I do kickboxing about3-4 times a week! Love it! My strongest move is the front kick followed by my hook. I’m not very good with the roundhouse..seems like my hip locks and I kick the bag or focus bad badly most of the time. This sucks because I don’t know what to do to make it better. Any tips?! Nice routine btw!

   Posted on July 8, 2009 at 9:44 am | Reply
3. VeggieGirl said:

   I used to kickbox everyday, in addition to dancing!! I loved the roundhouse kick, sidekick, and uppercut punches.

   Posted on July 8, 2009 at 9:48 am | Reply
4. Rose said:

   I used to LOVE kickboxing – still do but my fav instructor had to move – and the new teacher is kind of boring

   Posted on July 8, 2009 at 9:49 am | Reply
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   Posted on July 8, 2009 at 10:18 am | Reply
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7. Sagan said:

   I loved kickboxing when I took a class at the Y! Thinking about joining the gym again just to take those lessons…

   Posted on July 8, 2009 at 11:01 am | Reply
8. Chloe said:

   I’m taking a GREAT kickboxing class right now that leaves me sweaty and so sore – it’s awesome. It makes me feel so powerful and strong, plus is such a great workout.
   Maybe one day I’ll get my black belt – it’s great that you accomplished that!

   Posted on July 8, 2009 at 2:29 pm | Reply
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10. Jenny said:

    haha can you believe it, i used to want to be a boxer when i was younger?! oh childhood dreams — i would love to hit the punching bag though.. what a great way to relieve some stress and get an awesome workout!

    Posted on July 8, 2009 at 6:09 pm | Reply
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