Has school ever made you so stressed that you want to beat something up?
Instructor Angela Veltri holds the bag for Brittany
Langereis at Kix 4 Chix Fitness. (Tayla Scott/The Omega)
TRU Recreation has organized a free kick-boxing lesson for women on Oct. 4 at Kix 4 Chix Fitness on 953 Laval Crescent.
The lesson is from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will end with a nutrition seminar by Chelsea Corsi, TRU wellness co-ordinator.
“It’s a new event for our students. It’s basically like an introduction to kick-boxing for our students that want to try it out but don’t want to commit. If they like it they can commit to a program later,” said TRU recreation co-ordinator Pina Russo.
“It introduces students to a new activity and I think it simulates a little bit of self-defence. It’s good for stress management.
“It’s free and we’re asking that students register with us by Oct. 1, either through TRU wellness or TRU recreation. It’s an event for women only. I believe they use speed bags, punching bags and a stuffed mascot that you can kick and punch,” Russo said.
Angela Veltri owns and instructs at Kix 4 Chix Fitness. She has been kick-boxing for seven years, and will run the free lesson.
“We are a non-competitive kick-boxing company. That means we hit the bag, not each other. We don’t spar. It’s just for fitness.
“There’s a lot of self-defence, a lot of technique, cardio, flexibility and building up strength. There is lot of empowerment in the class, especially for young women who may have never punched before,” Veltri said.
“A lot of times women… we’re not really socialized to be aggressive like men are. Even if you feel like ‘I’m not really an aggressive person,’ it’s really nice to hit something sometimes.”
Classes start out with stretches and warm up. Then the women pair up and one holds the bag while the other practices different combinations of punching, kicking and elbowing.
“We do one minute on, one minute off the bag. All the equipment is built for women,” Veltri said.
Brittany Langereis is in her first year at TRU taking science courses. She has been teaching at Kix 4 Chix Fitness since June.
“I didn’t really like going to the gym. I couldn’t push myself as hard when it came to working out, but coming here is a lot better of a work out,” Langereis said.
Langereis hopes to attend the free session to help instruct.
“It’ll bring in a lot more interest and have a lot of people… It’s super fun. It’s a great work out. I just love it and I feel like other people would, too,” Langereis said.
“So far we only have a few, but everybody signs up at the last minute. We’re hoping for 15 to 20 and we’re hoping that students will come out and participate,” Russo said.
