Let’s be honest, winter weather isn’t always the most inspiring for getting out of the house for a workout.  Especially when you’re wanting a solid, heart-pumping workout — going for a long run in the cold isn’t always at the top of your list!  That’s why I love Cardio Kickboxing in the winter.

I love Cardio Kickboxing because it is different from any other class I teach, it is constant high-energy, it makes me sore in different areas of my body, and it’s a change! In order to see change in our bodies, it is important to mix things up — and that’s exactly what I like to do with Cardio Kickboxing.

I love that this class incorporates a different style of workout into my weekly routine — it gets my heart rate up, is energetic and allows me to get out any frustrations I have left over from the week.  Each class works my full body, using everything from speed bag exercises to jabs and kicks.  I love to remind my class participants that just some of the amazing benefits of kickboxing include:

• Toning your Entire Body: Kickboxing forces you to engage all the muscle groups in your body, helping you stay injury-free.  If you do your punches and kicks correctly (and I help you do that!), they require intense core stability — allowing you to get  an amazing core workout throughout the whole class.  And as we all know, when you have a strong core (abdominals and lower back), everything in life is easier 🙂
• Improved Balance and Coordination:  People often forget to practice balance in their workouts, so it’s the first thing to go.  In kickboxing, we are oftentimes balancing on one leg when kicking the other in three or more different directions, giving you a constant challenge for your body’s balance and coordination.
• Improved Cardio Endurance: Kickboxing keeps your heart rate elevated throughout the entire hour because there are very little breaks!

But what do we do in class exactly?  A few of my favorite moves to incorporate are:

• Speed bag drills
• Punches galore: (with and without weights), including jabs, cross-body jabs, uppercuts and hooks
• Around the world kicks
• Roundhouse kicks
• Side shuffle kickboxing combinations… and more!

Getting bored with your routine or just can’t get yourself excited to work out in the cold?  Come join me at Cardio Kickboxing and give one of my favorite styles of exercise a try 🙂 You’ll be “hooked!”

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Molly Daniels teaches Cardio Kickboxing weekly in Austin, Thursdays at 9:30am at Synergy Dance Studio.  

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