Best Kickboxing Exercises to Tone Body

Kickboxing is a strength-focused and high-energy combat sports discipline. Its drills and techniques are the perfect workout for toning your arms, back, core, and legs. The combination of powerful punches with kicks and various agility-focused drills engages all muscles in the body. The exercises are great for building lean muscle mass and toning the body.

The kickboxing workouts are balanced with the correct proportion of strength and cardio. The exercises burn calories and improve speed, agility, power, and muscular and cardiovascular endurance, all essential components of good health.

Fat-burning Kickboxing workouts are also great for building flexibility and improving coordination. Whether your goal is to lose fat, build strength, or improve endurance, kickboxing exercises will always give you quality results.

Kickboxing for Arms: Power & Definition

Kickboxing has a perfect balance of cardio and strength, so you can throw punches with full force with your core engaged. Kickboxing for arms greatly generates power in the upper body while toning the arms and shoulders. Do the following kickboxing moves to develop arm definition:

Jab-Cross Combinations

Jab-cross punches in kickboxing are an effective way to build strength in arms muscles. With a staggered stance and feet hip-width apart, you can throw an effective jab-cross combination, which also delivers results. Make a fist with both hands and keep them by your face. Punch your front arm straight before you for the jab, returning it quickly to your face. Now punch the back arm straight forward while pivoting your back foot for a cross.
Hook & Uppercut Drills

Hook and uppercut drills are great for arm and shoulder strength. Practicing these drills regularly can also improve your punching power and technique. To do hook and uppercut drills, you need to engage your core and shoulders properly.
Punching Bag Workouts

Using a durable punching bag and training can help build muscles in the arms, shoulders, and chest. You can also use punching bag training to improve balance and coordination and practice different punches.
Shadowboxing with Weights

Doing shadowboxing with weights can be a great way to increase muscle engagement in the area. The added resistance will challenge your muscles, stimulating growth and strength. The repetitive punching movements in shadow boxing engage muscle groups properly, aiding in hypertrophy.

Kickboxing for Legs: Strength & Endurance

Kickboxing is a good sport to get in good shape, tone your legs and build strength and endurance. The kickboxing for legs involves incorporating different moves, such as roundhouse kicks, to tone all muscles in the lower body. Following are the best kickboxing workouts to develop leg strength:

Roundhouse Kicks

Roundhouse kicks have several benefits such as increased leg power and striking ability. The drill can also help in improving hip mobility and coordination, which eventually translates to better movement in daily life. The constant fluid and circular motion in roundhouse kicks also aids in developing good balance in the body. Practice roundhouse kicks regularly to tone quads, hamstrings and glutes.
Front Kicks & Push Kicks

Front and push kicks are great drills as they help practice the correct distance range between you and your opponent, giving you major control in the ring. The exercises also strengthen your thigh muscles and hip flexors, improving overall movement and balance. Regularly practicing front and push kicks also gives you a good cardio workout, enhancing stamina and endurance.
Sidekicks

No kickboxing lower body drill is completed without side kicks. The movement sculpts the outer thigh and strengthens glute muscles, eventually leading to better hip mobility and good footwork. Make sure that you do side kick on each leg for at least 12-15 reps.
Squats

Squats are an effective kickboxing-strength-focused compound move, engaging a wide range of muscles such as quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. Strengthening these muscles is important to deliver high kicks and good footwork. Squats is an effective move that improves agility and helps in absorbing impact without disturbing balance.

Core-Strengthening Kickboxing Moves

Everyone dreams of having good core strength, a small waist, and flat abs. Core-strengthening kickboxing moves challenge the muscles and help give you that chiseled look. The exercises also strengthen the core muscles, supporting your posture and overall health. You can do these core moves for at least one minute, followed by a 30-second rest.

