Go kickboxing

This one has been high on my list. I've always had an interest in kickboxing and those high-intensity sports. Not because I'm highly competitive or like to be yelled at and die sporting, but because I'm always in awe at how people give themselves in these sports. I was invited to try out some heavy bag kickboxing by a colleague so I was very thankful for her that she gave me this opportunity. Thank you if you're reading this!

So if I think about kickboxing I think about a trainer yelling around, ordering everyone to do one exercise after the other. From burpees to push-ups and everything in between. With my expectations already at 'I'm going to die' I went on a Sunday morning at 10 AM to the fitness club that specializes in Thai box, kickboxing, self-defense, MMA, and heavy bag training. The last one was the one I signed up for. I didn't know what kind of people I was going to expect, maybe I thought it was a class for beginners or women, but once I arrived I only saw people ready to go to war or something. They all looked professional and I felt like the little Agnes from the movie 'Despicable Me'. Not at all like I was supposed to be there. But, I was determined and I was going to finish this class. So my colleague gave me my boxing gloves and this got me excited. Just putting those things on gave me confidence. But before I was able to put them on we began with the warm-up or the 'I'll give you a heart attack before we start boxing'. Every 30 seconds there was a whistle signal, telling us another exercise was coming up. In the beginning, I just went with it, doing my best. After 10 minutes though, I was already conditioned that the whistle signal was just going to make me die a little more. I don't even know how many cups of coffee the trainer had taken before the class but damn, the energy that man has.

But I did it. I survived the warm-up. Well. Partly. So time to put on the gloves! Like a little girl receiving toys on Christmas, I put them on. Finding out it's not that easy to get the second one on when your other hand has no grab force. But the thing I liked even more than the gloves was the music. The soundtracks from Zillion started playing and I just was ready to go. Here is the link for those who want to enjoy the music like I did while punching a bag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnBeTPpr98g&ab_channel=KevinByrne.

So the music was on point, I had my gloves on and felt a little like Muhammad Ali and was ready to punch something. Well, a bag. I was ready to punch a bag. The teacher explained some moves with words I didn't understand like 'Jab', 'cross', 'hook', and 'uppercut'. There was also a term for starting with a left or right hit, which I didn't know for the first minutes and I think I did them all wrong. Then the kicks started and damn those hurt. The sounds of legs hitting leather bags filled the room and I felt the pain in those sounds. So we learned some moves and it was fun to just go for it. I probably looked different than I felt but everyone was minding their bag. It was also a nice way to work away the frustrations and to just let yourself go. The kickboxing came just at the right moment. Maybe I should print some faces and take them with me. Just kidding, I'm not that evil... So I was glad I tried it and I would like to do it more often. It's a great way to get in shape and work away frustrations. It helps you mentally and physically. And if you guys want proof, here is the screenshot of what my watch registered. Highest heart rate, 190. See I wasn't that far away from a heart attack.