Sports
Move It Mountain View: Kickboxing at Cuesta (Part One)
Explore some basic cardio kickboxing punches to tone and strengthen your entire upper body and core.
Cardio kickboxing is a great way to tap into your inner boxing champion without risking an actual knockout—yours or someone else’s.
This week, I went to to demonstrate some basic cardio kickboxing punches that will give you great upper body workout. These punches will strengthen your arms, shoulders, chest, back and abdominal muscles. Perform them rapidly and your heart rate is sure to increase, giving you a cardiovascular workout as well.
Before completing each punch, you’ll need to get into a basic stance. This is where you stand with your feet shoulder width apart, right foot facing forward and left foot pointed outward. Hold the elbows in at your ribs, place tight fists just under your chin, and hold your abdominal muscles tight, as if you were preparing for someone to punch you in the belly.
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(For simplicity’s sake, I have described how to perform each punch on the right side only. Be sure to switch the position of the feet and also complete these punches on the left side.)
Jab: Rotate the torso towrd the left as you extend the right arm forward to punch. Snap the fist back quickly. Continue and repeat on the other side.
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Hook: Bring the right elbow up to shoulder height and punch toward the left side, so that the forearm is parallel to the floor. Pivot slightly on the right toe as you punch.
Uppercut: Bring the right elbow up to shoulder height as you extend the fist past your face and above your head. Be careful not to swing the arm. Lift the left heel off the ground as you explode up and then back down to your starting position.
Cross: Extend the left arm forward and across the body as you pivot slightly on the left foot. Use the muscles in the back to rotate forward as you punch.
I recommend starting out with 20 repetitions or thirty seconds of each punch on each side. After you have the form and technique down, feel free to mix and match these punches to a create as many different combinations as you like. For example, throwing a jab, cross, hook, and upper cut is a lot more challenging than just doing the same punch over and over again. Have fun with it!
Be sure to check out next week’s Move It Mountain View, where I will breakdown some of my favorite lower body cardio kickboxing moves. See you then!
