I'm stronger than I realize!

lq022

So this week, I decided to get back into one of my favorite classes at the gym -- KICKBOXING! .. I've been doing my gym's kickboxing class, on and off, for about 8 years now... It used to be free with my gym membership (oh how I should of taken advantage of it sooo much more back then!) but now, since the instructor needs to put insurance on the class, they charge $5/class or about $25 a month ONTOP of your gym membership already (it can get pretty pricey!) .. but nonetheless, I went back to it this Monday night ... as I was doing the warmup ... I fell right back in love with it ... All of the fluid motions seemed to have been memorized by my body ...and you would never have been able to tell that I hadn't been there in almost 1 1/2 years! The next day, I wasnt as sore as I thought I was going to be ... I just felt ... tighter. From my biceps and shoulders to my back and my butt .. everything felt nicely stretched ... I had a few winces of pain over the course of the day .. but I liked it lol

Then last night, a friend of mine just joined the gym so she was eager to try out one of the other classes --- punches. This is a boxing conditioning class that has been at my gym for about 5 months so far, and I had always wanted to try it .. but something always stopped me. Whether it was the money for that too ($10//class or $40/month!), the fact that I was intimidated by it etc .. but this time .. I didnt have an excuse .. She was going to do it with me, and I didnt want to back out .... So we went there and introduced ourselves to the instructor and told him we'd never done anything like this before ... of course he was really nice about it and said to just have fun and we'd be fine .... 3 minutes into the warmup, I wanted to quit. Not that it was extremely hard, but I just wasnt in that type of shape ......... or so I thought.

The entire class had 4 stations: Station #1: You do 25 jumping jacks and 25 mountain climbers for 2 minutes without stopping ... Station #2: There is a huge rope attached to the wall of the gym and you hold both ends and do alternating throws of the rope (like on the biggest loser) .. you do those for 2 minutes .... Station#3: Jumping rope for 2 minutes .. Station #4: heavy bags ... with a partner, you alternate because a few different punches and learn form & technique .... The hardest thing for me was the mountain climbers and jumping jacks ... I HATE anything that has to do with endurance .. mainly because I dont have any . But I made a promise ... I could do this class for one hour ... I didnt think I was going to be able to get through kickboxing the night before because I didnt do it for so long .. and I did kickboxing ... I would do the same with this. And ya wanna know what? I kept talking to myself through the mountain climbers/jumping jacks "Just dont think about it .. just go .. I lknow you're tired but you're not going to get anytihng out of this by stopping" ... And I completed the entire class. I was sore, and sweaty and in pain ... but I was OK. I wasn't hurt, I didnt pass out and I didnt die.



I'm learning to push myself .. I'm learning to expect more out of myself ... and I haven't disappointment myself yet

ninerbuff

Keep it up! Conditioning is achieved through continuous repetition. Being a certified kickboxing instructor myself, it's great to see many make the attempt, but at the same time watch the faces of those who think that they can do this with no problem. They get it after a few minutes into the class.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Mom2rh

Good for you! You are an athlete!

vim_n_vigor

Awesome! Glad for you!

elliott82

I started a boxing class and was so intimidated by all the work that I didn't think I'd make it either. I just had to tell myself I was competing against me, not the other (tall, thin) girls. Like you, I didn't die. I surprised myself and, dang it, I felt great for finishing. You know what really helped me? Seeing how many calories I burned by working that hard in one hour.

So proud of you!

lq022

yeah the calorie burn is definately worth it! I actually found out that there is another kickboxing class tonight so im going to go to that one ... I'm really tired though and only slept 5 hours last night soo i have a feeling after this one tonight, ill probably just come home and pass out and take a break from the gym tomorrow haha