Posts by x3sports
Increase Strength With Kickboxing: How an Avid Athlete Transformed Her Fitness With Kickboxing
Increase Strength With Kickboxing: How an Avid Athlete Transformed Her Fitness With Kickboxing
Kickboxing is an incredible full-body workout that can help you lose weight, increase strength, and reach your fitness goals faster than more static cardio or weight lifting regimens. In this article, learn how one of our members – a mom of three and lifelong athlete – was able to transform herself by building “me time” into her week at X3 Sports.
Meet X3 Warrior and Goal Smasher: Kim
We love when our members reach their personal fitness goals and started this spotlight series as a way to celebrate our community’s achievements at X3 Sports. Kim is a member in Marietta. Unlike many of our success stories, her goal was not weight loss related, though that was a natural outcome of her efforts. Her goal setting out on her journey was simply to increase strength and endurance. Read her success story below:
We recently had another member reach her fitness goal at X3 Sports. Kim is a member in Marietta and unlike many of our success stories her goal was not weight loss related. Read her success story below.
“I joined X3 in November of 2012. I was very active already but wanted something extra to help me reach the level of fitness I desired. The only goal I had was to increase my strength and endurance. I did not have a weight loss goal, but I did incorporate a weight loss supplement in my diet. Over a 12 month period, I lost about 10 lbs and 14 inches overall (4 of that in my waist, 3 from my hips). My body fat also decreased from 23% to 18%. My strength, endurance, and even agility has improved drastically by taking X3’s Kickboxing classes almost daily.
As a 35 year old, mother of 3 with a full-time job, I look forward to going to workout each day…it’s my, “me time.” Im always looking for ways to make my lifestyle healthier, I use therapy and supplements to increase my body health. You can check out this Mind Lab Pro review if you are interested in trying a new brain supplement.
Kickboxing is a huge stress-reliever and the health benefits (losing weight, toning muscle and increased energy) I continue to receive are absolutely worth the time, money and effort.”
Thanks X3!
-Kim
Want to be our next success story? To get started sign up for a free class here or fill out the form on this page.
How Does Kickboxing Increase Strength?
Kickboxing is a form of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), which is one of the most effective workout formulas to increase strength and burn calories. HIIT workouts are defined by bursts of maximum energy output in between brief rest periods, which force your body to dig deep (and siphon off your fat stores) in order to amass the energy it needs to get through the next stretch of intensity.
To help you increase strength, we build high-energy classes that vary immensely each week in order to keep you constantly challenged and your body on the edge of its comfort zone. Variety stops you from plateauing so that you’ll be able to increase strength and lose weight faster than more traditional (and dare we say more static cardio and strength workouts, such as running).
With anaerobic and aerobic benefits, kickboxing is highly effective at burning calories and you can expect to burn up to 900 calories in a single hour! As Kim experienced, weight loss can be a natural part of your journey even if it’s not your intended goal. But as Kim also experienced, kickboxing classes are a highly effective tool to build lean muscle all throughout your body. When kicking, punching, pivoting, ducking and lunging around your heavy punching bag, you’ll build arm, core and leg muscles. You’ll increase strength and stamina while improving reactivity, coordination and balance.
Increase Strength With Kickboxing at X3 Sports
Do you want to experience the unique benefits of kickboxing? Do you want to increase strength and lose unwanted flab? Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or have never set foot on the mat or in a group workout class before, you’re welcome at X3 Sports. Our professional trainers build classes for all fitness and experience levels. They’ll train you on kickboxing fundamentals and provide personalized feedback to help you along on your fitness journey. With five convenient locations in the Atlanta Metro Area, between Atlanta, Marietta and Athens, we meet you where you are when you’re ready to shred. Book your FREE class today and see if you want to be a part of our vibrant fitness community long term. Would you like to be our next success story? Fill out the form on this page and start working toward the newer, more improved version of yourself. You can smash your fitness goals just like Kim did, and we can’t wait to help.
The Value of Building a Fitness Community And Its Importance
Building a Fitness Community
When it comes to achieving your personal health and fitness goals, it helps to be part of a fitness community. In fact, research shows that group training allows you to achieve your fitness goals faster.
That’s a big reason why, from day one, we set out to create a sense of community at all of our gyms. No matter where you are on your journey, a fitness community can be instrumental in elevating your training so that you are able to unlock new personal achievements. X3 Sports has taken a unique approach to cultivating a fitness community, from our high-energy group workout classes to community events and training workshops held at our gyms and in town after class is over.
Motivation and Inspiration
When you work out with other people, whether it’s a small or large group, your comrades can keep you feeling motivated and inspired. When you build a fitness community, you can feed off the energy and enthusiasm of the instructor and your fellow classmates during the workout, and build valuable friendships with like-minded people, which can help to shift your overall lifestyle for the better.
If you’re struggling to get through a workout, seeing other people push themselves can help keep you going. Hearing an instructor you have gotten to know and trust that is encouraging you to push past your comfort zone, can inspire you to give just a little bit more. You can also benefit from challenging yourself to keep pace with the class, which can cause you to push harder than you might on your own.
If you’re just getting started, there are always people in your fitness community who will encourage and cheer you on, or even show you how to perform a move they once struggled with themselves. We were all beginners at some point, so we know how to help you get to that next step of your fitness goal—and the next and the next!
Accountability and Commitment
The people in your gym community can help you stay accountable and committed as you move along your fitness journey. For example, when you need someone to keep you from slacking off or slowing down, they will be there for you (just like you are for them) in a way that holds you accountable to your personal goals and dreams.
Working out in a group training environment also increases your sense of commitment. After you start regularly attending a class or exercising with a fitness group, your workout buddies will expect you to show up. It’s human nature not to want to disappoint people who are counting on you. As you make friends, you’ll be able to communicate with them before and after class to encourage each other to attend class and commiserate about your sore muscles the day after.
Ultimately it’s a win-win, because by showing up for them, you also show up for yourself.
Guidance and Tips
When you take a fitness class, you have expert trainers there to ensure you’re doing each exercise, move, or stretch correctly. This helps you avoid injury and enables you to progress more quickly on your fitness journey. Trainers can also show you ways to fine-tune your technique so you can get even more out of your workouts.
At X3 Sports, in addition to a large list of classes and personal training options we offer every week, we also plan broader seminars, tournaments and certification classes. Our seminars bring instructors and Warriors together for large group sessions in which you’ll benefit from knowledge-sharing with our top experts and meet more friends on a similar journey as yourself. Our certification classes enable you to further your development and prepare to one day teach the very classes that you’ve come to love at X3 Sports.
The tournaments we host and participate in outside of the gym can motivate you to treat your fitness community like a team where you’re all working toward a common goal.
Check out all of our upcoming events here.
Progress and Achievement
Research shows that when you work out with a group, you work out harder. And when you work out harder, you reach your fitness goals faster. Exercising with others who are more advanced than you can also help you progress more quickly.
Seeing what a person in your fitness community is doing, how hard they’re working and how they’re showing up for class even when they’re having an off day, helps you push past your own mental barriers to reach that next personal milestone. They can also inspire (and help!) you to try new, more complex moves and exercises.
