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Ree-Combat
The Programme

Ree-Combat

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Ree-Combat utilises mixed martial arts inspired moves and combinations to offer a challenging but achievable workout.  The class features varied kicks, punches, strikes and blocks to create a class that is true to the essence of the martial art form being utilised but set to music to make it a fun and challenging work out for attendees.   

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People often fear fight style classes as they will believe they will look silly or have never thrown a punch or kick in their life.  With the moves being simplistic strikes built into combinations, in some circumstances, and then repeated they will soon overcome this fear and once more enjoy the benefits of group exercise in a studio environment.

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Ree-Combat offers the benefits of aerobic, interval training to build their workout through an appropriate aerobic curve to offer cardiovascular benefits and muscular toning.  All of which is continually monitored and controlled by a suitably skilled instructor, giving them a safe and effective workout.  In addition to this the repetition utilised in each track means that people become familiar with the moves very quickly.

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Benefits of Cardiovascular Training

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  • Exercise strengthens your heart and helps it more efficiently pump blood throughout the body.

  • Cardiovascular exercise can also help lower blood pressure, and keep your arteries clear by raising “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and lowering “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in the blood.

  • It helps regulate your blood sugar by regulating insulin levels and lowering blood sugar, all while keeping body weight in check.

  • Aerobic exercise can help people with asthma lessen both the frequency and severity of asthma attacks.

  • It can reduce chronic pain.  For example, if you suffer with chronic back pain, cardiovascular exercise, specifically low-impact activities get back muscle function and endurance.

  • It aids with sleep, as long as the exercise is completed a minimum of 2 hours before bedtime.

  • It assists in the regulating of your weight.  You might have heard that diet and exercise are the building blocks to weight loss. But aerobic exercise alone may hold the power to help you lose weight and keep it off.

  • It strengthens the immune system and improves your brain power.

  • It boosts your mood, although this is normally only after two weeks of completing this form of exercise.

  • It reduces the risks of trips and falls.  We are an aging population and to assist with this gives people a better quality of life.

 

Whilst group exercise fight style classes have become incredibly popular over the years, there are still some concerns from potential attendees that would may need to be overcome.  Like any group exercise class these range from fear of the unknown to feeling silly at not being able to keep up. 

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Monitoring Exercise Intensity

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It is key to monitor exercise intensity, for both ends of the scale.  A participant should not be working too lightly, unless due to medical reasons, and at the same time they shouldn’t be working too intensely.

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There are many ways to monitor or ascertain peoples heart rate or perceived level of exertion.

 

  • Heart Rate Monitors
    Many of todays class attendees wear a heart monitor strap or utilise a smart watch which can measure their workouts.

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  • Manually Measuring your Pulse
    Simply by placing the first three fingers of one hand onto either the radial artery, located on the thumb side of the wrist when the palm is up, or the carotid artery, on the side of the neck next to the throat.  It is normally recommended to utilise the radial artery for ease and to not create any spurious spikes in the heart rate caused by raising the hands to the throat.  It is easiest to measure the heart rate for 15 seconds and then multiply it by 4 to get your rate per minute.  Use the Karvonen Method, described later, to determine if your heart rate is in an appropriate range.

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  • Rate of Perceived Exertion
    Dr. Gunner Berg devised a simple scale of 1 – 10 to determine how hard a participant perceives they are working, where 1 is very light and 10 is very hard.  As teachers we simply ask the client and guide them appropriately.  In an ideal situation they should be working in the 4-6 range, but we all perceive these values differently.

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  • The Talk Test
    The simplest method is based on the theory that if your participants can talk comfortably and rhythmically while they are exercising then they are most likely in an aerobic state.  If a participant cannot converse comfortably then it is more than likely they are working above their target heart rate.

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  • Karvonen’s Method
    The key to an effective workout is to train within the aerobic training zone.  An appropriate range of training that accommodates “most” levels of fitness is from 55% - 85% of maximum heart rate.  It is crucial to remember this gives an estimated figure only.

