Get to know the features of the combat type of fitness and find out what results you can achieve using regular training. Recently, tai-bo fitness has become increasingly popular in various states of the planet. This fitness direction is based on the elements of aerobics, martial arts and dance movements. It is a great tool for fighting fat and strengthening muscles. The term "tai-bo" itself originates from taekwondo and boxing.
The history of the development of tai-bo fitness
This fitness line was founded by the American martial artist - Billy Blanks. Essentially, tai-bo is a type of aerobics that has been supplemented with elements of karate, boxing, taekwondo and muay thai. All movements are performed with musical accompaniment.
The founder of tai-bo fitness was born into an average American family of 15 children. Billy was the fourth oldest among them. It should be noted that from birth Blanks had an anomaly in the hip joint, but from the age of eleven he began to practice karate and taekwondo.
The guy turned out to be very capable and quickly enough he gained worldwide fame. Billy became the world champion in karate seven times, owns black belts in five martial arts and was the captain of the US national karate team for a long time.
In 1986, Blanks began his film career, who managed to star in more than two dozen films. By the way, Bruce Lee has always been Billy's idol, and his appearance in the cinema was quite expected after gaining fame as a fighter. In the same year, Blanks created his own training center and began to work on the principles of his own direction of fitness - tai-bo.
In a short time, the program becomes popular in the United States and many Hollywood stars, for example, Paula Abdul and Pamela Anderson, become Billy Blanks' students. Tai-bo fans are unanimous in the opinion that this is a very effective training program that allows you to achieve excellent results in the shortest possible time. With the release of DVDs of Billy's lessons, a new direction in fitness is expanding beyond the borders of one state and spreading across the planet. Thanks to video lessons, each person got an excellent opportunity to practice tai-bo at home and thereby keep themselves in good physical shape.
Benefits of practicing tai-bo
We will now highlight ten major benefits of this fitness area that will help you make the right choice.
- The program requires a lot of energy and in just one session you can burn from 600 to 700 calories.
- Perfectly increases endurance and improves the performance of the heart muscle.
- There are no jump strikes. This reduces the risk of serious joint injuries. It should be admitted that tai-bo fitness is an excellent form of cardio workout and at the same time the risks of injury are minimal.
- Regular exercise strengthens the spinal column and promotes good posture. In addition, classes are an excellent tool for the prevention of diseases such as osteochondrosis.
- During the training, all the muscles of the body are actively involved in the work, especially the press and lower extremities. This allows you to effectively get rid of a large amount of fat in a short time.
- The program is very easy to learn and even if you have not been involved in martial arts, you can easily master all the exercises.
- Classes perfectly develop coordination of movements and stretching.
- Since the program includes elements of martial arts, you have the opportunity to throw out all the hidden aggression and negative energy in the classroom.
- To train effectively, you do not need special equipment and just video lessons are enough.
Basic principles of tai-bo
Despite the presence of various types of strikes in the program, tai-bo is more of a defense system. The starting position for all movements is the boxer's stance. Your arms are bent at the elbows and the left side of your body is slightly pushed forward.
Each blow should be started with the left hand, since the speed of its movement in most cases exceeds the right. Often, in the process of working out percussion elements, light dumbbells (from one to two kilos) are used, held in the hands. Sometimes in fitness centers, boxing gloves are used during training, but they rather create an environment, since there is no practical need to use them.
While practicing this program, you have to learn how to clench your fists correctly and discard all fears when using them. Also, great importance during tai-bo training is given to breathing technique, exercises to increase endurance and relaxation skills. Although the ability to stand up for yourself in life will not be superfluous, it is still not the main one. Much more important are speed, endurance and the ability to make the right decisions.
Features of training in tai-bo
Speaking about tai-bo fitness, you need to remember about the training process, because it is the essence of your training. As with all martial arts, mental attitude is of great importance. To achieve the desired goal, the program includes elements of breathing exercises and the basics of meditation, which came to tai-bo from wushu, gypsy and tai chi. As a result, athletes manage to increase the concentration of adrenaline, which is very important in tai-bo.
All the elements of martial arts, which are practiced in the lesson, allow you to achieve the necessary emotional state. This, in turn, makes it possible to increase the load without harming the body. Note that tai-bo is quite capable of replacing morning exercises or will allow you to relieve stress after a hard day's work. Tai-bo fitness training can last only a quarter of an hour.
All classes begin with a warm-up and this should become a rule for you, no matter what kind of sport you do. After that, the main part of the training begins, consisting of arbitrary movements around the hall, as well as the execution of blows on the bag and jumps. Note that tai-bo specialists do not advise to perform strikes with full amplitude. To reduce the risk of injury, the arm or leg should remain slightly bent at the end of the trajectory during the impact.
Since most of the movements in tai-bo are strikes, the basic training will be familiar to those people who have been practicing karate. If strikes into space are performed, then it is worth using additional weights. Most often, for this, as we noted above, light dumbbells are used. In addition to hand ulars, tai-bo classes also involve mastering kicks in all directions.
When performing each exercise, from two to three dozen beats are performed. There are also exercises in the program that have very beautiful oriental names, for example, "Attacking Mantis". The list of exercises is very long and you will help to get acquainted with it in full in video lessons or under the guidance of an experienced instructor.
To achieve good results, your sessions should be regular. For beginners, it is enough to conduct 20-minute classes, and this is enough to tidy up their physical form and recharge their energy. If you watch the classes from the outside, they look very aggressive. However, in essence this is not at all the case.
Thanks to the presence of boxing elements in the program, you will be able to strengthen the muscles of the arms and shoulder girdle. But exercises taken from taekwondo will be very beneficial for the leg muscles. In the classroom, you can significantly improve your reaction, increase endurance, and also stimulate the work of the body's defense mechanisms. In addition, thanks to the powerful cardio exercise, tai-bo fitness is an excellent way to lose weight. This is one of the reasons for the increased interest in the program of girls.
After completing the main program of the lesson, athletes move on to mastering or improving any combat combination and from the outside it resembles a dance. All movements at this moment are performed at a slow pace, which helps to restore breathing.
Novice athletes can be recommended three times a week. There should be at least one day off between workouts to restore the body. After using this mode of exercise for three months, the load can be increased.
You can watch a group tai-bo lesson with Victoria Rudenko in the video below:
