Mix It Up: Cardio Kickboxing
Before I really start writing this post, I cannot emphasize enough how much I love kickboxing. It is so fun, and I have had the same instructor for years, despite having switched gym. IT IS AMAZING!
When I got home from work, I was determined to go to the gym, maybe do some Zumba, do another Tabata workout, lift a little, and go back home. I haven’t been to my gym since we entered 2014, though, if you follow the blog, you know that I’ve still been working out in other ways, and in smaller residential gyms. Gyms make me nervous this time of year because there are just so many people in the gym, you can’t get any machines during prime time (right after work), and guys tend to be in super creep mode. I was feeling brave tonight. What can I say?
When I went online to pull up the class schedule for Thursday, there it was: CARDIO KICKBOXING WITH RONALD! Um, sorry everything else, but this is about to be my jam for tonight, I thought. I might have said it out loud to myself, like a crazy person, but I don’t really remember…
Anyway, I threw on multiple layers, grabbed a practically empty gym bag, and ran over the gym. Fine, I ran 2/3 of the way to the gym, and then breathing got harder because of the cold air, and I became afraid of the drivers in the Whole Foods parking lot I have to cross to get to the gym, so I walked the remaining 1/3.
I scanned in my card, climbed the stairs, and got to the class just as it was beginning. I have a spot in the corner I like for all of the group fitness classes, so I bee-lined my way into it. This was sort of dumb, because the crazy man next to me nearly roundhouse kicked me in the face at least a dozen times during the 55 minutes of class.
I put my stuff down, ripped off all my layers like the Hulk*, and noticed that we had a live DJ in the class. A LIVE DJ, PEOPLE! I knew that it was about to get real in that class. Ronald usually has some crazy jams on, with the music at a super high BPM, so I knew we were in for a treat. We did our warm-up routine, which was enough of a burn to begin with. Then, we started getting down to business.
I freaking love kickboxing. I love the throwing of ‘bows, the upper cuts, the roundhouse kicks, regular kicks, every kind of kick really, EXCEPT when the kicks are being directed at me because the person next to me hasn’t gotten the routine down despite practicing it in portions and going through 8 sets of each. Ugh, that guy.
The DJ kept looking at me with concern because that dude was mad squirrelly. Like, he was so off on everything. Wrong leg. Wrong action. (Like, we’re all doing upper cuts and jabs, and you’re really just roundhouse kicking for fun right now?) At one point, he kicked the big cage in the studio that stores extra equipment. Like, kicked it so hard it opened. It startled the instructor, who even commented on it. That guy was a hot mess. The best part, I think, was when class ended, and he turned to me, grinning, and said, “great class!” Hot. Mess.
At the end of it all, I burned about 700 calories. HOLY GUACAMOLE! It actually was a great class. It was fun, there were more people than usually, and I couldn’t stop trying to imitate this lady on the other side of the class who had some serious biceps going. Do you guys do that? Do you watch someone in the front of your class because they seem to be able to execute everything perfectly, in the best fitness clothes, with the most muscles? No? Just me?
Cardio kickboxing is awesome! If you haven’t tried it, you definitely should! You get a great burn, get some of your aggression out, and it’s a ton of fun. If you don’t have a gym you can do it in, check out Allie over at Vita Train for Life who has a good 11-minute cardio kickboxing video up on her blog/youtube.
Oh, and if you have some extra energy left over when you’re done, throw some extra ‘bows for me. 🙂
*or, I just took them off super quickly, not wanting to rip anything because Under Armour ain’t cheap!
Oh, and here’s what I wore to the gym (I used items similar to what I wore when I couldn’t find the exact match). I like to layer up on my way to the gym, so I wore my UA Cold Gear warm-up pants over my Cold Gear compression leggings. This was for two reasons: I want to cover up my badonkadonk so I don’t get harassed on my way to/from the gym, and I want to stay extra warm (I’m always cold). I love winter vests, and they take up a lot less space than coats, which makes it easier to stuff in my gym bag during class. During class, I wore a t-shirt I won in a volleyball league. I didn’t look sexy at the gym, but ain’t nobody got time fo dat! Especially not when I KNOW I’m going to get mega underboob sweat during class. Oh! And I wore my lululemon Ta Ta Tamer II, which actually was way more comfortable this time around.
Enjoy!
