Want to Get Into Kickboxing? Here’s How to Prepare
There is a lot to expect when you start kickboxing. Whether you’re familiar with it or hitting the gym for the very first time, it is important that you come prepared. Kickboxing is one of the easiest ways to help you get in shape, as it’s a whole-body workout. You’ll also find the intensity and the pace to be two identifying factors for kickboxing, so if activities that involve these two factors are to your liking, you’ll probably like kickboxing as well. Although starting your first kickboxing class can be a bit intimidating, you should feel confident when you come fully prepared. In this guide, we’ll show how to do just that.
Create a Plan
The first thing kickboxing gurus recommend doing is starting with a plan. Everyone has their own reasons to start kickboxing. If you’ve started it for competition, your plan, goals, and overall exercises will be entirely different from the plan of someone who wants to lose weight. Therefore, you’ll have to start by writing down your goals. The next thing you should consider is your current physical level. Everyone will also have different fitness levels depending on what type of exercise they used to do in the past. Of course, the class difficulty for someone who has already been an active kickboxer will be greater than that of someone who hasn’t exercised at all in their life.
If you’re on other gym programs, take note that you’ll have to include this new fitness plan into your new schedule and workout routine. You should also bear in mind that kickboxing is an exhausting exercise since it’s a full-body workout, which means that you’ll have to plan days off to give your muscles a chance to recover.
Hand Wraps or Gloves
The next thing you’ll have to worry about is hand wraps and gloves. Nothing will make you feel like a pro than donning the infamous kickboxing gloves or hand wraps. However, you should bear in mind that kickboxers don’t wear them merely for looks. Both hand wraps and gloves offer a great degree of protection and support, so risking exercising without them might result in injuries.
Luckily, hand wraps are easy to find, but you might have to do some browsing first before choosing your pair of gloves. If you look at any kickboxing gloves buyers guide on the internet, you’ll find that some of the most important features to look for are quality and durability since you’re going to be using them repeatedly throughout the week and for an extended period of time. You may not feel the need to buy a pair, as gyms usually offer gloves at your first couple of classes but investing in a personal pair is a must later on.
Healthy Diet
It seems that a well-balanced diet is essential for any gym plan; the same goes for kickboxing classes. You should avoid at all costs stuffing your stomach before class. Instead, you can opt for a light breakfast. A snack that has a range of 200-300 calories should suffice as well. In any case, make sure that you get that calorie intake before going to class, as kickboxing will burn a lot of calories. While kickboxing is one of the best methods that will help you lose weight in a short duration of time, it is crucial that you balance your efforts out with a healthy diet to get the best results. There is no standard kickboxing diet that you can follow, but you can eat nutritious snacks, like multigrain crackers, whole-grain toast, and scrambled eggs, or low-fat Greek yogurt.
Choose a Gym
While learning kickboxing at home is not beyond the realm of possibility, it is best that you choose a gym or a martial arts studio to receive proper training. Kickboxing classes, exercise, and schedules will solely depend on the preferences of the instructor, so there’s no way of knowing what to expect in this regard unless you enroll in a class yourself. Some instructors, for instance, like to integrate choreographed moves and music, which will make you feel as if you’re in a dance class and not kickboxing. If you’re preparing for a competition, it is best that you consider a more serious class that offers a combination of choreographic movements.
The best way to go about this is to search for classes near you. Once you’ve found a sufficient amount of results, you can set criteria based on your plan and fitness goals and compare these to the descriptions included in all of these classes. There are studios that might offer trial classes, so you may try that out if you have doubts.
Now that you know how to get started with kickboxing, finding the right class shouldn’t pose much of a problem for you. Note that you may not know how a kickboxing class will benefit you unless you try it yourself. If you still have doubts about a certain studio or a gym, you can check people’s reviews online to dispel any doubts you have.
