Between Yoga, Combat, Boxing and Body Combat

I've been ranting around on the pain in whole parts of my body today. I guess not going to combat class for a long time has taken its toll. I've been trying too many types of diets, combining them with or without various workouts, to no avails. Don't get me wrong, some of them really did get me a result. I'd achieved my slimmest weight of 150 pounds with size 4 from the Maalox/SwissMiss/Multivitamin diet. Certainly not a healthy diet but it did get me the result. Do I want to go through that again? Hell no. I gained multiple Kgs after I stopped the diet.

I'm not an outdoor person, so all outdoor activities are not my cup of tea. I'm also not cut out for dancing, so dancing-type classes are just a waste of money for me (FYI, I tried ballet to Salsa). And I'm definitely not a sports game person, so Badminton and the likes are out (Had joined Badminton, Volleyball, Tennis club during my school time and they're recipes for disaster).

So, with so many things not working out for me, that leaves me with the Gym. Having personal trainer tortured me until my legs feel like jelly everyday (they call it motivation) did give me fabulously toned body. But, it's damn costly and once you stop, you'll get extra pounds back, more than your original weight.

But after lots of trial and error methods, I do find what works for me to feel healthy without dieting till crazy. Now I like to do Yoga, Body Combat, Boxing or Taebo. Still pay quite hefty monthly gym fee, but at least now I don't feel so draggy going to those classes and I feel the benefit. Why is that so?

1. Yoga. I have a light scoliosis. So with my S-shaped vertebrae, I'll feel back pain constantly, and it hurts and annoying at the same time. There's no cure to it, what a shame, but something can be done to prevent it to get worse. I still need to go back to my chiropractic therapist every now and then, but for day to day basis, doing Yoga really helps me feel better and less pain. Personally, I like the Hot Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Yogalates and Yoga Therapy classes. Hot Yoga to me is basically Hatha Yoga inside sauna room. It's more like cardio because you do lots of balancing and the hot temperature helps you to sweat more, which means slashing more fats, and increase the flexibility of your muscle (I feel I can reach my toes easier when I'm in Hot Yoga class). Hatha Yoga is my second choice of class. It's more to train your core muscles. I still in the beginners level and don't think will step to the next level anytime soon. Yogalates is a combination of yoga and pilates. It's lighter than Hatha but you will work more on your abs, which is what I need. Yoga Therapy is very beneficial wen you have back pain like me. It's relaxing and you'll feel very light after the class. A very good exercise after Hot Yoga. Click here for more details and common Yoga postures (all Yoga classes will have varieties of these postures). Things to take note when you do Yoga. 1. Always watch your posture. Different footing or angle will cause you injuries. No point of doing Yoga if you stretch wrong muscles. 2. Have a good instructor to guide you when you're first time doing yoga, and go to the class couple more times before you do DIY yoga at home. It really make a difference. So, Namaste anyone?

2. Body Combat. This is one of the example of perfect work out for a left-footer like me. It burns up to 600 Cal per session if done it correctly. The movement? It only has jab, cross, upper cut, hook, elbow for upper body and knee, kick, side kick and round house kick for lower body. You just need to imagine the bitch/bastard that you hate stand in front of you and you do all the movements. How perfect it could be. You could release your stress and have a healthy workout at one go! What I don't really fancy from Combat is that it has jump kicks, which is bad for my back. So, I didn't do most of the jumping movement. This class will include heart pumping music so those with weak heart must take extra cautions. Do it diligently like 2 to 3 times a week will get you a toned triceps and abs within 3 months. Things to note when doing this class: 1. Watch for the good instructors. More than yoga, it really make the difference. They will motivate you, make torturing your own body looks fun and they will show you the correct movement and most important, they'll correct you! For example, you must turn your hips when you do the hook, always lift the ankle and turn your shoulders when you do jab and cross.

3. Taebo. Alternatively, I'll do Taebo at home. Got the Billy Blanks' DVD from my bro and had a good work out sessions in less than 1 hour. It's very similar to Body Combat in terms of movement. There are several differences in both, some of them are: 1. Tempo. Though the music is slower than Combat, the tempo is faster, so you can't underestimate the counting 2. Movement. The only same thing about it is the jab, cross etc, but Taebo includes aerobic steps, which I don't really thrill about. For new movements, I need to practice couple of times to get the steps correct and finally enjoy the workout. But Taebo has less jumps or even no jumps compare to Combat, which is good for me.

4. Boxing. I just tried the class 2 days ago and it was great. It'll be better if we can use track shoes but it's still OK compare to the hazzard of the track shoes omission for Combat. Movement wise, it follows basic movements of combats, but with more intensity. You get to have a sparring partner and you can feel that you need to use more power to hit the rolled mat. More power = more sweat = less fat. Got the equation?

So, start your workout sessions after work today. You'll get to feel more energized during the day and feel lighter on your shoulder.