BB Well Workout 3: Cardio Kick Boxing
It’s Day 8 of the BB Well Challenge, and it’s time to reveal the third of nine Tuesday/Thursday 8-minute workouts that I’ll gift you throughout the month of January 2022. What's great about this one is that it provides: upper body muscular endurance, lower body muscular endurance, core strength, cardio, flexibility and mobility. Plus, it requires no equipment at all.
Brook Benten. Wardrobe courtesy of WOD Bottom, Shoes courtesy of Ryka.
If you have done cardio kick boxing workouts before, you'll be familiar with all of the moves (jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts, roundhouse kicks, front kicks, back kicks). These are all traditional kick boxing staples. If you're new to this type of workout, you may need to watch the video once or twice first because the basics are not broken down-- we have 8-minutes and we get after every second of them. There are 6 movement sequences that last 40-seconds each. Perform on your right (6 x 0:40= 4:00), then repeat the same on your left.
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Combo 1: Jab. Jab, Cross
Assume profile stance, which means turn your body to the side where you are looking at your television screen over one shoulder. Lift the elbow in the front off the ribs and extend the arm out toward your television, at shoulder height, throwing a front jab. Pull the elbow back in to your ribs (I refer to this return point as your "oblique pocket").
Hold momentarily in ready stance, then follow it with an additional jab immediately finished with a cross (power) punch with the back arm. Put power behind your cross punch by pivoting your back heel off the ground and turning your hip toward the television.
24 Repetitions
Combo 2: Hook. Hook, Uppercut
Stay in profile stance. Lift the elbow in the front off the ribs and bring up to shoulder height, then over- parallel to the ground- and return to your oblique pocket. As you hook, turn in at your front hip, pivoting the heel off the ground and turning your knee in.
Hold momentarily in ready stance, then follow it with an additional hook punch immediately finished with an uppercut with the back arm, pivoting your back foot and driving the arm up, perpendicular to the ground.
24 Repetitions
Combo 3: 3 Knee Strikes, 1 Roundhouse Kick
Lift your front knee and twist your torso down and in toward the knee as you transition the arms from high to low, meeting them to your knee. Do this 3 times.
Laterally lift your front knee into your torso, then extend at the knee to throw the lower leg out with a pointed toe.
16 Repetitions
Combo 4: Back Kick, Front Kick
"Back Kick" is a bit of a misnomer with cardio kick boxing. The nomenclature for the very same move in classical martial arts is "side kick." Without going down a rabbit hole, let's just call it a back kick today. You'll lift your back knee and chamber it to the side, because you have externally rotated your femur in your hip socket. Next, extend both your knee and hip to kick the leg to the back. Your foot will be flexed with toes turned out.
Next, plant your back foot to assume balance on that leg and lift your front knee, flexing at your knee and hip. Follow that up with extension at your knee to take your leg out straight, pulling your toes toward your shin, flexing your foot.
24 Repetitions
Combo 5: Lateral Lunge, Roundhouse Kick
Deeply flex through one knee as the other extends out to the side. In the video, I coach to touch down to the ground (as demonstrated in the image below), but you could also hold your block, keeping your hands by your face.
Step in with the leg that was extended out and assume balance on that leg. With the other leg, laterally lift your knee into your torso, then extend at the knee to throw the lower leg out with a pointed toe.
24 Repetitions
Combo 6: Jab, Jab, Hook, Hook, Squat, Block
Turn your body forward to face the television. With your torso facing straight forward, throw two front punches (one arm, the other arm), then two hooks (one arm, the other arm).
Next, sink down into a deep squat with wrists crossed to form a "x."
Lift up onto your tiptoes and raise your arms in a "x" overhead. If you'd like to raise the intensity and impact, jump as you do this, then land lightly (toe-to-heel) and repeat from the top.
16 Repetitions
Transition to Profile Stance on the other Side and REPEAT
6 combinations x 0:40 seconds each x 2 sides of your body = 8:00