Top Fitness and Health Benefits of Martial Arts for Adults

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Category : Fitness★Martial Arts

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.

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