CKO Miramar Kickboxing owner/instructor Nancy Lavell is an avid kickboxing enthusiast and looks the part. (courtesy photo)
CKO Kickboxing offers total workout program
Local resident Nancy Lavell is petite, but she appears to be chiseled from granite. Her incredible physique came from years of athletics and her passion for exercise. Today, she and her daughter, Cheryl Franklin, own and teach classes at CKO Kickboxing San Diego-Miramar. Their fitness is a testament to the high-cardio exercise routine provided by kickboxing classes.
“I have always worked out my entire life. I’ve always done something,” Lavell said. “Even when my kids were small I was actually preparing to go into body building competitions.”
While she liked the female body building look, she didn’t necessarily want to bulk up her thighs and she hesitated at posing in competitions wearing what she termed “three Band-Aids.”
Six years ago, Lavell took a free trial class at CKO Kickboxing and she was hooked. She got her daughter involved, and said her son takes classes when he’s in town.
She began teaching classes and the previous owners eventually approached her about purchasing the franchise. Now, Lavell and her daughter have owned CKO Miramar for about six months, and those taking classes can rest assured that the owners are not only firm believers in kickboxing as an exercise, but prime examples of what happens when one sticks with the program.
CKO offers classes every day and each class lasts one hour. Beginners are given loaner gloves, but gloves are also available for purchase. Each newcomer is given a session of orientation. Then, the punching and kicking begins.
“It’s heavy bags. The bags are about 125-pounds each,” Lavell explained. “None of this is for self-defense; you are not hitting any person. You are just hitting a bag. There is a different combination of kicks and punches that we do throughout the routine … You can burn up to 1,200 calories in an hour doing this.”
CKO also incorporates strength training and offers personal training sessions. Classes for children are available and a low impact class is in the works. Each participant can go at their own pace, Lavell said.
CKO Miramar is at 7094 Miramar Road. Customers come from around surrounding businesses and the Del Mar-Encinitas area, but many are Scripps Ranch residents and a growing number are teenagers from Scripps Ranch High School, Lavell explained.
“You get a full-body workout, you can burn calories and you can also build muscle,” Lavell said. “For me, it’s high energy. It’s fun.”
Visit ckomiramar.com or call (858) 695-8427.