For years – years – Freestyle Fitness has been Reno’s go-to for the best kickboxing classes around. And as things change – new gyms, more options, all that jazz – we’ve adapted our program, with one big exception. Our kickboxing class format stayed the same. It was sixty minutes of intense, steady-state cardio with a pretty steep learning curve and minimal resistance. Well, things are changing right now. The best kickboxing class in Reno just got even better. Here’s how.

Then, it was fast and furious for 45 straight minutes. Now, it’s three ten-minute blocks of fast and furious cardio interspersed with five minutes of intense, focused resistance.

Then, the resistance/core portion was tacked onto the end. Now, you’ll get fifteen full minutes of resistance focusing on upper body, lower body and core broken into three sets of muscle-quivering intensity.

Then, it was cardio or die. Now, it’s the most effective fat-blasting training you can do, the kind of high intensity interval training that helps you burn calories during the workout – and for hours afterward.

Then, it was all about getting the blood and lungs pumping. Now, it’s a low-impact, joint-friendly workout that’s as good for your heart and lungs as it is for your muscles.

We know that with change often comes resistance. But we didn’t make these changes lightly. The research speaks for itself. Benefits of high intensity interval training include:

• Efficiency – you get make more progress in a shorter period of time with a HIIT workout than you can jogging on a treadmill for an hour. And get this – a 2011 study shared at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting showed that just two weeks of HIIT improves aerobic capacity as as six to eight weeks of endurance training!
• Greater fat burning – You’ll burn more fat and calories during your workout and continue burning them up to 24 hours afterward. That just doesn’t happen with an hour of even super intense cardio.
• A happier, healthier heart – Pushing into that anaerobic zone (you know, where you feel like you can’t breathe and your heart is about to burst right out of your chest) a few times will get your heart rate going like gangbusters.
• Drop fat, keep muscle – Steady state cardio (ahem, jogging, spinning, even kickboxing!) seems to encourage muscle loss. But HIIT workouts can be as effective as weight training to preserve those guns and glutes and encourage weight loss in the form of fat stores. Winning!
• Boosted metabolism – So you’re increasing fat burning, preserving muscle and those HIIT workouts also stimulate the production of HGH by hundreds of percentage points in the 24-hour period after your workout. What does HGH do? Increases calorie burn and slows the aging process, no big deal.

Our new and improved cardio kickboxing class is offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 am. You’ll be out the door by 7, off to seize the day. A few weeks of this, and you’re going to see and feel big, big changes. So show up, put up and let’s get our HIIT on.