This class focuses on basic strength movements. I will also take you through the basics of combat sports, in this particular class our focus will be on boxing and throwing elbows.
You can expect a good full body workout from this session. Prioritise fun! Put on your favourite tunes or call a friend and do this together. Remember that you can stop at any point; you don’t have to finish it all. Whenever you reach a point of discomfort you’ll trigger a response in your body to become stronger. If you reach a point during the session where you can’t do it anymore because you are too tired to continue, that’s absolutely fine. Stop the video, have some food and water and next time try to go a little bit further down the session.
Be proud of yourself for what you achieve today! There is no such thing as failing.
With Luca (He/Him)
My name is Luca, I’ve been doing sport and competing for a big portion of my life. About 10 years ago I fell in love with Muay Thai and I have been training and fighting until a couple of years ago when I did my second pro bout. I now teach classes in mainstream gyms and also run the CIC Bender Defenders, a martial arts community company for queers and Trans people in East London.
Being in the sport industry for so many years has made me very aware of the presence of toxic culture in sports. My general approach to fitness is that ‘if it doesn’t pay your bills, it has to be fun’. I am against the attitude of pushing yourself beyond the point of exhaustion and pushing through pain.
I also know how difficult it can be to navigate spaces that claim to be about wellbeing when they’re actually just about beauty standards. Training for wellbeing is an amazing and incredibly important thing that can take a thousand different forms depending on who you are and what you need. It has nothing to do with how you look, it’s about how training makes you feel.
As someone who has with time developed chronic pain and is becoming less able to walk around pain free, I am a big advocate of strength training and exercise for wellbeing. I want to make sure that as many people as possible can move their bodies and feel strong in them.
