| If your goal is to improve your fitness or lose weight | | | | have done some martial arts training, but it also |
| but you need to do something more exciting than | | | | comes from a sense of achievement once we begin |
| jogging on a treadmill to keep you motivated, | | | | to master the techniques taught to us and the new |
| perhaps you should consider doing a martial art like | | | | confidence that results from feeling fitter and |
| boxing, kickboxing, karate, or judo.In this article we | | | | stronger and looking fitter and stronger.Given that |
| list the top 10 reasons to consider doing a martial art | | | | one of the first things to suffer, and one of the |
| for fitness and weight loss to help you decide if doing | | | | hardest things to reestablish afterwards, when we |
| one is right for you.1. Doing martial arts for weight | | | | become overweight is our self-confidence this benefit |
| lossIt's no coincidence that gyms, personal trainers | | | | is of particular value to those of us who have a |
| and producers of exercise videos and DVD's are now | | | | weight problem.5. Doing martial arts to improve body |
| heavily incorporating training techniques and exercises | | | | balance and coordinationAs well as helping us to |
| from a wide variety of martial arts in their | | | | become fitter and stronger, martial art training |
| workouts.Boxercise, Tae Bo, Cardio-Kickboxing, Kung | | | | typically involves the mastery of a range of |
| Fu Aerobics, and personal trainers using punching | | | | techniques that requires us to be well-balanced and |
| bags, focus mitts and kicking pads in their sessions | | | | have superior body coordination.In learning to master |
| are just a couple of examples of how martial arts | | | | these techniques we naturally improve our balance |
| training is being used in cardio workouts for fitness | | | | and our coordination which helps us with other |
| and weight loss.Because martial art training is typically | | | | aspects of our daily life.6. Doing martial arts for |
| high intensity and usually lasts for at least an hour in | | | | variety Martial art training provides great variety in |
| most cases, it burns a maximum number of kilojoules | | | | two ways.Firstly, martial arts training sessions |
| or calories per workout and is therefore great for | | | | themselves have great variety built into them by |
| anyone who wants to lose weight and lose it fast.2. | | | | including warm-ups and cool-downs, stretching |
| Doing martial arts for fitnessMost martial arts | | | | exercises, strength building exercises, cardio exercises |
| incorporate exercises and drills that improve | | | | and exercises designed to improve and teach us a |
| cardiovascular fitness and endurance, help build | | | | wide variety of techniques.This variety is great for |
| muscle strength and improve muscle flexibility so | | | | our mind as well as our body.Secondly, there are |
| they are perfect for anyone wanting to improve | | | | such a wide variety of martial arts to study that we |
| their overall fitness.Cardiovascular fitness | | | | should be able to easily find one that suits our |
| improvements require us to regularly elevate our | | | | particular goals and interests.Whether we prefer to |
| heart rate for extended periods and most martial | | | | do a martial art that primarily revolves around striking |
| arts training can help us do that.Improving the | | | | or grappling techniques or a perfect mix of both, or |
| strength, size and shape of our muscles requires us | | | | we want to study a highly technical or very simple |
| to regularly subject them to some form of resistance | | | | style, the choice is great.7. Doing martial arts teaches |
| training. Martial arts training helps provide this training | | | | discipline and provides motivationEverybody knows |
| by requiring us to perform exercises like push-ups | | | | that studying a martial art requires and teaches |
| and squats using our own body weight for | | | | discipline.Because it is also goal orientated, training in |
| resistance.Improved flexibility is a natural byproduct | | | | one of the many martial arts also provides a great |
| of martial arts training because most, if not all styles | | | | deal of motivation.Lack of discipline and motivation |
| of martial art incorporate stretching exercises in their | | | | are the most often quoted reasons for weight loss |
| workouts.As a result of providing all of these fitness | | | | failures and for this reason, doing a martial art for |
| benefits, martial artists like boxers and kickboxers are | | | | weight loss and fitness may help many of us who |
| widely regarded as being among the fittest athletes | | | | lack the required discipline and motivation to achieve |
| in the world and practitioners of karate, judo, etc are | | | | our weight loss goals to overcome these common |
| considered among the strongest pound-for-pound | | | | barriers to success.8. Doing martial arts for |
| and most flexible athletes in the world.3. Doing martial | | | | spiritualityOne definition of spirituality is "Activities |
| arts and self-defenseOne of the most obvious | | | | which renew, lift up, comfort, heal and inspire both |
| benefits of doing a martial art is that it provides us | | | | ourselves and those with whom we interact."Martial |
| with the fitness, strength, skill and techniques | | | | art training has been practiced by millions of people |
| necessary to protect ourselves from being attacked | | | | over many centuries because among other things, it |
| by others who are out to harm us if the need should | | | | has a great ability to spiritually uplift us.As well as |
| ever arise.Like an insurance policy, we hope you're | | | | forging a better connection between our mind and |
| never in a position to have to use your martial arts | | | | body, it also has the ability to forge a better |
| training to defend yourself, but it's great to know | | | | connection between us and our world and us and |
| this ability is there just in case.Because they are | | | | others.9. Doing martial arts training is relatively |
| primarily concerned with elevating our heart rates to | | | | inexpensiveCompared to joining some gyms and |
| burn energy and improve our fitness, many of the | | | | hiring some personal trainers, training at a martial arts |
| workouts listed above like Tae Bo, Boxercise, etc | | | | school or dojo is relatively inexpensive.Many martial |
| don't really provide this benefit to the same extent | | | | arts schools charge a very modest monthly fee for |
| as doing martial arts training with a dedicated teacher | | | | training and the beauty of this is you can train when |
| in a martial arts school that only provides one service | | | | and as often as it suits you.In addition to low ongoing |
| - to teach you a specific martial art.Many people | | | | training costs, buying a uniform and any equipment |
| mistakenly believe that because they punch a focus | | | | you may need to train in most cases will be relatively |
| mitt 50 times during a session with their personal | | | | inexpensive as well.10. Doing martial arts has a social |
| trainer that they know how to punch properly and | | | | aspectMany people who start doing martial arts |
| can therefore defend themselves if they need to. | | | | training for weight loss, improved fitness or |
| This is a big mistake and we hope these people | | | | self-defense end up enjoying it most for its social |
| never find themselves in a situation where this belief | | | | aspects.As well as training and learning with others |
| is tested.Unless they've had many years of martial | | | | with similar goals, many martial arts trainees help |
| arts training themselves, most personal trainers and | | | | encourage and motivate each other and end up |
| gym instructors will not be able to offer advice about | | | | becoming very good friends.Many martial arts |
| your punching and kicking technique, they are only | | | | instructors too have very friendly dispositions and |
| really qualified to hold the focus mitts or kick-pad for | | | | foster a fun and friendly environment in which to |
| you while you punch or kick them.Remember, while | | | | train which endears them to their students who |
| probably great at what they do, these trainers are | | | | typically also become close friends.ConclusionIf your |
| more like aerobics instructors than specifically qualified | | | | goal is to improve your fitness or lose weight but |
| martial arts instructors.4. Doing martial arts and | | | | you need to do something more exciting than jogging |
| self-confidenceIn addition to providing us with the | | | | on a treadmill to keep you motivated, perhaps you |
| ability to defend ourselves, one of the greatest | | | | should consider doing a martial art like boxing, |
| personal benefits that martial art training provides is a | | | | kickboxing, karate, or judo.In this article we listed the |
| high degree of self-confidence.This self-confidence | | | | top 10 reasons to consider doing a martial art for |
| partly results from the knowledge that we are much | | | | fitness and weight loss to help you decide if doing |
| better equipped to defend ourselves given that we | | | | one is right for you. |