Kickboxing can offer more than just a great body. Here’s proof

Everybody around me has been ranting a lot about how Covid-19 has been driving them insane. Frankly, I felt it too. Staying at home has never been so stressful and daunting. To add to my misery, I began binge eating, and the weighing scale has been unforgiving ever since. 

At times, it feels like my life has turned into a meme, where you see a girl on a strict diet all day long, and as the day ends she can’t stop herself and noshes on a cheesy burger. And if the stress and the burnout weren’t enough, then the Insta reels with transformation stories have only added fuel to my fire.

But it feels like everything happens for a reason. For me, I would say all the right reasons. Because introducing myself to something had a dual impact on my well-being. Thinking what’s that? Well, it’s kickboxing.

Here’s why I opted for kickboxing 

I was tired of doing those old-school boring routines and that’s why I was looking for a kickass exercise. And what could be better than kickboxing? That’s because it is actually multi-faceted:

• It kept me fit
• Helped me relieve my anger or aggression
• And yeah, gave me great skin too

But of course, I would like to say that you can’t start it just like that. You need to gear up for it.

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Gearing up for kickboxing is another task altogether

Many of my friends have tried kickboxing, and almost everyone told me that they experienced massive soreness in their muscles, which lasted for weeks. Well, duh! Obviously, if you don’t warm your muscles up for at least 10 to 15 days, this is likely to happen.

Thankfully, I’m into fitness, so it took me a week to be ready. Here’s all that I did to keep my flexibility on point:

• Yoga: Please don’t be stupid to underestimate the power of yoga, because in kickboxing, you need to be sharp and flexible, and yoga is all about that. I’m not a pro at yoga, so I keep doing poses that are not so tough such as downward-facing dog, upward facing dog, cobra pose, boat pose, chair pose, and cat-cow pose. When I would be in a rush, a few cycles of surya namaskar is what I prefer.

• Tabata: Don’t go by the fancy name, because it is HIIT in full swing. I did it to build stamina. So, I randomly went on YouTube to look for some quick Tabata videos and that’s how I would do the routine. Trust me, a killer video of 15 minutes is good enough.
• Stretching: I swear by pre and post-workout stretching. I start with head tilts and neck stretches, and go all the way down to foot twists and ankle twists.

It’s kickboxing time, fellas! 

Yes, I took the help of YouTube to train myself, as I don’t want to opt for the Olympics. Pun intended!

Learning something new has always been fun for me, but I never thought that it would be so much fun. Initially, I didn’t get the gears at first, I was only doing shadow moves. 

• Shadow punches
• Shadow kicks
• Jabs
• A mix of shadow punches and kicks 

I started kickboxing with these moves.

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After a week, I added weights to it, and trust me it was then that I realized how hard it is. I first wrapped wrist weights and after a day or two, I used dumbbells. And I did the above moves.

Here’s how kickboxing benefitted me in million ways

1. Weight loss: Well, isn’t this obvious? Kickboxing is actually more intense than it looks. Even if you do shadow boxing, you sweat like a pig and when you sweat like this, you are bound to shed some kilos!

2. Fab skin: Talking about sweat, we all know that when we sweat, our pores open up and become much more breathable. And I felt it was a great way to rejuvenate my skin! Plus, I did what I generally do after every workout – wash my face with cold water to ensure that the pores get closed, after my sweat sesh!

3. Muscle gain: I’m not body shaming, but I would never like the fact that my butt wasn’t visible at all. But thanks to all the kicking, I have toned the area and gained some muscles down there. It’s also because I tried this move, where I included squats and punches. Well, all I can say is I can’t thank kickboxing enough.

4. Mood buster: I will call it the best outcome of doing kickboxing. I really didn’t know how to route my aggression, which is why I always ended up being rude to people. But thanks to kickboxing, now I know where to channelise my anger.

It helps me stay calmer, and I feel so good after a good kickboxing session.

5. Great sleep: I get so tired after doing all the kickboxing that I sleep like a baby. No more chamomile tea or calming music for me – just an hour’s session, and my sleep is sorted.

Well, what more do I want? Oh, I know? Now I need my boxing gloves and a sandbag to power it through. XOXO!