Fitness Kickboxing

Fitness kickboxing classes in Catonsville, Maryland, at Baltimore Martial Arts Academy. This is the workout version of kickboxing: real gloves, real bags and pads, real martial-arts coaches — and no sparring, no contact and no experience needed. You punch and kick your way through a round-based class that burns fat, tones muscle and leaves you feeling like you accomplished something. Members have lost 60 pounds and more here doing nothing but kickboxing. Your first week is free.

New here? Start with a free week, or grab the $19.95 starter pack with free gloves.

What a class looks like

You strap on gloves, warm up with shadowboxing and footwork, then work rounds on the heavy bags and pads: punches, kicks, knees and combinations, taught properly by instructors who are martial artists first. Between rounds there is conditioning — core, plyometrics, agility, balance — so the whole body gets worked, not just your arms. Classes finish with a stretch. Music is loud, the people are friendly, and nobody is watching whether you can keep up, because the class is self-paced: you hit as hard and as fast as you can today, and harder next month.

The harder you punch, the more calories you burn — and because we measure it, you will know.

Impact Wrap: see your effort on the board

Our bags are fitted with Impact Wrap sensors. Every strike you land is counted and measured for force, your heart rate and calories are tracked, and the live leaderboard on the wall shows the class how everyone is doing in real time. After class, your workout is saved and sent to the app on your phone, so you can watch your numbers climb week by week. It turns a workout into a game, and it is the reason people who hate the gym stick with kickboxing.

Nutrition and body-composition testing

Kickboxing changes your body quickly, and we can show you exactly how. Members can ask for a nutrition consultation — practical recommendations based on your goals, not a diet plan from a magazine — and we offer body-composition testing on an InBody 270, which measures muscle, fat and water separately, so you can see real progress even in the weeks when the bathroom scale is being stubborn. Ask at the front desk.

Who comes to our kickboxing classes

Mostly people who want to get in shape and are bored of treadmills. Women and men, twenties through sixties, beginners and former athletes. Nurses after a shift, parents whose kids train here, Groupon first-timers who stayed, and a core of regulars who have been coming for years. It is a friendly room. Join in, and you will have a tribe of people who notice when you are missing.

If you live in Catonsville, Arbutus, Halethorpe, Ellicott City, Elkridge, Columbia, Woodlawn or Pikesville, you are close enough to come train with us — we are on Route 40 just west of the Beltway.

Kickboxing or Muay Thai — which one?

They look similar from the doorway and they are not the same thing. Fitness kickboxing is the workout: bags, pads and conditioning, no partner contact, no sparring. Muay Thai is the martial art: you learn the techniques properly with a partner and can clinch, spar or compete if you choose. If your goal is to get in shape, start here. If your goal is to learn to fight, start with Muay Thai. Plenty of members do both.

What to bring to the first class

• Shorts or athletic pants and a t-shirt. Train in clean athletic shoes or barefoot on the mat — either is fine.
• Water and a towel. You will use both.
• No gloves or wraps needed to try — we lend you a pair for your first week. If you stay, hand wraps and a pair of gloves are the first things to buy, and we will tell you exactly what to look for.
• Arrive ten minutes early so an instructor can meet you and show you the basics before the round starts.

Benefits of kickboxing classes

• Fat loss. A round-based class burns more than most people manage in an hour at the gym — and the harder you hit, the more you burn.
• Muscle tone. Longer, leaner, stronger — especially shoulders, core and legs.
• Endurance and stamina for a life that does not slow down.
• Flexibility and coordination, which help prevent injuries everywhere else.
• Confidence. Others notice the change before you do.
• Stress relief. What is better than kicking and punching frustration away?
• Fun. Kickboxing is more fun than working out alone, which is why people keep coming back — and keeping coming back is the whole secret.

Hear from our kickboxers

Veronica and Shannon tell us how kickboxing classes at Baltimore Martial Arts toned them up and why it was one of the best decisions they ever made.

Questions new kickboxers ask

Do I need to be in shape to start?
No. The class is self-paced. You work at your level on your bag; nobody is comparing.

Will I get hit?
No. Fitness kickboxing has no partner contact and no sparring — you hit bags and pads, and that is it.

I bought a Groupon. Where do I go?
Welcome. Your classes are on the class schedule under “Kickboxing Fitness – GROUPON”. Arrive ten minutes early for your first one and we will set you up with gloves.

Do I need gloves?
Not to start — we lend you a pair for your free week, and the $19.95 three-class offer includes a pair to keep.

What else is there for fitness?
Many kickboxers add personal training, kettlebells or Fast Burn 30. See all fitness programs, or the FAQ for anything else.