Ever thought of trying kickboxing but haven’t done so yet? Many female celebs like Gigi Hadid, Andriana Lima and Chloe Kardashian swear by this type of exercise for quite a few reasons. If (like most of us) you are fed up with ordinary bicycle, squats and weight-lifting exercises and wish to try something different, here are a few reasons to try kickboxing and see for yourself why this works, in many different ways:
It helps increase muscle strength. Jumps, kicks, and punches require plenty of muscle strength, especially considering the fact that the boxing sack weights 40-50 kgs. In just one session, you move and exercise multiple muscles at the same time and you have to move fast and constantly when doing all these movements. These multiple fats movements not only help you sweat faster, they increase muscle strength too, especially if you are doing at least two 45min. sessions per week. The effects are also amplified if you do other strengthening exercises e.g weight lifts, before or after your kickboxing sessions.
It helps with body balance and coordination. You may think that isn’t a very important thing but having a good body balance and coordination of movements helps overall health as well. The coordination of eyes, hands, and feet especially makes you improve your reflexes, which tend to weaken as you get older. As you are getting older, the need to achieve a better body balance becomes greater and a good way to improve it is by doing regular kickboxing sessions. The fact that kickboxing requites swift and fast multiple movements is enough on its own to help improve your body balance.
It eases stress. Generally speaking, exercising in all its forms helps release endorphins, which are hormones that regulate stress levels and make us feel “happier” and more energized to continue our weight loss efforts. The beauty of kickboxing though is that it is more stress-releasing compared to other forms of exercise because of all the fast and fierce body action involved. It’s no wonder why many of us are jokingly advised to kick a boxing sack when we are nervous or tense--it is a really powerful stress-releasing experience.
Ιn addition to the above, kickboxing also helps improve your focus levels, due to the level of attention it requires and the coordination of multiple fast movements. If you follow up the session with a few minutes of meditation right after, your focus and mindfulness levels will certainly spike over time.