Best Kickboxing Workout

For those of you who find Yoga monotonous and lack the patience of holding those long, gradual and meditative stances, here are some of the best kickboxing workout which you may follow to kick the hell out of flab and extra weight! For readers who are not quite familiar with the term (though I doubt it!), kickboxing, it is a martial art and combat sport which involves delivering kicks and punches for attacking as well as defending. It is a standing sport and a fight stops if one or both combatants fall down on the ground. Get yourself a pair of gloves and some padding and get ready to have a great time with these kickboxing workouts!

Best Workouts for Kickboxing

Below are some kickboxing moves which, when reverently followed, may double as a cardio kickboxing workout as well as a great fat busting exercise. Check out the below moves and sketch out a kickboxing workout routine for yourself by practicing these kickboxing moves for beginners.

Jabs
Jabs are straight punching exercises and are one of the best kickboxing workouts to tone the upper arm and shoulder muscles. Stand with your right foot moderately extended forward and deliver a quick, forceful, straight punch with your right arm, twisting your forearm so as to make your wrist face the ground. The arm movement should be sudden and forceful, keeping the arm in line with your shoulder, and you must recoil your arm immediately. Repeat on the left side.

Cross
Stand with your right foot moderately extended forward. Point the left foot towards the right, turning the left knee and hip towards the right in the process, followed by left arm and left shoulder. Twist your left forearm so that the wrist faces the ground and extend it in front with a jerk, without locking your elbow. Recoil and return to the beginning stance. Repeat on the other side. When you deliver the punch, make sure to derive the force from the hip and not from the shoulder. This way, when the strength comes from the core, the blow is more powerful!

Hook
Stand with the left foot extending forward in a fighting stance. Treating the ball of your left foot as a pivot, turn left knee, hip, shoulder and arm simultaneously towards the right as you deliver a punch with your left arm towards the right. Keep the right arm raised in a fighting stance all this while. Recoil and repeat on other side. This is one of the best fat burning kickboxing workout as it works the sides to get rid of love handles and tone the waist.

Upper Cut
An upper cut is an upwards punch which is aimed at the chin of an opponent. Stand with left foot extended in a fighting stance. Dropping your right arm slightly, bend both knees and twist your hips towards the left as you thrust your right fist straight upwards with your knuckles facing the ceiling and wrist facing your body. Keep your left fist tightly clenched near the left side of your face. Recoil and repeat on the other side.

Front Kick
Okay, time to kick some serious fat! Stand with left foot forward in a fighting stance, with both fists raised near the face. Shift your body weight to your right foot and raise the left foot high, bringing left knee in level with your chest. Keep whichever foot you raise flexed and alert. Use the force of your hips to deliver these kicks, keeping your fists up, as if you wish to punch your opponent with the heel of your foot. Retract and repeat on other side. This is a great kickboxing workout for the hips and hamstrings besides being a great cardio kickboxing workout.

Roundhouse Kick
This is a circular kick in which the active leg moves high in an arc. Stand with right foot extended forward in a fighting stance. Raise the right foot with the knee slightly bent such that the right heel points towards your backside. Treating your left foot as the pivot, turn the hips to the left and strike from right to left, bringing your right foot towards the left in an arc and extending the kick from the knee, keeping the toes pointed. Keep your fists raised, with the left fist in front of your chin and the right fist by your side in a fighting stance all the while. Retract and repeat on other side. This is one of the best kickboxing exercises to develop agility of the hip girdle.

Side Kick
Standing with your left foot forward in a fighting stance, turn your hips towards the right and rest on right toes after extending them out. Bending your left knee, lift your left foot up so that the left knee is very close to your chest. Borrow force from your backside to deliver a powerful kick by extending your left foot forward in a sudden, forceful movement. Counterbalance this force by leaning the rest of your torso towards the right. Keep the left toes perpendicular to the shaft of your leg so that it is the heel which delivers the blow. Keep your fists raised and near the face all this while. Retract and repeat on other side. This is one of the most powerful kickboxing techniques to deal a powerful and serious blow to the opponent. This move is a good exercise for the upper thighs, butts and hips.

These are some of the best kickboxing workouts which have been tried and tested for efficacy. Plan and develop your own kickboxing workout routine by including the above moves into different kickboxing combinations. Gradually increase the intensity and frequency of repetition, especially, the ones involving the kicks as these will need some time to master and should be taken slowly in the beginning to avoid pulling and straining muscles. For starting at home, it is best if you get hold of a good kickboxing workout DVD and follow the steps shown therein to avoid injury and improper moves. Once you get a hang of these routines and warm up to these moves, you can use training equipment and enroll for kickboxing drills at a gym near your place! Lose weight, stay in shape and develop strength and combat skills at the same time! Get started and have fun!