This is a fun oldie that everyone in your class knows by heart. Give it a little jump rope and some speed feet and you have a rockin drill to ensure your participants hit their cardio peak.
Set up by giving each participant a jump rope. They can use a pretend jump rope if they aren't comfortable with a real one.
I like to teach kickboxing with a mark on the floor. Every participant puts a small + (plus sign) on the floor with masking tape. We use this mark for foot placement during stances and for agility work. The tape divides the participant's workspace into four quadrants (front right, back right, front left, and back left.)
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It's Raining Men
by The Weather Girls
Jump rope/speed work - #3 in the kickboxing outline, also appropriate for any cardio peak in a mixed cardio class
Get the entire Kickbox - January 2009
here.
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Start with jump ropes in hand
INTRO: As the music begins, piano is low and builds; singer speaks ("hi, we're your weather girls...") - jump rope through the intro (40 seconds)
VERSE 1 "Barometer's getting low...": stretch through 1st chorus. Release the back by doing windmills, complete active stretches for hamstrings by doing moderate forward leg swings.
CHORUS 1 "It's raining men, hallelujah...": speed feet combo. Start at the front right quadrant. Remember the movie "Flashdance"? We are going to move our feet fast and in place just like she did in the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxOlKvvLXP8 - 30 seconds in you will see her doing what I am talking about.) So - you are going to do "Flashdance" runs but you are going to switch quadrants every 4 beats. Front right quadrant for 4 beats (it's VERY quick), then back right, then back left, then front left.
BRIDGE 1 "God Bless Mother Nature...": pick up the jump rope and get going. This will be the longest interval you do. Speed feet and jump rope will only be together one time, so suck it up. All the way through the second "It's raining men..."
VERSE 2 "I feel stormy weather...": stretch using active stretches and walk in place. When they say "Rip off the roof and stay in bed..." pick up the jump rope again.
BRIDGE 2 "God bless Mother Nature...": jump rope
BREAK "It's raining men, YEAH...": active stretching
CHORUS 1 "It's raining men, hallelujah...": speed feet combo to the end
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Remember - you are working to get heart rates up OVER the working tempo for short periods of time. This will help your class increase their cardio vascular capacity and therefore teach their bodies to find their fat stores.