Great Leg and Hip Workout -- Double-Bam Kick

Wow.  I feel like it has been ages since I was able to write my last blog; I apologize for the lapse!  These last two weeks have been a blur of snow, travel, and a lot of sickness.  As I often tell others: life is crazy!  You just have to make sure you keep moving forward.  That said, let’s jump right in to our exercise of the week!

This week we are going to focus on our quadriceps and hip flexors with the:

Double-Bam Kick

Begin with your feet separated, left foot in front; think of your feet being on the corners of a box.  In Kempo we call this a “half-moon stance”.  Bring your hands up “on guard” (knuckles in front of your chin), pull your belly in toward your spine, and lift your chest up.  Maintain this position throughout the exercise. 

Now it’s time for the “Double-Bam Kick”.  Bring your right knee up in front of your belly button while keeping your right foot pulled in tight by the left knee.  Think of this as your starting point for the kick.  For the kick you are going to do a double flick with the right foot; with each flick, extend the leg as high as you can and then return to the starting point position.  The goal is to keep your knee high and steady while you kick as quickly as you can.  Finally, you can step back down to the ground with your right foot.  Continue kicking with the right foot for 1 minute, then repeat with the left foot.  Feeling daring?  Go for 2-3 more rounds on each leg.

If you don’t feel like you are working your legs enough (ha), bend your standing leg more, lift your knee higher, and make sure you are doing the full extension and re-chambering of your kicking leg.  In addition, try to keep your upper body and hips totally still while you are kicking so that you isolate your quad and hip flexor muscles.