How Martial Arts Helps You Get In The Best Shape Of Your Life
With martial arts on the rise, many gyms have seen an increase in student enrollment. Fans see their heroes inside the cage and want to learn more about the skills it takes to compete, all while picking up an enjoyable hobby that offers knowledge and discipline.
The physical prowess seen in the heroes of ONE Championship is also enough to capture the admiration of those watching. These are the best-conditioned athletes in the world, all of whom have speed, power, and exceptional physiques.
It is not just the professionals who can achieve these physical attributes, however. With the right regime, you can too. Martial arts training can help you get in the best shape of your life – and here is how.
Martial Arts Improves Your Physical Abilities
There are many things that contribute to you being in good health – strength, speed, power, flexibility, endurance, balance, and much more. Rather than training in something that may only help you with one attribute, martial arts will help you with all of them.
Martial arts commands the use of your entire body. This means you will be building functional fitness, which is important for most people in day-to-day life.
Lifting and moving another person requires strength, and striking improves speed and power. Also, in the striking or grappling exchanges, you will use flexibility and balance, so each time you go to class you will be improving each of these areas.
Alain “The Panther” Ngalani boasts an impressive physique with incredible dexterity to match.
You will often see the Cameroonian on Instagram holding amazing poses or performing near-impossible feats of balance and strength.
Martial Arts Melts Fat Away
Weight loss and fat burning are often a major part of the getting in shape process. Your martial arts training will generally combine both steady-state cardio and high-intensity interval training (or HIIT, for short) in the sessions.
That potent mix will double your ways of burning those calories and fat, both during your workout and in the hours of increased metabolic rate after.
A hard session can burn between 500 to 1000 calories, which is an easy way to put you in a caloric deficit and allow your body to start toning up and leaning out.
The bonus? You won’t be watching the clock on your treadmill as you will be so engrossed in your training, the time will fly by.
Immensely overweight as a child, ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio turned to martial arts and transformed himself into an elite athlete.
- 5 Ways Martial Arts Can Improve Your Office Life
- 5 Ways Martial Arts Can Make You A CEO
- 10 Types Of Martial Arts You Will See In The ONE Circle
Martial Arts Is Fun
Doing the hard work necessary to get in great shape is not always easy, but it can be made more pleasant by actually enjoying what you are doing.
If you are tired after a hard day and end up slumped on the couch, the thought of a slog on the rowing machine will not inspire you to get up and moving.
The prospect of doing something you enjoy, however, will give you that extra bit of enthusiasm to make it to the gym, which means you are more likely to be regular and consistent in your training because it doubles up as your hobby.
The learning never ends, too, so it does not become stale like repeatedly lifting a weight or doing the same circuit time after time. You will certainly want to train more. And you know what more training means? You become fitter, stronger, and leaner.
The great outdoors of Hawaii provides an awesome urban exercise for even the fittest athletes. ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee enjoys the occasional scenic trail running as he varies up his routine to be both challenging and fun.
Martial Arts Keeps You Motivated
You have made it to the gym, but you are starting to feel the fatigue as the day catches up with you. On your own, you can take the easy route of an early shower and nobody will question it.
However, when you are with your teammates learning martial arts together, they will encourage you, spur you on, and congratulate you when you have pushed through your boundaries.
Suppose you have not made it to the gym – like before, you are stuck on the couch with the television remote in your hand. The thought of heading out to see your friends and being there for them, like they are there for you, will soon put a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Camaraderie helps you train harder, and it allows you to share the rewards of your work together. The company you keep at the gym can make workouts seem like a breeze.
Singapore’s Evolve Fight Team is like a tight-knit family. Under the guidance of Warrior Fit Coach Aqil, “Pretty Boy” Troy Worthen, Aleksi “The Giant” Toivonen, and Ryuto “Dragon Boy” Sawada all enjoy pushing each other at training. It has since paid off handsomely as the trio are currently undefeated in The Home Of Martial Arts.
Martial Arts Keeps You Eatting Healthier And Feeling Better
It is easy to succumb to a fast-food dinner or substitute a good meal with sugary snacks, but that often makes you feel sluggish throughout the day, as those foods do not contain long-lasting energy.
Hitting the pads or heavy bag with that sluggish feeling hanging over you will make you less focused on training, and there will be less gas in the tank.
You love the feeling of a hard session and knowing you have gotten better each time you get on the mats. That means you want to be fueled the right way, so you now have a major reason to make the right choices when they present themselves. Better food choices mean you will shed the pounds faster, all while accelerating your fitness.
Gurdashan “Saint Lion” Mangat had no concept of nutrition and at one point, sustained himself with fast food while working at McDonald’s. That changed once he welcomed martial arts into his life. Mangat started working out, lost weight, and is now one of the best pound-for-pound Indian mixed martial artists.
Read more: The 5 Best Martial Arts For Your Kids