Certain types of group training programs or fitness classes have built-in “check points,” where participants can track their progress over the past few weeks or months. In our PowerTrackTM weight-training class, for example, we have a leaderboard that allows our members to monitor, document, and celebrate their weight lifting goals.
This is a great way to stay motivated, because simply seeing how far you’ve come can encourage you to keep going and—most importantly—go even further. Plus, we all love a little friendly competition. Pretty soon, you’ll be that seasoned class member who’s inspiring others in your fitness community to hit their next big goal.
Community and Belonging With Group Classes
One of the biggest benefits of being part of a fitness community is the word “community” itself. Humans are social creatures. So when you’re part of a group of people who are working toward the same thing, it creates a sense of belonging. You all get to play a part in helping one another to succeed.
Setting goals together is a big part of our culture. That way, if one of you is struggling to get through that last set of squats, your whole group is there to cheer them on. And when you or someone else in your crew hits a huge milestone, everyone celebrates together.
At X3 Sports, we’re proud that our team of Warriors hang out both inside and outside the gym. We’ve been known to watch tournaments together and to do other extracurricular events around the Atlanta area. At our unified Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai classes, we bring people from all five of our gym locations together in one setting to train and then have a large potluck after to build community!
Team X3 Helps Create a Fitness Community
At X3 Sports, we understand the importance of building a fitness community. It’s so important to us, in fact, we’re extending that effort beyond our club workouts through Team X3.
Team X3 is a fun way for our members to compete in events outside our clubs. Any X3 member who wants to participate in sporting events like fundraising runs, field sports, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu matches, and more can get in on the action with us! It’s a fun way to get together as a community and share our warrior spirit outside of the club.
Experience Group Training at X3 Sports
If you’d like to experience firsthand the benefits of being part of a fitness community that’s vibrating with energy and excitement, book your FREE class today and see if a membership is right for you! Our instructors are waiting to welcome you into our fun, motivated and unique fitness community.
The Benefits of Hiring A Personal Trainer
Are you just starting your fitness journey and wondering what the benefits of hiring a personal trainer are? Do you already have experience exercising but want support and tips to reach your goals? Are you a fitness pro who’s hit a plateau and could benefit from the strategy of a professional trainer for continuing education to reach your goals?
There are many reasons why you might consider hiring a personal trainer; these are just a few. The “why” behind this decision may vary widely, but the desired result is always the same: Hiring a personal trainer can vastly enhance your health and wellness.
By working with a trainer, you’ll get expert guidance and support to unlock new levels of growth toward achieving your personal fitness objectives, whether you’re simply looking to look and feel better, increase your confidence, or if you are training for a boxing fight, ultramarathon or another kind of strength and endurance activity.
If you’ve been thinking of hiring a personal trainer and wondering what one would do for you, this post is for you. Read on to learn more about our members’ favorite perks of private personal training to see if this route is right for you.
IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU
A personal trainer’s job is to get to know you. This extends beyond the initial stages of a personal training assessment or discussions in which you share your desires about losing weight, gaining muscle, increasing endurance, or training for a specific event. When hiring a personal trainer, these professionals will look at other aspects of your life that can affect your health and fitness, such as your day-to-day routine, your stressors, your diet and nutrition, and more, to give you an all-encompassing picture of your health and wellness. They’ll be able to work with you and this information to build a clear 360-degree plan that will take forward towards your short- and long-term goals.
Whether you are looking to reduce your body fat, get regular fitness assessments so you can see the data behind your progression, or focus on high intensity interval training that can help you build lean muscle and burn calories fast, personal trainers will design exercise programs that are highly customized for you! By assessing your dreams, goals, and current fitness and nutrition status, they’ll gain an intimate understanding of what you need to do to get to where you want to go.
Let’s take a step back: what if you are not even sure what your fitness goals are or what they should be?? Not a problem! Your personal trainer can talk this through with you to help you figure out what you really want out of all this effort.
CUSTOMIZED TRAINING PLAN
Every single person who sets foot in the gym is at a different stage along their personal fitness journey. By hiring a personal trainer, you’ll work hand in hand with an expert who will help you develop a personalized workout plan that can take you from where you are (Point A) to where you want to be (Point B). Don’t worry, your trainer won’t pile on unattainable goals that will feel overwhelming. Personal trainers know how to create a training plan that pushes you enough to get results without pushing you over the edge.
Hiring a personal trainer and receiving a customized plan can make a world of difference when trying to stick with a workout routine. Trainers can be the catalyst that helps you keep pushing for your fitness goals, rather than abandoning them. When thinking about hiring a personal trainer, talk to them about your fears, hurdles and challenges so they’ll be able to set measurable, reachable milestones along the way.
PERSONAL TRAINERS TEACH PROPER FORM
When hiring a personal trainer, you’ll learn expert information to help you fine-tune your techniques, learn new ones, and ensure, perhaps most importantly of all, that you’re performing each exercise correctly. Personal trainers are eagle-eyed at identifying bad habits, including improper form, that you might have learned along the way.
The importance of proper form is to prevent injury, which can set you back a lot longer in your fitness journey. The correct form can also help you get more out of each rep and exercise so that you’re working out more efficiently.
This is extremely important if you’re new to exercising or exploring a new type of workout or class, like boxing, kickboxing, weight training, or a high intensity interval training class like our Fastrack Class.
This is extremely important if you’re new to exercising or exploring a new type of workout or class, like boxing, kickboxing, or weight training, where you’ll be pushing new muscle groups harder than you have before. Plus, in a physically intense training program, such as boxing, correct form safeguards your muscles and bones so that you can fight safely and effectively.
KEEPING YOU ON TRACK
When you’re having a great workout, your personal trainer is there to cheer you on and keep you going. And when you’re having a challenging workout . . . your personal trainer is there to cheer you on and keep you going.
When hiring a personal trainer, you’re literally hiring someone who will be there for you, to hold you accountable, and to help you obtain that next fitness milestone even if you don’t want to get out of bed that day. The longer they work with you, the better they get to know you — and more intimately they know what keeps you motivated, focused, and on track. Sometimes it’s hard to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. Your personal trainer is a friend and ally who will keep you inspired through the ups and downs.
YOUR TRAINING PLAN EVOLVES WITH YOU
With every fitness goal you achieve, however large or small, your personal trainer can tweak your workouts to get you to the next level. Say, for example, you wanted to run your first 5K. Maybe the next goal is to complete a 10K, or even half marathon.
When hiring a personal trainer to be with you throughout the process, they’ll know exactly what you need to hit each successive milestone. And if you’re not sure what the next goal should be, they will help you adjust and discover on an ongoing basis, just like they did on day one.
X3 SPORTS TRAINING IS ALL THAT AND MORE
At X3 Sports, we offer all of the standard benefits that come with personal training, as we’ve already discussed, but we also take it a step further. First and foremost, we offer ALL our members a free, one-hour private session with a personal trainer so that you can see what the hype is all about. During your session, your personal trainer will work with you to evaluate your current fitness level, help you establish measurable goals, and get you started on your fitness journey.
