Oceanside CA— “This is so addicting. I’m just shaving off the pounds.” said Melissa Sinclair after a one-hour class at iLoveKickboxing(ILKB) in Oceanside. Her sentiments were echoed by everyone in the class.
The Oceanside location, 3617 Ocean Ranch Blvd. Suite 103-104, opened in October of 2016 and is one of more than 170 iLoveKickboxing studios nationwide, the 8th in the state of California with plans to open 75 more by 2018.
“Anybody can go workout by themselves at one of those 24 hour type places but this is something very different,” said Oceanside ILKB franchise owner, Bob Dobson. Bob had previously spent 30 years in corporate America, but suddenly found himself unemployed. “I knew that I wanted to be the master of my destiny, but what started out to be a business decision, because I liked the ILKB franchise model, has now brought more than just financial diversity and independence,” said Dobson. “It is very gratifying to know that the studio is helping residents improve their health and reach the level of fitness that they have always wanted to achieve,” he added.

In the classes, members gear up with authentic boxing gloves, perform genuine conditioning drills and kickboxing techniques on real heavy bags. Instructors motivate and encourage participants to “go the extra mile” to get stellar results based on their personal goals. The instructor are accompanied by two “floaters” who help individuals master their workout technique. “The better the form, the better the workout.” explained Bob. “It’s similar to boot camp but the real fun begins when you start punching. It really is very addicting.”
Classes are structured for any age or fitness level, and studios welcome beginners, but still challenge the more physically inclined participants. About 80% of members are women. The program is based on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), where you do intense bursts of exercise followed by short periods of rest. At ILKB, members can burn an average of between 450 and 800 calories per class (depending on size/gender of the person and how hard they are pushing themselves). Members also love the feeling of empowerment and stress-relief that organically occurs along the way.
“We encourage people to attend class three times a week to make the most of their workouts,” said Bob. “We do things to mix it up. We have a DJ night and we’ll have theme nights like 1980’s night.”
Members scan a chip when they enter the studio and if they haven’t been to a class for a while, they get sent a motivational email. “We have about 85% percent of our members, in the last thirty days, stick to a schedule,” Bob said. They also have contests, both local and nationwide such as the ’45 day Transformation’ contest with a prize of $20,000. “It isn’t just a physical transformation they are looking at in the contest but a lifestyle transformation as well.”