Packing a Punch

My plan for Friday night had been to try Zumba.  Zumba's on my list of classes I want to try because they scare me.  (See also Intensati, Nia, Hip-Hop on the 1/2)  When work threw me an unexpected and frustrating curve ball Friday afternoon, however, I decided to hold off on Zumba and go hit things.  And kick them.

Omar Sandoval's Impact! class at the 85th street Equinox was exactly what I needed.  I'd never taken his class before, but Impact! classes are usually fun.  Friday night classes tend to be somewhat slow, so I was pleased to see an eager crowd of regulars waiting by the door for the previous class to end.

Impact! classes tend to have a smaller repertoire of moves than other kickboxing classes, and this was no different.  All of the combinations were based on jabs, cross-punches and roundhouse kicks.  Some of the combinations also incorporated squats.  After warming up, we did 5 5-minute non-stop rounds.  Each round had about three different combinations to it. 

Omar played fun dance remixes of cheesy pop songs, which was fun and set a good tone for the class.  He stayed mostly towards the center of the room, and I didn't notice him correcting anyone's form, but I don't think anyone in the class was really new to kickboxing.

I started out going postal on my punching bag because I was so wound up, but eventually I calmed down and paced myself.  Because class wasn't full, there was no one on the other side of my freestanding bag and I travelled around my area of the room a lot. 

Like many Impact! classes, we finished off with more push-ups than my arms could handle at that point. Omar's class totally saved my Friday night.  I left class wiped out, but also way more clear-headed.  In fact, I even remembered to use the foam rollers before I left the gym to stretch out my IT bands! 

-Gym Belle-