X3 SPORTS UNIQUE TRAINING AND CLASS STYLE
When it comes to workouts and exercise, the personal trainers at X3 Sports cover all of the foundational stuff — like cardio, strength training, mobility, and nutritional guidance — but also provide X3-specific training, like boxing, kickboxing, Fast Track™, Power Track™, mixed martial arts (MMA), Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Muay Thai, and yoga. So if you ever get bored or just want to try something new, we’ve got you covered. By hiring a personal trainer at our facilities, you’ll receive strength and conditioning training while tasting a wide variety of activities, each with their own unique benefits.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT PERSONAL TRAINING OPTION
If you do end up hiring a personal trainer at X3 Sports, we give you a variety of options so that you can choose a flexible plan that meets your individual needs. For example, you have the option for one-on-one sessions, group classes, or both. You can invest in just one training session or a series of sessions, and they can be either 30- or 60-minutes each. We will work with you to determine which route or combination works best for you, both physically and fiscally. We’re your fitness partners, and we want you to succeed because you’re so worth it!
Interested in learning more about X3 Sports, our personal training program, group personal training classes and our equally awesome lineup of classes? Visit our website, read about our personal training program, and — when you love what you see and think, “I wanna give this a try!” — book your first free class with us.
If you’re already a member and thinking about hiring a personal trainer, get started by signing up for our free body and performance assessment! Today is the day to set yourself down a path toward a happier and healthier life. We’ll see you there!
6 Benefits of Teen Kickboxing
Parents seeking an outlet for their teens should look no further than teen kickboxing! Kickboxing is an effective way for teens to get in shape, build confidence, and make friends. Teens will develop healthy habits and valuable life skills that carry over into their adult lives.
From letting off steam in a healthy way to making new friends, there are countless reasons for teens to take up kickboxing.
Here are the top five reasons parents should enroll their adolescents in teen kickboxing:
1. Make Friends
Teens who don’t participate in extracurricular activities in their school or community might feel isolated and benefit from a social outlet and the experience of belonging to a group. Kickboxing class is an excellent opportunity to meet like-minded people and make new friends they can look forward to hanging out with.
Research shows that people who participate in group exercise with friends have better results than those who exercise alone. So, making friends through teen kickboxing can help teens stay committed to their new exercise habits. Teens will begin to look forward to exercising instead of viewing it as a chore.
2. Develop Healthy Habits
The habits formed in childhood and adolescence set the foundation for adulthood. Therefore, developing healthy habits such as exercising regularly can set teens up for success in the long term.
Cardio kickboxing will help teens learn to enjoy exercise. Teens will feel good as they accomplish new goals and take their fitness to new heights. Even teens who have never exercised before can get these benefits. In addition, teens will learn the fundamentals of how to kickbox safely to avoid injuries now and in the future.
3. Boost Self-Esteem and Confidence
Teen kickboxing has several confidence-boosting benefits. To start with, teens will feel more confident as they learn and conquer new moves and sequences. As their fitness level grows, teens will feel a sense of accomplishment and mastery. In addition, knowing they are capable of defending themselves if necessary can increase confidence and improve self-esteem.
The teen years can be difficult. Teens’ bodies are constantly changing and many teens compare themselves to others, both in person and online. Through regular participation in kickboxing classes, teens will see positive improvements in their fitness level, strength, and body health. By comparing their current abilities to where they started, teens will have the experience of measuring themselves against their own performance and achievements instead of their peers. Teens will begin to recognize their own merits and abilities, which can help them feel more confident in every situation.
4. Improve Mental Health and Cognition
Many teens struggle with aggression, depression, and emotional instability. While these are often viewed as typical milestones of growing up, they can be immensely challenging for teens and their families.
Teen kickboxing offers a safe, healthy outlet to release stress, anxiety, and aggression. Teens will learn to leave it all on the mat instead of taking their complex emotions out on those around them. Exercise also improves sleep and studies show that regular exercise can improve cognitive performance for teens. Kickboxing training for teenagers has numerous other mental health benefits, including enhanced concentration, focus, and memory.
5. Keep Teens Active and Healthy
Another significant benefit of teen kickboxing is that it keeps teens active. By participating in regular kickboxing classes, teens can achieve 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity in every class. Seeing positive results from regular exercise can lay a strong foundation for other healthy habits like eating right and avoiding things that can be harmful to the body.
Teens who enroll in a kickboxing course will be supervised by a professional trainer. Kickboxing trainers will help teens learn the correct techniques, positioning, and moves to get the most out of their workout, reduce the risk of injury and have fun.
6. Acquire Self-Defense Skills
One last benefit of teen kickboxing is that it instills self-defense skills in them. Teenagers face a lot of challenges as they navigate the world around them, and safety is a significant concern for both parents and their teenage children. Learning self-defense techniques can help alleviate some of that fear and give teenagers the confidence to handle difficult situations!
Kickboxing is an excellent form of self-defense that teaches practical skills while also improving overall health and fitness. With its focus on strikes, kicks, and other defensive movements, kickboxing can help teenagers build strength, develop agility, and improve reaction times. More importantly, the confidence and ability to defend oneself can be empowering and life-changing. By learning kickboxing techniques, teenagers can feel more prepared to face whatever challenges come their way.
Teen Kickboxing at X3 Sports
Teen kickboxing is good for both physical and mental health, and it’s an enjoyable way for teens to stay active. It also encourages discipline, focus, and self-confidence, all of which are important life skills. With the right guidance from a coach, teens can learn to use kickboxing as a positive outlet for their stressors and develop healthy habits that will last them through adulthood.
At X3 Sports, teens 13 and over are welcome to join adult classes to get all the benefits of kickboxing under the careful guidance of a trained coach. X3 Sports offers a supportive environment that will help teens of all fitness levels learn to dig deep within themselves to conquer their goals, improve their strength and endurance, and have fun along the way.
Teens are welcome to sign up for a free kickboxing class to see if it’s right for them. Parents can watch the course or participate alongside their teens to better understand what teen kickboxing is all about.
Top 8 Cardio Kickboxing Benefits
If you’re seeking a workout that will elevate your heart rate and facilitate significant calorie burn, cardio kickboxing is an excellent choice. Cardio kickboxing offers a multitude of health benefits, making it one of the most popular fitness trends this year, both in Atlanta and beyond. This dynamic workout not only helps you achieve your fitness goals but also leaves you feeling invigorated and empowered. Cardio kickboxing benefits are multifaceted, ranging from weight loss to learning self-defense skills, and even making new friends.
This exhilarating workout merges martial arts techniques with cardiovascular exercise, offering a dynamic and enjoyable activity. Cardio kickboxing not only delivers an exceptional aerobic workout but also enhances muscle tone in your arms, legs, and core. Additionally, it enhances coordination, balance, and overall fitness. If you’re seeking a challenging and gratifying workout, cardio kickboxing is definitely worth a try!
