How to look and feel great through kickboxing

By: Jana Stewart

Are you tired of not getting results from your regular exercise routine? Are you wearing a hole in your shoe from running on the same old treadmill week after week? That’s how I felt over a year ago so I decided to stir things up and change up my routine. My activity of choice was Muay Thai boxing (better known as Fitness (or Cardio) Kickboxing)!

Kickboxing is an exciting way to get a great workout, and to learn useful martial arts techniques without having to engage in actual combat with others. I love it and it has helped me to overcome the boredom that I was dealing with from training at the gym every day.

Kickboxing improves the efficiency and strength of your heart, blood vessels and lungs, which of course provides your body with greater endurance and overall health. Other benefits include better balance, muscle tone, strength, flexibility and fast reflexes. If that's not enough, kickboxing workouts can also help you look better by helping you burn stored body fat. Kickboxing is aerobic training, meaning it uses oxygen to burn calories and fat efficiently.

The intensity of Fitness Kickboxing helps you train in the Fat Burning Zone (your heart rate at 55-85 percent of the maximum your heart can beat, referred to as your Target Heart Rate) to get the most benefit from your workout. While the average aerobics class helps burn between 200 and 400 calories per hour, the typical intense kickboxing class burns from 500 to 800 calories.

There are also other benefits to Kickboxing. Confidence building comes from the fact many people, women in particular, who have never studied a defensive art, are learning for the first time how to execute an accurate punch or kick that they may need to use someday if ever placed in danger.

Kickboxing also helps to lift your spirits. There is nothing quite like kicking and punching a bag to release stress! It also provides an excellent opportunity to fully express emotion you might not normally have an appropriate channel for. Take, for example, anger. Working it out on a bag or in a kickboxing class becomes a full body expression that is great for your mental and emotional well-being. Many people express greater levels of self-confidence, self-esteem and personal empowerment with consistent Kickboxing training.

I totally enjoy it!! I’ve lost inches and added muscle tone. That’s exactly what I needed!!!! Once I started, I could not stop, I spent less time in the gym and more time punching bags!!

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Jana has been a busy lady. As well as successfully competing in several competitions, she is also a Team Beach Body Coach. Check out some recent photos of this stunning lady below: