Also created by the Les Mills house, the Body Combat combines fun training to the rhythm of music with movements that come from different contact sports such as Muay Thai or kickboxing to get a very entertaining class that puts our pulsations to the limit. This is all you have to know about the Body Combat before entering your first class.
What is a Body Combat class like?
The Body Combat sessions consist of a 55-minute training (although there are 30 or 45-minute express classes) of aerobic basis in which, through different choreographies, we work all the muscle groups of our body without the need for material, only With our body weight.
The classes are structured in 10 tracks or different songs : the first one is dedicated to a warm-up of our whole body, the last one to cooling and stretching, and the songs that remain within the main part of the class make us work each of large muscle groups through boxing, kickboxing, capoeira, muay Thai and other disciplines.
Like the other classes of Les Mills, Body Combat is a choreographed class: this means that there are a series of concrete movements to the rhythm of the music that is repeated in all the classes and that is marked by the teacher. The choreographies are changed approximately every three months with the consequent recycling of the teachers, so there is plenty of time to learn and enjoy them (in addition, the exercises are usually similar, changing order and rhythm).
What will you work in a Body Combat class?
As we said, Body Combat classes are aerobic-based workouts that get us to climb pulsations in a very short time. Each track or song has a duration of four and five minutes during which we do not stop moving except for small breaks in which to catch our breath.
The work is very complete testing, through different movements, the muscles of our arms and shoulders (especially on the tracks that have boxing movements ), our core and our legs , especially on capoeira tracks and the like (I still remember the infernal track 4 of the 40th edition of Body Combat, with a combination of kicks and capoeira to the rhythm of the music of Tubthumping that left your legs broken, and you had not yet reached the middle of the class).
Many explosive and jumping movements also help us improve the power of our muscles, even if they are exhausting (but there is always a simple version for beginners).
With all this, the Body Combat classes become hilarious and very motivating training with which we work our whole body, release stress and also have a great time.
Some tips for your first Body Combat class
- It’s your first class: don’t despair about not knowing the choreography: I remember that the first time I entered I thought that why everyone knew what to do less than me. It is a matter of time and a little patience. Look closely at how the teacher and your classmates do it, and in a few days, you will get to know all the movements.
- Do I need bandages or gloves? They are not much less obligatory, but you can wear boxing bandages or gloves if you want. Keep in mind that you are going to hit the air with your hands, without any resistance, and this is not ideal for the joints. Always control all movements and, if you want to wear bandages because you feel the safest wrists, go ahead.
- Your space, my space: Body Combat classes are generally filled to the flag, and it is very important that we respect the personal space of others and that we respect ours. It is a class in which punches and kicks fly everywhere and we must be attentive to what happens around us to avoid blows or injuries.
- Enjoy the theater: if you have been practicing Body Combat for some time, you will surely remember that track with the music of Pirates of the Caribbean in which during the first seconds we simulated drawing a sword and hitting swords everywhere right and left. Thirty seconds of theater that gave you brutal energy to continue with the class: take advantage of that too.
- Water and towel are essential: you will sweat. You are going to sweat a lot. That is why it is important, on the one hand, that you carry with you a small towel with which you can clean at least your face (and have the same kind of paper to remove sweat from the floor and avoid slips) and a bottle of water to hydrate during the class.
Body Combat classes are very enjoyable and a perfect workout to combine with others such as Body Pump or Body Balance. Enjoy the training!