The Top Cardio Kickboxing Benefits:
1. Full-Body Workout
Cardio Kickboxing offers a highly effective full-body workout, engaging every muscle group. This dynamic martial art incorporates powerful punches, kicks, knee strikes, and elbow strikes, activating upper and lower body muscles. The constant movement and fluid transitions ensure no muscle is left unengaged. Kickboxing builds strength, endurance, coordination, and flexibility, while enhancing core strength and abdominal definition. It’s the ideal choice for a comprehensive fitness routine.
Additionally, the defensive aspects of kickboxing, like blocking and evasive maneuvers, engage your back and core muscles, promoting better posture and stability! With its constant movement and seamless transitions between punches, kicks, and defensive actions, kickboxing keeps your heart rate elevated. This turns it into a high-intensity full body workout that effectively burns calories and helps you achieve your fitness goals.
2. Muscle Toning and Strength Building
Kickboxing offers a remarkable opportunity for muscle toning and strength building, making it a sought-after exercise for individuals looking to sculpt their physique. The diverse range of movements involved in kickboxing, from explosive kicks and powerful punches to swift defensive blocks, requires the activation of multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Regular kickboxing training helps to increase lean muscle mass, especially in the arms, shoulders, chest, and legs, resulting in a more defined and toned appearance.
The repetitive nature of striking and kicking movements places controlled resistance on the muscles, encouraging growth and improved muscular endurance. As practitioners progress in their kickboxing journey, they witness noticeable gains in upper body strength, allowing for more forceful punches, and enhanced lower body strength, leading to powerful and swift kicks. Cardio Kickboxing combines strength training and cardiovascular exercise, resulting in not only toned muscles but also an increased metabolism. This powerful combination enables individuals to effectively burn calories while toning muscles and building strength.
3. Improved Cardiovascular Health
As the name suggests, cardio kickboxing primarily focuses on cardio exercises like punches, kicks, and knee strikes to elevate your heart rate. Regular participation in this high-energy fitness activity can lead to improved heart health, increased stamina, and better overall cardiovascular endurance. The dynamic movements involved in cardio kickboxing also enhance blood circulation, ensuring better delivery of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, promoting a stronger and more efficient heart.
Consistent engagement in cardio kickboxing can result in reduced blood pressure, enhanced cholesterol levels, and improved lung capacity. These factors collectively contribute to a healthier cardiovascular system, reducing the risk of heart diseases. Overall, cardio kickboxing provides an immersive and efficient method to boost cardiovascular health and enhance overall well-being.
4. Increased Self-Confidence and Empowerment
As you progress in your cardio kickboxing journey and master new techniques, you’ll gain a sense of accomplishment, leading to increased self-confidence and empowerment in your everyday life. The physical and mental challenges presented by kickboxing can help to boost your self-discipline, focus, and determination. As you grow in skill and confidence, you’ll be able to apply these life lessons outside the gym as well!
The increase in muscle tone achieved from regular kickboxing sessions will also improve body image and enhance self-confidence. Feeling good about yourself empowers you to take on new challenges and strive for further accomplishments. Overall, kickboxing is a powerful tool to build physical and mental strength that can help you achieve success both inside and outside of the gym!
5. Enhanced Flexibility and Coordination
Performing various punches, kicks, and defensive maneuvers in cardio kickboxing helps enhance your flexibility and coordination. Over time, you’ll notice improved balance and control in your movements. The dynamic movements in kickboxing require a solid balance of strength and flexibility. Engaging in complex combinations of strikes and defensive techniques helps to improve your range of motion, while strengthening the tendons and ligaments that enable swift transitions between combinations.
The repetitive nature of various kicks and punches also encourages better coordination between the upper and lower body, resulting in improved accuracy for strikes and rapid evasive maneuvers. Cardio kickboxing offers a unique opportunity to enhance flexibility, coordination, balance, control, and overall agility. This increased sense of control will allow you to take on more challenging techniques and cultivate further progress in your fitness journey at X3 Sports.
6. Stress Relief
The high-intensity nature of cardio kickboxing can serve as a great stress reliever. The physical exertion releases endorphins, the body’s natural mood enhancers, which can help reduce stress, anxiety, and improve overall mental well-being. Additionally, the focus and concentration required to execute various punches, kicks, and defensive maneuvers helps to distract your mind from everyday worries.
The feeling of accomplishment achieved after mastering various kickboxing combinations can also help boost moods and confidence levels. The sense of empowerment gained by engaging in a challenging activity like kickboxing will enhance self-esteem and further reduce stress levels.
7. Learn Self-Defense Skills
While cardio kickboxing is primarily a fitness-focused activity, you’ll still learn some basic self-defense techniques, which could be beneficial in real-life situations. Through the dynamic movements and techniques taught in kickboxing classes, you’ll gain a practical understanding of striking, blocking, and evasive maneuvers. These skills can be essential in real-life situations, enhancing your ability to protect yourself and others should a dangerous situation arise.
By training in a controlled environment, you’ll develop the confidence and reflexes necessary to react swiftly and effectively in challenging circumstances. Enhanced situational awareness and reactivity are valuable benefits of cardio kickboxing.
You’ll be empowered with a heightened sense of personal security and greater peace of mind. Take charge of your safety – knowing you have the knowledge and skillset to avoid a dangerous situation or defend yourself if necessary is invaluable.
8. Social Interaction and Fun
Cardio kickboxing classes at X3 Sports are instructor-led group fitness classes, providing an opportunity to meet new people and make friends! The group environment can make workouts more enjoyable and motivating. You’ll be encouraged by your instructor, as well as the people in the class who are on a similar journey. This camaraderie can help to keep you motivated and focused on reaching your goals, while also having fun along the way.
Whether you’re just starting out or have been practicing kickboxing for years, X3 Sports classes offer something for everyone, regardless of your fitness level. With the support of your instructor and classmates, you’ll gain the confidence needed to push yourself further and reach new levels of physical fitness.
Experience The Countless Cardio Kickboxing Benefits!
The benefits of cardio kickboxing are endless. Kickboxing is a great way to get your heart rate up, your calories burning, and the stress of your day melting away. Another one of the great benefits of cardio kickboxing is that it’s a suitable workout for people of all fitness and experience levels. Beginners can start with a lower-intensity class and work their way up to a more advanced class. Experienced athletes can push themselves to their limits as instructors dial the intensity to the max. Exploring the various cardio kickboxing benefits, it’s evident that this high-energy workout not only boosts cardiovascular endurance but also strengthens muscles and promotes overall well-being.
We gave you the reasons why kickboxing is a great workout and now you should see for yourself! Are you ready to bring out the Warrior within? X3 Sports thrives on supporting our members and delivering results for our clients. Sign up today for a free class and see if a membership is right for you.
X3 Sports is Named A Best and Brightest Companies to Work For®: Two Years Of Excellence
X3 Sports has been named one of The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® by the National Association for Business Resources for the second year in a row!
This award is important to us because it represents all of the hard work and dedication that we have put into maintaining our core values and positive workplace culture. In case you aren’t familiar with The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® award, allow us to explain why this designation is so special.
What Makes a Company The Best & Brightest?
The Best and Brightest programs “identify, recognize, and celebrate the organizations that epitomize Better Business. Richer Lives. Stronger Communities.” The best and brightest companies to work for are evaluated on these 11 aspects:
- Compensation, Benefits, and Employee Solutions
- Creative, Wellness, and Wellbeing Solutions
- Employee Enrichment
- Engagement and Retention
- Employee Education and Development
- Recruitment and Selection
- Employee Achievement and Recognition
- Communication and Shared Vision
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Work-Life Blend; Community Initiatives and Corporate Responsibility
- Leadership, Strategy, and Company Performance
The winners of The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® award scored highly in comparison to other companies based on surveys from employees within the organization. These surveys are anonymous so it is a true representation of a company’s culture. This is why we’re so excited to hold this prestigious award!
We’ll go into more detail below about why X3 Sports fits the bill for one of the best and brightest companies to work for! As you read through this, consider visiting our careers page to learn about available opportunities or booking a free class to try us on for size.
Our Strategy on Culture
At X3 Sports we believe that our people create our culture. We are proud to maintain a positive, supportive, and healthy work environment that makes our employees feel appreciated and valued.
Our organization has three core values that we prioritize to achieve a greater caliber of success and work satisfaction. These core values are:
Warrior Spirit
Warrior Spirit is synonymous with loyalty. A staff member has true Warrior Spirit when they deliver an amazing experience to our members and/or teammates.
Having a Warrior Spirit is all about:
- Accountability
- Commitment
- Reliability
- Responsibility
Hero Centric
Hero Centric boils down to passion. Our X3 Warriors believe in building strong, authentic relationships based on trust, honesty, and integrity. We take pride in knowing that we are making a real difference in the lives of our members, our community, and our teammates.
Hero Centric is all about:
- Honesty
- Integrity
- Trustworthiness
- Action-Oriented
Champion Mindset
An individual has a Champion Mindset when they have a strong work ethic. Our staff members are dedicated to continuously learning, growing, and improving to exceed member and teammate expectations while aspiring to reach the next level in our personal, professional and fitness journeys.
A Champion Mindset is all about:
- A Winning Attitude
- Self-Motivation
- High Standards
- Discipline
At each of our five X3 Sports locations, our team members hold each other accountable and encourage one another to represent and embody these three core values everyday.
We believe that our culture at X3 Sports, one focused on enrichment, respect and a set of values that permeate the company and inspire our members, is what sets us apart from other gyms as one of the best and brightest companies to work for.
Our People Make Our Culture
There’s no better way to hear about what this award means to X3 Sports than to hear it directly from the Warriors who create our culture. First, let’s hear from the big guy; our President and CEO, Mike Littrel:
“Winning this award is representative of the X3 team and culture. We started out with the idea to help people change their lives through fitness and along the way this amazing place called X3 has blossomed into more than just 5 locations, but into an opportunity for amazing and passionate professionals to change their lives and their families. I have seen the people that make up the team at X3 grow so much personally, professionally, economically, socially, and spiritually over the years, that I am continuously inspired and motivated by the individuals around me that are TEAM X3!”
Mike founded X3 Sports in 2007 with Tony Tucci and you can frequently find both of them at the club, either working out alongside our members or supporting our staff. Our leadership team at X3 Sports stays involved in the ins and outs of club operations to make sure each team member has the tools they need to succeed. Not every founding team takes the time to do that – and that’s why we’re one of the best and brightest companies to work for.
Donovan is a Membership Coach at X3 Sports and he couldn’t agree more, “X3 Sports is a one-of-a-kind company. We’re hands-on with all of our members and we are goal-oriented. I truly believe there’s nobody out there in Atlanta that’s like X3 Sports.”
X3 Sports is a Tight-Knit Team
In addition to our core value system and incredible, involved leadership team, X3 Sports sets itself apart from other organizations as one of the best and brightest companies to work for because our staff is tight-knit, in and outside of work. There is a reason we say #X3Family; we support each other like true family members and we spend time together outside of our shifts. It’s easy to form a community when we all share a common value system and believe in the classes we offer and the impact we make on our members. It’s not uncommon to find a cluster of us hanging out outside the gym at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitions, fights, races, restaurants, and other local activities.
Hear it from Jack, a martial arts fanatic and Membership Coach at X3 Sports Inman Park, “We have the best front desk people and a great all-around team. It’s a great environment to work in. I just love coming in every day and interacting with like-minded and positive people. I’ve made great relationships with everybody I work with, we don’t just see each other here, we hang out outside of work, too. I also love that I’ve been able to excel in each position that I’ve had while moving up the ladder.”
Jack started as a Front Desk Coordinator at X3 Sports West Midtown and has worked his way up in the ranks through his pure dedication and effort. He believes X3 Sports empowers him to reach new heights while having fun along the way. He has also become close friends with Janese, a Front Desk Coordinator at X3 Sports Inman Park.
Although Janese has only been working at X3 for a couple of months, she is impressed with our culture and she felt like she fit in right away, “The atmosphere and the teamwork are my favorite things about X3 Sports. Our community here is very strong.”
Even though our team at X3 Sports is close, we are super welcoming to new staff members. Our inclusiveness is a major reason we’re one of the best and brightest companies to work for and why our employees feel valued, safe and fulfilled!
Thank you to all of our Warriors who embody our core values every day. You are the reason we’re one of The Best and Brightest Companies To Work For!
Try Your First Class For Free
Now that you know all about why X3 Sports, which has five convenient locations across the Atlanta Metro area, including two in Marietta and one in Athens, is so proud of being named one of the best and brightest companies to work for! We dare you to come try a class for yourself to see if you vibe with our culture and core values. Get in on the action, and Book Your First Class for FREE Today! See for yourself why X3 Sports was named one of the best and brightest companies to work for and determine if this is a community you’re ready to join and inspire on a daily basis.
If you are interested in joining our team, check out our Careers page to apply for any of our open positions. We’d love to hear from you!
How To Meet Your Fitness Goals By Hiring a Personal Trainer
Have you thought about the benefits of hiring a personal trainer? If you haven’t worked out in months or even years, it can be hard to know where to start. And if you’re anything like me, then you’ve retired your fitness efforts to a rare thing you do when you suddenly have a burst of motivation (and maybe shame) after scrolling past an attractive model with a killer body on social media.
That twinge of, “damn, I should really get back in the gym” is common, but the execution is a different story. A lot of us try to implement a workout schedule that then falls victim to other priorities. Or we get a spark of inspiration to sign up for a gym membership that we swear we’ll use and…then we don’t.
Motivation is a tricky thing when it comes to moving your body and prioritizing your health, but there are ways to make it easier. For me, hiring a personal trainer was the key to finally following through. Here’s why:
How Hiring a Personal Trainer Helps You Set Fitness Goals
So maybe you want to “get in shape” or “feel better,” but what does that really mean? These goals are generally abstract and they can leave you directionless when you step into the gym. Setting smaller, more reachable fitness goals is a crucial part of being successful in those larger goals. When hiring a personal trainer, you’ll receive access to a fitness expert who will help you determine what those goals should be.
When I went to my body assessment with Patrick, a personal trainer at X3 Sports, my fitness goals were along the vague lines of “lose weight,” “get toned,” and “feel stronger.” I hadn’t put much thought into the milestones of those goals or what it would look like to reach them. By hiring a personal trainer, I learned that the first step was to do a body composition test.
As I stepped on the analyzer, which looks a lot like a scale, Patrick printed out my results. The analyzer revealed my fat percentage, fat mass in pounds, BMI, weight, and more. Patrick walked me through what these numbers meant and helped me set a concentrated goal of losing 12.01 lbs in 3 months with personal training sessions twice per week.
With my new, more focused fitness goal set, I finally had clarity on what I was after. Losing a pound a week seemed entirely possible and I felt much more motivated to put in the effort to get there.
When hiring a personal trainer at X3 Sports, you will similarly receive help setting a pointed goal based on your body composition, diet, the time you have to dedicate to working out, and your bigger picture goals. After you have that main fitness goal set, your trainer will work with you in each session to set and achieve smaller goals for things like reps, weight, and endurance. These incremental goals will help you along the way to reaching your ultimate target.
A Personal Trainer Will Educate You On Health and Fitness
You will need a baseline knowledge of health and fitness to stay on track. However, most of us are so busy with work, family, friends, and the daily grind of life that adding a workout plan to our schedule and dedicating additional time to learn about nutrition and targeted exercises can feel unfeasible.
Thankfully, when hiring a personal trainer, you’ll have a wealth of knowledge right at your fingertips who can easily educate you about health and fitness. With a fitness professional like Patrick as my guide and teacher, I have much more direction in my workouts and diet. Patrick will plan my workouts to target certain areas of my body while explaining to me why this exercise is important.
Similarly, hiring a personal trainer helped me plan my diet and nutrition in a way that maximized impact and led me closer to my goals. Patrick taught me to avoid carbs like pasta and bread on days I don’t work out and to load up on protein on the days that we focus on my legs and back. When hiring a personal trainer, you will receive manageable tips like these without feeling overwhelmed.
This baseline knowledge of health and fitness will supercharge your fitness journey without you needing to spend hours on research.
Personal Training Gives Your Workouts Structure
Have you ever tried to work out on your own and ended up so sore that you could hardly walk the next day? A lot of us head to the gym and aimlessly start doing reps and exercises that we know how to do (or think we know how to do). While you may have felt like you got a good workout in, going too hard and putting too much stress on your body at once may leave you feeling unmotivated or too sore to go back the next day or the day after.
By hiring a personal trainer and building a well-rounded workout plan, you’ll be able to build muscle and burn calories at a steady rate. A personal trainer gives your workouts structure by planning circuits, weight training, and cardio exercises that deliver an impact on your fitness, without straining your muscles or hurting your body.
Trust me, you will definitely still feel the burn and be sore after a personal training session, but under a guided framework, the fitness payoffs will be much greater.
Hiring A Personal Trainer Will Give You Accountability
The top reason I wanted to work out with a personal trainer is for accountability. I’m the type of person who would never miss a work deadline or plans I set with a friend, but when I’m left to my own devices in my health and fitness, I will easily skip a workout with whatever excuse I can rationalize at the moment.
According to a study by The American Society of Training and Development, I’m not alone in feeling this way. People are 65% percent likely to meet a goal after committing to another person and their chances of success increase to 95% when they build ongoing meetings with their partners to check in on their progress.
When hiring a personal trainer, you are committing to an accountability partner who will help you follow through with your goals. Your personal trainer will help you stay on track by holding you responsible for showing up to your sessions.
Beyond just showing up, hiring a personal trainer will also help you squeeze more out of each exercise by giving you encouragement and tips along the way. Patrick will often add reps to my sets if I give a rep less effort or add weight if it looks too easy for me. On your own, you may sacrifice a set to finish early, but a personal trainer gives you that push you need to follow through.
Working out with a personal trainer is an investment in your health and fitness that truly pays off. By hiring a personal trainer, you’ll find the motivation to exercise in a way you never were able to on your own. A personal trainer will help you with the planning, education, structure, and accountability to empower you to your fitness goals.
X3 Sports’ Qualified Trainers Are Fueled By Data
At X3 Sports, hiring a personal trainer is a high-value proposition that can greatly enhance your broader fitness goals. Our trainers use a comprehensive individualized dataset to determine exactly the types of training that you should be doing and the type of nutrition that you should be consuming to more efficiently reach your health and wellness goals. With five locations across Atlanta, Athens and Marietta, and convenient gym hours and class times, we meet you where you are, when you’re ready to sweat.
Are you ready to take your strength and weight loss goals to a new level? Are you ready to start feeling more fit, energized and confident? Hiring a personal trainer can rapidly accelerate you toward the body and life of your dreams.
Schedule your Free Body Assessment today to get started and to see if hiring a personal trainer is right for you. Stop by an X3 location to check out our world-class facilities for yourself. The community at X3 is full of life and energy and we guarantee you that after one class you’ll see the value in dedicating your time and energy to this practice. Book your first class with X3 Sports for free today.
Group Boxing Classes: A Beginner’s Guide to Fitness and Strength
If you’re interested in trying group boxing classes in Atlanta, X3 Sports is the perfect place to start. Boxing is a fantastic way to burn calories, lose weight, tone up, improve coordination, boost energy levels, and build confidence. And let’s not forget, it’s an excellent way to relieve stress—what better way than hitting a punching bag?
Overcoming Your Nerves About Group Boxing Classes
While you may dream of throwing powerful punches, that nervous feeling as a beginner might be holding you back. It’s completely normal to feel hesitant. Taking your first group boxing class can seem intimidating, especially if you’re new to the area or unfamiliar with boxing. But rest assured, whether you’re a longtime X3 Warrior, a runner trying something new, or someone who’s just looking for a fun fitness challenge, group boxing classes are for everyone.
At X3 Sports, people of all fitness levels come together to work towards their personal goals and relieve stress. Our group boxing classes offer a combination of strength and cardio, all while helping you learn boxing techniques. It’s a dynamic, full-body workout that will make you feel better and stronger, no matter your fitness journey.
Why Choose X3’s Group Boxing Classes?
So, why are X3’s group boxing classes the right choice for you? Here’s why we think you’ll love them:
1. Beginner-Friendly Environment
If you’ve never thrown a punch before, don’t worry! Our trainers were once beginners, too. Our classes are filled with people just like you, and our trainers are here to bring out your inner Warrior.
When taking your first group boxing class, arrive a few minutes early and let your trainer know you’re a beginner. Our front desk staff will provide you with boxing gloves and hand wraps, and if you need help wrapping your hands, our team is happy to assist.
Once the class begins, our trainers will walk you through each boxing and conditioning move, helping you learn proper technique while keeping you injury-free. They’ll offer tips and pointers to make sure you get the most out of your workout.
2. A Full-Body Workout with Group Boxing Classes
Our group boxing classes are an excellent way to engage your entire body. Boxing is a form of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), burning up to 800 calories per hour. Each class combines boxing drills with strength and cardio exercises to help you build lean muscle and improve cardiovascular health.
You’ll work muscles throughout your body—arms, core, legs, and more—as you duck, pivot, lunge, and punch. Whether you’re practicing heavy bag work or shadowboxing, you’ll feel the burn and see the results quickly.
3. Constantly Evolving Workouts
To avoid fitness plateaus, it’s important to keep challenging your muscles. In X3’s group boxing classes, you’ll always experience something new. Our classes mix formal boxing training with strength and conditioning exercises, keeping your body and mind sharp.
Each class might include:
- Bag Work: Punching a heavy bag helps build muscle memory and stamina.
- Shadowboxing: A great way to warm up and practice technique.
- Focus Mitt Drills: Improve your reflexes and accuracy with pad drills.
- Strength and Conditioning: Squats, push-ups, and more to build muscle and endurance.
Try Your First Group Boxing Class for Free
Remember, everyone starts somewhere. Be patient with yourself and don’t hesitate to ask for help. At X3 Sports, we’ll support you every step of the way. Sign up for your first group boxing class for free at any of our locations in North Marietta, Marietta, Inman Park, West Midtown, or Athens. Discover if a membership with our motivated Warrior community is the right fit for you!
FAQ about Group Boxing Classes
Are X3 Sports’ group boxing classes suitable for beginners?
Yes! X3 Sports’ group boxing classes are designed to be beginner-friendly. Whether it’s your first time throwing a punch or you’ve never set foot in a gym, our trainers will guide you through each move, ensuring proper technique and helping you feel comfortable. Everyone starts somewhere, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.
What should I expect from a group boxing class?
Expect a full-body workout that combines strength, cardio, and boxing techniques. Each class includes boxing drills, such as bag work and shadowboxing, as well as strength and conditioning exercises like squats and push-ups. The class is fast-paced, but our trainers will make sure you’re learning the correct form to avoid injury while getting an effective workout.
What are the fitness benefits of group boxing classes?
Group boxing classes offer a range of fitness benefits, including burning up to 800 calories per hour, building lean muscle mass, improving cardiovascular health, and enhancing coordination. It’s a dynamic workout that engages your entire body—arms, core, legs, and more—while also boosting your confidence and reducing stress.
Do I need any prior experience or equipment to join a class?
No prior experience is required! X3 Sports provides everything you need for your first class, including boxing gloves and hand wraps. If you’re unsure how to wrap your hands or use the equipment, our trainers and staff will show you the ropes. Just bring yourself, and we’ll take care of the rest.
How can I sign up for a free group boxing class at X3 Sports?
Signing up is easy! Visit our sign-up page or stop by any of our X3 Sports locations in North Marietta, Marietta, Inman Park, West Midtown, or Athens to claim your free group boxing class. It’s the perfect way to see if our classes and community are the right fit for you.
4 Mental Health Benefits of Exercise and Training
Chances are you know a lot about all the physical health benefits of exercise — losing weight, building strength, increasing your metabolism and improving your stamina, to name just a few. But how much do you know about the incredible mental health benefits of exercise? From increasing energy and improving sleep to reducing depression and anxiety, regular physical activity does as much good for your mind’s wellness as it does for your body. In this article, we’ll discuss the most vital mental health benefits of exercise and how exercise can help improve the way you feel in your body and brain.
Improve Your Mood
One of the best mental health benefits of exercise is that it enhances your mood. Along with improving your physical health and wellness, exercising regularly can help you feel more positive and content overall. When you exercise, your brain releases endorphins, a natural “feel-good” chemical that boosts your mood. Regular exercise also increases your energy, improves your sleep, and even helps you think more clearly. Together, these benefits help improve your mental outlook, sense of well-being, and quality of life.
Increase Self Confidence
Research shows that setting and achieving goals builds self-confidence and self-esteem. So, in addition to improving the way you look and feel, exercise also makes you feel more capable. And you don’t have to set big goals to experience this benefit. Even something as simple as agreeing to show up to class once a week can cause your mental health to soar because you’re setting off the award system in your brain for achieving a goal.
Sometimes when goals are massive – such as “I want to lose 50 pounds” – you can feel burdened and overwhelmed. By setting and achieving these minor goals of showing up to a fitness class when you say you are, you’ll be enhancing your confidence in your own capabilities and building self-esteem.
This is especially important to remember if you’re new to exercising, just getting back into working out, dealing with a health condition, or recovering from surgery or an injury. Working out at your own pace for 30 minutes a couple of times a week can be a great first step. Then, once that becomes a regular habit, you can set a new goal.
Of course, it goes without saying that an active lifestyle also makes you feel better in your body. There are amazing mental health benefits of exercise like being happier with the way you look and feel, which carries with you through the rest of the activities in your life, whether you’re asking for more money at work or going out on a new date.
Manage Anxiety and Stress
Take a second and think about how your body feels when you are anxious or stressed. For most of us, our muscles tense up, especially in our shoulders, neck, and face. Some of us also experience physical side effects like headaches, stomach problems, a pounding heart, difficulty breathing, dizziness, insomnia, heartburn, and more.
Important mental health benefits of exercise are that exercise releases the tension that causes these issues to build up and become unbearable. As you’re working out, you’re sweating out all the built-up anxiety of the day and becoming more relaxed and at ease.
Natural chemicals like endorphins and serotonin, the body’s “feel good” hormones that contribute to feelings of euphoria, also come into play here. In addition to helping increase your blood flow and relax your muscles, exercising releases naturally occurring chemicals that help relieve stress and pain, and also boost your mood. In a literal sense, exercise makes both your body and your mind feel better, serving as a natural combative for anxiety and depression.
Improve Your Mental Focus
Do you sometimes struggle to stay focused on one task at a time? Do you find yourself mentally scattered and pulled in a bunch of different directions? One of the best mental health benefits of exercise is it helps improve mental focus. Physical activity increases the amount of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine in your brain, which has a positive impact on your ability to concentrate and pay attention. They also help improve your memory, mood and motivation, making it easier to focus on a variety of tasks.
Studies have shown that exercise builds brain cells and can contribute to overall brain performance. With regular cardiovascular exercise, you’ll find that your memory improves, learning becomes easier, and focus is not as difficult as it once was.
Learn to Practice Mindfulness
One way to boost the mental health benefits of exercise, even more is to practice mindfulness while you’re working out. Mindfulness is a kind of meditation where you focus on what you are sensing and feeling in the present moment.
Yoga, tai chi, and Fight & Flow are good examples of workouts that integrate mindfulness into their movements and exercises. When taking a Fight and Flow class, you’ll be focusing on guided imagery while combining elements of Tai Chi and other breathing exercises. As you become more accustomed to the class, you will be able to really focus on your breathing, inhaling and exhaling to create the most effective routine and slip deeper into meditative focus.
But you can practice mindfulness during any type of physical activity or workout by simply trying to focus and clear your mind of outside distractions. For example, if you’re jumping rope to warm up for a boxing or kickboxing class, try paying attention to the rhythm of the rope hitting the floor or the way your feet feel as they jump.
