As we are all following orders to stay home to limit the spread of coronavirus, just because you are shut out of the gym, doesn’t mean you should give up on the idea of fitness entirely. Carlsbad Kickboxing Club head coach Xavier Barker, for example, is making sure to eat as healthy as possible, keep sugar intake low, and exercise at home with walks and runs outside. There are also plenty of muay thai boxing drills you can do at home that will not only help you to keep your distance, but will also maintain your sanity and help you stay in shape. 

Below are just a few of our favorites. 

Cardio: Whether it be running, doing high knees, keep taps, burpees or jumping rope (or even just rotating your wrists in the same motion and hop over an imaginary rope), it is keep to be sure to build up your endurance and get your heart pumping. 

Technique Practice: Practice your drills in a realistic way. Put on all those pads and strike accurately and hard. Maybe work in some of those jab, cross, hook, kick combinations you practice in classes, but do it at the correct speed with the correct technique. Pretend your imaginary partner then takes their turn and more around defending yourself. Make this fighting as realistic as you possibly can. 

Shadow Boxing: Performed completely by yourself (win), shadow boxing is the perfect opportunity for you to practice all those strikes, defense moves, cardio and more that you have learned at Carlsbad Kickboxing Club. Although it might feel strange if it is your first time, all you have to do is move around in any space you might have—whether it be living room, garage, backyard—and focus on staying balanced and using footwork. 

If you have a Heavy Bag: Quarantine or not, hitting a heavy bag will help improve technique, stamina and strength. Start by warming up with movement drills to practice footwork and get the blood flowing. This about drills you practiced in class. Maybe an elbow drill such as out of your fighting stance or while clinching the bag or a speed jab drill. Doing some switch kick to switch knee drills, or a high kick and low power kick drill will also help strengthen what you have. Punching and kicking combinations will help bring it all together. Try moving around the bag when practicing these various techniques. 

Overall, anything you can do to help maintain the skills you have already learned to keep your stamina for when we all return will be helpful. But is more important during these strange times is to also maintain a healthy mind. On that front, coach Barker also talked about his own personal strategy. 

For his mind, he says he writes in a gratitude journal each morning and evening just jotting a few things down that he is grateful for every day. Coach Barker also is cooking and learning new recipes and also tries to meditate every morning and evening for five to 10 minutes. “Just breathing and sitting still goes a long way.” 

You can still support Carlsbad Kickboxing Club from the comfort of your home with Zoom https://us04web.zoom.us/s/795137884?pwd=aXNVaE55dE5NeFJDVlJFamtOdCt5QT09. Email us @ carlsbadkickboxing@gmail.com or DM us on INSTAGRAM @carlsbadkickboxingclub for your password