Kickboxing is a brutal, high-octane sport. It is an off-shoot of Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand. The name ‘kickboxing’ was first coined in Japan in the 1950s, when American Karate practitioners started to incorporate Muay Thai techniques into their own art (9). This stand-up combat sport uses punches and kicks; hence the name ‘kickboxing’. Opponents face each other in a ring, and the aim is to either knock out your opponent, or score enough points to win by decision. Boutique fitness studios across the globe are now offering cardio kickboxing classes, which are based on the same principles as the sport, but without the contact.
Unlike traditional Muay Thai or kickboxing training, which is more focused on developing technique and power, cardio kickboxing is designed to be a full-body workout that gets your heart rate up and burns calories. It’s less about learning how to fight, and more about getting a great workout.
Here’s everything you need to know about cardio kickboxing, including the benefits of this type of exercise, how to get started, and a sample beginner workout.
Cardio kickboxing is a type of workout that combines elements of boxing, Muay Thai, and karate. It usually takes place in a group fitness class setting, with music playing to help keep participants motivated.
The class will typically involve punching and kicking combinations that are performed for set periods of time, followed by brief rest periods. The aim is to keep moving for the entire class, and to get your heart rate up so that you can burn calories and fat.
The basic movements in a cardio kickboxing class are relatively simple:
Cardio kickboxing classes usually last for around 45 minutes to an hour. They can be quite challenging, but they’re also a lot of fun.
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Cardio kickboxing is an excellent form of aerobic exercise. An aerobic exercise is any type of activity that gets your heart rate up and makes you breathe more heavily.
When performed regularly, aerobic exercises can help to improve your cardiovascular fitness and reduce your risk of heart disease.
Aerobic exercises are often contrasted with anaerobic exercises, which is any type of activity that is performed at a high intensity for a short period of time. Examples of anaerobic exercises include sprinting and lifting weights.
How many calories you burn during a cardio kickboxing class will depend on your weight, intensity level, and how long the class lasts. However, the American Council on Exercise estimates that this high-energy workout can burn between 350 and 450 calories an hour (2).
Cardio kickboxing can also be a great form of resistance training. Resistance training is any type of exercise that helps to build muscle and bone mass. It can be performed using your own body weight, or with external weights such as dumbbells or barbells.
For it to have the muscle-building benefits, the resistance must be significant enough that it challenges your muscles. To make cardio kickboxing an effective form of resistance training, you can hold dumbbells while you punch and kick.
Cardio kickboxing provides all the benefits of aerobic exercise, plus some additional ones. Here are some of the main benefits of this type of workout:
Despite being one of the most important organs in the body, the heart doesn’t get much of a workout in our day-to-day lives. It’s also exposed to a lot of stress from things like unhealthy diets, smoking, and sedentary lifestyles.
Regular aerobic exercise helps to keep the heart muscle strong and healthy. It also reduces the risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure and improving cholesterol levels (4).
When you’re deep into a 55-minute cardio kickboxing class, several processes are taking place that are good for your heart health, including:
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Cardio kickboxing can be an effective weight-loss tool, especially when combined with a healthy diet. To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit, which means you need to burn more calories than you’re consuming (11).
Cardio exercises like kickboxing are a great way to burn calories. As we mentioned earlier, you can burn between 350 and 450 calories in just one hour of cardio kickboxing. Combine that with a healthy diet, and you’re well on your way to achieving your weight-loss goals.
Cardio kickboxing is a great workout for improving coordination (o). The punching and kicking movements require you to use both your arms and legs, which can help to improve the coordination between the two sides of your body.
This is a valuable skill to have, as good coordination can help you perform everyday activities more easily and reduce your risk of injury.
Cardio kickboxing also helps to improve balance (16). The constant movement and changing of positions (from standing to squatting to kicking) challenge your sense of balance and help to improve your balance over time.
Improved balance is important for falls prevention, as well as overall joint health especially in older adults (12).
There’s no doubt about it, cardio kickboxing is a great way to blow off some steam and relieve stress. The physical exertion can help to release built-up tension, and the punching and kicking movements can be cathartic.
