Category Archives: exercise log

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Cardio Kickboxing: Level Up

Fitbit heart rate graph I’ve decided to back down to one Krav Maga class per week, since the classes can run past my son’s regular bedtime. Since the Fitness Center at my work had a Kickboxing class on the schedule for today, I decided to do that today and Krav on Wednesday.

I didn’t expect this class to kick my ass so hard. I used it as an opportunity to practice proper form — mostly pivoting on my back foot on crosses and hooks — but I hadn’t taken into account how FAST the moves happen. The cardio sections the instructor put in between drills and combos were my chance to lower my heart rate.

I was pleased to note how many of my Krav habits are automatic now: keeping my hands up by my face, pivoting on crosses and hooks, remembering to exhale (even if I don’t kiai), turning my foot sideways on a side kick, and managing to turn on the intensity when warranted — even if I’m beat and in danger of overheating.

I spent a good amount of time in a cold shower after class, cooling down my core.

I feel good right now, on several levels.

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Post-Staycation Kickboxing

Kickboxing heart rate graph

I slept funny last night, so the weird stiffness in my right shoulder blade and neck area limited the range of motion in my right hook. I also took (or invented) the low-impact option for moves like jumping jacks, and I skipped the abs session at the end of class.

Apart from that, though, class was awesome. Got sweaty, stayed in the groove, and the instructor stuck with drills and combinations we’d done before (which helps with the groove thing).

I also made a funny to some early-middle-aged runners in the locker room after class. They were comparing notes about how their bodies had changed after pregnancy: ribs and hips spreading, etc. I piped up on my way into the shower, “That’s the great thing about me being fat before I got pregnant: it didn’t wreck my body, because I’d already wrecked it myself!” I cracked them all up BAD

Self-deprecation is just one of my many talents.