By focusing your awareness on what your body is experiencing in the moment, you can give your mind (and yourself) a break from the constant buzz of thoughts and worries that busy most of our brains. Mental Health is such an important aspect of our daily life that it is vital we try to remember life is all about balance.
Access All the Mental Health Benefits of Exercise
Now that you know more about the valuable mental health benefits of exercise, you can begin to establish an exercise program and figure out what types of physical activity and workouts you enjoy the most. As you get more experienced with exercising, you can begin exploring and trying new workouts to add to your routine. Including workouts of varying intensity, say yoga and kickboxing, will ensure that you have an assortment of options to balance your physical and mental health needs.
At X3 Sports, we offer a diverse array of classes to keep you active, engaged, motivated and — most importantly — happy. If you are interested in starting an exercise program but don’t know where to begin, we would love to help you discover which activities (or combination of classes) maximize the mental health benefit of exercise for you. Book your first class with X3 Sports for free today to see if a membership is right for you!
Fight & Flow: A Yoga and Kickboxing Workout That Benefits Everyone
Are you looking for a full-body workout that builds strength and flexibility? No matter your personal fitness goal, whether it’s to lose weight, build lean muscle, increase your flexibility, improve your mobility, get healthier or even just “start exercising,” there’s one class that can help you knock a lot of those off your list: Fight & Flow at X3 Sports, which meshes elements of yoga and kickboxing.
Fight & Flow combines bodyweight calisthenics with basic martial arts, marrying some of our favorite sequences from yoga and kickboxing. By integrating movements from Mixed Martial Arts and yoga poses, you’ll learn tools that help you manage stress, improve your mood, increase flexibility, boost endurance and get stronger.
Our Fight & Flow class incorporates the anaerobic and aerobic intensity of kickboxing but with the breath and deep stretching of yoga. It provides a variety of health benefits, such as bringing your attention to your breathing. Did you know that mindfulness and breathing can slow down your breath and your mind, helping to relieve stress and stabilize your blood pressure?
Imagine a fitness class that intentionally keeps your mind from wandering, your state calm, and your attention focused, all while you’re leaping toward your workout goals and discovering new tools to better navigate the ups and downs of life. This is Fight & Flow.
WORKOUT ROUTINE FOR ANY FITNESS LEVEL
Whether you’re a beginner who’s just getting into fitness or a seasoned athlete looking to diversify your workout, this combination of yoga and kickboxing is for you.
Fight & Flow has something for everyone. For beginners, finding a new workout routine can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Perhaps you want a cardio workout or to build lean muscle. Or maybe you really want to stretch and focus on mindfulness. Since our Fight & Flow class incorporates both yoga and kickboxing fundamentals, you’ll be able to dip into both words at the same time.
If you’re just setting out on your fitness journey, you will be able to explore the intensity of exercise, while maintaining ample time for ease through stretching and breathing. You’ll learn new yoga and kickboxing techniques with Fight & Flow, and even discover what kind of exercises you enjoy, whether it’s the bang of intensity that kickboxing or another kind of martial arts offers, or the ease and flow of yoga and meditation.
If you’re a more seasoned athlete or fitness class regular, Fight & Flow can help you fine-tune your yoga and kickboxing techniques and pay attention to the foundational elements of your fitness, like flexibility and mobility.
FULL BODY WORKOUT AT HOME WITHOUT EQUIPMENT
One of the great things about this unique class is that it’s accessible to anyone and everyone. When you come try our yoga and kickboxing mesh at X3 Sports, we’ll provide everything you need so all you have to do is show up. The only thing you need to bring to your Fight & Flow class is your body and a willingness to learn. The simplicity of this class alone is a great stress reliever if you’ve had a rough day, but it also means that you can incorporate some of what you learn in this intentional practice into your lifestyle outside of the gym.
Check out all our virtual classes at our X3 Sports Virtual Studio.
IMPROVE EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR FITNESS ROUTINE
Fight & Flow weaves together poses, movements, and exercises from yoga and kickboxing that are designed to help you get more flexible while improving cardio and strength. During the 45 minute session, you will focus on mobility to keep you balanced and learn how focusing on your breath can help push through even the hardest challenges of life, whether it be upsetting personal news or a physically demanding activity, such as hiking or taking a new kind of fitness class out of your comfort zone.
By going inward and focusing on your breath while undergoing physical challenges, you’ll gain critical tools to help improve your fitness routine and your life in general.
INTRODUCTION TO NEW CLASSES WHEN GETTING STARTED
Fight & Flow combines exercises and moves from other types of workouts and classes, such as boxing, yoga and kickboxing. In that sense, Fight & Flow serves as a great petri dish of discovery, where you will explore a variety of maneuvers and tools, some that you might really enjoy. As an X3 Sports member, you’ll have access to a wide range of classes with a diverse set of mental and physical health benefits. Before you know it, you may have 2 or 3 other workouts added to your exercise routine and health plan. Or, perhaps you’ll decide that you want to dive into yoga and kickboxing individually.
WARM UP CLASS OR A COOL DOWN ROUTINE
Another great benefit of Fight & Flow is it can serve as an excellent warm-up or cool-down class before or after another class at X3 Sports. It’s so easy to adjust the level of intensity of your Fight & Flow workout, which means that you can treat it as your workout for the day or use it as a way to prepare for or recover from another class.
Fight and flow does not focus on a single muscle group so you can take the class as a standalone full-body workout if you choose to up your own personal intensity. Or, you can relax into the yoga and kickboxing moves and simmer your effort.
Since you control the reins of your workout at Fight & Flow, the calories you can burn in a single session vary widely between 250 and 750 calories. If you want to shoot for the higher range, you can give each move your all with greater intensity and weight. If you want to supplement another workout, you can practice the yoga and kickboxing moves with ease so that you keep your energy output low while still benefiting from stretching and intentional breathing.
MINDFUL BREATHING AND MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS
As you begin to explore Fight and Flow, you’ll find that we use guided imagery through a combination of elements of Tai Chi and other breathing exercises. As you become more accustomed to the class, you will be able to focus on your breathing, meticulously inhaling and exhaling to effectively perform each yoga and kickboxing technique.
Mental Health is such an important aspect of our daily life that it is vital we try to remember life is all about balance.
X3 SPORTS FULL BODY FITNESS CENTER
In addition to Fight & Flow, we offer a variety of other full body workout classes designed for people at all fitness levels. Dive into our website to check out our full lineup of class offerings. If you’re still not sure where to start, consider working with one of our personal trainers. All of our members receive a free body assessment that can determine your current fitness level so that you can set a baseline from which you can achieve your personal goals. A trainer will work with you based on your current fitness levels to develop a custom training plan. To learn more about the benefits of personal training, read our tips for hiring a personal trainer.
Follow the Instagrams of our Fight & Flow class and of instructor Matt Thomas to learn more about all the health benefits of this unique yoga and kickboxing class. Take your first class for free at any of our five locations to learn if Fight & Flow and the vibrant fitness community at X3 Sports are right for you!