Find Your Focus and Reduce Stress with Martial Arts
From long working hours and the threat of layoffs, stress is everywhere in the cubicle culture. The cost is high on individual workers. High blood pressure, heart problems, mental fatigue and psychological distress are just a few of the results.
Look around your office area. You probably see co-workers tensely trying to finish projects on time, groaning about manager demands and depressed and feeling trapped in an unhappy environment. They complain of having no energy, while taking pain relievers in an attempt to get rid of chronic headaches, sore backs and necks.
Positive Vibes at the Dojo and Gym
Now check out the people at your martial arts studio or gym with classes like taekwondo, kung fu or aikido. You see relaxed, satisfied faces and loose, fit bodies.
All types of physical exercise ups the production of endorphins. The “feel-good” chemicals work with the neurotransmitters in your brain. You feel less pain and also experience positive feelings in your body. In fact, scientists say the effect is much like morphine.
Martial arts go one step further. In addition to the quick relief offered by endorphins, consistent practice helps you over the long term. Students learn emotional discipline, focus and agility, all important for a healthy mind and body.
Many studies support the positive effect of martial arts. It reduces aggression, helps focus, and increases a sense a relaxation and calmness. The result is less stress, more joy and better thinking.
Reduced Stress
When you live with stress day in and day out, your body suffers. Chronic headaches and muscle soreness throughout the body are common. You end up with a feeling of lassitude and lack of energy. Over time, it can show up in problems with your immune system and heart disease.
Your mind suffers too. It’s hard to concentrate and making a decision is like slogging through mud. You feel irritable at work and at home, snapping at co-workers and friends. New situations make you feel anxious. Feeling joy is a thing of the past, and depression is the new normal.
This is where martial arts shine. Whatever type you choose, it involves lots of cardio and attention to detail. According to one study, this reduces stress because, “The intention is to learn to focus the conscious mind on something other than our everyday concerns, which usually receive its exclusive attention.” The chattering monkey in your brain finally goes quiet and your mind gets a rest.
Less Frustration
Stress leads to anger and frustration. Just think of the pointless arguments that are common in offices and lunchrooms.
Martial arts give you a productive outlet for your daily accumulation of frustration and irritation. Whether at a gym or dojo, you can work them out in a controlled, safe setting. You can spar with a partner, giving your aggressions an outlet and working up a sweat. It’s an entirely positive experience because instructors are there to oversee and guide the process.
More Confidence
Many workers say the typical workplace is more about tearing down confidence instead of building it up. At the end of a workday, your self-image has taken a beating.
But at a martial arts class, you can see and feel the changes and improvement in your form and abilities, class by class. As your confidence grows, you feel greater self-esteem and self-reliance.
At the same time, you are learning effective self-defense strategies. Even if you never need to use them outside of class, you know what you are capable of. In the modern world, which seems to get more violent every day, this also adds to your confidence.
Deeper Relaxation
When you relax, your blood pressure goes down, the quality of your sleep goes up, and your relationships improve. Students say the ability to relax deeply is one of the biggest benefits of martial arts.
Many forms of martial arts training include breathing exercises and meditation, which boosts the relaxation benefits. You already get the physical benefits of cardio and strength training, and the mental advantages that come with the need to focus on each movement. The emphasis on breathing helps you with mental control and coping with daily stresses.
Total Body Workout
When you’re overweight, you feel embarrassed. Often you don’t want to go out and socialize. This just makes you more frustrated and stressed. You can feel powerless, like you have no control over your body. When you can’t get into your favorite clothes anymore, it’s just plain depressing.
Out of shape, you tend to get colds and flu more often, suffer from aches and pains, and generally don’t feel at your best. You toss and turn at night, waking up grumpy and without energy.
On the other hand, feeling fit and healthy puts you in an optimal mental state. Your self-image is high, increasing your motivation to get out and socialize. Your immune system is stronger, so you seldom get sick.
You are comfortable in your body, feeling strong, agile and flexible. You sleep deeply, waking up refreshed and ready to tackle the day.
That’s what martial arts do for you. These classes are high in aerobic activity. The moves use every muscle group and involve body weight and resistance, making it a true total body workout.
With regular practice, your stamina skyrockets. Your muscle tone brings on envy from friends. Because of the emphasis on flexibility and balance, it also qualifies as a functional workout, one that helps you accomplish everyday activities with ease.
If stress is getting you down, relief is as close as your nearest dojo or martial arts gym. It helps your mind and body grow stronger and fitter with each class. Stress evaporates as your body grows stronger and your mind becomes more agile.
Have you been running on the treadmill for weeks and yet the results are not satisfactory? Are the weights too heavy for you? Are you having difficulties maintaining gym attendance since you are bored? Well, you can finally incorporate a great fitness workout that is not only exciting but has tons of benefits.
Martial Arts is a great fitness workout. Not only does it combine strength and cardiovascular training but it also helps to teach you something new every day. Did you know that martial arts have over 100 disciplines? Unlike in the gym where you have to repeat moves within the same week, martial arts allow you to incorporate different moves within a single session. Basically, you will be learning something new each day thus eliminating boredom.
When it comes to your health, it has the potential of making you fit and healthy. Want to know how? Here are the top 8 benefits of martial arts for adults.
Promotes weight loss
Did you know that engaging in martial arts for just one hour allows you to burn 1,000+ calories? Can you imagine any other workout that allows you to burn that much calories while indoors? Thanks to the high levels of calories being burned within an hour session, fat burning is promoted. This helps one to lose weight thus leading a healthy lifestyle.
Here is what you need to know. Martial arts eliminate the need of engaging in fad diets that have the potential of causing more harm to your body and health.
Improves flexibility
Many people engage in yoga not only to be one in body and mind but to improve their flexibility. Problem is as an adult, we tend to lose flexibility making it difficult to perform some poses. The cause has been found to be the shortening of muscles, tendons and ligaments. This results in tightness around the body which may also result in more problems like poor range of motion in joints and lack of mobility among others.
With martial arts, you can train your body to make even the most difficult moves you have never made for example the split. When engaging in martial arts, you learn how to protect different parts of your body. Thanks to continued training, your movements will become fluid thus improving your flexibility.
Improves endurance
One thing you need to know is that martial arts training is intense. The different moves you have to make each day will make lifting weights seem like breathing in air. A single session may last between an hour to an hour and a half. Thanks to the different moves you are bound to make, your fitness will be supercharged. As a result, your performance will be improved. How? Your body will be able to adapt to both short and long periods of exercising with brief periods of lower intensity in between thus building up your endurance.
Within a short time, you will be able to endure more thus being able to focus longer and experience steady energy levels all day long. No longer will you experience fatigue during the afternoon causing you to doze.
Lowers stress levels
Let’s face it. We all cringe at the thought of facing another day. Why? You have to endure all these chores and responsibilities that come as a package for all adults. For example, it is the duty of an adult to provide for the family. This means working at an organization or running a business whether at home or within the city. Problem is there are goals and objectives you have to meet at the work place. If you fail to do so, it will heighten your stress levels. In the end, you will place yourself in a vicious cycle where fatigue, stress and insomnia feature prominently.
Engaging in an hour of martial arts training helps to lower your stress levels. How? Performing different moves allows your brains to release good feel hormones which help to improve your mood. Furthermore, thanks to improved endurance, no longer will you feel fatigued during the afternoon. This ultimately lowers your stress levels.
Improved cardiovascular health
Majority of us today are leading a sedentary lifestyle. Please bear with me as I explain. Today, many people own more than two smart devices – tablet and smartphones among others. Don’t mistake me, smartphones and tablets have eased the way we complete tasks today. Problem is we are spending more time on smart devices until late into the night. Furthermore, many people snack on junk food while working with smart devices. This contributes to weight gain and obesity. As a result, your cardiovascular health is at risk. By engaging in martial arts, fat burning is promoted leading to improved levels of good cholesterol thus improving your cardiovascular health.
Promotes better muscle tone
Ever wondered how you can tone your muscles without lifting heavy weights? Well, the answer is simple – engage in martial arts training. The good thing about training at the dojo is that you get to improve your muscle mass thanks to the many moves performed during training. This means that within a short while, your muscle tone will be improved. As a result, your metabolic rate will be heightened allowing you to burn more calories. Achieving a higher level of well-toned muscle mass will increase agility thus reducing chances of falling as you age.
Lower blood pressure
Remember the high stress levels experienced at work and life in general. Well, you already know that these leads to increased stress levels and insomnia. What you may not know is that increased stress levels result in high blood pressure too. This means that your heart will have difficulties when pumping blood throughout your body. The more your heart strains, the more your health is at risk.
Martial arts training helps to exercise the heart. Furthermore, it helps in the removal of bad cholesterol and the promotion of good cholesterol in your body. This lowers your blood pressure eliminating chances of hypertension.
Lowers systemic inflammation
What is Systemic inflammation? This is a condition where pro-inflammatory cytokines from immune related cells are released. Furthermore, it results in the chronic activation of the innate immune system. As a result, it has been found to contribute to health conditions like heart disease, cancer, dementia and diabetes among others. By engaging in martial arts, your body is able to release anti-inflammatory agents. These agents help to lower overall systemic inflammation.
Final Thoughts
I know you can’t wait to start martial art training but just to recap its benefits towards your health – it promotes weight loss, improves your flexibility, improves your endurance, lowers your stress levels, promotes better muscle tone, lowers stress levels and systemic inflammation. Want to start training now? Find a dojo close to your home and set your life on a healthy path.
Do you want to know the importance of martial arts in adult fitness? Martial arts are one great activity that enables participants to be physically active in addition to instilling a sense of ethics and achievement, for example, as you work your way up to earn the black belt. Bear in mind that for many younger people, for instance, Americans, martial arts was one of the first competitive activities or sports that they grew up enjoying.
As an adult, you may have had no martial arts previous experience. However, it’s one activity that you should consider when it comes to adult fitness. The reason is that this sport offers you many benefits. This post gives you 10 reasons why you should consider taking up this sport to enhance your physical and mental well being.
Total Body Workout
Martial arts are a high-intensity workout that utilizes your body’s entire muscle groups. It enables you to improve your balance, strength, muscle tone, stamina and flexibility. The result is that your body experiences improved blood flow, which reduces incidences of low or high blood pressure. Remember that if you want to carry out the best adult fitness activities, you must involve all your muscle groups.
Improves Your Cardiovascular Health
Another benefit of martial arts in adult fitness is that it enhances the status of your cardiovascular system. Remember that research has shown that if you participate in activities that stress your heart such as martial arts, you improve your general cardiovascular health.
Enhances Your Self Confidence
Martial arts involves setting goals, respect for others and positive encouragement. The greatest benefit of martial arts when it comes to adult fitness is improved self-confidence. It enables you to keep your cool in all scenarios, whether you’re carrying out tasks that take you far beyond your comfort zone or when in danger. This sport makes you know that you can accomplish anything that you set your mind to do.
It Enables You to Improve Your Reflexes
Another reason why you should enroll in martial arts classes as an adult is that it allows you to improve your reflexes, for example, while performing this sport’s techniques. The result is that you experience a faster reaction time in all your daily activities, for instance, driving.
Increases the Amount of Your Muscle Tone
Martial arts activities enable you to improve the amount of your body’s muscle tone. Keep in mind that if you have more muscle mass, your metabolic demands will be higher, which, means that you’ll burn more calories each day. The result is that you’ll promote weight loss in your body in addition to preventing obesity incidences. Higher levels of muscle mass also increase your agility, which helps to prevent falls as you age.
Stillness and Focus
Behind the kicks, punches and knees, a martial artist learns how to come into peace with himself or herself, which enables them to know where their weaknesses are. Adult fitness requires you to stay still, focused and challenged for the best results. It prevents you from going to back to your old habits.
Enhances Your Mood
One of the best adult fitness activities is to involve yourself in daily exercise activities, which enables you to improve your mood. The best way is by performing martial arts activities, which allows you prevent frustration. The result is that you’ll be happier. The reason is that during your activities, your body will release endorphins, which enhance your mood and can stay in your body for at least four hours after the exercises.
Weight Loss
The best adult fitness activities involve you losing weight. One reason that you should consider martial arts in the case that you want to lose weight is that a one-hour session of moderate martial arts intensity can result in you losing up to 500 calories. It means that this activity is one of the best when it comes to weight loss.
Teaches You Great Values and Morals
After consistent exercises, martial arts teach you to become less aggressive and impulsive towards others. As an adult, you need these qualities if you want to live in a good way or in making the best decisions. Keep in mind that one result of making impulsive decisions when it comes to your diet is an increase in your weight.
Healthy Lifestyle
The total-body nature of carrying out martial arts workouts means that you get to burn tons of calories in each session. However, you also benefit since your food cravings become regulated, it means that your physical fitness as an adult will become better since you’ll eat fewer calories.
Summary
Martial arts workouts have many benefits to you when it comes to adult fitness as the above informative post shows. Make sure that you consult your doctor if you have any medical conditions before you consider enrolling in martial arts classes.
Most people would think first about going to the gym instead of signing up for martial arts when they need to get fit. While it’s certainly true that the gym is a more popular option, martial arts are actually better for fitness aspects.
Martial arts is the eventual solution for people who find their workout somehow lacking in their requirements. It’s the better answer for many outstanding reasons. Here are 5 ways martial arts offers so much more than the gym:
Physical Gains
A typical gym session is limited to a few groups of muscles at a time. For example, Monday could be dedicated to your triceps area. Wednesday is leg day, and Friday is for your core muscles. Martial arts is fundamentally different. You get to use the full range of motion movements, which ultimately leads to an intense workout that let you use more muscles than a typical day at the gym.
Martial arts will have sparring sessions that results in you getting more fit no matter how it ends. Some of the most notable martial arts activities like TaeKwonDo, MMA, kickboxing and judo promise more calories burnt per hour than any workout regimen at the gym. Other, more gentler martial arts like Tai Chi are excellent for older people because they get a low-impact workout with amazing health benefits.
There’s a lot of benefits you can get with martial arts training. Aside from getting into shape, you’ll also learn how to defend yourself. The skills you will learn will prepare you for the real world. Part of a martial arts discipline is learning how to visualize in order to maximize the benefits of training.
You’ll use varying types of equipment when training on a specific martial arts discipline. More often than not, you’ll soon learn how to work with varying types of resistance as well. Martial arts will teach you more about self-defense, tenacity, discipline, endurance and greater physical mobility than any gym can. You’ll come out confident and courageous. Plus, you’ll have the tools you need to survive in today’s society.
Mental Benefits
A good workout should involve not just the physical realm, but all the realms of the self as well. The physical part is just one part of the whole equation- a well-rounded training should include the mind as well. You will learn to build up discipline, confidence and specialized knowledge, which isn’t always present when you work out at a gym.
Why do people work out? It’s different for each person, but the most common underlying cause is that they want to feel good and look good. Others will say it’s a means to de-stress. Running the treadmill or pumping iron may bring about relaxation, but martial arts will put your mind to a zen-like state of meditation. You get far more mental stimulation because you gain practical information. The skills you learn in martial arts can be applied in self-defense. Furthermore, the information serves to awaken your mind on what your body is truly capable of. It’s empowering, to say the least!
You’ll learn to make quick, sensible decisions and call upon the appropriate techniques when you go for martial arts instead of the gym. Your stress levels will also take a dip as you learn how to master the self through meditation and breathing exercises.
Emotional Health
You’ll start to doubt yourself in the gym by the time you hit a plateau. Sure, the early sessions were a huge success, but then physical limitations take over and you’ll be trying to scale a wall that you cannot possibly surpass.
Martial arts work differently. Yes, you still rely on your muscles, your strength, your knowledge of techniques and skills and study different philosophies, but there’s no plateau to speak of. There’s a feeling of accomplishment, of constant success. Instead of doubt, you’re left satisfied in a rewarding system. You’ll have a chance of being better than yesterday.
You’ll learn how to manage your emotions and keep them under check. Meditation calms the mind and it strengthens your spirit. With the added focus, you’ll know which way is the right path to take in your life. Students of martial arts disciplines aren’t immune to fear, anxiety and disappointment, but they will learn how to harness these feelings and turn them into good. This translates to how you manage your emotions in daily applications, such as work or relationship conflict.
Social Growth
Most people fail to show up the next day at the gym because they discover that there’s no guidance and that it’s boring because there’s no direction. When you try to keep at it, you’ll soon discover that you’re like a hamster in a wheel- every session is the same. Repetition and the same motions. Your focus wavers, and you eventually run out of motivation.
Martial arts teachers guide every step of the way. They will push you to do your best and they will teach you new techniques as soon as you are able to perform them. In short, you won’t lack support and guidance.
Enroll in a martial arts class and you’ll feel like part of a community. You’ll make new friends and become part of a greater whole. The beauty of a martial arts class is that competition is very healthy. All participants are working and striving for the same thing. There’s accountability and encouragement within the community.
Martial arts is the safer alternative to a gym workout. You stand a higher chance of getting injured as you lift weights and push your physical limits. Training in martial arts are always supervised. The movements and the sparring sessions are more dynamic, but they are always facilitated under the careful eye of a martial arts master. The teachers show you the correct form when performing techniques to lessen the chance of injury.
The All-In-One Package
The best fighters and competitive martial arts practitioners do a whole lot of other physical endeavors instead of just practicing their moves. Gyms are great for reaching your fullest physical potential, but martial arts are the complete package. It trains the body, the mind and the spirit, making you well-rounded as a result. Enrolling in a martial arts class will be the best investment you’ll ever make in your life. A gym membership certainly has its perks and benefits, but martial arts is definitely better for fitness than visiting a gym.
Day in day out, you struggle to keep fit. You have tried different methods of getting fit but to no avail. Year in year out you have resolved to keep more fit but you have never succeeded. While this can be very frustrating, maybe it is time that you try out other means of getting fit or perhaps doing the same things that you should have done before but this time with a little more “encouragement” and little “reminders”. Record your progress and always try to do better than the day before. Probably you are wondering what we are talking about, if that is the case, then worry not. We are talking about using your smartphone to get black belt fit. Yes, it is possible that aside from being a communication device, your smartphone can also be used for keeping fit.
What are the advantages of keeping fit?
There are many benefits that are associated with keeping fit.
Weight control
By keeping fit, your body weight is kept in check and the chances of you becoming overweight are controlled. Being overweight is not at all good thing as you run risks of contracting diseases that come with being overweight.
Relieves stress
Gym sessions can greatly give you an emotional up lift. After a long busy day at work, all your mind may need is some stimulation from the gym’s practice sessions to bring you back to normal.
Gain extra energy
By exercising regularly, your energy levels are boosted. If you are a sports man for example, regular exercises will enhance your work rate. You can therefore be able to engage in sporting activities without getting tired fast.
Day to day activities
Keeping fit can be very critical in handling day to day activities. For instance, if you are in a martial arts class, you are likely to learn self-defense techniques. Keeping fit also allows you to prepare to defend yourself physically, if needed.
How can you use your smartphone to get black belt fit?
To many, this may sound ridiculous but is very possible that you use some of the physical fitness apps in your smartphone to enhance your fitness to black belt levels.
Recording your progress
It doesn’t really matter what your kind of work out is. Whether you are cycling or you are just at home exercising, you need to record your progress using the apps in your smartphone. This helps you to track your progress over a period of time. What is fun about it is that you can share your progress with friends which can also serve as a motivator.
Learning moves from different angles
With these smartphone apps, you can gain access to some moves from different view points. This enhances your efficiency and gives you an upper hand against your competitors. The apps can also show you how the same moves you have been doing can be done in different ways.
Source of motivation and encouragement
Some apps have reminders that wake you up or reminds you that it is time to work out. This ensures that you do not miss a single session. Also, the apps can be a source of motivation and encouragement. For example, it tells you if you can do 20 sit ups in one minute, you can do 100 in five minutes. This motivates you to even complete the a hundred sit ups even before the five minutes elapses.
Conclusion
There are many advantages that come with keeping fit and some of them are discussed above. It is also possible that you can use your smartphone to keep black belt fit and even be able to compete in professional competitions like martial arts. You only need to download the physical fitness apps into your phone.
Find Your Focus and Reduce Stress with Martial Arts
