Kicking your way to good condition and health

Lara Herboldsheimer stays in shape by not only teaching a total body conditioning class at the Cheyenne County Community Center but she also teaches the popular class of kickboxing there.

Total body conditioning occurs Monday and Wednesday mornings from 5:15 a.m. to 6 a.m. and kickboxing class is on Tuesday nights at 5:30 p.m. at the center.

While Herboldsheimer has been teaching kickboxing at the center on and off for seven years, this is the first year that she has been teaching total body conditioning.

The instructor got into teaching nine years ago when she was working at another recreational center before moving to Sidney. She finally obliged to her coworkers’ want and encouragement to get certified to teach kickboxing.

“Both are equally effective workouts it just depends on your style,” said Herboldsheimer.

“Total body conditioning is a mixture of moves that combine strength training and cardio using step and kickboxing and a little bit of every kind of move,” she said.

During conditioning Herboldsheimer said that participants get their heart rates up and their muscles toned.

“I try to work every muscle during the class,” she said. “Sometimes we will be more focused on the upper body and sometimes we focus more on the lower body, but I try and hit all of the body groups every class.”

The class starts with a 5-minute warm-up of exercises such as jumping jacks, running in place, knee pulls and lunches to get participants’ blood flowing, according to the instructor.

The next 35 minutes are composed of different moves followed by a cool-down of target toning, which usually consist of an abs workout.

Materials for the class are provided by the center and sometimes consist of steps used in steps aerobics class and hand weights, bars and benches, she said.

The class limit size is approximately 25 people and there is plenty of room for more class members.

Herboldsheimer said that kickboxing however is a different breed of workout.

Kickboxing class is an hour long and has about 5-7 minutes of warm-ups consisting of high knee and knee pull exercises as well as jabs, punches and kicks.

The instructor said that kickboxing is primarily a cardio workout but also works out the whole body. The participants work on punches, front kicks, back kicks and “body blow” punches.

Though there isn’t very much equipment required for the class, sometimes members bring their own body weights to enhance their workout.

“It’s really not like a mixed-martial arts type of kickboxing. It is more strictly cardio and a little bit of toning too. Anytime you are working those muscles you are toning them,” she said.

Herboldsheimersaid that she incorporates music into both classes to keep her participants in tempo, moving and to keep their mind off of the workout.

“This is better than working out by yourself. People are always looking for a different way to get into the gym and to get motivated. These classes provide different ways to get that workout in,” the instructor said.