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.)

------------------------------------------

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.

-------------------------------------------

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

----------------------------------------------------

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.

 

 

Just a quick note to provide a link to this new fitness instructor group on Facebook.  Looks like this one is going to be really active - it already has 16 members!

Facebook Fitness Instructors - Join today!  This is going to be a great place for sharing ideas.

This morning I did some research on the FitClasses.com sales history.  As a result, I realized that the prices need to come down.  So across the board I reduced the prices on instructor and personal trainer merchandise.  Check out the deals now >

The iMix for Kickbox - January 2009 is available now at iTunes. Check it out.

I changed out the warmup song.  Originally (kickbox playlist published earlier this month) I had planned to use a Country Grammer/Sweet Home Alabama mash-up that I just love, but I ran in to two problems.  First, that song is too fast; and second, that song is not available on iTunes.  Oh - and plus I ran across a brand new song that I love and it is so perfect for the first warmup of the year.

It is "Krazy" by Pitbull feat. Lil John .  You have got to check this song out.  The beat is just insance and it pumps from beginning to end.  I wrote the choreography out the other day.  This would be a great warm up for a lot of different formats - kickbox, drills, athletic training, or any kind of mixed cardio class format.

The other change I made was in the "Uppercuts" track.  I was using "I'm your Man" by Wham!.  I love this song, but it just wasn't right for kickbox.  I found a much more appropriate and uplifting song - "Keeps Getting Better" by Christina Aguilera.  This is the song they used in the recent Target commercial where she is running around in a superhero suit.  People love this song.  (WARNING - it does have the word 'b*&^h' in it a few times - so if you don't think your class will be able to get past that you might want to stick with Wham!. Both are included in the iMix.)

Below are all the songs listed - if there is a link on the song name that means I have written the choreography out for that song and I am linking to it.  Again, here is the link to the Kickbox - January 2009  iMix so you can get all of the songs.

 

Objective	Song Name	Artist
Warm up	Krazy (feat. Lil Jon)	Pitbull
Punches	Boys of Freedom (feat. Arista) [Mike Rizzo Global Radio Edit]	Dor Dekel
Speed/Jump Rope	It's Raining Men	The Weather Girls
Kicks	Check Yes Juliet	We the Kings
Speed bag/Jumping jacks	Reach Out	Hilary Duff
Contact work on torso bag*	So What	P!nk
Pushups and Abs	I Like to Move It (Radio Mix)	Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman
Uppercuts (option)	I'm Your Man	Wham!
Uppercuts	Keeps Gettin' Better	Christina Aguilera
Balance/Stability	Blame It On the Boogie	The Jacksons
Stretch	Stay	Sugarland
Stretch (option)	Proud	Heather Small

*Repeat the contact song until all participants get a chance to hit the bag - participants not hitting the bag should do simple calisthenic drills determined by instructor.

This song is my new favorite.  A lot of times I pick music that grows on me, but the best routines always come from songs that I just know right away I am going to use.  The first time I heard it I knew I had to find a place for it.

If you haven't heard this song yet, you have GOT to download it.  It is the most heart pumping, energetic, fun beat from beginning to end.

I am going to replace "Country Grammar" with this song for my warmup routine this month.

--------------------------------------

"Krazy" -  - Pitbull feat. Lil John (Hip-hop/Rap | 3:48)
Warmup for kickbox, athletic drills, or any type of mixed cardio class

--------------------------------------

Start off in front of the class talking about proper execution of a power cross and a rear knee.  This routine starts off with jumping jacks and transitions very quickly to a power (rear) cross, so participants need to be familiar with this punch before the music starts.

Intro - Jumping jacks 15X - use space where 16th jack would be to get in fighting position (left lead)

Bridge 1 ("... they get crazy ...") - Cross 8X - right punch to the opponent's nose using torso movement to put power into the punch.  Cross should be hard and fast, and participants must return to fighting position between cross punches.

Chorus 1 ("Jump up let's get ...") - rear knee to the head 7X - right knee to opponent's head using fast arms movement to grab the head and pull it into the knee and right hip to pull knee up hard toward the head.  Use space where 8th knee would go ("damn, that's crazy") to switch fighting stance to a right lead.

Verse 1 - (rap) - Right jabs (2 fast and back to fighting stance) 8X

Bridge 2 ("... they get crazy ...") - Left cross punch 8X

Chorus 2 ("Jump up let's get ...") - rear (left) knee to the head 7X.  Use space where 8th knee would go ("damn, that's crazy") to switch fighting stance to a left lead.

Verse 2 - (rap) - Left jabs (2 fast and back to fighting stance) 8X

Bridge 3 ("... they get crazy ...") - Cross/Switch combo (Left cross two times, switch stance quick, right cross two times, switch stance quick) 2X

Chorus 3 ("Jump up let's get ...") - Rear knee/Switch combo (rear knee to the head, switch stance, repeat) 4X

Break (" ... they get crazy ..." - music gets very low) - stretch break for 16 counts (two stanzas of the rap), release backs and hamstrings -

Bridge 4 (" ... they get crazy ..." - music building) - intro side kick for 16 counts

Chorus 4 ("Jump up let's get ...") - Left lead side kick 4X, switch stance, Right lead side kick 4X

Outro - square up with the front of the room - speed bag or speed bag/jack combo (4 counts with 2 jacks)

Pushups routine - great for giving the lower body a break in the middle of a class, or as strength work at the beginning or end of a class.  This routine contains a bunch of pushups and the sets are broken up by some high intensity ab work and some weighted bench presses.

------------------------------------------

Pushups (#9 in kickbox class, #5 in Athletic Drills class, #11 in Step class)
"I like to Move It" by Reel 2 Reel feat. the Mad Stuntman (Pop | 3:43)

------------------------------------------

Start in pushup position with medium/heavy weights close by.  Participants will switch positions a few times during this routine, moving from pushups to seated position and back. 

Encourage participants to try a few pushups during the first set (participants can use knee or toes position.)  During subsequent sets of pushups participants will be able to choose between pushups or bench presses.

· Intro "I like to move it..." - slow pushups (4 count down, 4 count up) 1X
· synthesizer - mid-tempo pushups (2 counts down, 2 counts up) 4X
· music stops "all them girls..." - change positions to seated, lean upper body back using abs as support, participants may hold a small yoga ball in their hands (larger 'body' ball will not work)
· "woman you..." - maintaining seated, slightly reclined position, hit the ground on either side with hands or yoga ball.  tempo may be too fast to keep up so just keep repeating the side to side movement through this verse
· "woman you nice sweet, energetic" - pick up weights, maintain reclined seated position
· "I like to move it.." - bench press from seated reclined position (2 counts up, 2 counts down) 3X then quickly switch positions for full pushups (those who are not comfortable with pushups may stick with the seated reclined bench press)
· music and sirens - 8X single count pushups or bench press
· "woman you..." - seated reclined side to side
· "woman you nice sweet, energetic" - pick up weights, maintain reclined seated position
· "I like to move it.." - bench press from seated reclined position (2 counts up, 2 counts down) 7X then quickly switch positions for full pushups 
· music and sirens - 24X single count pushups or bench press to the end of the song
· music ends "I like to move it" - slow pushups 2X