You may not have noticed, but there are already a LOT of articles
about kickboxing on the web. So what's one more, right? Hopefully I'll
give you some information and advice that you haven't previously
encountered.
This article does not cover kickboxing in general, but kickboxing on a heavy bag. More specifically, it pertains to a program developed in order for the average person to have a complete workout system, at home, all on the heavy bag. What's great about using a heavy bag during your routine is that you actually have resistance to all of your strikes. Without resistance, how are you going to be toning your muscles?
Cardio kickboxing can be fine for some, and if you don't have a heavy bag, really that's the only kickboxing you're going to be able to do. And if you enjoy it and will actually do it, then you've already found the 2 key factors to an effective exercise program, so do not allow me to dissuade you from it. The problem for most people is, however: it ceases to be all that much fun after several times through the same program. If all you're going to be doing is punching and kicking the air, then you might as well be doing dance, zumba, aerobics classes, or whatever. There is no particular advantage to "kickboxing" if you are training at home and don't have a heavy bag. It is analogous to: "I like bike riding and I heard that cycling is a great workout, so I'm going to sit in a chair and peddle my feet around just like someone would on a bicycle." It might seem like a silly analogy, but think about it: if you're not actually doing the activity, why mimic the motions as though you were? Just choose something else... something more fun.
Without the bag, the skills you are developing are not as transferable to an actual self-defense situation as you might think. When you punch or kick someone in real life, it has to be at a certain untelegraphed speed, and it ends with an impact. A kick to someone's midsection, for example, requires a "push" from you into the opponent, and at the same time their bodyweight is being forced back onto you. Your muscles are having to account for this and your stance is fortified to prevent you toppling backwards as a result.
If you performed this same action without an opponent, or in this case a heavy bag, there is actually zero "push" forwards taking place, and you're not resisting ANY backwards force from the impact. You actually have to "stop" your own leg from moving forwards and yank it back. That is going to be using little more than your hip flexor muscles, just a tiny portion of "what should have been". Aerobic kickboxing is more rhythmic in nature, and the punches are thrown more slowly in order to avoid hyper-extending your joints. You will also be developing very little upper body muscle tone if you're not striking a bag. Your legs are having to support your upper body, so they're getting worked, but still not as much as if they were pushing a heavy bag back and forth and resisting its weight.
So there are a few disadvantages of kickboxing without the heavy bag, that's a given; but its still a decent workout for people who enjoy it and are looking for aerobic exercise at home. But now lets take the best-case scenario and assume that you DO have access to a heavy bag to use; now your kickboxing workout is taken to a whole new level. Your triceps and shoulders strengthen with EACH straight punch into the bag. Your chest and biceps strengthen with each hook punch. Your quads strengthen with each kick, and all of your other major muscle groups are constantly working as your body has to steady itself with each impact into the bag. Each punch and kick makes your core snap into immediate contraction. And the best part is, you don't even have to think about working those muscles, it happens automatically. No pushups, crunches or situps necessary. When your whole body is being used, your abs and core by necessity get an awesome workout. Lets say I throw a Left Hook into the bag: the energy for the punch is coming up from the ground (through the legs), the abs/obliques are twisting the upper body first to the left, then immediately to the right as the left hand speeds into the bag. Upon impact, the bag is actually pushing back on you with an equal force. Your abs and core are making sure that you don't disconnect your upper from your lower body due to the force of the bag, so they're contracting at full force. And you have a hundred or so of these maximal contractions during the course of the workout.
This article does not cover kickboxing in general, but kickboxing on a heavy bag. More specifically, it pertains to a program developed in order for the average person to have a complete workout system, at home, all on the heavy bag. What's great about using a heavy bag during your routine is that you actually have resistance to all of your strikes. Without resistance, how are you going to be toning your muscles?
Cardio kickboxing can be fine for some, and if you don't have a heavy bag, really that's the only kickboxing you're going to be able to do. And if you enjoy it and will actually do it, then you've already found the 2 key factors to an effective exercise program, so do not allow me to dissuade you from it. The problem for most people is, however: it ceases to be all that much fun after several times through the same program. If all you're going to be doing is punching and kicking the air, then you might as well be doing dance, zumba, aerobics classes, or whatever. There is no particular advantage to "kickboxing" if you are training at home and don't have a heavy bag. It is analogous to: "I like bike riding and I heard that cycling is a great workout, so I'm going to sit in a chair and peddle my feet around just like someone would on a bicycle." It might seem like a silly analogy, but think about it: if you're not actually doing the activity, why mimic the motions as though you were? Just choose something else... something more fun.
Without the bag, the skills you are developing are not as transferable to an actual self-defense situation as you might think. When you punch or kick someone in real life, it has to be at a certain untelegraphed speed, and it ends with an impact. A kick to someone's midsection, for example, requires a "push" from you into the opponent, and at the same time their bodyweight is being forced back onto you. Your muscles are having to account for this and your stance is fortified to prevent you toppling backwards as a result.
If you performed this same action without an opponent, or in this case a heavy bag, there is actually zero "push" forwards taking place, and you're not resisting ANY backwards force from the impact. You actually have to "stop" your own leg from moving forwards and yank it back. That is going to be using little more than your hip flexor muscles, just a tiny portion of "what should have been". Aerobic kickboxing is more rhythmic in nature, and the punches are thrown more slowly in order to avoid hyper-extending your joints. You will also be developing very little upper body muscle tone if you're not striking a bag. Your legs are having to support your upper body, so they're getting worked, but still not as much as if they were pushing a heavy bag back and forth and resisting its weight.
So there are a few disadvantages of kickboxing without the heavy bag, that's a given; but its still a decent workout for people who enjoy it and are looking for aerobic exercise at home. But now lets take the best-case scenario and assume that you DO have access to a heavy bag to use; now your kickboxing workout is taken to a whole new level. Your triceps and shoulders strengthen with EACH straight punch into the bag. Your chest and biceps strengthen with each hook punch. Your quads strengthen with each kick, and all of your other major muscle groups are constantly working as your body has to steady itself with each impact into the bag. Each punch and kick makes your core snap into immediate contraction. And the best part is, you don't even have to think about working those muscles, it happens automatically. No pushups, crunches or situps necessary. When your whole body is being used, your abs and core by necessity get an awesome workout. Lets say I throw a Left Hook into the bag: the energy for the punch is coming up from the ground (through the legs), the abs/obliques are twisting the upper body first to the left, then immediately to the right as the left hand speeds into the bag. Upon impact, the bag is actually pushing back on you with an equal force. Your abs and core are making sure that you don't disconnect your upper from your lower body due to the force of the bag, so they're contracting at full force. And you have a hundred or so of these maximal contractions during the course of the workout.