
6 Tips for Excelling in Women’s Kickboxing Classes
Looking for women’s kickboxing classes? Evolve Vegas offers engaging sessions. Follow these essential tips for beginners. Join today!
Recent studies have shown that 19 in every 20 women involved in kickboxing display a “very high” level of physical and psychological resilience. For many, the sport is not only about the physical fitness they gain but also the sense of empowerment and skills development that comes alongside the camaraderie from where they train.
So, if you want to encourage yourself and ensure you get the most out of this sport, what can you do to push yourself that little more in women’s kickboxing classes?
The following guide breaks down six specific tips to overcome common obstacles women face in kickboxing to help with:
- Optimal kicking
- Building upper-body strength
- Enhancing balance and coordination
- Boosting cardiovascular endurance
- Adapting to face larger opponents
- Training and leveraging the body’s flexibility
So, whether you’re a beginner or experienced, these tips should help you get the most out of your future training.
- Enhance Hip Flexibility for Optimal Kicking
Many women, both new and old to kickboxing, experience difficulty when it comes to building up kicking range and power. While this is not a universal experience, it is often due to the natural anatomical shape of the individuals in question.
It can also affect many women who have recently turned to kickboxing or other forms of fitness regime following not being able to find time to train for an extended period, such as after starting a family.
Implementing Basic Stretching Routines
One of the first things you should do when discovering this issue is to test your limitations. Do not push yourself too much straight away. Instead, start with a simple range-of-motion test to help you fully understand your current flexibility.
After you understand your body a little more, use movements like
- Hip circles and
- Leg swings
- Sumo squats
- Pigeon pose
- Seated butterfly stretches
These will help prepare the hips for the demands of kickboxing for women. You can also consider doing these shortly before fitness kickboxing classes, with guidance, to give your body an extra stretch before each session.
- Build Upper Body Strength for Powerful Punches
Many women report building less upper-body strength over their lifetime for various social and physiological reasons. While dedicated training can resolve this, you must make an active effort to build this capability.
As such, focus on techniques such as compound lifting to build up all-around muscle and work on your triceps to strengthen the area of the body associated with stronger punches. You can also consider combining strength and cardio, circuit training, and dumbbell workouts on different days to build muscle and stamina.
Soon, you will have the confidence in women’s martial arts to not only punch but keep punching.
- Develop Balance and Coordination
Many exercises are built specifically for men or mixed groups, meaning they don’t consider the possibility of a different center of gravity from masculine figures. So, you may need to focus specifically on your footwork and stability during your solo training if many of your training sessions involve mixed groups.
When possible, use tools such as:
- Balance balls
- Stability balls
- Light weights
- Reaction balls
All of these can help you help with balance and coordinate your movements. If you are unsure which techniques to use, consider working with a trained instructor to address your individual issues faster.
- Increase Cardiovascular Endurance
Several studies have emerged showing that women gain significantly more benefits from cardiovascular exercises than men. As such, focusing on tailored cardio workouts can help build stamina and general fitness, which can help with the endurance required for a sport such as kickboxing.
Balance high-intensity interval training with active recovery sessions to improve your body’s reaction to the stresses of kickboxing. Start slowly and gradually build up your capabilities to avoid early fatigue in classes.
Also, remember to maintain a balanced diet rich in complex carbs and proteins to ensure you have the body fuel necessary to make the most of these exercises.
During women’s self-defense classes, adjust your pace and technique to account for your personal capabilities and improve your endurance over time. If necessary, record your cardio kickboxing performance using heart rate tracking applications to see where you exert yourself more or less, and then determine which exercises are best for boosting your capabilities.
- Adapt Defensive Techniques for Different Opponents
Implementing a solid defense in kickboxing requires you to create tailored strategies for sparring with different partners. In many cases, especially in mixed groups, women are likely to be partnered with men or individuals larger than them. As such, practice defense consistent with responding to such opponents and learn tactical steps you can take to take advantage of the size difference.
Focus on distance management: Start by maintaining an optimal range, closing only to take direct action. This technique will reduce the opponent’s power advantage when you are close.
Utilize deflection: Use parries and deflections instead of direct blocks to avoid being affected by your opponent’s stronger force.
Angles of attack: Continue to move laterally. Doing this will often offer you better positioning and prevent you from being overpowered by someone coming directly at you.
Avoid power trades: Instead of directly engaging in battles of strength, focus on quick counters and fast movements. You can then work on techniques such as low kicks to attempt to destabilize your opponent.
- Leverage Flexibility and Agility
Many women’s flexibility and agility allow them to execute faster movements more effectively. However, depending on various factors, women’s reaction time can vary significantly, so training is needed to compensate for that difference.
Work on drills such as:
- Cone drills
- Ladder drills
- Speed bag work
- Partner-signaled reaction drills
Combining these with flexibility training, you can ensure that you have the advantage to make a real difference against most opponents on the same level as you.
Achieve Excellence with Women’s Kickboxing Classes
Kickboxing is a popular sport for women. It offers an opportunity to develop physical and mental strength by focusing on technique, strength, and endurance. With the above tips, you can start working towards excellence and train your mind and body to succeed.
If you want more assistance, Evolve Kickbox & Fitness provides women’s kickboxing ‘near me’ to help you at every step toward your goal. Discover how women’s kickboxing classes can help you build confidence and skill by contacting us and booking a slot in one of our sessions today.