Anyone tried Kickboxing? Suggestions for other Cross-trainin

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allenpearcy
allenpearcy Posts: 227 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am thinking of trying something totally different this fall/winter for a cross-train sport. Anyone tried Kickboxing?

If so, does it produce a good burn? Is it hard on your knees?

If not, do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Replies

  • mikesmaniacmind
    mikesmaniacmind Posts: 19
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    I actually compete in MMA and i train in kickboxing and jui-jitsu and it is one hell of a workout. Even if you do not compete just the training itself is killer. I have been doing it for about 6 years.

    Most of the training is pretty much all cardio work. It gives you a good burn and you will be sore regardless of how many times you do it. That is if you are doing hardcore training in it for a couple hours. But any of it is good exercise for anybody. I definitely recommend it. It's not bad on your knees unless you have bad knees already, you may do alot of squat thrusts and kicking and balancing. Other that that in kickboxing you really don't do much on your knees unless you get kicked in them. Your shins will get a beating though if you do any sparring.
  • KeepOnMoving
    KeepOnMoving Posts: 383 Member
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    I love kickboxing! Certain kickboxing is hard on your knees. I started Tae Bo, boxing class, kickboxing class (using boxing gloves and punching bag) for reasons of a permanent knee injury from running. My knees are stronger than what they use to be doing pilates type strengthening and taking bone supplements over several months. So now I rarely have knee problems doing kickboxing. I am not sure if I can run like I use to, but I can burn 400-700 or more calories doing the other.
  • mildrenia
    mildrenia Posts: 5
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    Kickboxing does some decent cal burn and is my prefered cardio =) I do not enjoy the squatting aspect though. Top part of my knees (maybe a muscle?) gets me every time, hehe. Eventually once my body is in trained a little better I'd like to get into capoeira. Maybe you'd like to see about that sport? =)
  • KeepOnMoving
    KeepOnMoving Posts: 383 Member
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    You do more hip action than knee action. :wink:
  • LillysGranny
    LillysGranny Posts: 431
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    I assume you are talking about fitness kickboxing since you didn't ask if it hurts when you get kicked/punched....In the classes I teach, we do a variety of kicks and punches mixed with an even bigger variety of calisthenics. Essentially, anything that IS kicking or punching or anything a real fighter would do to get in shape is fair game. My classes do include squats, lunges, running, plyometrics and they do sometimes present problems for people with bad knees. However, there is a reasonable modification for everything and the benefits of cross-training in martial arts, or anything martial arts related, cannot be praised enough! We have had golfers improve their drives, triathletes improve their times. You may have to try a few different classes to find one that you feel is a good fit. Oh, and you asked about calorie burn....the people in my classes with hrm's burn between 500-800 calories per hour. I think that 's a pretty good burn :)
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    I love Tae Bo.
  • Peschuntz
    Peschuntz Posts: 270 Member
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    I love cross country skiing (NordicTrack) and am convinced it is the best form of exercise I have ever done, and here's why . . . (1) great calorie burn; (2) 50% less impact than walking; (3) it incorporates strength training and cardio. The back and forth motion also whittles the waist. Sadly, I don't think I can find 5 people on this site who still use cross country ski machines. They were very popular in the early 90s and were the precursor for the elliptical (also uses upper and lower body motion with little impact, but requires less balance.)

    Yes, I enjoy kickboxing very much.
  • CGSW4
    CGSW4 Posts: 12
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    I do kick boxing and lost about 20kg so far. I think the cardio element really burns the calories off.
    Your mind is engaged for the full session so the time passes quickly and because you are generally with a partner you keep each other going which is great.
    There is a big difference between serious kickboxing and fitness kickboxing. I would strongly recommend the real fighting type lesson where you kick and punch your partner (with pads) – its generally done at 20% or 50% of max so there is little risk of injury, people take into account your abilities and at least the techniques are taught correctly which minimise any potential injury
    An hours session burns c 700 – 800 calories and certainly gives you an good overall work out especially I have noticed big changes on my upper body
    Don’t think it is hard on the knees, I personally find it harder on the right shoulder mostly due to punching the pads
    I also use an elliptical machine which is great for cardio and light on the knees, although not as good as the kick boxing in terms of calorie burn
    Regards
  • LillysGranny
    LillysGranny Posts: 431
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    I do kick boxing and lost about 20kg so far. I think the cardio element really burns the calories off.
    Your mind is engaged for the full session so the time passes quickly and because you are generally with a partner you keep each other going which is great.
    There is a big difference between serious kickboxing and fitness kickboxing. I would strongly recommend the real fighting type lesson where you kick and punch your partner (with pads) – its generally done at 20% or 50% of max so there is little risk of injury, people take into account your abilities and at least the techniques are taught correctly which minimise any potential injury
    An hours session burns c 700 – 800 calories and certainly gives you an good overall work out especially I have noticed big changes on my upper body
    Don’t think it is hard on the knees, I personally find it harder on the right shoulder mostly due to punching the pads
    I also use an elliptical machine which is great for cardio and light on the knees, although not as good as the kick boxing in terms of calorie burn
    Regards

    I have to take issue with your across the board slam of fitness kickboxing classes. While there are gyms that have sent their step aerobics instructor to a 2-day kickboxing seminar and now she is running kickboxing classes, there are also gyms like mine. I have a black belt in traditional Japanese karate and I have competed in Muay Thai (I'm 6-0 amateur). I do not over-instruct my fitness students, but over the course of a few weeks they all look as good as people who have been in the "real" class for a couple of weeks. Contact is a very scary idea for some people, even if it is just a person holding pads. We have at least one fighter in our gym who wouldn't be there if we had not offered a no-contact option to get started in our programs. We are affiliated with other gyms and they also use real fighters to teach their fitness classes.

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