Most women associate “kickboxing” with the 1989 Jean Claude Van-Damme film “Kickboxer” and its brutal fight scenes. Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I enjoyed the film, and I enjoy kickboxing as a sport, but there is a completely different type of kickboxing: cardio kickboxing. Kickboxing isn’t just for men; in fact, it’s becoming increasingly popular among women, and for good reason!
Cardio kickboxing offers almost all of the benefits of kickboxing without the negative side effects of being punched in the face. Believe me when I say that getting punched in the face is extremely overrated. When used primarily as a workout (rather than a contact sport), kickboxing provides numerous health and movement functionality benefits for women, not to mention it is a complete total body workout! Do you want to tone your arms and legs? Do you want a sexy flat midsection? Cardio kickboxing, on the other hand, will help you achieve your ideal body faster than most other fitness methods. Weight loss, time efficiency, motor skill improvement, increased bone density, muscle growth, and increased confidence are some of the other advantages of kickboxing.
- Loss Weight: Cardiovascular exercise for weight loss Kickboxing is a type of High-Intensity Training or HIT. When compared to long slow cardio, HIT has been shown to be a superior form of training. If you don’t believe me, look up images of sprinters versus marathoners. Individuals who engage in high-intensity training get the most bang for their fitness buck. HIT is the most effective way for women to lose weight while also building muscle. This is significant because we want to not only lose weight but also look good. A little muscle is always more appealing than no muscle (skinny fat).
- Time management: Today’s women must balance work and family obligations, which leaves little time for exercise. Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to spend multiple hours in the gym to lose weight when it feels like every minute of every day is accounted for? You’ve come to the right place! Cardio kickboxing provides a total-body workout. In fact, women have the ability to burn up to 1200 calories per hour. When a person commits to kickboxing three to four times per week, they will notice noticeable changes in their body composition in as little as three weeks. What other form of exercise can achieve these results with only 3 – 4 hours of workout per week? Even the busiest of us can find 3 – 4 hours per week to volunteer!
- Improved motor skills: This is probably the most underappreciated benefit of kickboxing, but it is the most beneficial to one’s quality of life. Whether it’s due to our sedentary lifestyle or simply getting older, we humans begin to become an uncoordinated mess once we reach our 30s. Our movements have become stiff and ridged rather than fluid. Consider how a tiger moves in the wild. It is very fluid and even beautiful, whereas your typical 9 to 5 office worker waddles through life very “sloppily,” and for most of these people, just thinking about doing something athletic causes them to pull a muscle. When experienced kickboxers walk around, their general movements resemble those of a tiger in the wild, and their movement is extremely fluid. Furthermore, in my experience of the fitness world, there is very little that can compete with kickboxing in the motor skills improvement category, particularly for women. Our bodies are our vehicles, and we must take care of them and use them to their full potential.
- Increased bone density: As we age, our bones become more fragile. Despite the fact that it is unjust, women are at a much higher risk of osteoporosis than men. However, kickboxing comes to the rescue once more. Our bones, believe it or not, are similar to muscles in that if they are not used, they will deteriorate. Exercise, such as resistance or weight-bearing movements, stimulates our bones, encouraging new bone growth and increasing our overall bone strength. A heavy bag is used in a true cardio kickboxing workout (over 90-lbs). Punching and kicking a heavy bag significantly increases training resistance while minimizing harmful hard impacts that can be hard on an individual’s joints. We are less likely to be injured if our bones are stronger!
- Muscle growth: Improving overall strength is probably the most important aspect of overall fitness and quality of life. If everything else is equal in both sports and life, the stronger person will always win! Isn’t it true that only the strong survive? Muscle strength is increased by resistance training. Cardio kickboxing gyms like CKO have you punching and kicking a 125-pound heavy bag. These heavy bags provide a significant amount of resistance, stimulating your muscles throughout the workout. Most typical cardio workouts, such as running or Zumba, primarily work your cardiovascular system while providing little muscle stimulation due to the lack of resistance. Stronger people not only perform better, but they are less prone to injury and look better as well! Remember that being strong is the new being skinny!
- Increased self-assurance: Let’s be honest. Is there anything better than being extremely strong and fit, having “cat-like reflexes,” moving fluidly the way the human body was designed to move, and looking extremely sexy in a swimsuit?! When you feel physically strong and physically attractive, your mental state improves. Whether it’s being able to move as you did in your twenties or receiving compliments from your significant other and/or coworkers, your newfound confidence will be noticed!
Cardio kickboxing helps you lose weight, become injury resistant, tone your muscles, improve your mental state, and feel and look younger! Why would you waste time doing anything else in today’s hectic world? Remember that life is too short to spend multiple hours a day in the gym. Cardio kickboxing has the potential to improve your life!
Disclaimer
The Content is not meant to be a replacement for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any questions about a medical condition, always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider.