While Muay Thai Kickboxing and BJJ might be known more as forms of self-defense for many people, they can also be explored as a sport. After all, there’s training, coaching, practicing, and competitions. And like most sports, martial arts training can actually help your body out in many ways, and the more you participate, your better you’ll get better at the martial art itself. Let’s take a look at the most common physical advantages that you can get from taking a martial arts class.
Full-body Workout
We’re going to start off with what might be the most important part of taking part in martial arts training, and that’s the exercise that comes with it. Martial arts get the heart pumping, delivering exercise that far too few people are getting today. You’ll burn calories with high-aerobic exercise, strengthening the heart and many other parts of the body (including the digestive system). Martial arts training is a load of fun, too, so you really barely notice when you’re exhausted from such a great workout!
Weight Loss
Many people struggle with weight loss. Unfortunately, most US citizens are living a sedentary lifestyle because of the jobs we do. On top of that, we’re constantly surrounded by empty calories in the form of fatty, sugary, salty snacks. This one-two punch is going right to our guts.
Because the martial arts we teach are so active, there are many calories burned during every class. Unlike sumo wrestling, weight is not going to give much of an advantage, so saying goodbye to those calories is something that people are actively looking for.
Muscle Strength
When you use your muscles in martial arts training, they’re going to get bigger. You’re going to increase your strength, not only as you work out by yourself but also as your grapple with opponents.
One of the biggest advantages of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that it allows smaller opponents to prevail over larger, stronger opponents. That’s very true, as the more-trained individual will have the advantage. Still, with two opponents who are equally trained in BJJ, the one who is stronger might have move successful moves available to them and could come away the winner. We have no problem recommending additional weight training outside of class to gain this advantage.
You’ve probably heard that muscles will atrophy if someone lies in bed for too long. That’s because muscles are a “use-it-or-lose-it” part of your body. The same goes for…
Bone Strength
Simply walking on bones puts pressure on them, which makes them grow stronger. But that doesn’t increase bone strength; it simply keeps them at their same state.
Martial arts are a great option for actually increasing your bone strength. As you move around at a martial arts school, that pressure can help strengthen bones. Grappling with another person can do the same, especially as they try to get out of holds.
Muay Thai, is of course, even more prone to help with bone strength. The more muscle you have, the harder you hit; the more you hit, the more your bones are strengthened.
Stamina
When you combine everything that we mentioned above, you get something wonderful: stamina. The more you increase your muscles, the longer they can help you do the task at hand. The stronger your bones are, the longer they can help your muscles keep you on your feet. The full-body workout and calorie burning means that your heart is getting stronger, all while reducing the amount of weight it has to carry around.
The fact is, martial arts training is a great way to learn self-defense while also getting in shape at the same time. The only question is, which one is for you? Are you more interested in locks and grappling? Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is what you’re looking for. More interested in hitting things? We’d suggest Muay Thai kickboxing (which works your body out even more). Have an interest in mixed martial arts and everything it can give you? Then you might want to try both of our martial arts training classes, because MMA utilizes kickboxing and BJJ.
No matter which you choose, you’re going to leave looking and feeling better than when you stepped through our doors. Questions? Contact us today!
