Les Mills Combat: Let the Fighting Begin…

Kelsey is at it again! For the next few months, she’ll be sharing her thoughts and experience trying Les Mills Combat. Follow her journey with the workout system, post by post!

I’ll be honest. When I first looked at the Les Mills Combat DVD and sample video, I was a bit intimidated. I’m not the kickboxing, martial arts kind of girl, let alone a fighter type. Let’s just say I’m more girlie girl than fighter. So, I figured this would be pretty interesting right off the bat.

The workouts are led by a guy and girl team — Dan and Rach, who are from England, along with a mix of men and women from various countries in Europe and Asia.

This workout is laid out differently than the P90X and Turbo Fire I’ve done in the past. For one thing, it’s a 60-day workout program instead of 90-day, and it doesn’t break the series out into phases, so you’re doing the same six workouts over the course of the 60 days rather than incorporating new ones as you enter new phases.

I might not be a fighter, but I’m pretty sure I look the part!

The series includes multiple forms of martial arts like taekwondo, karate, Muay Thai boxing, kickboxing, plus they have a couple of HIIT workouts: Power (with weights) Shock Plyo. The Plyo workout is my least favorite — it has everything I hated from all previous workout DVD programs I’ve done: burpees (ugh!), side planks, push-ups, etc., but I muscle through them so I can get the workout in. My shoulders and arms are just not strong enough for these workouts. Yet, anyway!

As I began the 60-day program with my ever-so-gracious friend Jason, I confirmed my original thought — I am not a natural fighter. But I’m doing my best to learn the moves and get back into shape again. I’m feeling better overall. It’s tough this time of year to keep up the workouts, but I’m sticking to it.

The first few weeks of the workout has been a learning experience for sure. I’m learning more about how to punch and kick better, and I figure I should get an A for effort. Although, as in my previous workouts, I am doing some modifications. Like, I still can’t do too much jumping as I’m totally uncoordinated and sometimes it hurts the bad hip I have from my marathon days.

Overall, the first half of the workout series has been good. I think I’ve got a good motivator this time … Hawaii! I’ve been looking forward to this vacation for a looooong time and I don’t want be out of shape.

So, let’s see how the second half of the workout series goes. I’m looking forward to seeing how I improve.

Do you consider yourself a lover or a fighter? —Kelsey