How To Get The Most Out Of Kickboxing

Kickboxing is an exhilarating regimen that requires diverse tools, techniques, and the right mindset to get by. So, whether you are exploring it as a fun workout activity or as a professional combat sport, there are boxes you need to check before and after you start kicking and punching to enable you to maximize your sessions. In this guide, I’ll share five helpful tips to enable you to get the most out of kickboxing. Let’s dive right into them!

1.    Curate and Follow A Healthy Pre/Post-workout Diet Plan

Being in the wellness and fitness industry, I have seen one too many times how much power nutrition wields in an individual’s fitness routine. So, I often encourage my students to get their diet plan right before anything else. Intense exercises like kickboxing often require your body to amass enough energy to complete a challenge and possess the necessary nutrients to facilitate muscle repair after a challenge.

Thus, to ensure your body is equal to the task, you must take in a healthy cadre of carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, and plenty of water. It is helpful to eat complex carbohydrates and protein, such as protein smoothies, whole grains (oats, quinoa, brown rice), fruits (banana and apple), fresh vegetables, fish and eggs, and Greek yogurt, to mention just a few. You can also integrate supplements into your diet plan to augment natural food.

Furthermore, it is important to note that how and when you eat makes a lot of difference. So, ensure you are consuming the right things at the right time and in the right quantity. That’s a lot, I know. If you find yourself struggling to keep up:

• Speak to a nutritionist.
• Keep your diet plan simple, focusing on the basics.
• Identify foods you should avoid, such as junk, and take them off your plan.
• Explore new food options as you advance for optimal performance.

2.    Identify and Master a Feasible Technique/Form

Now for the fun part – hitting stuff! Whether you’re new to punching and kicking or have some experience, technique is crucial. Take time early on to learn basics like stance and form on different strikes properly. Trust me, nailing techniques will make you feel like a badass, prevent injury, and help moves feel more fluid later when you string them together.

An important yet often overlooked way to improve your technique in kickboxing is shadow-boxing. It looks simple—punching and kicking in the air at an imaginary opponent—but effective. Regular shadow-boxing sessions can enhance your technique, footwork, speed, stamina, and cardio. Thus, I advise you to try it for a few minutes after kicking the punching bag.

Additionally, if you use a public gym, you can check your technique/form by partnering up with colleagues (trying controlled sparring) or work one-on-one with coaches to improve your strategy, response time, and adaptability. Your gym buddies/coaches can watch and provide feedback so you can adjust your movements. But if you’re kickboxing at home, make your wall mirror your friend to enable you to monitor and tweak form until you find what works for you.

Most importantly, endeavor to commit to serious conditioning work. Strong cardio, leg, and core fitness prevents fading in later rounds. Also, make sure to properly warm up your joints and muscles before intense rounds and stretch afterward to prevent next-day stiffness.

3.    Use the Ideal Kickboxing Gear

Whether you are kickboxing at home or a gym, I highly recommend investing in quality kickboxing gear to prevent injury and ensure you get the most out of your sessions. Dealing with clothing distractions during training or visiting the clinic to treat bruises that could have been avoided after every session can ruin your kickboxing experience. I don’t want that for you.

Hence, prioritize using quality kickboxing gear. Besides a punching/striking bag, which should be stationed at your home workout space or the public gym, your kickboxing stack should include the basics, such as gloves and hand wraps, mouth guard, head guard, and ankle pads.

These items protect your hands, knuckles, wrists, mouth, jaw, ears, entire face, and ankles from injuries when kicking a punching bag or engaging with an opponent. Likewise, invest in breathable clothing like compression pants, shirts, and shorts that allows a full range of motion and flexibility. They can take your kickboxing sessions from zero to a hundred. Then, for shoes, go for lightweight shoes with absorbent insoles.

Endeavor to choose the right type and size of gloves, hand wraps, head guard, mouth guard, clothing, and ankle pads to ensure overall protection and comfort. You can also express your style by purchasing them in your preferred color.

4.    Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress in kickboxing can help you identify what is working and areas of improvement. Generally, I find journaling to be an effective way to track your progress in anything. Consider having a kickboxing journal to help you document your journey, celebrate small wins, and identify learning opportunities. Besides journaling, you can take pictures and videos to keep track of your growth. This fuels a sense of accomplishment and keeps you motivated and enthusiastic about your sessions.

5.    Diversify

Variety, they say, is the spice of life. This can be applied to kickboxing to enable you to get the most out of it. Consider mixing up your training with other martial arts—Muay Thai, standard boxing, karate, taekwondo, or MMA (mixed martial arts). They all complement kickboxing well. The variety keeps things fresh while expanding your overall skills and fluidity.

Don’t Just Kickbox, Kick Butts

Whew, lots of tips there! But I guarantee that if you follow them with consistent training, you are sure to get the desired results. Finally, remember to breathe! Sounds obvious but often gets forgotten once punches and kicks start flying. Deep, controlled breaths provide energy and help make your movements more fluid. Now get out there and start kicking some butt!

References

https://blog.joinfightcamp.com/training/why-you-should-start-shadowboxing/

https://elemental-fitness.com/our-blog/a-kickboxers-diet

https://wayofmartialarts.com/kickboxing-equipment-for-beginners-everything-you-need-to-have/