Box, Fat Girl, Box (Body Combat)

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Body Combat
Date:	24/11/08 (651 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great, hard-core workout

Disadvantages: Depends on the instuctor

I have become something of a gym whore at the moment and currently have memberships at three local places since my teaching schedule means I can only attend classes at very particular times, and no place alone can meet my gym needs. Two of my gyms offer a good range of classes, including the Body Systems franchise - Body Pump, Body Balance and Body Combat being the 3 on offer since Mexico is a little behind the times and not all clubs offer the other Body brands (Jam, Vibe etc) yet.

Before I was into Combat, I was a boxer (not a kickboxer...a plain and simple boxer) something I started at my gym in the USA. It was a great way to get rid of my frustrations with the city (if you've ever lived in downtown Baltimore, you'll understand) and a good workout. While anyone can teach a kickboxing class, or a karate class, in order to teach Body Combat you have to be an affiliated gym, though essentially Body Combat is a class which combines various self-defence disciplines, from karate to boxing to taekwondo. The franchise set-up means teachers have to wear a certain uniform (that they must normally purchase themselves) and must teach very set choreography to specified music. The plus-side of this is that Body Systems classes end up being identical, wherever you are in the world.

I have found that my enjoyment of Body Combat is entirely dependent on the instructor leading the class, and some are much better than others. There is nothing more frustrating in a cardio-based class than having to stop while the teacher restarts the CD because she's realised she's teaching the wrong combination. Part of this problem is the Body Systems method, and the way they release new classes 4 times a year, with new choreography. This means instructors have to keep track of the different releases and the different moves, and remember which they are teaching each class. For some reason the Combat choreography proves trickier than the Body Pump stuff to remember, and so often the instructors get confused. What's more, some instructors cannot seem to get to grips with facing the class, and though normally you mirror them (they do left leg, you do right) I've had some who think you should be moving the opposite way to them, which is just confusing.

In my newest gym, I do not have this problem. The instructor is amazing, and knows exactly what she and we should be doing in every track. This means I am slightly more shattered at the end, not having had those same breaks, but in a good way. Body Combat is branded as a mix of "Karate, boxing and taekwondo in an hour-long energetic routine". In reality, you have a class with about 8 different sets - with a change of music each time. These include hooks, upper-cuts, jabs etc, and front, side and back kicks. In between you gallop to the side, bob and twist away from non-existent attackers and generally pretender you are a street fighter. At the end, we run in a circle, high-five the instructor and cheer, before doing some abs work and some press ups on the floor. There is absolutely no equipment involved in these classes. But, while you kick and punch the air, not another person or a punch bag of some sort (as I liked doing in my proper boxing classes), you do get a good work out and my arms especially always feel tired afterwards. Good instructors also circulate during the class and get you to punch them for a few rounds, which helps as it's easy to get lazy punching thin air, and not put in enough effort.

The level of energy in the room during the class is amazing and afterwards the blokes look knackered too, so I don't feel too bad about crawling out of there. This is one of the only classes I know where the male:female ratio is always pretty equal, but there's no competition in the class, (except when it comes to how high you can kick, which I always win).

The music for Body Combat is hilarious at times. It includes anything with a good beat, from 80s remixes to latest top 40 stuff, but they intersperse the tracks with what I can only imagine they think are motivational grunts, cries and general "come on, come on" sound-effects. The instructors are trained to encourage you to join in with these strange noises, and we have to "Huh! Huh! Yar!" our way through various tracks. Silly, but it does take your mind off how exhausted you're feeling. I like working out to music, so this is a difference between Combat and normal boxing classes that I like. There is a track listing for the latest release (#37) on the website, details below.

This class is an amazing work out and I am always ready to drop half way in, but bounce back ready to go out and fight as we finish. I seriously wonder sometimes whether this class is making me a more violent person, especially now they encourage you to visualise the person you're punching, or kicking, or whose head you're slamming into your knee. Let's just say it made me feel a whole lot better about leaving my loony landlord, knowing I could easily take him out with some of my Combat moves.

Body Combat is a different type of exercise, and I find it complements my regular gym routine well. It gives me a break from the cardio machines while still giving me a fat burning workout, and being in a class means you have to stay for the full hour, you can't slack off after 30 minutes. You don't need too much coordination to do these classes because you learn a short combination and then do it several times, not chopping and changing too quickly. Also, you do one side and then the other, so you know what you're currently doing with your right leg, you'll be doing with your left in just a moment. Or, as the Body Systems people like to say, "high intensity + simplicity = results"

I'm not sure how similar to the martial arts mentioned Body Combat actually is. I would imagine it's like those CD compilations that are "Inspired by the motion picture". Every so often you have to squat and breathe in the good air and out the bad while doing Tai-Chi style arm movements, but then it's straight back to some nice violent kicking. The latest release also includes some Capoeira which makes a nice change.

At my new gym, I did one class in which people wore tights under thong-leotards a la the 80s. Luckily this is not the case for Body Combat - you need decent trainers (and a sports bra) but otherwise any normal gym gear will do. You don't wear boxing gloves but some people strap their wrists, and instructors and apparently bound by the rules of the franchise to do this too. If you are a die-hard fan, you can however buy authorised clothing from their online shop here: http://www.lmclothing.co.nz/home.aspx

I would recommend this class 100% but would remind you of my note about instructors. They really do make or break a class, and if you try it and don't like it, I would at least give it one more chance another day when a different instructor is leading the class, since it may be the how not the what that you haven't taken to the first time.


Find out more here: http://www.fitpro.com/bts/program.cfm?program=BODY COMBAT

To get a glimpse of what a class looks like, there are a few videos if you search on YouTube which give you a general idea.

You can find a class on the website too: http://www.fitpro.com/bts/classfinder.cfm and they cover some though not all of the clubs in the UK that offer their programs.

Summary: Making me a more-violent person, one punch at a time