Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Kickboxing Meets Yoga in Kickboxing/Yoga Fusion


Kickboxing/Yoga Fusion??? What the heck is it and what should I expect?

Kickboxing is a well-known sport that combines kicking and punching on bags that burns an insane number of calories while delivering on the fun. Yoga, also well-known in the exercise world as a floor-based spiritual meditation, strengthens and lengthens muscles in a gentle and relaxing manner. While we know them very well independently, how in the world did this concept evolve and how does it work?

 “The fusion class was really the brainchild of Amanda [Girl Fight Fitness founder] and Jennifer Venditti from Lilananda Yoga that was inspired by our year of sharing a studio,” says Jeanna, a Girl Fight Senior Trainer. For those of you that are unfamiliar, Lilananda Yoga was looking for a space last year to grow their brand and Amanda welcomingly invited them into her Burnt Hills Girl Fight location. Not only did she allow them to create a space customized to the aesthetic/feel of their own brand, but she wanted to further collaborate on dual classes! While Lilananda Yoga has since acquired their own space, the fusion class remains on the Girl Fight schedule due to popular demand.

Girl Fight Fitness, a true pioneer in the rapidly changing fitness environment, offers this class as an option to get your cardio, strength, endurance, and flexibility training in all at once! On top of it, you do not need any prior experience in kickboxing or yoga to participate. But before you say, “where do I sign up!?,” you may ask, “what will I be doing exactly?”. Let us assure you that you won’t be trying to do a back kick on the bag while in a down dog position (which would be pretty hard to do!). Rather, the class is broken down into segments with the first half contributed to kickboxing and the second to yoga. Jeanna provides the typical class breakdown below:
·         Brief Warm-up
·         10 Minute Strength Training
·         10 Minute Kickboxing Combo on punching bags
·         25 Minutes of Yoga (Ends with Savasana - a pose that looks like you’ll catch some much needed zzz’s, but is meant for relaxation and awareness of mind, body, and spirit.)
·         Guided mediation (occasionally)

She says that the combination of these workouts positively affects mental health due to a release of endorphins, as well as, the mindfulness received in the practice of yoga. We hope you are as excited to take this class as we are to teach it!

As per gym rules, be sure to grab a pair of clean indoor only shoes and some water for this fitness packed class. Mats and gloves are provided, but please feel free to bring your own if you have them. You can catch this class, currently taught by Tori DeMasi on Tuesdays at 6:30PM in Burnt Hills and Corryn Andrianus/Tori DeMasi on Saturdays at 9:00AM in Burnt Hills. However, we are proud to announce that Jeanna Mead will be bringing this class to us at Latham starting in September! It will be held on Mondays at 7:30PM. Come kick it with us soon!