Over the next few weeks in our blog, we will introduce our instructors, team, and gym to you all. We aim to highlight all of the different services and classes right here for you to enjoy.
We also wanted to take a few minutes to introduce ourselves and experience.
Hi, I'm Mark Thompson, I am the Kickboxing instructor at Prokos Personal Training.
I'm a father of three beautiful boys and passionate about health, fitness and lifestyle, especially Kickboxing!
How Would yOu describe your kickboxing class?
The kickboxing classes at Prokos Personal Training are designed for anyone who wants to increase their fitness levels, including people of all ages and abilities. The classes are aimed at anyone who wants to have fun while trying to improve their fitness levels.
We aim to teach new skills through focus pad work, bag work and body weight exercises that are designed to keep your heart rate up and about.
What are the benefits of participating in your class?
The benefits are that your fitness levels will go through the roof! The average person can expect to burn around 500 calories in one class.
From a weight loss perspective, Kickboxing is a great class to participate in because we aim to work on the whole body through cardio movement and body weight resistance exercises.
Another benefit of participating in this class is that your reaction time, speed and agility will increase substantially. Ever tried dropping a glass or bottle of coke on the floor and it spills everywhere? I can tell you right now, after a couple of weeks in this class you have an excellent chance of catching that bottle before it hits the ground.
Your confidence will increase! And if we are honest we could all do with a little bit more confidence in our life - I know I could.
Stress relief is another significant benefit of joining our kickboxing class. Being able to punch the bags and focus pads after a long day of work or a stressful day at home with the kids is really satisfying and great for your mental health.
This class allows you to move around and unwind for a full hour. We like to make sure that all of our members dedicate the 1 hour that they are in the kickboxing class to themselves. Focus on what it is you want to achieve in life, with your fitness, and just let the rest of the world fall away.
Of course, self-defence is another component of this class that will be a likely benefit for everyone. Being able to put combinations together, and knowing how to avoid and evade punches as well as knowing how to throw punches and kicks if you ever have to is a benefit that is quite unique and sets kickboxing apart from other group training classes on offer.
There is a lot to take in during the class, and we have a lot of different activities that we focus on during our hour session, but that is what keeps it fresh and fun for everyone that attends regardless of their skill level, fitness or kickboxing abilities.
Who can join your class?
The class itself is designed for beginners right through to advanced trainers that enjoy the fitness and skill aspect of kickboxing but don't necessarily want the contact and aggression that comes from kickboxing and sparing.
So we have designed our classes to fall somewhere between what a commercial gym would classify as a kick-boxercise class and Mau Thai gym and full contact boxing - we are right in the middle there.
We cater for all ages and fitness levels. Beginners and first timers are welcome to the class, and we generally spend a little bit of time on technique for punching and kicking, kneeing and elbows. We work with whatever fitness level you come with, and then we increase the intensity as your fitness and skill levels increase.
Where someone who has trained for 10 or 15 years at kickboxing will get benefit from this class, a beginner will find just as much value purely by the design of the class.
There is no embarrassed at Prokos Personal Training, the beauty of not being a commercial gym is that we get to dictate (generally through listening to our members) what classes we are going to run and how those classes should be run. Please don't feel embarrassed or self-conscious about coming to our Kickboxing class with no prior knowledge of what to expect, we love new members and generally find that we can refocus on technique a little bit more when we get a new member to the class.
Where did your love of kickboxing come from?
My love of kickboxing comes from the fact that you can utilise your whole body. Your hands, knees, feet, arms, elbows and mind and it sharpens all of your reflexes at the same time.
I find that I am sharper at work, with my paperwork and general organisation after a good session of kickboxing. Certainly, my body feels better for it after I have released all of those good endorphins.
For first-timers, we try to focus on technique rather than speed. So if I were to give you one tip, it would be to come aware that the speed in this class will come as you get fitter.
Don't worry about going out too hard too early in your first classes. The point of those beginning classes is to teach correct technique and then build speed slowly as we need to increase the intensity of the routine.
Speed comes with time! So don't feel you have to run a marathon in your first class.
When are the classes on?
We run classes at Prokos Personal Training on Monday and Wednesday nights at 6:15 pm
If you are a first timer coming to the class it would be great if you could get there at about 6:00 pm so we can have a chat first, go through a few techniques, talk about any injuries you have and do a bit of a longer warm up together.
What equipment do I need to bring?
For a first time participant in the class, there is no need to bring anything but yourself and a bottle of water. However, it is a good idea if you want to become a regular attendee in the class that you invest in some boxing glove inners at the very least, and your own set of gloves at the most.
People join the class for different reasons, but like any exercise, if we can make it fun and enjoyable and get you to see results along the way, then members are likely to continue to do it and enjoy it for a long time.
Prokos Personal Training has everything that you could need to participate and get a great deal of benefit from kickboxing and exercising.
We are looking forward to seeing you on a Monday or Wednesday at 6:15 pm soon!
In the meantime you can read more about our Group Training Classes here and check out the timetable below to see everything we have to offer.
Commenti