    Karvonen’s method can calculate this for you:

  • 220 – age = maximum heart rate

  • Maximum heart rate – resting heart rate = heart rate reserve

  • (Heart rate reserve x training %) + resting heart rate = Target Heart Rate

 

E.G. A 45 year old, resting heart rate of 50, working around 70% effort would aim for the following:

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220-45 = 175-50=125                (125x70%)+50=137.5

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Summary

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Ree-Combat aims to bring the benefits of cardiovascular and body weight training with the appeal of group exercise to all levels of ability and experience of class attendees.  It utilises both compound and isolation exercises, it offers strength and flexibility training coupled with cardiovascular increases, whilst maintaining the ethos of instructor led fun challenging workouts.

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Ree-Combat – The Programme

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Is designed to offer a balanced, safe and effective workout.  As such it is important to follow the format of the pre-designed programme.  It is possible to substitute tracks from other Ree-Combat releases, but they must always be like for like and in the correct order as released.

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Each release has been designed to specifically work the body in a pre-designed format to ensure the full body is utilised and then a cool down stretch sequence ends the class.

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Each release offers the body a balanced training programme.

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Ree-Combat – Instruction

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When instructing a group of participants, it can be hard for the instructor to ensure everyone is performing each and every repetition of every exercise with correct form and body alignment.  As such an instructor must constantly scan the room watching individual’s form and technique and make general announcements to the class about the correct technique of exercises.  This should be done without pointing out individual clients, but by using the correction technique.

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Remember this is not the instructor’s workout, the instructor is there to ensure the participants have the best experience possible.

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Some exercises performed in the Ree-Combat class may seem shortened or limited in range due to safety considerations in the group exercise format compared to the equivalent exercise when performed one on one.

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Ree-Combat – Correction

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When it comes to correcting technique or perceived issues within a group there are several steps to go through, assuming the witnessed issues is not causing immediate danger to the participant or those surrounding the participant.

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  • Provide verbal instruction to the whole group, in more than one way.

  • Turn to face 50% of the room, including the person you wish to correct, and provide further corrective guidance.

  • Make direct eye contact with the individual and offer further guidance instructions.

  • Move closer to the individual and offer guidance instructions.

  • Stand directly next to the individual and offer guidance instructions.

  • Without the microphone speak with the individual in question

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Hands on correction is permitted should you consider the client is in immediate danger, or those nearby to them are.  You can also inform the client that you are going to touch them and then physically correct any issues.

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The key is to remember you are not glued to the spot, you can move and interact with the group.  As previously stated, this is their workout, their class and as such you should make it as enjoyable and safe for them as possible.  The trick is to not lose track of your choreography whilst doing this.

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Ree-Combat – Class Structure

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Each release is designed with a 60-minute class in mind, but that said the music doesn’t run for the full time to allow set up and clear down in line with clubs that have a back to back approach of fitness classes.

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The track order is established to offer a balanced, safe and effective workout and whilst like for like tracks may be switched in from other Ree-Combat releases, they cannot be swapped for alternative styles of tracks.

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Below is a typical Ree-Combat release showing the track order:

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Track 1    -   Upper & Lower Body Warm Up

 

Track 2   -    Combat Track 1

 

Track 3   -    Energy Track 1

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Track 4   -    Combat Track 2

 

Track 5   -    Energy Track 2

 

Track 6   -    Combat Track 3

 

Track 7   -     Energy Track 3

 

Track 8   -     Energy Track 4

 

Track 9   -     Conditioning Track

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Track 10 -     Cool Down / Stretch

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As with any class the individual need or ability of the attendee should be considered.

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As in: Is it there first class? Are they injured? Etc’

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The goal is to Challenge the Body but be able to Maintain Control throughout the class.

 

Should a 45-minute class be required then you would miss out Track 5 and Track 9.

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It is also good practice to periodically offer taster classes, this is particularly good in new teaching environments or to increase interest in attending a full class.  Or as part of a showcase of class offerings to raise general awareness of your skill set and offerings.

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