In addition, the endorphins released during exercise can help to improve your mood and reduce stress levels (5).
Poor sleep is linked to a number of health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and depression (8). Getting regular exercise can help to improve sleep quality (15).
Cardio kickboxing is a great workout for improving sleep quality. Physical activity can help to tire you out, and the endorphins released during exercise can help to improve your mood and reduce stress levels.
Regular aerobic exercise like cardio kickboxing helps to improve joint health (3). It does this by:
Healthy joints are important for overall mobility and quality of life.
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Endurance is the body’s ability to sustain physical activity for an extended period of time (6). Kickboxing is a great workout for increasing endurance because it challenges both your aerobic and anaerobic energy systems.
The constant movement in kickboxing elevates your heart rate and challenges your cardiovascular system. The bursts of speed and power also challenge your anaerobic energy system.
Improving your endurance can help you to better meet the demands of daily life and physical activity.
While cardio kickboxing won’t turn you into a professional fighter, it can give you the basic skills and confidence you need to defend yourself in a dangerous situation.
The punching and kicking movements can help to build strength and power, while the defensive drills can teach you how to react if someone tries to attack you.
Your confidence will also improve, which can be helpful in a self-defense situation.
Regular exercise has been shown to improve mental health. It can help to reduce stress and anxiety, and it can also improve mood and cognitive function (7).
Research into depression and anxiety has shown that exercise can be as effective as medication in some cases (14). There are notable changes in the brain which are caused by exercise and that can translate into improved mental health.
Last but not least, cardio kickboxing is just plain fun! It’s a great workout for people who get bored easily, as it’s always changing and there’s never a dull moment.
Plus, the group atmosphere of most classes can help to motivate you and make the time fly by.
It might seem like all you have to do while performing your kickboxing workout at home is throw a few punches and kicks in the air, but there’s a little bit more to it than that. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your cardio kickboxing workout:
Like all other exercises, proper form is important in kickboxing. Before you start throwing punches and kicks at full speed, take some time to practice the moves in slow motion.
This will help you to get a feel for the correct form and ensure that you’re using the right muscles. It’s also a good way to prevent injuries. Below are some tips for proper form while performing common kickboxing moves:
Footwork is another important part of kickboxing. It helps you to stay balanced and provides the foundation for all of your punches and kicks. There are two main types of footwork used in kickboxing:
Other stances such as the horse stance, cat stance, and crane stance are also used in kickboxing, but these are the three most common.
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What you do before and after your workout is just as important as the workout itself. Be sure to warm up before you start kicking and punching to get your muscles loose and to prevent injuries.
A simple 5-10 minute warm-up of light cardio and dynamic stretching is all you need. After your workout, it’s important to cool down and stretch again. This will help your muscles to recover and prevent soreness.
While you don’t need much equipment to do a kickboxing workout at home, there are a few things that can help to make it more effective. Investing in a quality pair of gloves, hand wraps, and a punching bag is worth the money.
Cardio kickboxing will help you to burn a lot of calories, so it’s important to fuel your body properly before and after your workout. A pre-workout snack should be high in carbs and low in fat to give you energy (13).
Post-workout, you’ll want to replenish your glycogen stores with a carb-rich meal or snack. Be sure to stay hydrated throughout the day, especially on days that you’re working out. Drinking plenty of water will help your body to recover and prevent muscle soreness (10).
Here is a sample cardio kickboxing workout for beginners, adapted from the Athletics and Fitness Association of America (1). It includes a warm-up, main workout, and cool-down. Some acronyms are used in the main workout section. They stand for:
RHFS:
HS:
RHFS:
LHFS:
Cardio kickboxing is a great way to get a full-body workout. It’s also an effective way to burn calories and improve your cardiovascular health. If you’re new to kickboxing, be sure to start with a beginner-level workout and gradually increase the intensity as you get more comfortable.
Always warm up and cool down before and after your workout, and be sure to stay hydrated throughout the day.
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