Today, millions of people across the world struggle with weight loss. If you walk on the streets, it is not uncommon to spot individuals who are overweight or obese. Excessive consumption of refined food and lack of exercise are the main causes of these conditions. Engaging in martial arts has emerged as one of the most effective ways of burning fat.
Being obese or overweight increases the chances of suffering from diseases and conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and hypertension. In addition to that, it negatively affects one’s self-esteem and may lead to mental disorders such as stress and depression.
Adopting a healthy lifestyle is usually challenging. As a result, many overweight people easily revert to their unhealthy habits. Most people practice martial arts to gain self-defense skills, but they are also great for weight loss.
Reasons to Make Martial Arts Your Weight Loss Method
1. Martial Arts Build Muscle Strength
Martial arts incorporate intense workouts that strengthen almost all muscle groups in a practitioner’s body.
Executing strikes usually requires a lot of strength, and you can only achieve this if you strengthen your muscles. Muay Thai and Karate are some martial arts that can help you attained a toned physique. You automatically burn fat while building muscles, so martial arts allow you to kill two birds with one stone.
To ensure you build agility and muscle strength within a short time, you need to have the right gear. If you need gear such as focus mitts & targets, mats, breaking boards, and Thai kick pads, check out Bushido training equipment.
2. It Burns A Lot of Calories
The good thing about martial arts is that you don’t need to have an athlete’s physical fitness to get started. If you haven’t been active for a long time, you can still do it, however, the first few days will be tough.
A single martial arts session usually takes about an hour or more, allowing you to burn a lot of calories. You will lose between 500 – 2000 calories per session, so if you consistently do them for a few months, you will start seeing positive results.
3. Mixed Technique Martial Arts Will Get Your Whole Body Working
Some martial arts focus on specific techniques. Taekwondo, for instance, mainly teaches various kicking skills. If you are doing martial arts to lose weight, it would be best to go for styles that mix various techniques.
Over the last few years, mixed martial arts (MMA) have been made popular by professional fighters. It’s actually one of the best martial art for weight loss because practitioners combine kicks, punches, and grappling tactics.
MMA incorporates fighting styles from several martial arts disciplines, and this gets your entire body working. Other styles that have similar qualities include Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, and wrestling.
4. Motivates You to Train Harder
Martial arts exercises are physically demanding. Thus, if you are physically unfit, it will take a while before your body adapts. When you get used to the workouts, you will start enjoying them, which will keep you motivated.
And the more you train, the more fat you will burn. It’s way better than being in the gym doing the same things over and over again.
5. Martial Arts Reduce Stress
Some medical experts believe that stress can lead to weight gain. How does this happen? When you are stressed, the body releases a hormone known as cortisol. The hormone stimulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism to provide energy for the body. This leads to increased appetite if one suffers long periods of stress. Eating a lot of food leads to weight gain.
Doing martial arts is one of the best ways to deal with stress. The exercises you do in every session take your mind off stress triggers. Breathing techniques and yoga, which are found in some martial arts styles, helps you stay calm even when you’re under pressure.
Finding effective weight loss methods is still a challenge for many people. With martial arts training, you have an exciting way to shade off the extra layers of fat. Remember, you won’t be able to trim enough fat if you aren’t disciplined.
In conclusion, you have to be consistent in your training for martial arts to work for you. Also, it would help if you adopt healthy living habits such as avoiding refined foods. This way, you will experience the weight loss benefits of martial arts.