Twisting Punches and Hooks

Twisting punches and hooks generate maximum power from your entire body, strengthening your core muscles while activating obliques and abdominal muscles. For twisting punches, you need to rotate your body mindfully, challenging the side of the abs. The exercise is great for building explosive power and core strength while also creating angles and openings for your defense.
Knee Strikes for Lower Abs

Knee strikes target the lower abdominal muscles and hip flexors. To do this exercise, you need to properly engage your core muscles, which eventually helps you get a flat stomach with improved core stability. Make sure that your core is engaged properly during this exercise, or else you might strain your lower back.
Plank-to-Punch Drills

A great modification of a regular plank, the plank-to-punch drills challenge your core by creating instability. They are a fat-burning kickboxing move that improves overall muscle endurance. All you need is a good-quality and durable yoga mat for this movement with proper core engagement.
Russian Twists with Punches

Russian twist is a classic core exercise that strengthens the core muscles and gives a chiseled ab look. The twists with punches improve the rotational strength and stability in the core region. This movement also strengthens your spinal muscles and posture.

Full-Body Kickboxing Workouts for Strength & Fat Burning

Engaging in kickboxing for strength is perfect to build strength in the entire body. The movements also increase the fat-burning capability of your body. Following are some full-body kickboxing workout that can be incorporate in training easily:

High-Intensity Kickboxing Circuits

The high-intensity kickboxing circuits are a combination of powerful punches and kicks with a cardio move. You can either add a burpee at the end of the set or a jump rope exercise for a minute at least. The punches in the circuit engage your upper body and core, whereas kicks require lower body strength.
Heavy Bag Training for Full-Body Conditioning

The heavy bag training is perfect to condition the entire body. Engaging in heavy bag training regularly improves your cardiovascular health, strength and power in the upper body while also working on your balance and coordination. The movement is great to build explosive power in the entire body and improve cardiovascular and muscle endurance.
Jump Rope & Kickboxing Routines

The jump rope exercises combined with kickboxing routines such as front kicks or roundhouse kicks can help in improving speed and agility while building strength. The jump rope routine burns fat and aids in weight loss effectively. This routine will also improve the kickboxing footwork and overall cardiovascular stamina and endurance.
Burpee-to-Punch-Kick Combos

Burpee is a high-intensity fat burning move, and combining it with punch and kick combos from kickboxing will sculpt the entire body. The combination is also good to stimulate muscle fatigue, eventually helping in increasing the muscle size and strength. Adding a weighted vest during this combo can amplify the training effectiveness.

Kickboxing Fitness Training: Tips for Best Results

Kickboxing is an ideal training approach to strengthen the muscles and sculpting the body. Following are some of the kickboxing fitness training tips that will give you best results.

Proper Form & Technique

Without a proper form or solid technique, you can be exposed to various injuries in a kickboxing session. Make sure that you are engaging your core muscles properly while practicing any kickboxing drill. Position your feet correctly, and establish a strong mind-body connection to increase the effectiveness of the session.
Training Consistency & Repetition

Kickboxing is fun, and different from a traditional strength training session, which means you can enjoy it way too much that can lead to overtraining and burnout. Schedule your kickboxing days when you are not doing any other exercises, and plan your recovery too. Doing this will make your training improved and better.
Adding Resistance (Weights & Bands)

Adding resistance to different movements can stimulate muscle growth and improve overall appearance. But again, if you are a beginner, it is important to pay attention to proper stance and form first and then proceed to the next step.
Hydration & Nutrition Tips

Like any other training type, kickboxing also needs a proper hydration and nutrition plan. Adequate planning can support your muscle growth and prevent the risk of injuries. Prioritize your nutrition to support your fitness goals, or you might not see any result.

Related article: 5 Kickboxing Conditioning Drills to Level Up

Conclusion

The jabs, hooks, and roundhouse kicks in kickboxing engage all your muscle groups, giving you an effective and challenging full-body workout. It is also an extremely good approach to building power and strong muscle endurance.

Kickboxing exercises engage every muscle in your body, building strength and endurance and giving you a toned appearance. Incorporating kickboxing exercises into your training routine will aid in fat loss and muscle hypertrophy. Start practicing these drills regularly, and soon, you will see a massive difference in your strength.

Kickboxing is a fun and high-paced workout that keeps you engaged with powerful punches and kicks, boosting your confidence and strength.